The brutal sufferings and death of Jesus have immense importance in Christianity. His sufferings and death were foretold a long time ago before his birth from the womb of Mary.
His death brought hope to the entire human race to connect with the Lord. The main purpose of his manifestation on earth was to take the sin away from us.
Everything was done according to the intention of God in Jesus’s life. So, he knew the incidents earlier and acted to fulfill the plans of God.
He was bruised and bleeding while spending his last hours on the cross being crucified by his own. When people torture us, usually we cannot control ourselves and often we mistreat them. But Jesus did the opposite while he was afflicted by the Roman soldiers.
He was devastated with the severe pain on the cross and made the last seven remarkable statements of his earthly ministry, making us think deeply.
We get the hidden truth from his last words while he sacrificed himself on the cross for the redemption of mankind. His final words express his humanity and divinity while he was nailed on the cross.
We understand how God manifested in flesh for each of us to save us from his wrath.
In Spite of his extreme need for comfort and deliverance from his excruciating pain, he made three beautiful statements that were filled with compassion and love for others’ salvation.
He sought forgiveness from the Lord for the soldiers who were crucifying him. Jesus knew their hearts that they were committing a huge sin that was beyond their knowledge. He pleaded to the Lord for them so that their sins will be forgiven.
Jesus always keeps his words by working according to his teachings. He teaches us to love and pray for our enemies. He expects us to forgive our enemies even if they persecute us. Instead of taking revenge on them, we must pray for them to the Lord.
Though he was going through severe pain, he did not forget to pray for those soldiers. This is how he leaves an example for us to pray and forgive our enemies.
Christ’s second statement reveals his compassion for others while he was in need of comfort from such brutal physical and mental torture.
He was hung between two thieves who were punished due to their offenses. One of them mocked Jesus by saying, “If you are Christ, then save yourself and us.”
Another man who believed Jesus rebuked him by saying that they deserve their punishment as they have done the crime.
But Jesus is innocent as he did no sin. So, he asked Jesus with a humble heart to remember him when he will be in his kingdom.
The repentant criminal wins the heart of the Lord by believing him. His request was permitted by Jesus as soon as he recognized him and understood the importance of his salvation for his soul. His words are recorded in the Gospel and it helps everyone to recognize Jesus before the last breath.
In the eyes of the people, he was worthless and deserved punishment but God cared for him. Jesus’ response toward that man shows us what he really thinks of mankind.
Jesus makes the second statement by saying, “Verily I say to you, Today you will be with me in paradise.”
How sweet would it be when Jesus and this man see each other after they have died?
Jesus saw his mother Mary who came to witness his son’s death with Jesus’s most loved disciple John. Jesus says to Mary, “Woman behold thy son”. Then he directed these words to his disciple John to “behold thy mother”.
In his severe pain, the savior did not forget the needs of his mother. He followed the commandments, ‘honor your parents by taking care of his mother John.
The first miracle that Jesus performed before John and was at the request of his mother by turning water into wine.
As he needed help but still he extended his hands to help his mother’s needs.
We need to serve others even when we are in trouble. Jesus has demonstrated his mercy by forgiving the soldiers, assuring the thief regarding his salvation, and honoring his mother.
As Jesus met their needs so he will also meet our needs if we step forward towards him. We may commit big mistakes in our lives but his love can cover all our mistakes.
In his Spirit, Jesus was the Father and in his flesh, he was just a man. He experienced tremendous suffering and he cried out by saying, “I thirst”.
Before his crucifixion, while he met the Samaritan woman at the well he told her that he will give the water by which no one will ever trust which will give the everlasting life too.
But at his crucifixion, he feels thirst. He thrust so that we may get the cool water that will give us eternal life. He knows that we are weak and we are about to face many challenges in our lives that is why he gives us the living water by which we can overcome this world.
When his death was approaching he cried with a loud voice, “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?
On the cross, he took the sins of the entire human race upon his shoulder and he became the lamb that was slain before the foundation. As the Lord is holy so he departs from Jesus while he was burdened with the sin of the world.
Jesus had comforted others and forgiven people’s sins and respect those who were around him. But when he was in need of comfort and help the Father left him because he took the sin of the world on his shoulder.
At the very close to his death, Jesus says, “it is finished”. Earlier in his ministry, Jesus proclaimed that his main purpose of coming into this world is to obey the will of the Father.
He faithfully obeyed all the wills of the Father and lived a righteous life in spite of being tortured and mocked.
From this, we can say that if we face any problems in our life we should not run to the world or to any others but we must approach Jesus because he knows our pain and he will help us in our need.
At his last breath, he surrendered himself in the hands of the Father. We need to ask ourselves whether we surrender ourselves in the hands of the Lord or are we walking according to the intentions of our hearts.
Christ paid the cost on the cross for our sake and we must follow his steps to inherit the everlasting life which he provides as a free gift to each of us.