The Seven Words of Jesus on the Cross

7/28/2019 The Seven Words of Jesus on the Cross

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THE SEVEN WORDS OF JESUS ON THE CROSS

Christ Jesus died on the Cross to redeem mankind, to save us from our sins because of

his love for us. As recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the

Holy Bible, Jesus Christ was mocked, scorned, and tortured in the praetorium. He

carried his cross up the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem to Calvary, was nailed to the

Cross and hung between two common criminals, and suffered an indescribable end,recalled by the Church on Good Friday of Holy Week.

One may meditate on the Passion of Christ by reflecting on his Seven Words on the

Cross or by a devotion known as the Way of the Cross.

When religious pilgrimages to the Holy Land ended with military occupation of
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Jerusalem in the Middle Ages, a popular devotion known as the Way of the Cross

arose during Lent retracing the Passion, Crucifixion, and Death of Jesus. The

fourteen Stations of the Cross are (1) Pilate condemns Jesus to death; (2) Jesus takes

up his Cross; (3) He falls the first time; (4) Jesus meets his sorrowful mother Mary;

(5) Simon helps carry the cross; (6) Veronica cleans his face; (7) He falls the second

time; (8) Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem; (9) He falls the third time; (10)Jesus is stripped of his garments; (11) Jesus is nailed to the cross; (12) Jesus Christ

dies on the cross; (13) He is taken down from the cross; (14) Christ is laid in the

tomb.

Here are his Seven Words, the last seven expressions of Jesus Christ on the Crossrecorded in Scripture.

THE FIRST WORD

"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." Gospel of Luke 23:34

Jesus is looking down from the cross just after he was crucified between two

criminals. He sees the soldiers who have mocked him, scourged him and tortured him,

and who have just nailed him to the cross. He probably remembers those who have

sentenced him - Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, Pontius Pilate, and Herod. But is he not

also thinking of his Apostles and companions who have deserted him, to Peter who

has denied him three times, to the fickle crowd, who only days before praised him onhis entrance to Jerusalem, and then days later chose him over Barabbas to be

crucified?

Is he also thinking of us, who daily forget him in our lives?

Does he react angrily? No! At the height of his physical suffering, his love prevails

and He asks His Father to forgive them!

Right up to his final hours on earth, Jesus preaches forgiveness. He teaches

forgiveness in the Lord's prayer: "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those whotrespass against us" (Matthew 6:12). When asked by Peter, how many times should

we forgive someone, Jesus answers seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21-22). At the

Last Supper, Jesus explains his crucifixion to his Apostles when he tells them to drink

of the cup: "Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is

poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:27-28). He forgives the

paralytic at Capernaum (Mark 2:5), and the adulteress caught in the act and about to


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be stoned (John 8:1-11). And even following his Resurrection, his first act is to

commission his disciples to forgive: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins

of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (John 20:22-

23).

THE SECOND WORD

"Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." Gospel of Luke 23:43

Now it is not just the religious leaders or the soldiers that mock Jesus, but even one of

the criminals, a downward progression of mockery. But the criminal on the right

speaks up for Jesus, explaining the two criminals are receiving their just due, whereas

"this man has done nothing wrong." Then, turning to Jesus, he asks, "Jesus, rememberme when you come in your kingdom" (Luke 23:42). What wonderful faith this

repentant sinner has in Jesus - far more than the doubting Thomas, one of his own

Apostles. Ignoring his own suffering, Jesus mercifully responds with His second

word.

The second word again is about forgiveness, this time directed to a sinner. Just as the

first word, this Biblical expression is found only in the Gospel of Luke. Jesus shows

his Divinity by opening heaven for a repentant sinner - such generosity to a man that

only asked to be remembered!

THE THIRD WORD

"J esus said to his mother: "Woman, this is your son."Then he said to the disciple: "This is your mother."

Gospel of J ohn 19:26-27Jesus and Mary are together again, at the beginning of his ministry in Cana and now at

the end of his public ministry at the foot of the Cross. What sorrow must fill her heart,to see her Son mocked, tortured, and crucified. Once again, a sword pierces Mary's

soul: we are reminded of the prediction of Simeon at the Temple (Luke 2:35) . There

are four at the foot of the cross, Mary his Mother, John, the disciple whom he loved,

Mary of Cleopas, his mother's sister, and Mary Magdalene. He addresses his third

word to Mary and John, the only eye-witness of the Gospel writers.


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But again Jesus rises above the occasion, and his concerns are for the ones that love

him. The good son that He is, Jesus is concerned about taking care of his mother. In

fact, this passage offers proof that Jesus was the only child of Mary, because if he did

have brothers or sisters, they would have provided for her. But Jesus looks to John to

care for her.

St. Joseph is noticeably absent. The historic paintings, such as Tondodoni by

Michelangelo and The Holy Family by Raphael, suggest Joseph was a considerably

older man. St. Joseph had probably died by the time of the crucifixion, or else he

would have been the one to take care of Mary. Early Christian traditions and the

second-century apocryphal Protoevangelium of James held that Joseph was a

widower, and his children by his former wife were the "brothers and sisters of Jesus."

Another striking phrase indicating Jesus was an only child is Mark 6:3, referring to

Jesus: "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses

and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" Now if James, Joses and

Judas and Simon were also natural sons of Mary, Jesus would not have been called the

"son of Mary," but rather "one of the sons of Mary."

THE FOURTH WORD

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34This was the only expression of Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Both

Gospels related that it was in the ninth hour, after 3 hours of darkness, that Jesus cried

out this fourth word. The ninth hour was three o'clock in Judea. After the fourth

Word, Mark related with a horrible sense of finality, "And Jesus uttered a loud cry,

and breathed his last" (Mark 15:37).

One is struck by the anguished tone of this expression in contrast to the first three

words of Jesus. This cry is from the painful heart of the human Jesus who must feel

deserted by His Father and the Holy Spirit, not to mention his earthly companions the

Apostles. As if to emphasize his loneliness, Mark even has his loved ones "lookingfrom afar," not close to him as in the Gospel of John. Jesus feels separated from his

Father. He is now all alone, and he must face death by himself.

But is not this exactly what happens to all of us when we die? We too are all alone at

the time of death! Jesus completely lives the human experience as we do, and by

doing so, frees us from the clutches of sin.


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His fourth Word is the opening line of Psalm 22, and thus his cry from the Cross

recalls the cry of Israel, and of all innocent persons who suffer. Psalm 22 of David

makes a striking prophecy of the crucifixion of the Messiah at a time when crucifixion

was not known to exist: "They have pierced my hands and my feet, they have

numbered all my bones" (22:16-17). The Psalm continues: "They divide my garmentsamong them, and for my vesture they cast lots" (22:18).

There can not be a more dreadful moment in the history of man as this moment. Jesus

who came to save us is crucified, and He realizes the horror of what is happening and

what He now is enduring. He is about to be engulfed in the raging sea of sin. Evil

triumphs, as Jesus admits: "But this is your hour" (Luke 22:53). But it is only for a

moment. The burden of all the sins of humanity for a moment overwhelm the

humanity of our Savior.

But does this not have to happen? Does this not have to occur if Jesus is to save us? It

is in defeat of his humanity that the Divine plan of His Father will be completed. It is

by His death that we are redeemed. "For there is one God. There is also one mediator

between God and the human race, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as

ransom for all" (I Timothy 2:5-6).

THE FIFTH WORD

"I thirst." Gospel of J ohn 19:28

The fifth word of Jesus is His only human expression of His physical suffering. Jesus

is now in shock. The wounds inflicted upon him in the scourging, the crowning with

thorns, and the nailing upon the cross are now taking their toll, especially after losing

blood on the three-hour walk through the city of Jerusalem to Golgotha on the Way of

the Cross. Systematic studies of the Shroud of Turin, as reported by Gerald O'Collins

inInterpreting Jesus, indicate the passion of Jesus was far worse than one can

imagine. The Shroud has been exhaustively studied by every possible scientific

maneuver, and the scientific burden of proof is now on those who do not accept theShroud as the burial cloth of Jesus.

"He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross,

so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness.


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By his wounds you have been healed."

I Peter 2:24.

THE SIXTH WORD

When J esus had received the wine, he said," It is finished;"and he bowed his head and handed over the spirit.

Gospel of J ohn 19:30It is now a fait accompli. The sixth word is Jesus' recognition that his suffering is over

and his task is completed. Jesus is obedient to the Father and gives his love for

mankind by redeeming us with His death on the Cross.

The above painting is meant to capture the moment.

What is the darkest day of mankind becomes the brightest day for mankind.

And the Gospels as a group captured this paradox. The Synoptic Gospels narrated the

horror of the event - the agony in the garden, the abandonment by his Apostles, the

trail before the Sanhedrin, the intense mockery and torture heaped upon Jesus, his

suffering all alone, the darkness over the land, and his death, starkly portrayed by both

Matthew (27:47-51) and Mark (15:33-38).

In contrast, the passion of Jesus in the Gospel of John expresses his Kingship and

proves to be His triumphant road to glory. John presents Jesus as directing the action

the entire way. The phrase It is finished carries a sense of accomplishment. In

John, there is no trial before the Sanhedrin, and gone are the repeated mockeries and

scourging. But rather, Jesus is introduced at the Roman trial as Behold your

King! (John 19:14). Jesus is not stumbling or falling as in the Synoptic Gospels,

but the way of the Cross ispresented with majesty and dignity, for Jesus went out

bearing his own Cross (John 19:17).

And in John, the inscription at the head of the cross is pointedly written Jesus ofNazareth, The King of the Jews (John 19:19). The inscription INRI at the top of

the cross is the LatinIesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum. The loved ones of Jesus are

with Him, and He decisively gives his Mother Mary to the disciple who loved him.

When Jesus died, He "handed over" the Spirit. Jesus remained in control to the end,

and it is He who handed over his Spirit. One should not miss the double entendre here,


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for this may also be interpreted as His death brought forth the Holy Spirit.

The Gospel of John gradually reveals the Holy Spirit. Jesus mentions living waterin

John 4:10-11 when he meets the Samaritan woman at the well, and during the Feast of

Tabernacles refers to living water as the Holy Spirit in 7:37-39. At the Last Supper,

Christ announces he would ask the Father to send "another Advocate to be with youalways, the Spirit of truth" (14:16-17). The word Advocate is also translated as

Comforter, Helper, Paraclete, or Counselor. "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom

the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that

I have said to you" (14:26). The symbolism of water for the Holy Spirit becomes more

evident in John 19:34: "But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and

immediately there came out blood and water." The piercing of his side fulfills the

prophecy in Zechariah 12:10: "They will look on me whom they have pierced." The

piercing of Jesus' side prefigures the Sacraments of Eucharist (blood) and Baptism

(water), as well as the beginning of the Church.

THE SEVENTH WORD

J esus cried out in a loud voice,"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."

Gospel of Luke 23:46The seventh word of Jesus is from the Gospel of Luke, and is directed to the Father in

heaven, just before He dies. Jesus recalls Psalm 31:5 - "Into thy hands I commend myspirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God." Luke repeatedly pleads Jesus'

innocence: with Pilate (Luke 23:4, 14-15, 22), through Dismas (by legend), the

criminal (Luke 23:41), and immediately after His death with the centurion" "Now

when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, "Certainly this

man was innocent" (Luke 23:47).

John's Gospel related that it was the Day of Preparation, the day before the actual

Passover (Pesach in Hebrew,Pascha in Greek and Latin), that Jesus was sentenced to

death (19:14) and sacrificed on the Cross (19:31). He died at the ninth hour (three

o'clock in the afternoon), about the same time as the Passover lambs were slaughtered

in the Temple. Christ became the Paschal or Passover Lamb, as noted by St. Paul:

"For Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed" (I Corinthians 5:7). The innocent

Lamb was slain for our sins, so that we might be forgiven.

Jesus fulfilled His mission: "They are justified by his grace as a gift, through the

redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as an expiation by his
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blood, to be received by faith" (Romans 3:24-25). The relationship of Jesus to the

Father is revealed in the Gospel of John, for He remarked, "The Father and I are one"

(10:30), and again, at the Last Supper: "Do you not believe I am in the Father and the

Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father

who dwells in me is doing his works" (14:10). And He can return: "I came from the

Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to theFather" (16:28). Jesuspracticed what He preached: "Greater love has no man than

this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

Home

Mary

The Bible

REFERENCES

1 The Revised Standard Version ofThe Holy Bible. Ignatius Press, San Francisco,

2005.

2 Bishop Fulton J Sheen. The Seven Last Words - The Message from the Cross.

Garden City Books, Garden City, New York, 1952.

3 Pope John Paul II. The Redeemer of Man - the encyclicalRedemptor Hominis,Pauline Books and Media, Boston, March 4, 1979.

4 Ignace De La Potterie. The Hour of Jesus - The Passion and the Resurrection of

Jesus. Alba House, Staten Island, New York, 1989.

5 St. Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologica, Third Part - The Passion of Christ.

Translation by the Fathers of the English Dominican Province, 1920. Christian

Classics, Allen, Texas.

6 St. Alphonsus Liguori. The Way of the Holy Cross. Mother of Our Savior

Publishing, Pekin, Indiana, 2007.

7 O'Collins, Gerald.Interpreting Jesus. Geoffrey Chapman, London, and Paulist

Press, Mahwah, New Jersey, 1983.
http://www.jesuschristsavior.net/Jesus.htmlhttp://www.jesuschristsavior.net/http://www.maryourmother.net/Mary.htmlhttp://biblescripture.net/Bible.htmlhttp://biblescripture.net/Bible.htmlhttp://biblescripture.net/Bible.htmlhttp://www.maryourmother.net/Mary.htmlhttp://www.jesuschristsavior.net/http://www.jesuschristsavior.net/Jesus.html


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Jesus Sixth Word from the Cross: VictoryPosted byUlaonApril 21, 2011inBible Theme Studies,God,God's Promises,Life,Love,Obedience,Salvation,The Character of JesusChrist

Suggested Reading:John 19:30

Itisfinished

As Jesus said these words, it becomes abundantly clear that He was fully aware of His surroundings. Pain andsuffering may render people delirious and they may drift in and out of consciousness because of their agony,

but these words of Jesus confirms that He was in complete touch with reality.

Even in His last words He reflected wisdom, power and a sharp mind, regardless of His excruciating pain. He

remained composed in mind in spite of the fact the multitudes mocked Him and despite the fact that His hands

and feet were nailed to a cross.

There may be those who dont see any value in these words from Jesus lips but there is a multitudeof treasures locked up in them and we will now look deeper into these:

The Son ofGodbecame fully human. He lived a perfect and selfless life. Despite this, He was despised andrejected by many. He personally experienced sorrow and pain. He knew the agonies of grief. He had many

enemies and few friends and even these deserted Him when they perceived the danger they are placing

themselves in by being associated with Jesus. He was delivered into the hands of those who hated Him. He

was brought before religious and secular courts. He was clothed so that they could mock Him and then they

stripped Him in shame. Although He was declared innocent He was crucified. After enduring all this and more,He finally cries out, It is finished.

All the prophecies and promises were now accomplished in Jesus. He finished it all.When He said, Itis

finished,the whole book from the first to the last, in both the law and the prophets, were finished inHim. It

is wonderful that a mass of promises and prophecies and types were all accomplished in one Person! There is

and never was another person in the history of mankind that could meet all the requirements and fulfil all the

prophecies, except the ManChrist Jesus. God previously spoke through His prophets, but now we see

everything completed in JesusChrist. Everything spoken before is summed up in Jesus Christ.

Jesus fulfilled all the sacrifices of the law and His substitution death explains them all to us. Prior to Jesus

sacrifice the high priest had to make a sacrifice for sin, year after year. It never stopped. It was never enough tomake atonement for the sins of the people. But now, our High Priest has made a perfect sacrifice for sin, once

for all.

When Jesus said, It is finished, His perfect obedience was also finished. He was fully obedient to God in Hislife and now He completed that obedience even in His death. He was prepared to lay aside His life for the
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glory of God and for the salvation of godless people. God demonstrated His love for us in this that while we

were stillsinners, Christ died for the ungodly. Christ didnt die for perfect people.

God didnt just say He loves us. He demonstrated His love with an action. That action was the sacrifice of

Jesus Christ. Not even hell can make any further accusation against Jesus Christ. He was obedient even to the

point of death on aCross. Crucifixion was the punishment of despised criminals. That was how low Jesus was

prepared to bow in order to reconcile us with our God.

It is finished also meant that the justice of God was fully satisfied in Him.Christhas paid the debt that allthe torments of eternity could not have paidChristhas done what all the flames of the pit could not do in all

eternity.No matter how long we were punished, we could never fully satisfy Gods judgment against sin.

Yet, in Jesus Christ, Gods justice was fully satisfied.

Jesus sacrifice fully destroyed the power of sin and He fully destroyed the father of lies, namely satan. Sin

nailed Christ to the Cross, but Christ took sin with Him to the grave. Christ destroyed sin. Now our Lord Jesus,

the Champion of our faith, has taken captivity captive. Today He stands with the keys of death at His waist.Death where is thy sting!

Jesus finished theOld Covenantand laid it aside and brought in the new, better and eternal Covenant. The

words Thou shalt was replaced by I will I will give you a new heart. I will cause you to obey me. I

will cleanse you from all your iniquities. Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves.

Now may we not be ashamed to proclaim the Good News to others that It is finished. May we tell peoplethat good works cannot save them. Their church attendance cannot save them. They are saved by grace alone,

through faith alone, in Christ alone. Itis finished. Why improve on what is finished! Why add to that which is

complete?We dont have to be this and the other thing before we may come to Christ. He said that He willnever drive away anyone who comes to Him. He is not looking for our worthiness. He is looking for

willingness to come to Him. TheHoly Spiritdoes not need to delay because of our unworthiness or our

helplessness. It is finished.

Quotes in italics byCharles Spurgeon, from his book, Christs Words from the Cross,Baker Book

House(Michigan)

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The Sixth Word: VictoryFreddy Fritz 417 Freddy Fritz Sermons
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Topic: #1450 of 1725 forSermons on Jesus Christ

Scripture:John 19:29-19:30

Sermon Series:The Seven Last Words of Christ

Denomination:Presbyterian/Reformed

Date Added: March 2008

Audience: General Adults (31 - 49)

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Introduction

Herbert Lockyer, in his book titled All the Last Words of Saints and Sinners,

says,

"The last words of both saints and sinners about to enter eternity, what they

had to say before their stammering tongues lay silent in the grave, demands

our deepest attention and most earnest concern. If, when the soul is face to

face with eternal realities, true character is almost invariably manifest, then we

can expect the lips to express glorious certainty or terror concerning the

future."

For the past five Good Fridays we have been examining these so-called last

words of Christ.

By studying the last words of Christ we do learn a great deal about the true

character of our Savior. After Jesus was nailed to the cross he spoke seven

short phrases before he died.

Tonight, on this Maundy Thursday, we come to the sixth word Jesus uttered,

which is found in John 19:29-30:
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"29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine

on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the

sour wine, he said, It is finished, and he bowed his head and gave up his

spirit." (John 19:30)

Lesson

The Lord Jesus has become man. He has lived an absolutely perfect life of self-

sacrifice and obedience. He has been despised and rejected by men, a man of

sorrows and acquainted with grief. His enemies have been many. His friends

have been few.

He is at last handed over to those who hate him. He is arrested while in the act

of prayer. He is betrayed by one of his very own disciples.

He is arraigned before the spiritual and secular courts.

He is beaten beyond recognition. He is robed in mockery, and then unrobed in

shame.

He is declared innocent, and yet he is delivered up by the judge who ought to

have preserved him from his persecutors.

He is dragged through the streets of Jerusalem which had killed so many of hisprophets who had come before him, and now would cover itself with the blood

of the prophets Master.

He is brought to the cross. He is nailed to the wood. He is hanged up for all to

see. He loses blood. He dislocates his bones. He suffocates and can hardly

breathe.

His own disciples desert him. People mock and ridicule him.

Even his Father deserts him, so that he cries out, My God, my God, why have

you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46).

He looks everywhere, and there is no one to help him. He casts his eye around,

and there is no one who can share in his suffering. He must suffer alone.

On and on he goes. He is determined to drink to the very last dreg of that cup


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which cannot pass from him if he is to fulfill his heavenly Fathers will.

At last he cries, It is finished (John 19:30).

And then, a little while later, he dies.

What did Jesus mean when he cried out, It is finished?

Much can be said, but I want to draw your attention to just two points this

evening.

I. All Types, Promises, and Prophecies Were Fully Accomplished in Jesus

First, all types, promises, and prophecies were fully accomplished in Jesus.

Those who are acquainted with Greek know that the word, It is finished is

tetelestai. But did you know that the word actually occurs twice within three

verses?

The first occurrence of tetelestai is found in John 19:28, where we read, After

this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the

Scripture), I thirst.

This helps us to see the meaning of Jesus sixth word clearly. When Jesus said,It is finished, the entire Scripture, from first to last, in the law, the writings

and the prophets, was finished and accomplished in him. Every type, every

promise, and every prophecy was fully accomplished in Jesus.

Jesus is a prophet like Moses, and yet a champion like Joshua.

Jesus is both Aaron and Melchizedek, David and Solomon, Noah and Jonah,

Judah and Joseph.

Jesus is not only the lamb that was slain, and the scapegoat that was not slain,the turtle-dove that was dipped in blood, and the priest who slew the bird, but

he is also the altar, the tabernacle, the mercy seat, and the shewbread.

Jesus is the one of whom it is said, All kings will bow down to him and all

nations will serve him (Psalm 72:11, NIV), and yet, He was despised and

rejected by men (Isaiah 53:3).


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And he is the one in whom there was no sin, and yet the one upon whom the

Lord poured all the sin of many.

When Jesus said, It is finished, he meant that all the types, promises and

prophecies of Scripture were fully accomplished in him.

II. Jesus Totally Destroyed the Power of Sin, Satan, and Death

And second, Jesus totally destroyed the power of sin, Satan, and death.

Jesus met Sin in his life and also on the cross. Horrible, terrible, all-but-

omnipotent Sin nailed Jesus to the cross. But in that deed, Jesus also nailed Sin

to the cross.

There they both hung togetherSin and Sins destroyer.

Sin destroyed Jesus: he died on that cross.

But by that very death Jesus destroyed Sin: the power of Sin was forever

destroyed by Jesus death.

Next came the second enemy, Satan. He assaulted Jesus with all of the hosts of

hell. Calling up every demon from every quarter of the universe, he said, as it

were, Come! Come quickly! Here is our great enemy who has sworn to bruise

our head; now let us bruise his heel!

They fired their hellish missiles into his heart. They exploded their evil thoughts

into his mind. They emptied their venomous poison into his veins. They spat

their false insinuations into his face. They hissed their devilish fears into his ear.

But there the Lord Jesus stood his ground. He stood alone, the Lion of the Tribe

of Judah, hounded by all the dogs of hell. He withstood volley after volley from

the wicked arsenal. He parried every attempt to get him to falter. Like Davidagainst Goliath, Jesus in the end stood victorious, and then cried out, It is

finished, and sent every demon and Satan fleeing to hell.

And Jesus also met Death and destroyed the power of Death on the cross.

Death killed Christ on the cross. He sent his fiery dart, as Evangelist Christmas

Evans put it, which he struck right through Jesus, till the point fixed itself in the


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cross, and when he tried to pull it out again, he left the sting behind. Death was

disarmed.

Jesus then took the keys of Death and said, Death, I take these keys from you.

You must live for a little while to be the warder of those beds in which my saints

shall sleep, but give me your keys!

And today, Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven with the keys of

Death hanging on his belt. And he is waiting for the hour when the Father says

to him, Now! Go! Go and bring all the elect to us in heaven!

And the Archangel shall sound the trumpet, and the dead in Christ shall rise

from the grave, and all the elect will join our Savior in the sky to spend all

eternity with him in glory. And Death will be forever gone!

Conclusion

Friends, this is what Jesus meant when he said, It is finished.

All types, promises and prophecies were fully accomplished in him.

And he totally destroyed the power of sin, Satan and death.

Let us thank God for what Jesus accomplished on the cross on our behalf.

Amen.

The Seven Last Words of Christ: Reflections for Holy Week

The Seven Last Words of Christ

Reflections for Holy Week

Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts

Note: You may download this resource at no cost, for personal use or for use in a Christian

ministry, as long as you are not publishing it for sale. All I ask is that you acknowledge the

source of this material:http://www.patheos.com/blogs/markdroberts/. For all other uses,

please contact me [email protected]. Thank you.
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You may also be interested in:

The Stations of the Cross: A Devotional Guide for Lent and

Holy Week

The First Word:Father, forgive them, for they dont know what theyre

doing.(Luke 23:34)

Copyright 2007, Linda E. S. Roberts. For permission to use this picture, please contact Mark.

Reflection

It makes sense that the first word of Jesus from the cross is a word of forgiveness. Thats

the point of the cross, after all. Jesus is dying so that we might be forgiven for our sins, sothat we might be reconciled to God for eternity.

But the forgiveness of God through Christ doesnt come only to those who dont know what

they are doing when they sin. In the mercy of God, we receive his forgiveness even when

we do what we know to be wrong. God chooses to wipe away our sins, not because we have

some convenient excuse, and not because we have tried hard to make up for them, but

because he is a God of amazing grace, with mercies that are new every morning.
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As we read the words, Father, forgive them, may we understand that we too are forgiven

through Christ. As John writes in his first letter, But if we confess our sins to him, he is

faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness (1 John 1:9).

Because Christ died on the cross for us, we are cleansed from all wickedness, from every

last sin. We are united with God the Father as his beloved children. We are free to approach

his throne of grace with our needs and concerns. God has removed our sins as far from us

as the east is from the west (Ps 103:13). What great news!

Questions for Reflection

Do you really believe God has forgiven your sins? Do you take time on a regular basis to

confess your sins so that you might enjoy the freedom of forgiveness? Do you need to

experience Gods forgiveness in a fresh way today?

Prayer

Gracious Lord Jesus, its easy for me to speak of your forgiveness, even to ask for it and to

thank you for it. But do I really believe Im forgiven? Do I experience the freedom that

comes from the assurance that you have cleansed me from my sins? Or do I live as if Im

semi-forgiven? Even though Ive put my faith in you and confessed my sins, do I live assin still has power over me? Do I try to prove myself to you, as if I might be able to earn

more forgiveness?

Dear Lord, though I believe at one level that you have forgiven me, this amazing truth

needs to penetrate my heart in new ways. Help me to know with fresh conviction that I am

fully and finally forgiven, not because of anything I have done, but because of what you

have done for me.

May I live today as a forgiven person, opening my heart to you, choosing not to sin because

the power of sin has been broken by your salvation.

All praise be to you, Lord Jesus, for your matchless forgiveness! Amen.


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The Second Word:

I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.(Luke 23:43)


Reflection

As Jesus hung on the cross, he was mocked by the leaders and the soldiers. One of the

criminals being crucified with him added his own measure of scorn. But the other crucified

criminal sensed that Jesus was being treated unjustly. After speaking up for Jesus, he cried

out, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom (v. 42).

Jesus responded to this criminal, I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise (v.

43). The wordparadise, from the Greek wordparadeisos, which meant garden, was used

in the Greek Old Testament as a word for the Garden of Eden. In Judaism of the time of

Jesus it was associated with heaven, and also with the future when God would restore all

things to the perfection of the Garden. Paradise was sometimes thought to be the place

where righteous people went after death. This seems to be the way Jesus usesparadise in

this passage.

Thus we have encountered one of the most astounding and encouraging verses in all of

Scripture. Jesus promised that the criminal would be with him in paradise. Yet the text of

Luke gives us no reason to believe this man had been a follower of Jesus, or even a believer

in him in any well-developed sense. He might have felt sorry for his sins, but he did not
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obviously repent. Rather, the criminals cry to be remembered seems more like a desperate,

last-gasp effort.

Though we should make every effort to have right theology, and though we should live our

lives each day as disciples of Jesus, in the end, our relationship with him comes down to

simple trust. Jesus, remember me, we cry. And Jesus, embodying the mercy of God, says

to us, You will be with me in paradise. We are welcome there not because we have right

theology, and not because we are living rightly, but because God is merciful and we have

put our trust in Jesus.


Have you staked your life on Jesus? Have you put your ultimate trust in him? Do you know

that, when your time comes, you will be with him in paradise?

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus, how I wonder at your grace and mercy! When we cry out to you, you hear

us. When we ask you to remember us when you come into your kingdom, you offer the

promise of paradise. Your mercy, dear Lord, exceeds anything we might imagine. It

embraces us, encourages us, heals us.O Lord, though my situation is so different from the criminal who cried out to you, I am

nevertheless quite like him. Today I live, trusting you and you alone. My life, but now and in

the world to come, is in your hands. And so I pray:

Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom! Jesus, remember me today as I

seek to live within your kingdom! Amen.


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The Third Word:

Dear woman, here is your son.(John 19:26)

Copyright 2007, Linda E. S. Roberts. For permission to use this picture, please contact Mark.Reflection

As Jesus was dying, his mother was among those who had remained with him. Most of the

male disciples had fled, with the exception of one whom the Fourth Gospel calls the disciple

he loved. We cant be exactly sure of the identity of this beloved disciple, though many

interpreters believe he is John, who is also the one behind the writing of this Gospel.

No matter who the beloved disciple was, its clear that Jesus was forging a relationship

between this disciple and his mother, one in which the disciple would take care of Mary

financially and in other ways. Jesus wanted to make sure she would be in good hands after

his death.

The presence of Mary at the cross adds both humanity and horror to the scene. We are

reminded that Jesus was a real human being, a man who had once been a boy who had

once been carried in the womb of his mother. Even as he was dying on the cross as the

Savior of the world, Jesus was also a son, a role he didnt neglect in his last moments.

When we think of the crucifixion of Jesus from the perspective of his mother, our horror

increases dramatically. The death of a child is one of the most painful of all parental

experiences. To watch ones beloved child experience the extreme torture of crucifixion

must have been unimaginably terrible. Were reminded of the prophecy of Simeon shortly
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after Jesus birth, when he said to Mary: And a sword willpierce your very soul (Luke

2:35).

This scene helps us not to glorify or spiritualize the crucifixion of Jesus. He was a real man,

true flesh and blood, a son of a mother, dying with unbearable agony. His suffering was

altogether real, and he took it on for you and for me.


What does Marys presence at the cross evoke in you? Why do you think was it necessary

for Jesus to suffer physical pain as he died?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, the presence of your mother at the cross engages my heart. You are no longer

only the Savior dying for the sins of the world. You are also a fully human man, a son with a

mother.

O Lord, how can I begin to thank you for what you suffered? My words fall short. My

thoughts seem superficial and vague. Nevertheless, I offer my sincere gratitude for your

suffering. Thank you for bearing my sin on the cross. I give you my praise, my love, my

heart . . . all that I am, because you have given me all that you are.All praise be to you, Lord Jesus, fully God and fully human, Savior of the world . . . my

Savior! Amen.


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The Fourth Word:

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?(Mark 15:34)

The Eleventh Station of the The Stations of the Cross at Serra Retreat Center, Malibu, California.

Reflection

As Jesus was dying on the cross, he echoed the beginning of Psalm 22, which reads:

My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

Why are you so far away when I groan for help?Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.

Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief. (vv. 1-2)

In the words of the psalmist Jesus found a way to express the cry of his heart: Why had

God abandoned him? Why did his Father turn his back on Jesus in his moment of greatest

agony?
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This side of heaven, we will never fully know what Jesus was experiencing in this moment.

Was he asking this question because, in the mystery of his incarnational suffering, he didnt

know why God had abandoned him? Or was his cry not so much a question as an expression

of profound agony? Or was it both?

What we do know is that Jesus entered into the Hell of separation from God. The Father

abandoned him because Jesus took upon himself the penalty for our sins. In that

excruciating moment, he experienced something far more horrible than physical pain. The

beloved Son of God knew what it was like to be rejected by the Father. As we read in 2

Corinthians 5:21, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might

become the righteousness of God (NIV).

I can write these words. I can say, truly, that the Father abandoned the Son for our sake,

for the salvation of the world. But can I really grasp the mystery and the majesty of this

truth? Hardly. As Martin Luther once said, God forsaking God. Who can understand it? Yet

even my miniscule grasp of this reality calls me to confession, to humility, to worship, to

adoration.

Questions for ReflectionHave you taken time to consider that Jesus was abandoned by the Father so that you might

not be? What does this word from the cross mean to you?

Prayer

O Lord Jesus, though I will never fully grasp the wonder and horror of your abandonment by

the Father, every time I read this word, I am overwhelmed with gratitude. How can I ever

thank you for what you suffered for me? What can I do but to offer myself to you in

gratitude and praise? Thank you, dear Lord, for what you suffered. Thank you for taking my

place. Thank you for being forsaken by the Father so that I might never be.

When I survey the wondrous cross,

On which the Prince of glory died,My richest gain I count but loss,

And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,

Save in the death of Christ my God;

All the vain things that charm me most,

I sacrifice them to his blood.

See, from his head, his hands, his feet,

Sorrow and love flow mingled down;

Did eer such love and sorrow meet,

Or thorns compose so rich a crown.Were the whole realm of nature mine,

That were a present far too small;

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all.

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross by Isaac Watts (1707)


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The Fifth Word:I am thirsty.(John 19:28)

A painting of the Cruxifixion, from a church in Taormina, Italy

Reflection

No doubt Jesus experienced extreme thirst while being crucified. He would have lost a

substantial quantity of bodily fluid, both blood and sweat, through what he had endured

even prior to crucifixion. Thus his statement, I am thirsty was, on the most obvious level,

a request for something to drink. In response the soldiers gave Jesus sour wine (v. 29), a

cheap beverage common among lower class people in the time of Jesus.

John notes that Jesus said I am thirsty, not only as a statement of physical reality, but

also in order to fulfill the Scripture. Though there is no specific reference in the text of the

Gospel, its likely that John was thinking of Psalm 69, which includes this passage:

Their insults have broken my heart,

and I am in despair.

If only one person would show some pity;

if only one would turn and comfort me.

But instead, they give me poison for food;

they offer me sour wine for my thirst.

(vv. 20-21)
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As he suffered, Jesus embodied the pain of the people of Israel, that which had been

captured in the Psalms. Jesus was suffering for the sin of Israel, even as he was taking upon

himself the sin of the world.

As I reflect on Jesus statement, I am thirsty, I keep thinking of my own thirst. Its

nothing like that of Jesus. Rather, I am thirsty for him. My soul yearns for the living water

that Jesus supplies (John 4:10; 7:38-39). I rejoice in the fact that he suffered physical thirst

on the cross and so much more so that my thirst for the water of life might be

quenched.


How do you respond to Jesus statement I am thirsty? What does this statement suggest

to you about Jesus? About yourself?

Prayer

O Lord, once again I thank you for what you suffered on the cross. Besides extraordinary

pain, you also experienced extreme thirst. All of this was part and parcel of your taking on

our humanity so that you might take away our sin.

Dear Lord, in your words I am thirsty I hear the cry of my own heart. I too am thirsty,Lord, not for physical drink. I dont need sour wine. Rather, I need the new wine of your

kingdom to flood my soul. I need to be refreshed by your living water. I yearn for your

Spirit to fill me once again.

I am thirsty, Lord, for you. Amen.


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The Sixth Word:It is finished!

(John 19:30)

Another station from The Stations of the Cross at Serra Retreat Center, Malibu, California.

Reflection

I never saw a more difficult film to watch than Mel GibsonsThe Passion of the Christ. For

most of that movie I wanted to avert my eyes. It was horrible to watch even a cinematic

version of a crucifixion. And it was beyond comprehension to think that this actually

happened to somebody, and not just anybody, but my Lord and Savior. I had studied the

crucifixion before, and knew in my head what Jesus experienced. But seeing a visual

presentation of his suffering was almost more than I could bear. When The Passion of the

Christwas over, I felt palpable relief. Thank goodness it was finished.

When Jesus said It is finished, surely he was expressing relief that his suffering was over.

It is finished meant, in part, This is finally done! But the Greek verb translated as It is

finished (tetelestai) means more than just this. Eugene Peterson captures the full sense of

the verb in The Message: Its done . . . complete. Jesus had accomplished his mission. He
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had announced and inaugurated the kingdom of God. He had revealed the love and grace of

God. And he had embodied that love and grace by dying for the sin of the world, thus

opening up the way for all to live under the reign of God.

Because Jesus finished his work of salvation, you and I dont need to add to it. In fact, we

cant. He accomplished what we never could, taking our sin upon himself and giving us his

life in return. Jesus finished that for which he had been sent, and we are the beneficiaries of

his unique effort. Because of what he finished, you and I are never finished. We have

hope for this life and for the next. We know that nothing can separate us from Gods love.

One day what God has begun in us will also be finished, by his grace. Until that day, we live

in the confidence of Jesus cry of victory: It is finished!


Do you live as if Jesus finished the work of salvation? To you have confidence that God will

finish that which he has begun in you?

Prayer

How can I ever find words to express my gratitude to you, dear Lord Jesus? You did it. You

finished that for which you had been sent, faithful in life, faithful in death. You accomplishedthat which no other person could do, taking the sin of the world upon your sinless shoulders

. . . taking my sin so that I might receive your forgiveness and new life.

All praise be to you, gracious Lord, for finishing the work of salvation. All praise be to you,

dear Jesus, for saving me! Alleluia! Amen.


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The Seventh Word:

Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!(Luke 23:46)


Reflection

Two of the last seven words of Jesus were quotations from the Psalms. Earlier Jesus had

Psalm 22, My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? to express his anguish. Later

he borrowed from Psalm 31, which comes to us from Luke as Father, I entrust my spirit

into your hands.

On an obvious level, Jesus was putting his post mortem future in the hands of his Heavenly

Father. It was as if he was saying, Whatever happens to me after I die is your

responsibility, Father.

But when we look carefully at the Psalm Jesus quoted, we see more than what at first meetsour eyes. Psalm 31 begins with a cry for divine help:

O LORD, I have come to you for protection;

dont let me be disgraced.

Save me, for you do what is right. (v. 1)

But then it mixes asking for Gods deliverance with a confession of Gods strength and

faithfulness:
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I entrust my spirit into your hand.

Rescue me, LORD, for you are a faithful God. (v. 5)

By the end, Psalm 31 offers praise of Gods salvation:

Praise the LORD,

for he has shown me the wonders of his unfailing love.

He kept me safe when my city was under attack. (v. 21)

By quoting a portion of Psalm 31, therefore, Jesus not only entrusted his future to his

Father, but also implied that he would be delivered and exonerated. No, God would not

deliver him from death by crucifixion. But beyond this horrific death lay something

marvelous. I entrust my spirit into your hands points back to the familiar suffering of

David in Psalm 31, and forward to the resurrection.


Have you put your life and, indeed, your life beyond this life, in Gods hands? How do you

experience Gods salvation through Christ in your life today?

Prayer

Gracious Lord, even as you once entrusted your spirit into the hands of the Father, so I givemy life to you. I trust you, and you alone to be my Savior. I submit to your sovereignty

over my life, and seek to live for your glory alone. Here I am, Lord, available to you, both

now and in the future.

How good it is to know, dear Lord, that the cross was not the end for you. As you entrusted

your spirit into the Fathers hands, you did so in anticipation of what was to come. So we

reflect upon your death, not in despair, but in hope. With Good Friday behind us, Easter

Sunday is on the horizon. Amen.

The Trial and Death of Jesus ChristJames Stalker

CHAPTER XX. THE SEVENTH WORD FROM THE CROSS

While all the words of dying persons are full of interest, there is special importance attached

to the last of them. This is the Last Word of Jesus; and both for this reason and for others it

claims particular attention.

A noted Englishman is recorded to have said, when on his deathbed, to a nephew, "Comenear and see how a Christian can die." Whether or not that was a wise saying, certainly to

learn how to die is one of the most indispensable acquirements of mortals; and nowhere

can it be learnt so well as by studying the death of Christ. This Last Word especially

teaches us how to die. It will, however, teach us far more, if we have the wit to learn: it

contains not only the art of dying but also the art of living.
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I.

The final word of the dying Saviour was a prayer. Not all the words from the cross were

prayers. One was addressed to the penitent thief, another to His mother and His favourite

disciple, and a third to the soldiers who were crucifying Him; but prayer was distinctly the

language of His dying hours. It was not by chance that His very last word was a prayer; for

the currents within Him were all flowing Godwards.

While prayer is appropriate for all times and seasons, there are occasions when it is

singularly appropriate. At the close of the day, when we are about to enter into the state of

sleep, which is an image of death, the most natural of all states of mind is surely prayer. In

moments of mortal peril, as on shipboard when a multitude are suddenly confronted with

death, an irresistible impulse presses men to their knees. At the communion table, when the

bread and the wine are circulating in silence, every thoughtful person is inevitably occupied

with prayer. But on a death-bed it is more in its place than anywhere else. Then we are

perforce parting with all that is earthlywith relatives and friends, with business and

property, with the comforts of home and the face of the earth. How natural to lay hold of

what alone we can keep hold of; and this is what prayer does; for it lays hold of God.

It is so natural to pray then that prayer might be supposed to be an invariable element of the

last scenes. But it is not always. A death-bed without God is an awful sight; yet it does

occur. The currents of the mind may be flowing so powerfully earthward that even then they

cannot be diverted. There are even death-beds where the thought of God is a terror which

the dying man keeps away; and sometimes his friends assist him to keep it away, sufferingnone to be seen and nothing to be said that could call God to mind. Natural as prayer is, it is

only so to those who have learned to pray before. It had long been to Jesus the language of

life. He had prayed without ceasingon the mountain-top and in the busy haunts of men,

by Himself and in company with othersand it was only the bias of the life asserting itself in

death when, as He breathed His last, He turned to God.

If, then, we would desire our last words to be words of prayer, we should commence to pray

at once. If the face of God is to shine on our death-bed, we must now acquaint ourselves

with Him and be at peace. If, as we look upon the dying Christ or on the dying saints, we

say, "Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his," then we must

begin now to live the life of the righteous and to practise its gracious habits.

II.

The last word of the dying Saviour was a quotation from Scripture.


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This was not the first time our Lord quoted Scripture on the cross: His great cry, "My God,

My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" was likewise borrowed from the Old Testament, and

it is possible that there is Scriptural allusion in others of the Seven Words.

If prayer is natural to the lips of the dying, so is Scripture. For different seasons and for

different uses there is special suitability in different languages and literatures. Latin is the

language of law and scholarship, French of conversation and diplomacy, German of

philosophy, English of commerce. But in the most sacred moments and transactions of life

there is no language like that of the Bible. Especially is this the case in everything

connected with death. On a tombstone, for example, how irrelevant, as a rule, seem all

other quotations, but how perfect is the fitness of a verse from Scripture. And on a death-

bed there are no words which so well become the dying lips.

This is strikingly illustrated by the following extract, guaranteed as authentic, from a private

diary:"I remember, when I was a student, visiting a dying man. He had been in the

university with me, but a few years ahead; and, at the close of a brilliant career in college,

he was appointed to a professorship of philosophy in a colonial university. But, after a very

few years, he fell into bad health; and he came home to Scotland to die. It was a summer

Sunday afternoon when I called to see him, and it happened that I was able to offer him a

drive. His great frame was with difficulty got into the open carriage; but then he lay back

comfortably and was able to enjoy the fresh air. Two other friends were with him that day

college companions, who had come out from the city to visit him. On the way back they

dropped into the rear, and I was alone beside him, when he began to talk with appreciation

of their friendship and kindness. 'But,' he said, 'do you know what they have been doing allday?' I could not guess. 'Well,' he said, 'they have been reading to me Sartor Resartus; and

oh! I am awfully tired of it.' Then, turning on me his large eyes, he began to repeat, 'This is a

faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save

sinners, of whom I am chief;' and then he added with great earnestness, 'There is nothing

else of any use to me now.' I had not opened the subject at all: perhaps I was afraid to

introduce it to one whom I felt to be so much my superior; but I need not say how overjoyed

I was to obtain such a glimpse into the very depths of a great, true mind." Sartor Resartus is

one of the best of books; there are few to be so heartily recommended. Yet there are

moments in lifeand those immediately before death are among themwhen even such abook may be felt to be irrelevant, and, indeed, no book is appropriate except the one which

contains the words of eternal life.

It is worth noting from which portion of the Old Testament Jesus fetched the word on which

He stayed up His soul in this supreme moment. The quotation is from the thirty-first Psalm.

The other great word uttered on the cross to which I have already alluded was also taken


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from one of the Psalmsthe twenty-second. This is undoubtedly the most precious of all

the books of the Old Testament. It is a book penned as with the life-blood of its authors; it is

the record of humanity's profoundest sorrows and sublimest ecstasies; it is the most perfect

expression which has ever been given to experience; it has been the vade-mecum of all the

saints; and to know and love it is one of the best signs of spirituality.

Jesus knew where to go in the Bible for the language that suited Him; for He had been a

diligent student of it all His days. He heard it in the home of His childhood; He listened to it

in the synagogue; probably He got the use of the synagogue rolls and hung over it in secret.

He knew it through and through. Therefore, when He became a preacher, His language was

saturated with it, and in controversy, by the apt use of it, He could put to shame those who

were its professional students. But in His private life likewise He employed it in every

exigency. He fought with it the enemy in the wilderness and overcame him; and now, in the

supreme need of a dying hour, it stood Him in good stead. It is to those who, like Jesus,

have hidden God's Word in their hearts that it is a present help in every time of need; and, if

we wish to stay ourselves upon it in dying, we ought to make it the man of our counsel in

living.

It is worth observing in what manner Jesus made this quotation from the Psalter: He added

something at the beginning and He omitted something at the close. At the beginning He

added, "Father." This is not in the psalm. It could not have been. In the Old Testament the

individual had not begun yet to address God by this name, though God was called the

Father of the nation as a whole. The new consciousness of God which Christ introduced

into the world is embodied in this word, and, by prefixing it to the citation, He gave the versea new colouring. We may, then, do this with the Old Testament: we may put New-

Testament meaning into it. Indeed, in connection with this very verse we have a still more

remarkable illustration of the same treatment. Stephen, the first martyr of Christianity, was

in many respects very like his Master, and in his martyrdom closely imitated Him. Thus on

the field of death he repeated Christ's prayer for His enemies"Lord, lay not this sin to their

charge." Also, he imitated this final word, but he put it in a new form, "Lord Jesus, receive

my spirit;" that is, he addressed to Christ the dying prayer which Christ Himself addressed

to the Father.[2]The other alteration which Jesus made was the omission of the words, "for

Thou hast redeemed me." It would not have been fitting for Him to employ them. But we willnot omit them; and if, like Stephen, we address the prayer to Christ, how much richer and

more pathetic are the words to us than they were even to him who first penned them.

III.

It was about His spirit that the dying Saviour prayed.
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Dying persons are sometimes much taken up with their bodies. Their pain and trouble may

occasion this, and the prescriptions of the physician may require close attention. Some

display a peculiar anxiety even about what is to happen to the body after the life has left it,

giving the minutest instructions as to their own obsequies. Not infrequently the minds of the

dying are painfully occupied with their worldly affairs: they have their property to dispose of,and they are distracted with anxieties about their families. The example of Jesus shows that

it is not wrong to bestow attention on these things even on a deathbed; for His fifth word, "I

thirst," had reference to His own bodily necessities; and, whilst hanging on the cross, He

made provision for His mother's future comfort. But His supreme concern was His spirit; to

the interests of which He devoted His final prayer.

What is the spirit? It is the finest, highest, sacredest part of our being. In modern and

ordinary language we call it the soul, when we speak of man as composed of body and

soul; but in the language of Scripture it is distinguished even from the soul as the most lofty

and exquisite part of the inner man. It is to the rest of our nature what the flower is to the

plant or what the pearl is to the shell. It is that within us which is specially allied to God and

eternity. It is also, however, that which sin seeks to corrupt and our spiritual enemies seek

to destroy. No doubt these are specially active in the article of death; it is their last chance;

and fain would they seize the spirit as it parts from the body and, dragging it down, rob it of

its destiny. Jesus knew that He was launching out into eternity; and, plucking His spirit away

from these hostile hands which were eager to seize it, He placed it in the hands of God.

There it was safe. Strong and secure are the hands of the Eternal. They are soft and loving

too. With what a passion of tenderness must they have received the spirit of Jesus. "I have

covered thee," said God to His servant in an ancient prophecy, "in the shadow of My hand;"and now Jesus, escaping from all the enemies, visible and invisible, by whom He was

beset, sought the fulfilment of this prophecy.

This is the art of dying; but is it not also the art of living? The spirit of every son of Adam is

threatened by dangers at death; but it is threatened with them also in life. As has been said,

it is our flower and our pearl; but the flower may be crushed and the pearl may be lost long

before death arrives. "The flesh lusteth against the spirit." So does the world. Temptation

assails it, sin denies it. No better prayer, therefore, could be offered by a living man,

morning by morning, than this of the dying Saviour. Happy is he who can say, in referenceto his spirit, "I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that He is able to keep that

which I have committed to Him against that day."

IV.

This last word of the expiring Saviour revealed His view of death.


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The word used by Jesus in commending His spirit to God implies that He was giving it away

in the hope of finding it again. He was making a deposit in a safe place, to which, after the

crisis of death was over, He would come and recover it. Such is the force of the word, as is

easily seen in the quotation just made from St. Paul, where he says that he knows that God

will keep that which he has committed to Himusing the same word as Jesus"againstthat day."[3]Which day? Obviously some point in the future when he could appear and

claim from God that which he had entrusted to Him. Such a date was also in Christ's eye

when He said, "Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit." Death is a disruption of the

parts of which human nature is composed. One partthe spiritwas going away to God;

another was in the hands of men, who were wreaking on it their wicked will; and it was on

its way to the house appointed for all living. But Jesus was looking forward to a reunion of

the separated parts, when they would again find each other, and the integrity of the

personal life be restored.

The most momentous question which the dying can ask, or which the living can ask in the

prospect of death, is, "If a man die, shall he live again?" does he all die? and does he die

forever? There is a terrible doubt in the human heart that it may be so; and there have

never been wanting teachers who have turned this doubt into a dogma. They hold that mind

is only a form or a function of matter, and that, therefore, in the dissolution of the bodily

materials, man dissolves and mixes with the material universe. Others, while holding fast

the distinction between mind and matter, have taught that, as the body returns to the dust,

the mind returns to the ocean of being, in which its personality is lost, as the drop is in the

sea, and there can be no reunion. There is, however, something high and sacred within us

that rebels against these doctrines; and the best teachers of the race have encouraged usto hope for something better. Still, their assurances have been hesitating and their own faith

obscure. It is to Christ we have to go: He has the words of eternal life. He spoke on this

subject without hesitation or obscurity; and His dying word proves that He believed for

Himself what He taught to others. Not only, however, has He by His teaching brought life

and immortality to light: He is Himself the guarantee of the doctrine; for He is our immortal

life. Because we are united to Him we know we can never perish; nothing, not even death,

can separate us from His love; "Because I live," He has said, "ye shall live also."

It may be that in a very literal sense we have in the study of this sentence been learning theart of dying: these may be our own dying words. They have been the dying words of many.

When John Huss was being led to execution, there was stuck on his head a paper cap,

scrawled over with pictures of devils, to whom the wretched priests by whom he was

surrounded consigned his soul; but again and again he cried, "Father, into Thy hands I

commend my spirit." These were also the last words of Polycarp, of Jerome of Prague, of

Luther, of Melanchthon, and of many others. Who could wish his spirit to be carried away to
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God in a more glorious vehicle? But, whether or not we may use this prayer in death, let us

diligently make use of it in life. Close not the book without breathing, "Father, into Thy

hands I commend my spirit."

[1]"Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit."

[2]The first business of the interpreter of Scripture is to find out precisely what every verse

or paragraph meant at the time and place where it was written; and there is endless profit in

the exact determination of this original application. But, whilst the interpreter's task begins, it

does not end with this. The Bible is a book for every generation; and the deduction of the

message which it is intended to convey to the present day is as truly the task of the

interpreter. There is a species of exegesis, sometimes arrogating to itself the sole title to be

considered scientific, by which the garden of Scripture is transmuted into an herbarium of

withered specimens.

[3]Christ's word isparatithemai, and St. Paul's,2 Timothy 1:12,ten paratheken mou,

according to the best reading.

The Seventh Word: ContentmentFreddy Fritz 417 Freddy Fritz Sermons

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Topic: #145 of 1725 forSermons on Easter: Maundy Thursday

Scripture:Luke 23:44-23:46

Sermon Series:The Seven Last Words of Christ

Denomination:Presbyterian/Reformed
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Date Added: April 2009

Audience: General Adults (31 - 49)

Keywords:Substitution,Death,Easter,Christ,(Suggest a Keyword)

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Introduction

Herbert Lockyer, in his book titled All the Last Words of Saints and Sinners,

says,

"The last words of both saints and sinners about to enter eternity, what they

had to say before their stammering tongues lay silent in the grave, demands

our deepest attention and most earnest concern. If, when the soul is face to

face with eternal realities, true character is almost invariably manifest, then we

can expect the lips to express glorious certainty or terror concerning the

future."

For the past six years we have been examining the so-called last words of

Christ. Tonight, we come to the seventh and final word

The Seven Words of Jesus on the Cross

Documents

Transcript of The Seven Words of Jesus on the Cross