What will be your first words from your Cross

Here a few verses from the Bible which are the words of Jesus.

1.       Do not Judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven - Luke 6:37.

2.       But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you - Mathew 5:44.

3.       For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive them your father will not forgive you - Mathew 6:14.

4.       If you hold anything against anyone, forgive him so that your Father in heaven may forgive you - Mark 11:25.

5.       My command is this, “Love one another as I have loved you.” - John 15:12.

What do these familiar verses mean to us? These are teachings of Jesus and we can say they are ideas and concepts. We often say “people say many things but they behave differently”. We also use the expression “actions speak louder than words” and agree with that expression.

Let us move to Calvary and picture Jesus Christ. The same Jesus who fed over 5000 men, who touched lepers, or walked on the water, is now on the Cross. He is crucified; his hands are nailed and he cannot touch a child or a sick person. His feet are nailed and he cannot walk to Lazarus’ or Jairus’ house.

What actions can he perform? He uses his lips – to pray for us. In doing so, see the congruence with his words we heard earlier and this prayer, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”  This prayer is in harmony with his teaching in Mathew 5:44, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

We have two things to learn from this prayer for us.

1.       Jesus forgave sins of people. He has the power to do so, yet in this case he asks God to forgive our sins. Why does he do that? What is the example Jesus is giving us? He is saying, “Even though I am violated and am about to be killed, I will pray for those who persecute me. Those who persecute me may or may not repent of their sins.” In forgiving others we create a forgiving spirit in ourselves. Having a forgiving spirit drives away hatred and malice. It gives healing to our body and spirit. If we nurture hatred, a part of us dies with the hatred.

2.       This is a powerful testimony of being different. In also saying, “I thirst” and “My God, my God why have you forsaken me”, Jesus gives us a picture of his humanness. This is a testimony to others that we are different and dare to be pleasantly different.

 Jesus said, “If any man would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.”

My dear friends, are we willing to take up the cross daily to follow him? It seems practically different, yet we must strive for it.

Here’s a point to ponder: We just heard Jesus’ first words from the cross.  When we take up the cross to follow Jesus, what will our first words from the cross be?

We have three examples of first words from the cross.

1.       There is a word of Ridicule:  The thief on left was angry and irritated. He deplored his plight. May be there was injustice in his case, or perhaps his punishment was greater than his sin. We may never know what his emotion was, but what we know is that his first words were words of ridicule from the cross. In so doing, he failed to see the Saviour.

2.       We next have an example of repentance. The thief on the right, correctly identified Christ. When he looked at Jesus on the Cross and his own cross, it was too difficult for him to bear. He rebuked the other thief’s ridicule and asked for forgiveness. We have an example here, as the repenting thief on the right set himself apart from the world. He was courageous to take a stand. The words of repentance draw us near to Jesus.

3.       Next we have an eloquent example of reconciliation. In forgiving others Jesus brings about reconciliation. It means that you become friends with those who persecute you. Jesus made the prayer of the angels at his birth “peace on earth and goodwill towards men” a reality with forgiveness and love.

When we are hurting, there are three ways to respond, either by

                                                ridicule, 

                                                repentance or

                                                reconciliation. 

We are given a choice... may we choose the right response to glorify God.

Here’s a small prayer to set us on track: O Lord because we often sin, and have to ask for pardon, help us to forgive as we would be forgiven. Neither mentioning old offences committed against us, nor dwelling upon in thought; but loving our brother freely as you freely love us. In Jesus name. Amen.