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I am absolutely convinced that Jesus Christ is — far and away — the most fascinating person in human history.

He is unique, to be sure. But He is more than that.

Ghandi was unique.

Mohammad was unique.

Buddha was unique.

And yet none of those men claimed to be the saviour of humanity, much less God in human flesh.

Jesus claimed to be both.

So He was unique, even amongst unique men!

Every part of Jesus’ 33 years on earth is fascinating, but not least the hours He suffered nailed to a Roman cross on that first Good Friday.

Hanging from the cross, He made seven statements – His final words before dying.

And, typical of a wordsmith, He chose those words carefully.

His Last Words

From the cross, He uttered seven concise, crisp statements – each pregnant with meaning.

Jesus’ seven statements from the cross not only had relevance for His situation in that moment, but they contained nuggets of gold that enrich you and me today.

Imagine a man who, in His dying moments, decided to make freely available His wisdom to all for dealing with the seven biggest problems we will face in life.

If you’re new to Christianity, let me share the seven statements Jesus made the cross and their implications for you and me today.

First, the cross teaches us how to approach the PROBLEM OF HATE.

Jesus stopped hate in its tracks when He said of His killers:

“Father, forgive them; they do not know what they do.”

Hate is an endless cycle of recrimination until someone chooses to forgive. Only then does the cycle end.

Second, the cross teaches us how to approach the PROBLEM OF PAIN.

Jesus showed us that pain is bearable when it is put to good purpose.

When pain is all for naught, it is impossible to bear. But when pain has a purpose, it is tolerable.

This was made clear when Jesus assured the repentant thief who was crucified beside him:

“Today you will dwell with Me in Paradise.”

The thief’s excruciating pain suddenly became bearable, knowing that there was a purpose to it.

Third, the cross teaches us how to approach the PROBLEM OF SUFFERING.

Jesus must have been in agony hanging from the cross. Worse, He was rejected and forsaken by almost everyone.

But in that moment, He turned His attention from His own suffering to focus on the welfare of His mother, who would need someone to care for her.

Addressing both His mother Mary and His disciple John, Jesus told them:

“Woman, behold your son; son, behold your mother.”

The way to address your own suffering is to focus on alleviating the suffering of others.

Fourth, the cross teaches us how to approach the PROBLEM OF LONELINESS.

Jesus experienced the ultimate loneliness on the cross when he was forsaken not only by men, but seemingly also by God the Father.

He lamented:

“My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”

If the ultimate loneliness is being forsaken by God, then the inverse is true. The ultimate source of comfort is recognising the presence of God.

To know God is with you, even though everyone else may have abandoned you, is to have the ultimate support – support that can get you through anything at all.

Fifth, the cross teaches us how to approach the PROBLEM OF UNLOVELINESS.

Ever felt ugly? Worthless? Unlovable?

From the cross, Jesus cried:

“I thirst.”

Yes, He needed a drink of water. But the reason He went to the cross in the first place was to redeem people. If you like, He was thirsty for the souls of men.

In other words, Jesus wanted us.

And when did Jesus want us? When we were at our best? When we had been perfected? No. Jesus died for us while we were sinners.

Think about this:

Love was not loved.

Nevertheless, Love loved our unloveliness – not because we were lovable, but in order to make us lovable.

Jesus is the one who makes much of our nought.

That one thought will change your life if you meditate on it.

Sixth, the cross teaches us how to approach the PROBLEM OF DEFEAT.

Jesus looked, for all intents and purposes, done and dusted.

He cried from the cross:

“It is finished.”

Notice He didn’t say “I am finished”, but “it”.

Victory is not avoiding defeat. Victory is having a faith that is greater than your defeat.

We all suffer defeats in life, and sometimes those defeats are great. But you have to be able to look your defeats in the eye and say, by faith, that whatever it was… “it is finished.”

Today’s defeat will not carry on into tomorrow. It will not define you.

The devil may have an hour with you, but if you keep your faith, God will win the day.

Finally, the cross teaches us how to navigate the PROBLEM OF PRIORITIES.

Life throws up so many competing challenges. There are always so many things fighting and clamouring for our attention.

It’s instructive that, having lost everything, Jesus’ final statement from the cross was a simple and serene prayer:

“Into Your hands I commit My spirit.”

Here’s the lesson:

If you have everything apart from God, you have nothing.

But if you have God, though having lost everything, you have lost nothing of value.

And that’s why Good Friday is the fulcrum for Easter. Enjoy your Easter weekend.

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Republished with thanks to The James Macpherson Report.

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Image courtesy of Adobe.