Verses on Good Friday part 2

"He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we were healed." Isaiah 53:5

Today is the death anniversary of the Messiah Jesus Christ. Let us not forget the love that God showed us by sacrificing His only Son Jesus to bear our sins and grant us eternal life, saving us from eternal damnation in the process.

The immortality Jesus offers has nothing to do with anything we do. In fact, after giving His disciples the authority to do truly remarkable things (Luke 10:17-19), Jesus said, "Do not rejoice... that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice becuase your names are written in Heaven." (v. 20)

At Calvary, an unnamed thief who was being crucified alongside Jesus believed that message just in time... The other criminal rebuked him (the criminal who insulted Jesus), "Don't you fear God, since we are the both under ths same snetence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what we deserve, but this Man has done nothing wrong." The thief then said, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom." (Luke 23:40-42)

The thief understood that eternal life had nothing to do with what we had done- good or bad. It had to do with what Jesus was doing- giving up His own life so that even the undeserving could be welcomed into Heaven by God. The important thing is being remembered not by others, but by God.

Jesus firmly answered, "Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise." (Luke 23:43)

Jesus may have meant a return of humanity to the presence of God. However, it is traditionally meant to refer to the abode of the blessed dead. Perhaps, it can be read that the thief's own confession of guilt opens the way to forgiveness of sin. Likewise, we should learn to forgive others who have hurt us, no matter how difficult the situation may be. After all, nobody in this world is perfect.

Our lives matter because God loves us.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Friday
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Jesus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayings_of_Jesus_on_the_cross
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_%28Christianity%29