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Seven Sayings From the Cross
Before Jesus was born we were told about Him.
As we look at the seven sayings from the cross we need to remember that everything that was done was foretold.
Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, God gave Isaiah the prophecy about His death.
Old Testament scriptures tell about everything that took place the day when Jesus was tried and crucified. Those events are a small part of the evidence that Jesus was who He said.
Isaiah 53:5 tells us why He allowed the religious leaders to crucify Him. He came to pay a price that we could not pay. He came to bring us peace and to heal our wounds.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 NIV
Jesus knew what would happen to Him, yet he stood silent when arrested as was prophecied. He said nothing to avoid what was to happen. Jesus was born to die for us. He came to Jerusalem for that purpose.
On the cross
They nailed Christ to His cross. Rome tied many other criminals to their crosses. Such a death was one of the cruelest ways to die in the most brutal of times. Yet the Lord Jesus did it for us!
Jesus showed His love for Israel all through His short ministry. He taught, He healed, and He cast out demons. His message was one of the Kingdom of God being near, and the expected salvation was, in fact, at hand.
He came proclaiming the love of God.
So they nailed Him to a cross!
Even on the cross, Jesus did not change. Instead, he accepted the price He would have to pay to bring salvation to His new kingdom.
His Seven Sayings From the Cross
Once nailed on the cross, Jesus did not change. He still loved those He came to save, even those driving the nails.
Jesus prayed for them
As He prayed from the cross, it was not for Himself but those crucifying Him.
Can you see the difference? Is your reaction the same when someone hurts you? Is your first thought to pray for them?
34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. Luke 23:34 NIV
He prayed for them even while they were casting lots for His clothes.
You see, Jesus came to save the world, not just those who were good. He came to save us, and we know we are not good. All of us sin against God.
Jesus cared
Jesus wanted His mother cared for, and He would not be able to do it. He knew He was returning to the Father, so He entrusted His mother to his faithful disciple, John.
26 When Jesus saw his mother there and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. John 19:26 -27 NIV
I loved my mother very much. She is the one who taught me about Jesus loving me and dying for my sins. Jesus died for me so I could be with Him for all eternity.
Yet, if nailed to a cross, I would not be thinking of my mother’s needs. Instead, I would be concerned about my pain and how long it would take me to die. Or, maybe God would give me the grace to do better.
Jesus offered hope
Jesus never stopped ministering to the needs of others. He is our hope, and that day, He was the only hope one of the criminals had.
The criminals had joined in the ridicule of those who came to see Him die for teaching the truth. However, as the day wore on, one of them realized that Jesus was who He claimed. God gave him that little spark of faith to believe and act on it.
He cried out to Jesus, and Jesus answered him in the following Scripture.
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43 NIV
That day, by His choice, He paid the price for our salvation. We only have to accept it as the criminal on the cross did. Jesus died that day for each of us. He did not have to stay on that cross. It was an act of love for you and me.
Now the picture changes
The hours of that horrible day go on, and Jesus is suffering. He was beaten almost to death and walked about one half a mile to Golgotha, carrying the cross part of the way.
He was thrown to the ground, and the Roman soldiers drove spikes through His hands and feet. All this, and then they raised the cross and dropped it into a hole so it would remain upright.
As the day wore on, the weight of His body affected His ability to breathe, and He was unable to empty His lungs.
As His agony increases, He cries out.
He was coming to the breaking point.
Of His seven sayings from the cross, the last four are the most painful.
Jesus cries out
Matthew tells us that as the afternoon drags on He cries out. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). Matthew 27:46 NIV
David first mentions this outcry when he prophecies about the Messiah in the Psalms. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Psalms 22:1a NIV
The prophets told us everything that happened to Jesus. The scribes and Pharisees could all tell you each of these prophecies. However, they refused to believe it.
Jesus thirst
28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” John 19:28 NIV
Showing some mercy, they soaked a sponge in wine vinegar, put it on a stalk, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.
I commit my spirit
After this, Scripture tells us that, “Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”. Luke 23:46 NIV The end is imminent. Jesus knows that all He came to do has been completed, and thus, He gives His spirit into His Father’s hands.
It is Finished
The end has come. Jesus offered Himself as the sacrificial lamb. He paid the price for all the sins you have committed.
In three years of ministry, Jesus changed the world.
30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30 NIV
Each of the seven sayings from the cross should impact us. They should help us build our Christian character.
Had Satan Won?
Satan must have thought so. Even Jesus’ disciples still did not understand. He told them that He had to die, but they could not understand. They had seen Him walk on water, raise the dead, give sight to the blind, and cast out Satan’s demons.
How could He die? Was He not the Messiah? Their minds were whirling, and no answers would come. They still thought that He was to establish an earthly kingdom.
His disciples had forgotten the conclusion. It was still to come. When it did, they would believe and do the work to which Jesus had called them.
Easter Links:
Palm Sunday; Monday, Jesus Knew; Tuesday, What Authority; Wednesday, Jesus Betrayed; Thursday Early, This Night; Thursday Late, He Prays Before The Arrest; Friday, Seven Sayings From The Cross; Saturday, Silent Saturday; Sunday, Resurrection Sunday