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| Picture used with permission: © 2006 http://www.theglorystory.com/ |
1. Luke 23:34 But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."
Jesus forgave all who were involved in crucifying him. Jesus taught about forgiveness & here we see a powerful demonstration of forgiveness to people who killed him. Later people who were martyred for Christ, like the first martyr Stephen echoed similar words of forgiveness.
Here we learn that it is vital to forgive people, irrespective of what they do to us. Matthew 18:21-22 states “ That Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”
We are to forgive people an unlimited number of times. We must not harbour unforgiveness in our hearts towards anyone.
2. Luke 23:42-43 And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."
We know that there were 2 criminals hanging on either side of Jesus. At first both the criminals were speaking against Jesus, but later one of them understood who Jesus was & he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!". He recognised Jesus as King and was saved. What a wonderful gospel we have that even criminals can receive & enter paradise.
Remember in the time of Moses when serpents bit the Israelites, that Moses lifted up a serpent, and all who saw it were healed.
John 3:14-16 "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
All who see Jesus’ death for their sakes & believe in Him are saved and have eternal life, just like this criminal. Every sin can be forgiven, if one repents of it & believes in Jesus. Though our sins are as red as crimson, we can be cleansed whiter than snow, through the precious blood of Jesus.
3. John 19:26-27
When Jesus then 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!" From that hour the disciple took her into his own household.
Biblical scholars tell us that Mary’s husband Joseph was no more at this time & we know that Jesus’ brothers didn’t believe on him. Here we find Jesus fulfilling his duty towards Mary. He entrusted Mary to the care of his closest disciple John.
One of the ten commandments mentioned in Exodus 20:12 states
"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you.”
To honour our parents means that we respect them & also provide and care for them. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees on this matter, since they exempted those in “God’s service” to provide for their parents. (Matthew 15:5,6)
4. John 19:28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, "I am thirsty."
The Gospel of John was written around AD 85, about 50 years after Jesus’ death. In those times a heresy was developing which stated that Jesus was not really human, but was a mystical being. Hence John specifically mentions these words of Jesus that he was thirsty. Jesus was truly human & felt hunger & thirst just the way we do. People who were crucified felt extreme thirst. Jesus felt it too & said “I am thirsty”. Truly God became truly man!
5. Matthew 27:46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?"
It is written in 1 Corinthians 15:3 that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures”
When Jesus bore on himself the sins of the whole world, the Father turned his gaze away from him. For a brief moment of time, Jesus experienced being forsaken by God.
God made him who knew no sin, to become sin on our behalf ( 2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus bore our sin & our curse, so that we might receive blessings. The only begotten Son of God experienced being temporarily forsaken by God, so that we might become adopted sons of God. To us adopted sons, God says that He will never ever forsake us, not even for a moment. (Hebrews 13:5)
6. John 19:30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!".
In Matthew 27:50-51, it is written “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.”
Here we find Jesus triumphantly crying out “It is finished”. It was a shout of a victor! He accomplished the Father’s purpose. The veil that separated man from God was torn, and the way opened for all men to come back to God. In the Old Testament times, only the Israelites could enter the Temple in the outer court. Further inside, only the priests could worship in the holy place & even further only the high priest could enter the Most holy place and that too only once in a year. But now after Christ’s death, the way in open even for us Gentiles to come right into the Most Holy place! What a wonderful privilege we have! Let us not be far away from the Lord, but draw near with confidence close to Him.
7. Luke 23:46 And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, "Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT." Having said this, He breathed His last.
Jesus started out by addressing God as Father while on the cross & ends too in the same way.
The communion with God was restored & Jesus entrusted his spirit to the Father.
This was the last words heard from the lips of Jesus. What a way to end an earthly life! In close communion with the Father!!
May we reflect on these 7 sayings of Jesus & allow the Holy Spirit to give us revelation. Amen
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