By Pastor Alex Ruelo
The 7 Last Words of Jesus
FORGIVENESS Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34) - Jesus asked His Father to forgive people even if they knew what they were doing.
SALVATION Today you will be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:43) - The criminal beside Jesus did not realize that he was actually putting his trust in the Lord even if he was not a member of a church or even did anything good. But he had faith and went home with Jesus in heaven.
RELATIONSHIP Woman, behold, thy son! Behold, thy mother! (John 19:26-27) - Jesus gives importance to relationships. He is 100% man and 100% God. Therefore, everybody needs a relationship with God and with man; his family and the people around him.
ABANDONMENT My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46) - During the time Jesus was crucified, the Father could not bear to look at Him because He bore all the sins of the world. That is why every time God looks at His people, He sees them as personifications of Jesus Christ, forgetting all of their sins.
DISTRESS I thirst. (John 19:28) - It is true that Jesus was thirsty when He was hanging on the cross. But His thirst was actually a fulfillment of a prophesy from the book of Psalms. Once you drink from the living water, you will not be thirsty anymore.
TRIUMPH It is finished. (John 19:30) - In Jesus, there is forever. Jesus has done what He was supposed to do and paid all of your sins in full.
REUNION Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. (Luke 23:46)
Before Jesus Christ took His final breath, He said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” Many people have gone through the same thing, giving up when the going gets very tough. There will be times in your life when God needs to break you so that you can fully trust in Him. And those are the moments Jesus uses for you to be reunited with Him.
Just like the breaking of the bread that happened during the last supper, that which Jesus asked His disciples to do to remember Him, Jesus did not let go of the bread while He was breaking it. People go through so many hardships in their lives. They break in so many ways. And when they break, they feel that God is far away from them. But that is not the case. In the breaking, God does not let go of you. You think God has turned His back on you but you are and will always be in the palm of His hands. Sometimes you have to go through these things. Believers go through breaking because God wants you to go back to Him. He wants you to be reunited with Him.
Resurrection is not an event but a person. Jesus said in John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life.” That is why they say that the resurrection is the foundation of Christianity. Without the resurrection, what is the difference?
The breaking of bread is very important in the life of believers. It symbolizes the body of Jesus Christ on the cross. Peter said, “By His wounds, we are healed.” Every time bread is broken, Jesus asks you to remember His body on the cross. Breaking of the bread shows what Jesus had to go through in Calvary. You recognize His death on the cross. You remember that because of His broken body, He wants you to be reunited with Him. When Jesus was on the cross, sometimes you feel pity on Him. But the cross is a victory for every Christian. Jesus Christ on the cross spells victory. God does not break you in order to destroy you. He breaks you so that your faith will be developed and He can use you for His glory.
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