John 19:16b-27 “Crucified for His Family”

1:10Over time, the Holy Spirit revealed that David was not only writing about his own experience, but about the things that the promised Messiah would experience. And it is truly amazing to consider that words written 1,000 years earlier would be fulfilled to the letter. In Jesus' death. Today, we return to the Gospel of John and the account of Jesus' trial before Pilate, which led to his crucifixion. Now, up to this point, Pilate has been trying to release Jesus because he knew that Jesus was innocent, and the religious leaders only delivered him up out of envy.

1:52Pilate tried several strategies to release Jesus, to convince the Jewish authorities to let him go. And one of those, as you may recall, was to punish Jesus and release him. He hoped that by flogging Jesus and then bringing him out in front of the crowd wearing the ridiculous purple robe and the crown of thorns, would elicit sympathy, would satisfy the religious leaders, and would convince them that he should be allowed to go free. But instead, when he did this, they shouted, crucify him, crucify him.

2:25And once the chief priests pledged allegiance to Caesar and called Pilate's own allegiance to Caesar into question, Pilate delivered Jesus over to be crucified. This morning, we're going to behold the climax of Jesus' earthly life and mission. We're going to see him executed by crucifixion, lifted up on a cross to die in our place and for our sin. And throughout the whole passage, we'll see the scriptures come together. And we'll see that just As the prophets foretold, Jesus loved the church and gave himself up for her.

3:07Let's pick up here in the second half of verse 16. We read here in these first few words that they took Jesus. Now, Mark 15 tells us that at this point the soldiers scourged Jesus. You remember before he was flogged, he was beaten with a whip before he was led out wearing the purple robe and the crown of thorns. Now they scourge him. They beat him repeatedly with a whip that has bits of metal and bone embedded in the leather strips. They scourge him, tore his back to shreds. And we see here in verse 17, he went out bearing his own cross. And we understand that the primary purpose of any death penalty is to punish crime. The state is saying that what you have done is so bad, it's so reprehensible, that anything less than death would be injustice.

4:03But we also know that capital punishment is meant to deter other would-be criminals. It's why almost all executions throughout human history were done in public. Because it was a pronouncement to everyone: if you commit a crime like this person, you will die like this person. It was a deterrent. And so when the Romans crucified, Someone, the first thing that they did was march the offender through the city. He was forced to carry the cross beam of the cross on which he was to be executed, and he had a sign hung around his neck declaring the crime that he was being crucified for.

4:46Now, after being scourged, this would be a nearly impossible task due to the loss of blood, due to the pain of bearing that cross beam, that heavy piece of wood on your back all through the city. And it seems that it was too much for Jesus. And so we find this recorded in Mark chapter 15. And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who is coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.

5:17It's yet another interesting bit of eyewitness information: the exact identity of this man who is compelled to carry Jesus' cross to the place of execution. I want you to see, as a side note, as well, this is an example of why the Jews hated the Romans so much. Here's this man just simply traveling to the city, and he has stopped in the middle of what he's doing to carry out an execution. And so he's forced to carry the cross, and John says, and he went out bearing his own cross.

5:51So when you read that, you wonder out from where? Why does it say he went out? Well, he went out of the city. And why is that? Well, if you were to ask the Romans, why are you taking this man outside of the city to crucify him, can't you just do that somewhere in the city? They would say, we always crucify people outside the city. We do it on a main road so that everybody coming into or out of the city has to walk by this as a reminder that if you commit crimes like this against the state, you will be put to death.

6:26And if you ask the Jewish religious leaders, why are you leading this man outside of the city to kill him? They would have pointed you to Leviticus chapter 24. Take a look at the screen. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Bring out of the camp the one who cursed, that is, who cursed the Lord or committed blasphemy, and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.

6:52And speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. Whoever blasphemes the name of the Lord shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the name, shall be put to death. In the Mosaic law, the punishment for blasphemy, for either taking the name of the Lord in vain or for claiming the name of the Lord for yourself, the punishment for blasphemy was death. And executions by the Israelites took place outside the camp, outside the city, because It was a reminder that Israel was to be a holy people, a pure people, that was not to tolerate or partake in sin, so sinners were removed from the camp. They were taken outside of the camp or outside of the city to be executed.

7:48But, friends, there's even more going on here than simply the Romans crucifying people outside of the city as a warning, or even than the Mosaic law stating that these kinds of lawbreakers should be executed outside the camp. In Leviticus 16, we learn about what's called the Day of Atonement. It's what the Jews call Yom Kippur. It is the holiest day of the year. And on this day, the high priest makes atonement for his own sin and the sin of his family. And then he takes two goats. The first goat he kills as a sin offering for the people and all of their transgressions.

8:30And then he takes the blood of that goat and he spreads it on the altar and he purifies the holy place, the tent of meeting. And then he takes the second goat. And I want you to look what he does with the second goat on the screen. And when the high priest has made an end of atoning for the holy place and the tent of meeting and the altar, he shall present the live goat. And Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat and confess over it all the iniquities of Israel. The people of Israel and all their transgressions and all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness.

9:25So on the day of the atonement, the first goat is killed, its blood is shed for the forgiveness of the people. But the second goat is known as the scapegoat. And the scapegoat, he has its, the high priest puts his hands on the head of the scapegoat and confesses all the sins of the nation over this animal. And then he sends that goat out of the camp, out into the wilderness, to symbolically carry away the sins of the people.

10:03I want you to look at Hebrews 13. Verse 12 says, So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. You see, friends, like the first goat, Jesus' blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. And like the second goat, Jesus, Bore our sin, and he carried it outside the gate, outside of the camp, taking it away from us forever, never to be seen again. Church, this is the good news of the gospel: that Jesus bore all of our sin. He carried all of it away, and then he suffered and bled and died in our place.

10:57Hebrews chapter 10 reminds us that it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin. That is true. But it is not only possible, but actually true, that Jesus did take away all of our sins by bearing them on the cross because of his sinless life, taking those sins outside of the camp and away from us forever. And all of this is very relevant to you as a Christian believer. Because some of you are still beating yourself up over sins that you committed last week or last month or last year or many decades ago. You are still beating yourself up. In your mind, you are the scapegoat that has to bear your own sin and is cast out of the presence of God and his people forever.

12:02You are the scapegoat in your own mind. But, friends, you are not. The scripture says that Jesus came to bear all of our sin and shame so that, like Ephesians 3 talks about, we could have boldness and access with confidence to come before the Lord through our faith in him. And so, if that is not your experience, Christian, remember that Jesus did not die and rise again so that you could feel guilty about your sin every day of your life.

12:44Jesus died and rose again to pay the penalty for your sin and to carry it away from you forever. That is why he sacrificed himself to give you boldness and access with confidence through faith in him. So, remember that. Believe that today. Pray to believe it more. Verse 18. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Skip down to verse 23. When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier, also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. So they said to one another, Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be. This was to fulfill the scripture, which says, They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing, they cast lots.

13:58As we all probably are aware, death by crucifixion was a brutal way to go. Huge nails driven through your wrists and your ankles, hoisted up and exposed both to the elements and to the merciless crowds who passed by and spit on you and hurled insults at you and threw things at you. Bruce Milne captures the reality well. Take a look at what he said. Death by crucifixion could take days. A long, slow, agonizing descent into hell ended finally by suffocation as the victim, unable any longer to relieve the constriction of the chest, mercifully expired. So terrible was crucifixion that no Roman was permitted to undergo it, however heinous the crime.

15:01As we see, Jesus is crucified between two criminals. Perhaps these are associates of Barabbas. And all around him are Roman soldiers and Jewish religious leaders and common people mocking him. Matthew captures the scene vividly. Take a look at what he wrote. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself. If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, He saved others, he cannot save himself. He is the king of Israel. Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, I am the Son of God. And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

16:09Now, of course, all of this was a direct fulfillment of Psalm 22. Just look at the stunning connection between this psalm written thousands of years earlier, or a thousand years earlier, and what is happening to Jesus. Look at verses 7 and 8. See me mock me. They make mouths at me. They wag their heads. He trusts in the Lord. Let him deliver him. Let him rescue him, for he delights in him. Look at verses 12 and 13.

16:47Many bulls encompass me. Strong bulls of Bashon surround me. They open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. Look at verses 16 and 17. For dogs encompass me, a company of evildoers encircles me. They have pierced my hands and feet. I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me. Not only did they mock Jesus, but as we saw in verses 23 and 24, they divided up his clothing among themselves. And because they didn't want to tear that tunic, that last garment that Jesus is wearing on the cross, they decide to cast lots for it. And look what Psalm 22, 18 says.

17:38They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing, they cast lots. In hindsight, it is hard to understand how the religious leaders who knew the scripture so well, especially scriptures like Psalm 22, didn't see the people. That what they had orchestrated and what was happening right in front of them was a direct fulfillment of Scripture. They are the high priests, and the chief priests are directly quoting Psalm 22 as they're mocking Jesus. He trusts in God. Let God deliver him now if he desires him.

18:23And I don't know if they were doing that on purpose, knowing that they were saying those words, mocking him, saying, You're not the Messiah, or if they had forgotten that that is what the Psalm actually says. But either way, they are saying those exact words. The soldiers are doing the exact things that David said that they would do, dividing up his clothing and casting lots for them. But, friends, this is what sin does to us. It blinds us to the truth of what's going on right in front of us, keeping us from seeing what should be obvious.

19:00And for us as Christians, this is one reason that being a member of a healthy church is so vitally important. In a healthy church, we aren't surrounded by a mob that's encouraging us to sin. No, instead, we are surrounded by fellow believers who will point us to Christ and His Word, and who will help us walk the narrow path that leads to life. Sin is too tempting. Our flesh is too weak. Satan is too good at what he does for us to attempt to walk the Christian life alone without the fellowship and encouragement and help of the local church. Look what Hebrews chapter 3 says.

19:51Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called today, that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. The Jewish leaders were hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. They had plenty of head knowledge. They knew the scriptures well, but they were hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. And they couldn't see the Messiah fulfilling all of these prophecies right in front of them. Friends, a healthy church is one of God's primary tools to keep us from getting to the point where we are hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

20:44So if you don't join New Life, please join another healthy local church in our community. Do not attempt to live the Christian life alone. Let's pick up in verse 19. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, Do not write the king of the Jews, but rather, this man said, I am the king of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written.

21:38Now, as we noted earlier, when the Romans crucified someone, they hung a sign around his neck, indicating the crime that he had committed and why he was being crucified. Well, what was Jesus' crime? As Pilate declared, and as the Apostle Peter would later write in the New Testament, he committed no sin, neither was any deceit found in his mouth. So there was nothing to write on the sign. Jesus' only crime was to tell the truth about his identity and his mission, that he was, in fact, the king of the Jews, and he came to lay down his life for his rebellious subjects.

22:27And it seems that at some level, Pilate believed that Jesus might actually be the king of the Jews. And so he writes this inscription on the sign in three languages: in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek, so that any passerby could read it and understand it. Well, that decision infuriated the chief priests because they didn't believe that Jesus was their king, and ironically, they had just pledged allegiance to King Caesar. So they asked Pilate to change it, but he was unwilling.

23:05That sign would hang there for hours until Jesus finally died. Briefs, I want you to consider what we've seen to this point. Jesus, who is both fully God and fully man, is crucified. That means he is suspended between God in heaven and man on earth. So that when God looks down, as it were, he sees Jesus between us and him. And when we look up, we see Jesus between us and God. He is literally physically suspended between heaven and earth.

23:531 Timothy 2 says this: look at the screen. For there is one God, and there is one God. One mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. Jesus is the one mediator between God and men, the only one who could bridge that great chasm that we created because of our sin and rebellion. And in this moment, God looks down and sees his only begotten Son between Himself and us. We look up and see God's only begotten Son in between us and Him. He is the one mediator between God and men.

24:44And Jesus gave Himself as a ransom for all. Think about the sign that Pilate wrote and the significance of what is happening here. The sign says Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews, and it is written in three languages: Aramaic for all of the Jews, Latin for all of the Romans, and Greek for the rest of the world. Every single person who passed by would have the opportunity to read that sign in a language that they knew by heart and ask, King of the Jews, what does that mean?

25:32They would have the opportunity to consider in their own language whether Jesus really was who he claimed to be. They could decide for themselves how to respond to this claim. What does this mean for my own life? And I want you to remember what Jesus Himself said back in John chapter 12. Take a look. He said, And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. Friends, the symbolism is clear.

26:10Jesus is the one mediator between God and man, who gave himself as a ransom for all. In being lifted up, he would draw people from every tribe, every tongue, and every nation to himself. But those people had to decide: is this true? That this man really is the king of the Jews? And not just the king of the Jews, but the king of the world? Is that really true? They had to decide. And you have to decide for yourself what you believe about Jesus.

26:53Do you believe that he is the one mediator between God and men? Do you believe? That he gave his life as a ransom for all, for all of your sin and rebellion against God? Do you believe that he is the one way to forgiveness and reconciliation and eternal life with God? Do you believe that? You must decide. The religious leaders looked at Jesus and they decided that he was not their king, that they would have nothing to do with him. They rejected him as a blasphemer.

27:33Pilate looked at Jesus and he decided that he didn't want anything to do with him. Maybe Jesus was who he says he is, maybe he wasn't, but he wasn't going to risk his neck for Jesus. But, friends, what we see here at the end of this section is that there was this small group of people who made a different decision. The decision to stand by Jesus to the very end, believing that he was who he claimed to be, the king of the Jews and the promised Messiah. Let's pick up in verse 24.

28:24So the soldiers did these things. But standing by the cross, Of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, Woman, behold your son. Then he said to the disciple, Behold your mother. And from that hour, the disciple took her to his own home. During his life and ministry, Jesus acquired thousands of fans, 72 close associates and co-workers of some kind, twelve disciples, three intimate friends, and a best friend.

29:28And here at the very end of his life, in his greatest hour of need, who is still there by his side? Five people: his mom, his aunt, two Marys, and John. That's it. To be fair, Jesus was illegally arrested in the middle of the night. He was tried overnight and early in the morning, and he was on the cross by lunchtime. This is the first century. Word travels very slowly, and many people would not even find out what happened to Jesus until days later.

30:25Nevertheless, it is so sad to imagine Jesus hanging on the cross, deserted by nearly all of his disciples, surrounded by enemies who are celebrating his torturous execution as he fights for every last breath. And yet, even in his unbearable suffering, he is still serving others. He looks down at his mother, this amazing woman who some 30 years ago carried him and carried the shame of being pregnant out of wedlock, shame that she would bear for the rest of her life.

31:19He looks down at this woman, and he wants to be sure that she is taken care of. And so he tells his best friend John, behold, your mother. And John understands what Jesus is saying. He wants him to take care of her. And so that's what he does. He says, from that hour, he took her to his own home. Now, the text never tells us what happened to Joseph, Mary's husband. But the implication in all the Gospels is that sometime over the last 30 years, Joseph died, leaving Mary a widow.

32:02Most of you probably know that. But what you may not know is that Jesus had brothers, four of them. Joseph, Simon, James, and Jude. He had four brothers. And in Jewish culture, and in most cultures around the world, taking care of your aging parents was a big deal. That fell to the family. That fell particularly to the sons. And especially if your mom is a widow, that's going to be a big deal for you to take care of. And so the question here is: why did Jesus charge John to take care of his mom?

32:57Well, friends, it's because. His brothers were not believers. Or perhaps I should say, his brothers weren't believers yet. It seems from everything that we know that James and Jude definitely became Christians because there are two letters in the New Testament written by them. Joseph and Simon may have become believers as well, but at this point, none of the four brothers are believers. Remember John chapter 7? For not even his brothers believed in him. I want you to think about what Jesus is communicating here. And not just to Mary and to John, but to all of us. I want you to think about what Jesus is communicating because this is not new. This is a principle that he has been teaching all throughout his life and ministry. Look at Matthew 12.

33:59While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. Look at Mark chapter 10. Peter began to say to Jesus, See, we have left everything and followed you.

34:42Jesus said, Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions and in the age to come, eternal life. Church, Jesus is not saying that we should leave our parents, our children, our spouse, or that we should quit caring about them. Far from it.

35:29Jesus demonstrates that we should care for our family. But what he is saying in the great comfort that Jesus offers to us is that if we must choose between our family and Jesus, we have to choose Jesus. And if we choose Jesus, if it comes down to our families or Jesus, then our families reject us for it, then we can know that we're going to receive mothers and brothers. And sisters and children a hundredfold in the church.

36:07Friends, this is not theory in many parts of the world. In many parts of the world, if you get baptized and you start following Jesus, your family is very likely to disown you. Your family is very likely to persecute you even to death. You will probably be cast out and left utterly and completely alone. And even here in America, even right here in our own church, we have members who have been functionally or actually cast out by their families, whose families will not speak to them because they are Christians. And some of these members of our church are single.

36:52But here's the good news: as Christians, we are never alone. The church is our eternal family. Because we believe in Christ, we get brothers and sisters and fathers and children a hundredfold. Did your mom or dad die? Are they non-Christians? Church, look around the room. Your spiritual mothers and fathers. Do you have no siblings? Are your siblings all unbelievers? Look around the room. Here are your brothers and sisters. Do you have no children? Are your children unbelievers?

38:06Look around the room. Here are your spiritual children that look to you, that need you to be their spiritual mother and father. Christians, if we wrongly view the church as a building, if we wrongly view the church as an organization, like a club on campus that we can join or not join, we will never love and serve and sacrifice for each other like the eternal spiritual family that we really are. Until we look at each other the way that Jesus looked at Mary and John, we will not fulfill our calling to be the family of God.

38:57And that will hinder our mission to make. Disciples of all nations because we are not offering people a building, we are not offering people programs, we are not offering people a club or an organization, we are offering them an eternal spiritual family with God as our Father and each other as brothers and sisters and children and spiritual parents. We are offering to this world the very thing that they need most, which is belonging in a family who will love them unconditionally.

39:40There is no one in this room, there is no one in our culture that doesn't have deep wounds from their family. Maybe their immediate family, maybe their extended family. We are offering something different and better that can only be offered because of the blood of Jesus, who secured this eternal spiritual family for us through his death and his resurrection. Church, the Bible is filled with word pictures presenting the church as the spiritual family for whom Christ died. I want you to look on the screen at Ephesians 5.

40:17Paul says, Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church. To himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. Jesus loved his bride, the church, so much that he gave himself up for her. And he gave himself up for the church so that he could present us one day, all of us, everyone together, without spot or wrinkle or blemish or any such thing.

40:58So maybe today you are a Christian who has never looked at the church like this. You've never looked at the church as the eternal spiritual family for whom Christ died. And because you've not viewed the church that way, you haven't loved or served or sacrificed for the church like that, like the family that we are. And so perhaps for you, today's text and today's sermon is an exhortation to view the church not as a building, not as a program, not as a club or a cold institution, but as the spiritual family for whom Christ died, and one that we are called to love with our time and our spiritual gifts and our resources.

41:47It is a calling to move from a consumer of spiritual goods and services to viewing the church as your family, to viewing yourself as a spiritual mother. Or father, a spiritual child, a spiritual brother or sister, son or daughter, to the people all around you. Family life is wonderful, and it's hard, and it's messy, and it requires all kinds of sacrifice. But it is God's plan to present us holy and blameless before Him one day. For others here today, you might hear the language of spiritual family and think to yourself, No one would want me in their family, least of all God.

42:47But, friend, God does want you in His spiritual family. And that was proven by Jesus' words on the cross. John told us that Jesus was crucified between two criminals, but he doesn't record any of the dialogue. Thankfully, the other gospel writers do. Look what Luke records. One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us. But the other rebuked him, saying, Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?

43:30And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds. But this man has done nothing wrong. And he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And he said to him, Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. What did this thief do to deserve eternal life with Jesus? Nothing. He knew it. That's why he said to the other criminal, we are receiving the due reward of our deeds. He knew that he was getting exactly what he deserved.

44:18And so he turned to the man next to him, the one with the sign that said, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. And he said in faith, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus did not tell him, I'm sorry, you are too sinful. I did not come for people like you. He told that criminal who placed his faith in him, today, today you will be with me in paradise. He was saved by grace alone, through faith alone.

45:07So, friend, don't believe the lie that you are too sinful, that God does not want you to be a part of His family. He died and rose again so that you could be a part of His family, the church. All you need to do is repent and believe, like the man on the cross. Put your faith in Jesus, and you too will be adopted and welcomed into God's family. I hope you will. Let's pray. God, we are reminded this morning that all that happened to Jesus happened in fulfillment of your promises, the prophecies that were spoken through your servants, the prophets, hundreds and even a thousand or more years before.

46:31God, I pray for every person who sees themselves as too sinful, undesirable, unworthy to be called your son or your daughter. I pray that you would impress upon them this morning the truth that Jesus did not come for the healthy, but the sick. He didn't come for those who are already found. He came for the lost. He didn't come for the righteous because there is not one righteous, not even one. He came for the unrighteous. I pray that there would be many today, men, women, and children, who put their faith in Jesus.

47:25God, for those who are already Christians, I pray, especially for those who live with such guilt and shame, I pray that you would set them free from that today, seeing that Jesus bore our sin outside of the camp, outside of the gate, and carried it away forever, so that we would never again have to bear the penalty and never again have to succumb to the power of sin. May we believe it. May we live in light of it. And God, may we be the family, the eternal spiritual family that you have called us to be.

48:11In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.