(1 Peter 1:3-4)
Today is Good Friday. This is a day of hope for us all. Jesus willingly sacrificed himself for us, with full knowledge of what was to come, to deliver us from all evil. He gave us renewed hope for life everlasting with God! Hope for our future. Hope for God's undying compassion and mercy. Hope for our salvation. Hope for God's love. Hope that we can have in Him to overcome any hardship!"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."
(Romans 12:12)
Jesus cried out from the cross seven times. (That's right, 7 times. I can't make this stuff up! Just a reminder that this number is closely associated with divine perfection....) Each one, in some way, gives us hope for our relationship and future with God. I did look them up in the Bible this morning. They are all there in the Gospels.
I found this information online and it includes a brief interpretation of each utterance. According to www.gotquestions.org, the seven statements that Jesus Christ made from the cross are as follows (not listed in any particular order):
(1) Matthew 27:46 tells us that about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Here, Jesus was expressing his feelings of abandonment as God placed the sins of the world on him – and because of that, God had to “turn away” from Jesus. As Jesus was feeling that weight of sin, he was experiencing a separation from God for the only time in all of eternity.
(2) “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Those who crucified Jesus were not aware of the full scope of what they were doing because they did not recognize him as the Messiah. While their ignorance of divine truth did not mean they deserved forgiveness, Christ’s prayer in the midst of their mocking him is an expression of the limitless compassion of divine grace.
(3) “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). In this passage, Jesus is assuring one of the criminals on the cross that when he died, he would be with Jesus in heaven. This was granted because even at the hour of his death, the criminal had expressed his faith in Jesus, recognizing him for who he was.
(4) “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). Here, Jesus is willingly giving up his soul into the Father’s hands, indicating that he was about to die – and that God had accepted his sacrifice.
(5) “Dear Woman, here is your son!” and “Here is your mother!” When Jesus saw his mother standing near the cross with the Apostle John, whom he loved, He committed his mother’s care into John’s hands. And from that hour John took her unto his own home (John 19:26-27). In this verse Jesus, ever the compassionate Son, is making sure his earthly mother is cared for after his death.
(6) “I am thirsty” (John 19:28). Jesus was here fulfilling the Messianic prophecy from Psalm 69:21: “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.” By saying he was thirsty, he prompted the Roman guards to give him vinegar, which was customary at a crucifixion, thereby fulfilling the prophecy.
(7) “It is finished!” (John 19:30). Jesus’ last words meant that his suffering was over and the whole work his Father had given him to do, which was to preach the Gospel, work miracles, and obtain eternal salvation for his people, was done, accomplished, fulfilled. The debt of sin was paid.
In the divine perfection of this act of love for us, Jesus created an environment of hope in our lives!
Thank you, Lord!
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