March 15, 2026 | Ptr Marty Ocaya
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 are receiving what we deserve” | We are guilty of sin and deserve death. |
| “Jesus remember me” | Only Jesus can save us. |
| “Your kingdom” | Jesus is God and King. |
| “Truly…today” | Eternal life starts the moment we put our faith in Jesus! |
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:
| The penitent thief | Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus alone. | I will humbly admit my need for Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. |
| The soldiers | God is not mocked. Sin will have its consequences. | I will hate sin and love God all my life. |
| The people & the rulers | People need to know that Jesus alone is Savior. | I will make my lifestyle to tell people about Jesus. |
| The centurion | No one is beyond the reach of the grace of God. | I will believe that Jesus loves me and died for me. |
| The women | True followers of Jesus are faithful to Him for life. | I will be faithful and obey Jesus everyday. |
| Joseph of “A” and Nicodemus | Only Jesus can transform us and make us new persons. | I will let Jesus transform me from the inside out. |
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.