a crowd had gathered; some were crying, others mocking. "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross! " the Pharisees shouted scornfully.
The soldiers laughed at him. The words echoed, but Jesus remained silent. Darkness fell over the sky.
Jesus' hands were nailed to the cross; his flesh was pierced. Drps of blood fell to the ground. In that agony, Jesus spoke the seven words that would change history forever—the seven words of Jesus that might be considered the greatest speech ever made.
Let's start with the first word: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. " To everyone's astonishment, this was the first thing Jesus said. Nobody expected words of forgiveness amidst so much hatred and cruelty.
He held all power in his hands and could have condemned, with a single word, those who crucified him: the Jewish leaders, the Roman soldiers, and the crowd that had spit on him. Yet, he chose forgiveness. Jesus did not return evil for evil.
The first word of Jesus from the cross reveals the heart of his mission: forgiveness. Instead of condemning his executioners, Jesus interceded for them before the Father. Have you ever been in situations where forgiving seemed impossible?
What stopped you from doing it? Jesus' attitude of forgiveness is a challenge for all of us; it invites us to assess our own reactions to injustices. When someone hurts you, the natural reaction is to seek revenge or to hold a grudge.
However, Jesus shows us a different way. Imagine you are carrying a heavy backpack filled with stones, each stone representing an offense or a past pain. Each step becomes harder; the weight burdens you.
Now imagine dropping that backpack and feeling lighter and freer. That's what forgiveness is; it liberates us from the weight of the past and allows us to move forward with greater ease and peace. Matthew says, "Do not resist an evil person.
If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. " Those who do not forgive become physically and spiritually ill; those who do not forgive lack peace and rest for the soul.
Those who do not forgive turn their hearts bitter, implode, and self-destruct. Forgiveness is the cleansing of the soul, the purification of the mind, the healing of bitter memories. Those who do not forgive remain prisoners of their resentment.
If you harbor bitterness in your heart towards someone, that person will keep you captive in hatred. You will end up living with them every day. Jesus taught that evil does not come from outside but from inside humans.
Evil springs from our hearts. We are all wrongdoers, for it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery; all these evils come from inside and defile a person. With this, Jesus refutes the idea that a person is the product of the environment in which they were born and raised.
Wickedness is inherent in human beings; evil is not in the surroundings but in the heart. Forgiveness is the only way to allow the evil that springs within us to turn into holiness. That is why unconditional forgiveness is necessary.
Forgiveness is the only thing that gives time and space for transformation to humans who carry evil within. We must never deny forgiveness to those who offend us, for the forgiveness we receive from God is always greater than what we can offer. Without God's forgiveness, we wouldn't have the chance to transform in life.
In the words of Matthew, "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. " Now let us look at the second saying of Jesus on the cross: "Truly, I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.
" Jesus, the Son of God, hung between two thieves. They were not merely petty thieves; both engaged in bold and armed robbery. They were criminals who killed for theft; they despised both life and other people's property.
These men lived causing pain to others; their existence was a torment to those around them. Jesus' cross stood in the center because he was considered the greatest of criminals; he was condemned for the crime of blasphemy against God and sedition against Caesar. Mocking cries and scorn echoed around him.
The thief on his left, full of bitterness, said, "If you are the Messiah, save yourself and us! " But the thief on his right, with a trembling voice, responded to the other thief, "Do you not even fear God, being under the same punishment? We are here for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.
" Turning his face towards Jesus, he whispered hopefully, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. " And it was at this moment that Jesus declared, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise. " The thief, a man who had lived a life of sin, now received a promise of salvation.
No matter how far we have strayed, God's grace is always available. Jesus didn't say, "Someday you will be with me," but "Today you will be with me in Paradise. " This anonymous thief witnessed firsthand the contempt directed at Jesus; he heard, perhaps more clearly than anyone, Jesus's initial words on the cross.
He saw his demeanor of not hurling insults at his executioners but asking the Father for their forgiveness. Surely this touched the heart of the criminal crucified to the right of Jesus. Christ's words on behalf of his executioners and his gentle, submissive attitude towards the Father softened the man's spirit and sparked a change in his thoughts.
There are no lost causes for. . .
Jesus, no life is irreparable, for the Son of God; no situation is beyond remedy when one turns to the Savior. The thief crucified on the right of Jesus acknowledged his sin and confessed it. He recognized that only Jesus saves and called out to Him.
He found forgiveness in his final hour; he received the assurance of Heaven in the last moments of his life. In their godlessness, these thieves represent all humanity. We differ from one another in degree, but not in nature; sin has affected us all without exception.
All human beings are subjected to sin, crushed under its weight, enslaved by its tyranny, dominated by its chains, condemned to death as a result of it. Paul writes, "There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away; they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.
" Have you ever wondered if your mistakes have separated you from salvation? The thief on the cross reminds us that it's never too late to turn back to God. Jesus's grace is always available, no matter your past.
Let's look at the third word of Jesus: "Woman, here is your son. " Then He said to the disciple, "Here is your mother. " In the midst of His agony, Jesus saw His mother Mary and the disciple whom He loved, John—an unexpected twist.
Aware of His impending death, Jesus cared for His own, uttering words that would echo through the ages. Jesus, with a voice weak yet clear, said to Mary, "Here is your son," and then, looking at John, He added, "Here is your mother. " Aware of His imminent death, Jesus continued to show concern for His mother's well-being.
He ensured that His mother would not be left desolate; likely, Joseph of Nazareth, Jesus's father, had already passed away by this time. Mary was a widow, lacking physical protection. Imagine yourself in a garden where each plant depends on the others to grow strong.
Each plant provides shade, nutrients, and support to its neighbors; such is our spiritual life. We uphold one another, finding strength and comfort in our community of faith. Jesus was crucified at 9 in the morning.
From 9 until noon, He was under the sunlight; during that time, He spoke the first three words from the cross. At noon, a supernatural darkness covered the Earth. It was a darkness sent from the heavens, lasting three hours.
Around 3:00 in the afternoon, when the darkness lifted in the sky, Jesus uttered the fourth word: the cry of abandonment. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? " A deathly silence enveloped Golgotha, broken only by the whispers and murmurs of the crowd.
Three hours of total darkness had passed over the land. Throughout the Bible, darkness is presented in contrast to light. Darkness is associated with the world, death, sin, the devil, and judgment.
The world lies in dark darkness because the devil has blinded the minds of unbelievers. When Jesus was arrested, He said to the chief priests and elders who had come to arrest Him, "Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour when darkness reigns.
" Besides representing the power of evil, darkness also indicates, according to the scriptures, the fate of those who practice evil—of Satan, his angels, and all those who reject the salvation Jesus offers. In His parables, Jesus spoke of wicked servants who were thrown into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. In the parable of the narrow gate, Jesus urged His listeners to strive to enter through the narrow gate, for once the homeowner has shut the door, those left outside will not have another chance.
But during the darkness, Jesus remained silent. Jesus was the perfect lamb, as the prophet Isaiah had predicted long ago; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth. Have you ever felt completely alone, abandoned by everyone, even by God?
Jesus knew that despair. A Roman soldier, startled by the cry, murmured, "What kind of man is this who cries out to God in His agony? " But these words were not a cry of doubt, but a deliberate quote from Psalm 22, showing that even in His darkest moment, Jesus clung to the Scriptures.
In Psalm 22, we read, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? " Jesus, even in His pain, addressed God as "my God.
" He teaches us to maintain our faith, to hold on to God even when we do not understand our sufferings. But God did not abandon Jesus forever; on the third day, He raised Him up. Similarly, our trials and sufferings are not the end of the story.
In Christ, we have the hope of resurrection and eternal life. His cry of abandonment assures us that though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, He is with us and will lead us into the light. In life, we face situations that leave us baffled and full of questions.
Often, in our crises, our valleys of pain, our losses and the setbacks that hit us, we look up to the sky and ask, "Why? Why am I sick? Why did I lose my job?
Why did I lose my children? Why did my friends desert me in my time of pain? " The Bible is filled with accounts of men and women who raised such questions to the heavens.
God does not always explain why we suffer; we do not always have a clear insight into His divine purposes. There is not always a. .
. Light at the end of the tunnel guiding us. There are days when God remains silent.
Jesus had already been abandoned by the people, the leaders, the robbers, and now even his own Father remained silent. Why did God abandon Jesus, his only Son, at that moment? Was it due to a lack of love, indifference?
What had happened that the Father, who had declared Jesus his beloved Son in whom he was well pleased, the beloved Son before the creation of the world, would abandon Jesus? Jesus had a prophetic answer, but it was not evident at that moment. The suffering servant foretold by Isaiah sees the fruit of the anguish of his soul and is satisfied by his knowledge: "My righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
" When we go through the valley of pain, we should look toward God's majesty and not the depth of our wounds. If we focus on ourselves, we will panic; if we look to God, we will feel peace in the valley. Now, let's consider the fifth word: "I’m thirsty.
" Crucifixion was the most horrific form of capital punishment. After being tortured, the convict was nailed to the cross, exposed to the heat of the day. Blood was shed, muscles cramped painfully, suffocation throttled, and thirst overwhelmed.
Psalm 22 had predicted it: "My mouth is dried up like a pot shirt, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. " A soldier soaked a sponge in vinegar and brought it to Jesus' lips, a seemingly insignificant yet cruel act, laden with symbolism. At that moment, everything made sense.
Jesus was not only dying; he was fulfilling a second prophecy. In Psalm 69, it is written: "They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst. " The fulfillment of these prophecies shows us that God has a plan and purpose even in the darkest moments.
Every detail of Jesus' crucifixion was foretold, and each was fulfilled with precision. This gives us confidence that God is in control even when all seems lost. Can you trust that God is working in your life even when you cannot see the end of the road?
Throughout the entire process of Jesus' arrest and death, not a single word of complaint escaped his lips. There was no protest, no plea for mercy. All his sufferings were endured in majestic calm, just as Isaiah had foretold: "As a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
" Thus far, we've explored the prophetic aspects. Now let's delve into the meaning of water. In the Gospel of John, the themes of thirst and water resurface throughout the Fourth Gospel.
Jesus' first miracle involved water, which he turned into wine. He revealed himself as the Messiah to a Samaritan woman after asking her, "Give me a drink," and offering, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. " In John 5, he healed a paralytic by a pool in Bethesda.
In John 9, he directed a blind man to wash in the Pool of Siloam. In John 6, he walked on the waters of the Sea of Galilee. In Jerusalem, during the Feast of Tabernacles, as the priest poured water over the altar, symbolizing the coming of the Messiah, Jesus stood and proclaimed, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.
" At the Last Supper, after dining, Jesus poured water into a basin and washed his disciples' feet. On the cross, he exclaimed, "I am thirsty," and after his death, a soldier pierced his side with a spear, from which blood and water flowed. The water of life that Jesus offers does not come from a mere well; it is a gift that only the Messiah can give.
Jesus presents the water multiple times as a divine gift superior to any water from the earth's purest source. Christ does not satisfy a person by merely quenching their thirst, which would limit the growth of their soul, but by granting, through his Spirit, an internal fountain of satisfaction that spontaneously and continuously meets every recurring need for refreshment. Let's now consider the sixth word Jesus uttered on the cross: "It is finished.
" It was not a whisper, not a lament; it was a cry of victory. For the believer, "It is finished" is not just a statement from Jesus; it is a promise, an assurance. Imagine a man trapped in a dark prison with heavy chains, struggling, striving to break free, yet it’s futile.
Then a cry is heard: "It is finished! " The chains shatter, the door swings open; he is free. So it is for us.
Jesus' work liberates us from sin and flings wide the gates of heaven. How can I ever repay you, we might ask? "You can't," Jesus would reply.
"I've already paid it all. " Our response should be to live in gratitude, to follow in his footsteps, to love as he has loved us. Salvation is a finished work.
It's not a path we carve from earth to heaven but a path God opened from heaven to earth. Salvation was a task the Father assigned to the Son, who came and completed it. We have salvation due to Jesus' complete obedience and his vicarious sacrifice on the cross.
He declared, "It is finished. " There's nothing more we need to do. Jesus fully submitted to the Father's will, accepting death to break the curse, fulfill the sentence against his people, and redeem them.
Because of Christ's atonement and his victory over death and the grave, we will never know the weight of sin, the severity of the curse, the punishment of judgment, or the reality of eternal death and hell. We are absolved and freed thanks to Jesus, our high priest. Salvation is not earned through deeds, nor is it.
. . A human merit is a gift of divine grace.
It is not gained as a reward but received as a gift. It is not what we do for God but what He has done for us. Faith is the outstretched arm of a beggar receiving the gift from a King.
Jesus purchased our salvation with the price of His blood, His own blood. We owe nothing for it since He proclaimed that all was finished. There is nothing we can add.
Now let us proceed to the seventh and final word Jesus spoke on the cross: "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit. " "Look how He hangs powerless," murmured one of the soldiers, as another, with a sinister smile, replied, "Where is His God now? " But Jesus, eyes fixed on heaven, was not defeated.
With a clear and resonant voice, He pronounced, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit. " Jesus was completing His mission: crushing the Serpent's head, triumphing over the devil and his Legions, and redeeming us to God. He dies as a conqueror.
Jesus was not murdered; He gave His life willingly. The final prayer Jesus utters comes from Psalm 31: "Into Your hands I commit My spirit; deliver Me, Lord, my faithful God. " This verse was a prayer devout Jewish mothers taught their children before sleep.
By adding the word "Father" to the traditional prayer, Jesus speaks not only of trust but also of the security of a child sleeping in his father's arms. If He used to repeat these words before sleep, now He utters them for the last time. The struggle is over, and the battle is won.
This scene calls us to reflect on our own lives. Are we willing to hand everything over to God, trusting that He is in control? Jesus taught us that real strength does not reside in a void in suffering but in confronting adversity with faith.
His final surrender was an act of total relinquishment and absolute trust. He did not let death master Him; He mastered death through His faith in the Father. And again, in this seventh word, a prophecy was fulfilled.
According to the Jewish calendar, days start at sundown. It was already 3 in the afternoon, and it was necessary to bury those crucified before Friday ended. The Roman practice was to leave men and women crucified until they died, which could take days.
Afterwards, they left the bodies on the cross to be devoured by vultures. If there was any reason to hasten the death of the condemned, Roman soldiers would break the victim's legs with an iron mallet. Besides the impact and additional loss of blood, this act prevented the victims from supporting the weight of their bodies on their legs.
Consequently, the strength in their arms became insufficient, leading to suffocation. John narrates that because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. Those who were crucified on the right and left of Jesus were still alive, and their legs were broken.
But when the soldier came to break the legs of Jesus, he found that He had already died. His death was unusually quick; death on the cross was not only cruel but also slow. Many criminals spent several days suspended on the cross.
When Joseph of Arimathea went to Pilate to ask for Jesus' body to bury it, the governor himself was surprised that Jesus had died in just six hours. Being dead, Jesus' legs were not broken. This happened so that the prophecies would be fulfilled, just as it is stated in Psalm 34: "He guards all His bones; none of them will be broken.
" Now let's recapitulate the meaning of the last words of Jesus on the cross. First, a word of forgiveness: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. " Jesus not only interceded for His executioners but also mitigated their guilt.
Second, a word of salvation: "Today you will be with Me in Paradise. " Jesus offers eternal life to a man who lived his entire life in wickedness. This shows that salvation is not earned by merit but is granted solely by grace.
Third, a word of care: "Woman, here is your son; here is your mother. " Jesus entrusted the care of His mother to John. His filial devotion was evident until the end.
Fourth, a word of distress: "I am thirsty. " Jesus was fully human while being fully God; He experienced hunger, thirst, fatigue, anguish, and pain. Not only did He experience them, but He expressed them openly.
Fifth, a word of abandonment: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? " The Father had to forsake the Son to sustain us. He was wounded for our transgressions and made sin for us.
Sixth, a word of victory: "It is finished. " The cross was not a symbol of weakness but of strength; it did not represent defeat but a consummated victory. Seventh, a word of surrender: "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.
" Jesus completed the work of redemption and then surrendered Himself to the Father. His mission was finished; our redemption was secured. Each of these words responds to a part of the great question underlying the cross: Why was it necessary for Jesus to die?
The answer encompasses several themes: to satisfy the justice of God, to save us from eternal death, to defeat Satan, to offer forgiveness of sins, and to justify us. Yet it all boils down to one word: love. Jesus died out of love; the Father gave up the Son out of love—love for you and for me.
God, by His nature, is love; He is also eternal. Therefore, His love is eternal. This means that this love did not originate with us.
It wasn't us who loved God first; it was He who loved us and drew us. To Him, I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. God loved us when we were but an idea in His mind.
God loved us before the foundations of the earth were laid. God loved us even before He created us. For Christians, the cross is not merely a religious symbol but a constant reminder of God's redeeming love and Jesus' ultimate sacrifice.
It challenges us to live according to the gospel's teachings, to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to pursue justice and peace in a world marked by injustice and violence. Ultimately, the legacy of the cross is an invitation to personal transformation. It calls us to live in a way that honors Jesus' sacrifice by sharing the love and grace we've received with everyone around us.
May we, therefore, embrace the legacy of the cross with humility and gratitude, recognizing that through it, we find the path to true life in communion with God and others. We hope that after this video, you feel encouraged to say, with the Apostle Paul, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
" And so ended the greatest speech in history. Jesus spent His last hours on the cross, from 9 in the morning until 3:00 in the afternoon. In the morning, He was nailed to the cross; in the afternoon, He wore a crown.
In the morning, He was an enemy of Caesar; by afternoon, He was a friend of God. In the morning, He was despised by men; by afternoon, He was in the company of angels. In the morning, He died as a criminal on Earth; by evening, He lived as a citizen of Heaven.
Jesus asked forgiveness for those crucifying Him: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. " How can we apply this level of forgiveness in our lives? Who do we need to forgive today to free our hearts from the burden of resentment?
To the repentant thief, Jesus promised, "Today you will be with me in Paradise. " Do we have the certainty of our salvation? Do we trust in Jesus' promise of eternal life with Him?
From the cross, Jesus expressed His care by saying, "Woman, here is your son; son, here is your mother. " Are we attentive to the needs of our family and loved ones? How can we show them our love and care in a tangible way?
Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? " Do we ever feel abandoned by God? Let us remember that Jesus also endured darkness, so that we may never be alone in our trials.
Jesus said, "I am thirsty. " This simple phrase highlights His complete humanity. Do we acknowledge our own human needs and limitations?
Do we seek the living water in Jesus to quench our spiritual thirst? With the declaration, "It is finished," Jesus completed His redemptive mission. But there is something else you should know: many of these events were prophesied long before they occurred.
A powerful prophecy said that Jesus would drink vinegar before He succumbed on the cross, and so it happened. Coincidence? Nothing is coincidence.
Click on this video to learn why Jesus drank vinegar on the cross. You need to know the hidden spiritual power of vinegar. In this video, see you there.
Blessings!
