We Give Thanks, Hosanna, What He’s Done, How Great is Your Love, The Lord is My Salvation

Who was/is the present-day “eyewitness” of Jesus that helped convinced you (or is convincing you) to believe that Jesus truly is the only true Savior and Lord?

32 Two others also, who were criminals, were being led away to be put to death with Him. When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. 34 But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. 35 And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine, 37 and saying, “If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” 38 Now there was also an inscription above Him, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

39 One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!” 40 But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” 43 And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

Our answer to the question of who Jesus is determines our destiny — both on earth and in eternity. Peter gave us the correct response  — “You are the Christ (the only Savior of the world), the Son of the Living God (Jesus is much more than just a great teacher or a good man — He is God)”, and Jesus affirmed that Peter received a revelation of grace from God (Matthew 16:15-17). We’ll look at more eyewitnesses to the suffering of Jesus and gain lessons on how to be His “I witness” today.

The Penitent Thief (Luke 23:32-43)

Jesus was crucified between two men who were robbers and both were insulting Him (Matthew 27:44). There were no “good thief” and “bad thief” — both were mocking Him at first. Later on, though, only one of them continued to insult Jesus (Luke 23:39). The other one had a change of heart and believed in Jesus (Luke 23:40-43). Both criminals had witnessed the same suffering Jesus went through from the Via Doloras on the way to the cross. Like them, we have a choice about how we respond to Jesus. The second criminal gave us a picture of the gospel in his response to who Jesus is:

We are guilty of sin and deserve death.

“This man has done nothing wrong”Jesus is holy, the spotless sacrificial Lamb.

We learn from the penitent thief that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

The Soldiers (Luke 23:34, 36-38)

The soldiers from the Roman military mocked Jesus as they saw him suffer on the cross. They were not just witnesses — they were perpetrators of the suffering of Jesus! People may think that they can get away from mocking Jesus — but the Bible says that God cannot be mocked (Galatians 6:7). Even today, there are many ways we mock Jesus — through insulting social media posts, trivialize His name as a joke or punchline, disregard His commands while calling Him “Lord”, etc. What we can learn from the soldiers is that God cannot be mocked; sin has its consequences.

The People & The Rulers (Luke 23:35)

The people and the rulers remind us that people need to know that Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior. Like them, we all made mockery of Jesus. Yet He opened our eyes and we came to believe in Him as our Savior and Lord. Now it’s our turn to let others know about who He really is! We can share the gospel to all kinds of people — young and old, from all walks of life all around us every day.

The Centurion (Luke 23:44-47)

The centurion concluded that Jesus was innocent and he began praising God because of the events he witnessed surrounding Jesus’ crucifixion (Matthew 27:54). From the centurion, we learn that no one is beyond the reach of the grace of God. If you have mocked, ignored and not recognized Jesus for who He is, remember that you are not beyond the grace of God. When we turn to Jesus in response to His grace extended to us, we too will be forgiven, saved and transformed no matter what we’ve done in the past.

The Women (Luke 23:49, 55-56)

While the male disciples of Jesus disappeared during the crucifixion, His women followers accompanied Him, to the cross and all the way to the tomb where Jesus was buried. These women were courageous and took a great risk even by just preparing spices for His burial. They were faithful — they followed Jesus through thick and thin. Followers of Jesus need to be faithful to receive His rewards (Matthew 25:21). The women who followed Jesus shows us that real Christians are faithful to Jesus and follow Him always.

Joseph of Arimathea (Luke 23:50-53)

Joseph was an exception to the vicious Council (Sanhedrin) who wanted Jesus dead.  He also took a great peril to his own life when he asked Pilate for Jesus’ body and buried him in a new tomb. There was also another man, Nicodemus, who helped Joseph in the burial of Jesus (John 19:39-40). God must have changed the hearts of these two men so that they took this great risk to do what they did for Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). From their example, we learn that only Jesus Christ can transform us into new persons.

Indeed, as the apostle Peter confessed, Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matthew 16:16)! If this is our heartfelt and genuine conviction, then apply what you have learned from the eyewitness we looked at today:

We are to continue to be “I witnesses” for God, today and every day. Let others know about the gospel and lead them to our only Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Keep praying that more people will encounter eyewitnesses of Jesus from the Bible, and His people today.

Share about who Jesus truly is to others through your life and words.

Witness for Christ and share the gospel to someone this coming Holy Week.

• Worship God for who He is, what He has done, and what He will do in our lives.

• Upright and moral governance of public servants; repentance and salvation for government leaders and citizens for a Christ-centered Philippines.

• For legislators to promote and support bills and laws aligned with God’s Word.

• Pray for persecuted Christians in Sudan and Nigeria) — many have been beheaded and murdered; earnestly seek God’s intervention to stop the bloodshed. Pray for freedom from oppression, that God’s word and His people bring them comfort and hope.

• PRAISE God that all Israeli hostages have been restored to their families! Continue to pray for Israel’s war with terrorists to end according to God’s purpose and for His glory. For Jewish people worldwide who are experiencing a surge of antisemitism. May this lead them to the Messiah, Jesus as they turn to God for help and comfort.

• For nations in turmoil (e.g., Ukraine, Middle Eastern countries, etc.) to experience true freedom in Christ and become centers for massive spiritual revivals in their regions. For new Iranian leadership to rise up that will be for the people of Iran, will promote freedom of worship that the Iranian believers will be able to reach out to the rest of their countrymen and the people of the Middle East.

• That CCF Members would honor and love God and make disciples.

• For elders, pastors, dleaders, and families to become holy, humble, harmonious, happy, and heart-working.

• Ministries and churches expand worldwide.

• Worship and Training Center

• Prayer Mountain

• Deeper intimate relationship with God.

• Righteous living.

• Salvation of family and friends.

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”