The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus are central to the Christian faith. Jesus was crucified as a propitiation (1John 2:1,2) to our sins; He paid the price so our lives could be saved. Thus salvation was given as a gift from God; made free for all who believed in the deity of Jesus; by grace we have been saved through faith (Eph 2:8,9). Jesus spoke seven phrases through His suffering on the cross before giving up His life. The crucifixion of Jesus is recorded in all the four gospel books of the Bible. All seven phrases though are found distributed in different gospels. Here we study the first four phrases.
1. Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots - Luke 23:34.
Words of forgiveness to all who are responsible for His death. If they had known whom they are crucifying they would not have done it. Jesus was dying on the cross just so the very people who put Him to death could have everlasting life. He was not found guilty of any of the charges the religious leaders of the time brought against Jesus. The High Priest and the Pharisees were worried about their position in the society as Jesus was building a significant following among the populace. They were jealous, insecure and were looking for ways to condemn Him. Jesus spoke the truth when He said He is the Son of God and King of Jews but yet the leadership charged Him for blasphemy and condemned Him to death.
2. And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” - Luke 23:43
Jesus demonstrated the grace that He has been preaching all along when He granted remission of sins and gave the gift of salvation to one of the two thieves crucified with Him. This man showed remorse for his misdeeds, repented and expressed regret that Jesus was crucified for no reason. He only requested Jesus to remember him. But because the man confessed Jesus as a savior though he had possibly led a life of variance / lived as a variant and turned around at the very last moments of his life.
3. When Jesus therefore, saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. - John 19:26-27
Seeing His mother by the Cross when He was crucified Jesus was moved with compassion. He committed the care of His mother Mary to John, an apostle. Here Jesus demonstrated His divinity while at the same time His humanness came to the fore. He was emotionally moved by the presence of His mother and was also mindful of a son’s responsibility towards the parents. While He was the son of God yet through this we see Jesus is as human as anyone can be. During His time on earth, He went through the same temptations and sufferings and He knows and understands what life is like.
4. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” - Mark 15:34
Almighty God our Father has given the promise to never leave or forsake us. Yet to keep this promise He had to forsake His son Jesus to die on the Cross. More than the burden of the world’s sin, the agony of death on the cross, the shame and suffering it was the pain of separation that was difficult to endure for Jesus. God is holy; He is against sin and will never tolerate sin. Jesus is the propitiation for our sins and He took the punishment on our behalf. The sin of the world was placed upon him and thus He was made a sinner though not a sinner himself; for our sakes – (2Cor 5:21). It was due to this sin that was placed upon Jesus that God had to alienate Him albeit for a time. Jesus and the Almighty God are one – (John 10:30) It was the separation from God that hurt Jesus so much that He cried out “My God My God, why have you forsaken me”
None of us can save ourselves from sin and that is why we need a savior. God knew this right from the beginning and that is the reason He made one plan for salvation for the entire mankind. Jesus is the savior. Don’t delay your reconciliation with God; don’t keep it for the last. The end is near and now is a good time to take this wise step. May God bless you.