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Seven words on the cross (7)       [Luke 23:44-46]     This is the seventh word Jesus said on the cross: “Father into your hands I commend my spirt” (Lk. 23:46).   A scholar named Arthur Pink called this seventh word of Jesus ‘the word of satisfaction.  ‘It was an act of satisfaction, an act of faith, an act of trust, an act of love,’ he said.  Arthur Pink divided this word of satisfaction into seven parts and explained them in detail: (1) Here we see the Savior restored to fellowship with the Father.  (2) Here we see a deliberate contrast.  (3) Here we see Christ's perfect submission to God.  (4) Here we see the absolute uniqueness of the Savior.  (5) Here we see a perfect refuge forever.  (6) Here we see how blessed fellowship with God is.  (7) Here we see the true resting place of the heart.  Today I would like to consider the first of these seven, “Here we see the Savior restored to fellowsh...

Seven words on the cross (6)       [John 19:28-30]                      This is the fifth words Jesus said on the cross: “I am thirsty” (Jn. 19:28).   Jesus obeyed God's covenant on the cross and said, "I am thirsty" (v. 28) to fulfill Psalms 69:21, “knowing that all things have already been accomplished” (Jn. 19:28).   Immediately one of those present ran and took something like a sponge, soaked it in sour wine and put it on a reed (Mt 27:48; Mk 15:36), brought it to the mouth of Jesus who was nailed to the cross.   At that time, Jesus received the sour wine (Jn. 19:29-30).   The sour wine that Jesus received here was vinegar.   The fact that Jesus, who was thirsty, received vinegar would have made Him more thirsty, suffered more, and brought Him closer to death.   A scholar named John Stott said that after Jesus received this sour wine, He sai...

Seven words on the cross (4)       [Matthew 27:45-49]                       This is the fourth word Jesus said on the cross: “Eli Eli lama sabachthani.”                    Look at Matthew 27:46 – “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’--which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”   Here, “About the ninth hour” means about three in the afternoon (v. 46).  And when Jesus cried out with a loud voice, it means that He cried out to Heavenly Father with a loud voice.  Here, when Jesus cried out on the cross, it means that Jesus desperately cried out to Heavenly Father with all His might.                   About 700 years ago, the pro...

Seven words on the cross (1)         [Luke 23:34-43]                       Starting today, I would like to meditate on the seven words of Jesus on the cross.  Jesus said little until He was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane by the chief priests, the elders, the scribes, and the soldiers who had come to arrest Him, and was taken away and crucified.  All the words spoken were the truth and the gospel (Mt. 26:34; 27:11; Mk. 14:62; 15:2; Lk. 23:3, 28-31; Jn. 18:20, 21, 23, 34, 36, 37; 19:11).   Apart from these words, Jesus did not say anything because He was in great pain or in agony.   When Jesus and the two robbers were taken to Golgotha, they probably said all sorts of things, but Jesus didn't open His mouth.   This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 53:7 – “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a ...