Jesus Said…

‘But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed’ Isa.53:5 [NLT]

 Jesus’ sole aim for coming was to be crucified. His being nailed to the cross was necessary so that all our sins will be forgiven. Jesus had to die because ‘…without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness’ of sins [Heb.9:22b]. Generations past and present, our fore fathers and our fathers; we all have sinned in God’s eyes. God must judge sin; the wages of sin is death. Jesus had to shed His blood so that your sins and mine could be forgiven. However, the fact that Jesus had to die did not make the death less painful. The fact that Jesus had to be betrayed did not make the betrayal less painful even though this betrayal had been written in the prophecies long ago. Jesus felt every inch of the pain of the betrayal and crucifixion. The fact that without Judas betraying Jesus we would not be saved did not make Judas a hero. ‘For it has been determined that the Son of Man must die. But what sorrow awaits the one who betrays him’ [Luke 22:22 NLT]. In other words, whoever betrays Jesus was going to face the consequences. The amount of pain that Jesus had to go through was enormous. People who are crucified die because of suffocation rather than from the pain because their joints have become dislocated. In fact the scientists say that crucifixion causes asphyxia; asphyxia makes it extremely painful to talk. As if the pain of the crucifixion was not enough, Jesus still took His time to say seven things amidst the pain. Now those seven things must be very significant. Jesus did not have to speak but He chose to. Every word He spoke, He said in excruciating pain. We are going to let these carefully said words of Our Saviour usher us into the Easter season and beyond. Every word Jesus spoke had huge significance especially the words said at death.

Prayer: Thank You Lord Jesus for giving up Your life so that I can have life eternal. Help me understand by Your Spirit the significance of Your seven words on the cross.