THE SEVENTH WORD FROM THE CROSS

                                          The seventh and last word of Jesus from the Cross was: "Father! In your hands I place my spirit!" {Luke 23:46}. This word symbolizes His entrance into Heaven and is addressed to His Heavenly Father to whom He returns after the successful completion of His sacred sacrifice for the redemption of man. With these words He surrendered His spirit to His Heavenly Father and His body to His beloved Mother who was standing with tearful eyes near the Cross.

                                          These last words of Jesus were foretold in the Psalms, "I place myself in your care. You will save me, Lord; you are a faithful God" { Psalms 31: 5 }. Prophet Isaiah had foretold in detail the Passion of 'the suffering servant' { Isaiah 52:13 to 53:12 }. The last word of Jesus from the Cross, like the first, was a prayer addressed to His Father. It marked the perfect fulfillment of His mission as man for the redemption of man. He is the Lord of life and death. Hence He gave His life to the Father as a total surrender to the will of the Father.

                                          In the early days of human history, Cain killed his brother, Abel. It is believed that Adam found the dead body of Abel and carried him to Eve and laid him on her lap. They witnessed the first death on earth, the consequence of their first sin. Here, the new Abel, Christ is put to death by His jealous brothers. Soon, His silent body will be laid on the lap of the new Eve, Holy Mary.

                                          The death of Jesus was accompanied by violent reactions in nature - "The curtain hanging in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split apart, the graves broke open, and many of God's people who had died were raised to life" { Matthew 27: 51, 52 }.

                                          The seventh word is a declaration of His entrance into Heaven - a return to His glory after shedding even the last drop of His precious blood for the redemption of man. Jesus is the living and immortal God. He took birth as man, lived and died to give life to mortal man. Jesus had taught us, "The greatest love a person can have for his friends is to give his life for them" { John 15: 13 }. He performed what He preached. On this Good Friday, the Lamb of God was slain and all the prophecies were fulfilled. Let us praise Him and thank Him.

By: N.G.Philip, Bethel, Nalamchira, Thiruvananthapuram-695015, Kerala, India &
Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India.
This is Message No. 54 in this site. Please click ‘Older Posts’ at the bottom of this page to read previous posts and click 'Newer Posts' at the bottom of this page to read newer posts in this site.