THE SEVEN WORDS

Reading: John 13

In these dates and in many places around the world, it is commemorated

the most spectacular fact in the world: the death of Jesus Christ in the
cross. A bloody, cruel fact, filled with hatred and at the same time a fact
Many cities stage the
of love and forgiveness.
events that happened almost 2000 years ago on lands
biblical. Today I would like us to with our minds
we went back in time for a moment and that together
we could witness the last words of Christ in
the cross. To be able to do this we are going to go to the gospels of
Lucas, Juan, and Mateo and extract from there the words of Jesus.

Word of forgiveness

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34)

We are in a terrible place; all the people are waiting.

before the horrendous scene, three people nailed to the cross.
Many people were gathered there with the sole purpose of
mocking Jesus. In those days, Jesus was the subject of all kinds of
harassment, mockery, insults in one word, contempt. Malice.
humankind went so far as to crucify him, a distinction that only it
they made the worst criminals. There was Jesus, the Son of God.
I had enough power to destroy them all or to send
angels to serve him. With just one word, he could bring death to
everyone and escape alive.

Jesus utters some words, not the ones they expected to hear from
people in a similar situation of pain and suffering, but
words of forgiveness, words of mercy: "Father, forgive them,
because they do not know what they are doing. He, interceding for his
executioners, interceding at the very moment, in the same place
of pain, when he still felt all the suffering in his flesh,
"Father, forgive them." Not only is there no hatred in him, but he also elevates.
a prayer that God does not take their sin into account,
because they are blind people, people who do not come to understand
what they are doing or what is happening. People who are
living with blind eyes to the reality of the wonderful
presence of God among men in the form of the Son of God,
Jesus.

Many people today live without knowing God, they live by

the backs of God, live blind to the wonderful realities of
spiritual world. Their own disciples did not reach
understand how a Messiah, the Expected, the Promised, died in
the cross.

Jesus always in all his ministry here on earth

characterized by love and mercy towards all and in
especially to the mistreated, despised, or sick people. Once
more shows his mercy even when the majority cannot
understand it.

But there was someone closer to Jesus in these moments, two

wrongdoers, and this brings us to the second word he pronounced
Jesus:

Word of hope.

This Jesus spoke to a wrongdoer who in some

at times we are tempted to call him 'the good thief' when
we should call him "the remorseful thief." Right now, in
In this place, there was no good or bad thief; both were worthy of
punishment, both had done everything possible to deserve the punishment of
to die on the cross, the worst of the punishments of the time. But yes that
We come across two very different characters.
 One worried about himself, concerned about being able to emerge victorious.
from the cross, and almost in a mocking tone, spoke to Jesus so that with his
power, Jesus will free him and will also free him. He did not care
nothing Jesus, did not care about anything about Him, just wanted to solve his
problem. Many people only remember God when something
bad things happen in his life.

The other character pleads guilty for the act of being

on the cross. He had earned enough merit to suffer the punishment.
He recognized that he deserved the cross. He was not trying to
to excuse oneself. Just a few days ago, on a television program,
They were analyzing the life of a very unique prisoner who was serving a sentence.
thirty years old nicknamed 'the rat'. He was self-taught and had the
ability to appear in front of the camera as a good person.
But at no point did he admit to his wrongdoing.
to proceed; for him, everything was the fault of life's circumstances; the
society had led him there. According to him, he had no
opportunity to do something else. At no point did he acknowledge his
guilt. In contrast, this thief acknowledges his guilt, acknowledges that
Jesus is unjustly condemned. He may have heard,
perhaps lived, on some occasion near Jesus. Perhaps the
activity in front of the cross made him see that Jesus was innocent and
he was suffering unjustly. The thief sees in him someone outside
of the ordinary and dares to make a request. 'Remember me'
when you come in your kingdom.” This thief trusts in Jesus, trusts in
that Jesus has the power to conquer death. In a word, he has
faith in Jesus, believe in him and in his Words.

Jesus appreciates these words of trust and assures him that, not
When he comes, if not now, today he will be with Him in paradise. This
the thief had no opportunity to do any good deed, he had no
opportunity to be baptized, she just expressed belief in Jesus and that was it
it was worth it for Jesus to assure him eternal salvation in the
paradise.
 Listener friend, just like the thief, you can go to Jesus with
faith and receive the same benefit that the thief received. It doesn't matter
your condition, no matter what you have done, Jesus says: "He who ...
"It comes to me, I do not throw it away." Believe in Jesus and you will be saved, you will have
eternal life, you will have paradise.

But Jesus still spoke more words, the next one the
we find in John 19:26-27.

3. The word of attention

Jesus was concerned about his mother, the person who at that moment
in moments I suffered more, I was well attended and cared for. Even in
this difficult trance, when your mind and body are in
agony, when as a human one is enduring the cruel tortures
de la cruz has some words for those loved ones who
they are with him. Who would take care of his mother? The best hands
would be that of the beloved disciple. John needed Mary and Mary
I needed Juan. Jesus unites these two lives so that they help each other.
mutually. To María so that she can recover, as much as possible, her son.
To Juan so that he has a mother.

Jesus teaches each Christian to think about the earth, in the

duties towards our neighbors, starting with those who
we have closer. One should not live lives thinking only of it
beyond, thinking of the glory and the salvation of our lives.
Christianity is also tremendously practical. The
Christianity is not just thinking about heaven; it is living on earth and
to demonstrate, as Christ did, that we serve our God and
this materializes in a service to others. We have duties and
opportunities to do good. Let's do it.

Everyone needs help, encouragement, and

companionship, from the love of other people. We cannot live
isolated and saying that we don't need anyone. We all have
need for understanding and love. Jesus knows this too and for
that leaves in the care of one and the other. Juan and Maria approached
the cross and found a son and a mother. As we approached the
cross, many times we have to give up many things, and
there may be many pleasant things, but there we will find something
much more valuable: the constant presence of Jesus in us.
He promised that he would be with us every day until the end of the
world.

The following word is of sadness

We find it in Matthew 27:46. It is perhaps the most mysterious.

of all the words. It is a sad word, a word of
despair. Throughout history, many people have suffered
martyrdom for the sake of their faith. Many people have been
martyred, enslaved, dead, because they believed in form
sincere and true in Jesus Christ. But to all of them, despite the
suffering, they never lacked trust, security, presence
of God in their lives. On this occasion, Jesus is alone, abandoned.
by his disciples, abandoned by the people he helped,
despised by everyone and now even abandoned by the hand of God.
How is it possible that God abandoned himself?

What all theologians and Christians agree on is that in

at this moment, and in a supernatural way, Jesus had all our
rebellions, all our evils and God could not, because of his
purity, enduring all this evil. Hence that feeling of
abandonment on the part of Jesus. God cannot tolerate or endure the
sin of our life, no matter how small or large it may be. Its purity
she is so perfect that any speck of sin is discovered
immediately and is away, separated from the presence of God. It is
at this moment and in a way that we do not come to understand either
to understand in all its magnitude, God is judging sin of
all humanity, and he does so in the person of Jesus. He becomes
sin of love for us, which is why he exclaims with anguish "Eli,
"Eli, why have you forsaken me?" This was the most horrible moment of the
crucifixion and the one with the greatest guarantee for us and our life.
God, in His love, did not spare even His own Son, but rather
He delivered for all of us (Rom. 8:32). What will separate us from
love of God? Neither NOTHING nor ANYONE.

5. The following word is of necessity

We find it in John 19:28 and it is a very short one: 'I have'

sed

Evidently after the time he was stuck in the

cross, exposed to the warm sun, after the blood he lost and the
great suffering that he endured, he is in physical need, he is thirsty.
This shows us that on the cross he was a true man,
felt in her body all the weight of the horrendous suffering of the
cross. Once you have taken care of the present, of the necessity
at the request of the thief on the cross, for the care and attention for his
loved ones, after feeling the full weight of sin of the
humanity now feels a personal need: "I am thirsty."

The last prophecy is fulfilled, the last living enemy remains.

defeated, now everything depends on the people, God's plan is
done, this brings us closer to the sixth word we found in
John 19:30: 'It is finished.'

6. Word of guarantee

Jesus had successfully completed the task. Jesus had

completed the task assigned to him and can with satisfaction
say 'I have finished it', it is already done, it has been accomplished.

God, in His sovereignty, majesty, and power, decides

to humanize, to be limited to a human body, to be born, to live among the
men, being one of them, showing how we should live
we and finally go to the cross to carry, forgive,
clean all our sins and thus, being clean, we can present ourselves
in the presence of God.

This work was difficult, painful, but now it is finished.

Now anyone, anywhere and of any
condition can approach the cross, place their faith in Christ and
to enjoy a new relationship with God that had been broken
because of sin. Again we can relate to
our Creator, with our God. These words encapsulate a
security and a wonderful hope. Man can now
approach God, the price for our rebellions has been paid, the
the invoice is paid. We have been bought by the blood of
Christ. Glory to God!

We enter into the last word of Christ that we find in

Luke 23:46.

7. Word of trust

Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

Once all the work is done, once the entire plan has been carried out.
And God's purpose rests peacefully and confidently in His Father.
Death no longer produces panic. The ultimate enemy has been
defeated. Now death is no longer horrifying, gloomy, dark. The
death is just a step that must be taken to enter into a relationship with
our Father God. With what confidence Jesus dies. It is not the
anguish of the one who does not know where they are going, but rather the tranquility of the one who
He knows that on the other side his Father is waiting for him.

In John 14:1-3, Jesus tells us that He is going to prepare a place for us.
We will prepare a place for you and for me. Death
It means a greater benefit for the believer. In earthly life.
we move by faith, we walk without being able to see reality
spiritual in visible form but later we will be able to contemplate it
face to face, we will live, in the same presence of God. What
wonder for the believers. We join the apostle Paul when
addressing the Philippians, he tells them the gain that represents the
death: For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain
(Phil 1:21).

CONCLUSION

Jesus asked for forgiveness for everyone, and this includes you and me.
he promised eternal life to the thief, just as he promises it to you and to
me. Jesus provided care for Maria and Juan as well.
He provided for you and for me. He suffered for you the burden of your sins.
to the point of feeling abandoned by God and enduring a
burning thirst. Before He gave His Spirit to the Father, He could
exclaim with a divine firmness that the work of salvation is
to say the work of your salvation and mine was finished.

We then have assurance of our salvation because we do not

rest in us but in Christ. But at the same time we have the
responsibility as their children that this message of
salvation may reach the whole world. Let us unite with the church of the
saved by He who gave us life through His death in
the cross.

Amen.