As Jesus hung on the cross on Good Friday, He spoke seven times. Each word was deliberate. Each word was profound. Here is what He said:
1. “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
He said this while the soldiers were still nailing Him to the cross. Not after. While it was happening. His first words from the cross were a prayer for the people killing Him.
2. “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)
The last person Jesus saved before He died was a convicted criminal hanging next to Him. The Church recognizes him as Saint Dismas. He asked only to be remembered. Jesus gave him Paradise.
3. “Woman, behold your son. Behold your mother.” (John 19:26-27)
Nailed to the cross, Jesus looked down and entrusted His mother to John. The Church holds that in this moment Jesus was not only providing for Mary personally. He was giving her as Mother to all of humanity.
4. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)
The only time Jesus called God “God” instead of “Father.” He was quoting Psalm 22, written by King David 1,000 years earlier. The Church is clear: this was not despair. Psalm 22 begins in suffering but ends in total triumph. Jesus was pointing His listeners to the whole psalm.
5. “I thirst.” (John 19:28)
Two words. The Creator of all water, dying of thirst. Catholic teaching holds that His thirst was not only physical but a thirst for souls. Saint Teresa of Calcutta built her entire mission around these two words.
6. “It is finished.” (John 19:30)
In Latin: “Consummatum est.” The debt was paid in full. The Old Covenant fulfilled. The sacrifice complete. He bowed His head and died.
7. “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” (Luke 23:46)
His last breath was a prayer to the Father. He came from the Father. He returned to the Father. He brought us with Him.
No greater love has ever been shown.
In 1986, the American Medical Association published an article titled "The Physical Death of Jesus Christ". It details the entire process of Jesus' trial to His death on the cross.
In Luke 22, before Jesus is arrested, it is written that He was in great distress & sweating blood. Although rare, it is recognized as Hematidrosis, a condition caused by high levels of stress.
At the time, the crucifixion was considered the worst death for the worst of criminals. But this is not all Jesus faced. He endured whipping so severe that it tore the flesh from His body. He was beaten so horribly that His face was torn & His beard ripped.
A crown of thorns, 2-3 inches long cut deeply into His scalp. The leather whip used to flog Him had tiny iron balls & sharp bones. The balls caused internal injuries while the sharp bones ripped open His flesh. His skeletal muscles, veins, & bowels are exposed, causing major blood loss. Most men do not survive this kind of torture. After Jesus was severely flogged, He was forced to carry His cross while people mocked & spat on Him.
Crucifixion was a process meant to instill excruciating pain, creating a slow & agonizing death. Nails as long as 8 inches were driven into Jesus' wrists & feet. The Roman soldiers knew the tendons in the wrists would tear & break, forcing Jesus to use His back muscles to support Himself to breathe. Imagine the struggle, the pain, the courage...Jesus endured this reality for 3 hours!
The Gospel of John writes that after Jesus' death, a Roman soldier pierced His side with a spear & blood & water came out. Scientists explain that from hypovolemic shock, the rapid heart rate causes fluid to gather in the sack around the lungs & heart. The accumulation of fluid in the membrane around the heart is called a Pericardial effusion & the lungs is called a pleural effusion.
To the world, Christianity is as foolish as it can get. They believe it's for the weak. But when you are confronted by the reality of the cross, it's clearly not a pretty sight. It is brutal & horrific.
This is the weight Jesus carried. The weight of the sins of the world, all so that we can live. God's wrath is fully satisfied in Jesus. This is what it took. Repent & believe! Jesus is “God among us” in the flesh. Jesus is our Savior. Jesus loves you so much that He went through this spiritual and physical punishment for your sins and mine.
Jesus is the LORD, Almighty God, Everlasting Father.
Thank You, Jesus.
I usually do not engage with those incapable of logical, coherent, and substantive reasoning.
But I will make an exception with you because I want everyone to see your line of thinking.
You claim it is low self-esteem to mourn a father shot in the neck in front of his wife and children.
You call my lament over a man killed for opposing radical liberalism, which is one of today’s major problems, “Oyibo worship.”
Apparently, Charlie Kirk does not deserve sympathy because he is white and did not save Nigerian Christians murdered for their faith.
You also say Christianity is an “Oyibo religion” because it was “brought” to us. Let us unpack that.
Is something bad simply because it is not indigenous? Science, technology, medicine, and the Industrial Revolution were all brought to us.
No nation’s culture or society is purely local.
Even China invited Soviet engineers in the 1950s to build its technological foundation.
Ankara fabric, so beloved here, originated from Indonesian batik via Dutch traders. Maize, cassava, and tomatoes, now staples, come from the Americas, introduced through Portuguese and Spanish traders.
Just because something is not local does not make it inherently bad.
Now, Christianity - the so-called “Oyibo religion.” Contrary to popular belief, it is Middle Eastern, not Western.
It began as a persecuted minority under the Roman Empire, where roughly ten emperors killed nearly four million Christians.
Yet, Christians cared for the poor, children, and women during crises like the Cyprian Plague, while elites fled.
They stopped the killing of undesired infants and ensured proper burials for all, including the poor, building catacombs for everyone.
Christians were the first to reject slavery on the basis that all are made in God’s image.
That is why Christian Britain ended slavery and fought to enforce abolition, even against African participation in the trade.
You romanticize African traditional religions in opposition to Christianity, but human sacrifice was part of Yoruba political and spiritual life - documented by Nigerian scholar Olatunji Ojo in a Cambridge journal.
At Igbo Ukwu, a 10th-century burial site near Onitsha, chiefs were buried with about five people alive, believed to serve them in the afterlife.
I could go on, but I will stop here. No other religion compares to Christianity in the good it has brought humanity.
Even atheist Richard Dawkins calls himself a cultural Christian, rejecting the God but embracing the society built on Christian values.
This faith is the true hope for mankind. Unlike your divisive worldview that demonizes white people, Christianity teaches equality.
As Galatians 3:28 says: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Biggest Mack, I encourage you to think critically before making public statements. It will help both you and your audience.
Cheers.
If the person you’re romantically involved with doesn’t fear God, That person isn’t going to fear lying to you, Manipulating you, Cheating on you and abusing you because without the fear of God, There’s no higher authority holding them accountable. Selah.
God didn't give you the opportunity to choose your parents nor your kids nor your siblings,
But He gave you the opportunity to choose your own life partner.
Don't misuse that opportunity
“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Behold, all those who were incensed against you Shall be ashamed and disgraced…
Dear Christian,
You’ve most likely heard a preacher or your pastor talk about “patterns”. Some of us don’t know how deep it is. This teaching is a scary one that left me mind blown but God has to bring awareness.
Let’s really understand PATTERNS.
🪡
Dear Christian,
The Holy Spirit showed me something that really made me afraid from 2 Samuel 11/12 concerning what happens to us when we step out of the purpose he gave us and abuse the privileges that comes with that purpose.
I cannot face the fear alone.
🪡