The 1^st of the 7 Last Words of Jesus on the Cross-2016

Speaker: Tina Detablan

Every year, we recall the 7 Last Words of Jesus on the Cross. While suffering on the cross, Christ exemplified how we should face unfair treatment in life. If someone accused you of a crime you did not commit, how would you react? That’s injustice, right?

Jesus is innocent. They find no fault in Him yet they crucified Him. In Luke 23:34, ³⁴Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

In the 1^st of the 7 Last Words of Jesus on the cross, Christ has exemplified on how to respond to those who would torment us. He was the one who was crucified not the Father, right? Why did Jesus not say, “I forgive you,” instead, He ask His Father to forgive them? Did Christ not take offense of the suffering He went through?

By their hostility toward Jesus, they were willing instruments for the fulfillment of His mission. Christ knew that with His crucifixion God reconcile believers to Himself. In Colossians 1:22, ²²But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—

The enmity of those who crucified Christ served as practical depiction of humans’ hostility toward God. Christ sought for the forgiveness of His tormentors and all who believe in Him. He was willing to be crucified to save those who believe in Him.

Joseph

Remember when Joseph’s brothers sold him to Egypt? His brothers have expected Joseph to hate them or take revenge. In Genesis 50:19, ¹⁹But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? ²⁰ You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

Similarly, the Roman soldiers nailed Jesus on the cross but Christ prayed for their forgiveness. Many don’t know that those who crucified Jesus represent all humans. With God, the sinfulness of humans was the very reason that brought Jesus to the cross.

As believers, we frequently face animosity. Normally, we are offended when people persecute us, right? As believers, how should we react? Jesus says in John 15:20, ²⁰Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.

As we live our life as Christians, we face persecution. Praise God because persecution is the mark of being Christ’s disciple. Genuine believers will be persecuted frequently. With Christ’s wounds on the cross we are healed even from persecution.

Let’s Pray:

Lord Jesus, please help me believe that by Your wounds, You healed me, that You’ve taken away all the pains I’ve experienced and will experience as Your disciple. Amen!

The 2^nd of the 7 Last Words of Jesus

Speaker: Erik Lozada

Jesus said in Luke 23:43   ⁴³“Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

The 2^nd of the 7 Last Words of Jesus on the Cross was a promise to the thief who asked to be remembered when Jesus comes to His kingdom. The thief believed that Jesus is King. Christ acknowledged the simple faith of the thief. The thief who believed in Jesus may not have much idea about who Jesus is. He did not need to pray to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior. He just expressed his faith by asking Jesus to remember him.

That Friday afternoon, Jesus and the thief died. Christ resurrected after 3-days, and spent 40-days with His disciples before He went back to heaven. If that is the case, what is this paradise that the Lord promised to the thief? Did the thief resurrected?

In Revelation 20:4-5, ^4… They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.  ⁵The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 

If the thousand years when Christ comes to reign on earth is the first Resurrection, then thief has not resurrect yet after he died, right? Who or what did Jesus take with Him in Paradise that day? Did He take the spirit of the thief with Him in paradise or He just gave a promise of certainty that the thief will enter the kingdom of heav

Many interesting questions are not directly answered in the Bible. There are speculations and interpretations based on biblical passages that lead to more questions. God did not give everything we need to know to test the sincerity of our faith in Him.

Life in Canada

Faith is like immigrating to foreign country. Life in Canada is great but not all who came to Canada would agree, why? Laws in Canada are strictly implemented. To the disobedient, laws are aversion but to the obedient, the laws of the land are delightful.

Similarly, we are delighted to obey God’s commands because of our faith in Him not because of blessings. Primarily, our gladness to obey God depicts our faith in Him.

When the thief asked Jesus to remember him, he had sensed the delight of being with Christ in the kingdom of heaven. To have faith in Christ is also to take delight in His promises. Like the thief who had limited understanding about God’ kingdom, we don’t need to know everything that God has purposely concealed from us to believe Him.

It is more important to be assured that our faith in Jesus is genuine. Delight in His promises inspires us to obey His instruction with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s Pray:

Lord Jesus, please take Your proper place in the throne of my life and be my Lord. Fill me with You Spirit and help me find delight in obeying Your commands.

The 3^rd of the 7 Last Words of Jesus

Speaker: Max de Leon

In the 3^rd of the 7 Last Words of Jesus on the Cross, Christ exemplified responsibility to parents and the importance of taking care of our disciples.

In John 19:26-27….²⁶When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” ²⁷and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

The disciple [here] is believed to be the beloved disciples. Jesus addressed His mother Mary and said, “Here is your son.” Other translations use “behold your son” instead of “here is your son.” The idea of behold is properly understood to “take care of needs!” The idea of “Here is your son” does not exactly convey the idea of taking care of needs. Mary knew for sure the needs of her own children. She was to take care of the needs of the beloved disciple as if she was taking care of her own son.

Likewise, when Jesus said to the beloved disciple, “Here is your mother,” the beloved disciple would receive Mary and take care of her as his own mother. Christ gave Mary a responsibility as a mother and the beloved disciple a responsibility as a son.

The responsibilities that Jesus gave to Mary and the beloved disciple respectively serve as examples of how to take care of parents and children, even spiritual parents or children. Spiritual children are disciples of their spiritual parents.

Christ knows that we’ve got a lot of questions. He also knows the things we need to grow in our faith in Him. His examples were enough for us to live a lifestyle that would testify about eternal life. After Christ completed His mission on earth to pay for the penalty of our sins, He wants us to know that He still cares for our everyday needs.

In 1 John 4:9-17, ⁹This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. ¹³This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 

 Let’s Pray:

Lord Jesus, thank You for dying on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins. Help me, Lord to live according to Your will and to be responsible as a child of God.

The 4^th of the 7 Last Words of Jesus

Speaker: Nito Alarilla

The 4^th of the 7 Last Words of Jesus on the Cross clarifies that God has great purposes even at times when we feel like we are forgotten. He actually abandoned His own Son.

In Matthew 27:46, ⁴⁶About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

Did God the Father feel the anguish of watching His One and Only Son endured torture by His own creation? God can easily devise something for our salvation but why did He allow His Son to go through such terrible agony? Did Jesus sense the fruit of the Spirit in Him? Was their joy and peace in Him as He went through painful punishment?

Jesus’ words revealed that He personally felt abandoned and alone. Bible scholars suggest that at the time of His crucifixion, the Holy Spirit abandoned Him and His godly power was shut down. He felt forsaken. He asked for further explanation of His agony.

Death is a reality just as birth is no fantasy. Humans celebrate longevity of life. Every hopeful person desires to have extended life but nobody can prolong it according one’s desired length of life. What is more important to you: to live long years or to live productive years? Anyway, our life on earth will have eternal consequences.

In this earthly life, agony, struggle, persecution, and difficulty are integrated with peaceful and thrilling life experiences. We want to have peace and joyful life always. That’s for sure! We can have it when the Holy Spirit is actively at work in our life. We may live long or short, exciting or troubled life. But how does Jesus view life on earth?

In Matthew 11:11, ¹¹Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Isn’t that amusing? The Lord considered John the Baptist lived to be greater than anyone born of women. The life John the Baptist had on earth was very short. He was more or less 30-years old when he died. His ministry was also short—about six months according to Bible scholars. Yet the Lord declared and it must be true that John the Baptist was the greatest human who lived on earth.

Many times we view great life as having everything we want yet John the Baptist had not tasted expensive cuisine, his food was locust and honey. He did not wear luxurious clothing like Solomon’s. Yet Jesus regarded him as the greatest human.

Have we not felt forsaken? And we complain. God allows unpleasant experiences to bring out the greatness He created in us. Christ Jesus was forsaken and He knows what we exactly feel when we feel abandoned. We can trust that He will never abandon us.

Let’s Pray:

Lord Jesus, please help us to trust You when terrible times overtake us.

The 5^th of the 7 Last Words of Jesus

Speaker: Ernie Santillan

The 5^th of the 7 Last Words of Jesus on the Cross should remind us that the Son of God was born, lived, and died as human being. He personally experienced challenges in life.

In John 19:28… ²⁸ Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”

Many significant details of what Jesus did and experienced were fulfillment of prophecies about Him. Many centuries have gone by, before Christ was born, prophets from different generations prophesied what were to be expected of the Messiah. Nevertheless, Christ’s experiences as human being serve as our standards on how we, as children of God, should live our life in this world.

No one is exempted from problem. We know that. Not even the Son of God. Jesus felt the thirst while on the cross. It supports His experience of physical death that humans go through. What can we learn from the thirsty experience of Christ on the cross?

Thirsty feeling is a craving to be satisfied. Humans go through different kinds of thirst that need to be refreshed. Like politicians, we desire to be heard. Like celebrities, we crave for recognition. Pastors or church leaders are not exempted. We long to have more. Business people or ordinary church-goers can be victims of greed. We want to have our ways. Believers or non-believers are all guilty in this.

Christ knew exactly our desire to be satisfied just as He longed to be refreshed. We can count on Him to meet our needs to be satisfied. Christ’s human experience of thirst testifies that He understands it personally what we feel when we are in needs.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:6,  ⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,  for they will be filled.

Christ is the Lord of lords. As our Lord, He has already prepared everything we need for us to live a righteous life even before we were yet to be born. Faith confirms it.

We are reminded in Matthew 6:31-34, ³¹So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Christ did not promise us to have a problem-free kind of life. Every day, each of us will face different kinds of concerns. These concerns should lead us to trust Jesus.

Shall we Pray:

Lord Jesus, help me thirst and hunger for righteousness and to trust You more.

The 6^th of the 7 Last Words of Jesus

Speaker: Ed Uminga

The 6^th of the 7 Last Words of Jesus on the Cross is our Savior’s declaration that His mission to pay for the penalty of our sins has been completely accomplished.

In John 19:30….³⁰ When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”

When Jesus said, “It is finished,” the penalty of our sins has been completely paid to its fullness. From the first sin of the first sinner unto the last sin of the last sinner the punishment required by God has been satisfied. Each time we commit sin, it should remind us of the punishment our Saviour Jesus Christ took upon His body on the cross.

But why is it that we still sin? The crucifixion of Christ offers us 3-stages of salvation. First, believers are saved from the Penalty of sin which is hell. Second, believers are saved from the influence or Power of sin which is still on-going or salvation in progress. This influence of sin tempts us to disobey God. How can we experience freedom from the power or influence of sin? We need to submit to Christ lordship.

And the third stage of salvation is when believers are completely saved from the Presence of sin. We will only experience salvation and freedom from the presence of sin when Christ comes again to bring us to His heaven. Sin has no place in heaven.

Sin has separated us from God. Christ’s crucifixion brought us peace and reconciled us with God for us to have the privilege and live a life free of sin in heaven.

It was prophesied in Isaiah 53:5-6, ⁵But 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. ⁶We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

At one time, all of us have desired follow our worldly ways and thoughts. God gave instructions on how to live a godly life but we choose to follow different directions.

Survivor

The Reality TV Show Survivor is interesting to watch on how contestants survive the challenges. The hosts of this Reality TV Show would give simple guidelines of what is allowed and what’s not. Participants would innovate within the allowed guidelines.

Similarly, God’s commands are guidelines of how to live our life. We live our life creatively and innovatively as long as it is within the boundary God’s decrees. But unlike the TV Show Survivor that has only few winners, all believers are winners in Christ.

Let’s pray:

Lord Jesus, thank you for paying for the penalty of my sin. Please help me experience freedom from the power of sin and look forward to be with You in heaven.

The 7^th of the 7 Last Words of Jesus

Speaker: Pastor Lorenz Sallong II

The 7^th and the Last of the 7 Last Words of Jesus on the Cross in Luke 23:46,

⁴⁶ Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

Jesus did not whisper but shouted in a loud voice. Did He intentionally shout His last words for people around Him to hear them? What does it mean to commit His spirit?

The word “commit” means to entrust or deposit; it’s like depositing or entrusting your money to the bank to keep it safe and secure. Christ trusted that His Father would take care of Him. Christ gave us example that we can also trust God for our life. We can fully trust God with all our concerns if we let Christ to Lord and govern our lifestyle.

But why is it that most of the times we would ignore or reject God’s instructions? Disobedience to God’s word reveals that we do not really fully trust God and His words. Disobedience is an influential effect of the power of sin. When we disobey God, it shows that we are not completely freed from the power of sin. Disobedience is slavery to sin.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17-20, ¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! ¹⁸All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

As new creation in Christ, we desire to obey God and not supposed to follow the desires of the flesh. A new creation in Christ does not enjoy worldly vices anymore but longs to promote reconciliation to God on Christ’s behalf. Meaning: Instead of spending our precious time to satisfy the craving of the flesh, a new creation in Christ prioritizes in leading non-believers to believe in Jesus and be reconciled to God.

Believers are designated as ambassadors for Christ. Ambassadors represent their nation and its interests to nations they are designated. As ambassadors for Christ, we represent Christ to people that the Lord has designated us to bring reconciliation to God.

Our reconciliation with God is our proof that God desires humans to be reconciled to Him. We can prove more personally that we are truly reconciled with God if we have the enthusiasm to bring others to be reconciled to God.

In Matthew 28:18-20, ¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

We have been hearing and/or even memorized this command of the Lord Jesus but not everyone, only a few of us can sincerely admit that we have obeyed this command, why? Why is it that it is not easy to go and make disciples? Have we not believed what Jesus said that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him?

If Jesus Christ is the Lord of lords and King of kings who has received all authorities in heaven and on earth, why are we not scared to disobey Him?

Have you ever encounter a lion in the wilderness? A male lion can grow up to more or less 300 kilograms of about 4’ tall and 10’ long from head to body. Its canine teeth or 4 large teeth grow to almost 3-inches. Its teeth are as sharp as scissors.

Imagine, you were lost in the jungle and standing before you is a huge 300 kilograms growling lion with open mouth. You are frightened and do not know what to do as you look at its sharp teeth. Would you pray that the lion becomes Christian?

A funny story was told about a Christian who encountered a lion in the jungle. He fervently prayed that the lion would become a Christian. Amazingly, the lion kneeled and prayed and said, “Lord, thank you for this food. Amen”

If we are scared of the great lion are we not more scared of the Lord who has all authority of lions or ferocious beasts on earth? Wouldn’t be amazing if lions become our friends so that instead of running away from lions, they will be our guards from other ferocious beasts in the jungle?

If that is a great idea, wouldn’t be amazing that the Lord of lords be on the side to secure us rather than running away from Him?

In Matthew 10:28, ²⁸Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

What problem is too difficult that God cannot solve it? What uncertainty is too scary that God cannot control? The Lord Jesus entrusted His Spirit to His Father. He did not ask God to save Him from death. God is faithful and resurrected Him and gave Him the highest honor and praise.

But why is it that many times we act as if God cannot help us? Why is it that instead of running to God for help, we would rather do our best? Why is it we cannot immediately come to God for help each time we face problems great or small?

When we find it hard to instantly come to God for help, it only reveals that the power or influence of sin is much stronger than our faith in the Lord.

If we claim that Jesus Christ is our Savior, believe that He has already saved us even from the influence of sin. If we claim that Jesus Christ is our Lord, believe that He has all authority and power to enable us to live a life acceptable to God.

Therefore, we need to seek God’s help to strengthen our faith in Him.

The 7 Last Words of Jesus on the Cross reminds us that Christ exemplified how we can live a lifestyle pleasing to God. Remember that Christ was wounded for us to be healed from every kind of ailment physically, emotionally, relationally, intellectually, and spiritually. Just let Jesus be the Lord of our life and we will experience salvation even from the power and influence of sin.

Let’s Pray: Lord Jesus, You know our spiritual status before You. You know when we are stubborn and disobey Your instructions. Help us Lord to ignore the longing of our flesh but fill us with Your Obedient Spirit that we may find joy and peace as we follow Your instructions. We commit our life to Your care, Lord. Use it according to Your will.