The First Word: Luke 23:34
33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”[b] And they cast lots to divide his garments.
The first word out of his mouth was a prayer. A prayer to the Father, not for himself, but for his enemies, his oppressors, the perpetrators of his demise. Yes, for the Romans, the Jews, the bloodthirsty crowds Jesus prayed. But also for you and me, whose sins put him on that cross just the same.
We know not what we do. Who can know his errors? Who can know the depth of his sin? We see only a small sliver of the true measure of the evil within us. But on the cross we can surely see the price. We can see the consequence. We can see what our sins have wrought: death, in all its ugliness.
But even as he goes to death, Jesus brings forgiveness. That’s the whole point of this bloody, gruesome business. To destroy death by death, his death, and to win for us forgiveness. Jesus, by dying thus, answers his own prayer to the Father. In Christ, and only in Christ, do we have the forgiveness of the Father.
The Second Word: Luke 23:43
39 One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him,[d] saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Just as his first word prayed for forgiveness for the wicked who put him here, his second word offers a promise to another wicked sinner under the same sentence of death. Who knows what this man had done – they are called thieves and robbers, he confesses he’s receiving the just reward of his deeds. Really it could be any sin, for all sin deserves death, temporal and eternal. That cross next to Jesus could just as well be yours or mine.
That other thief was with Jesus – but he wasn’t with Jesus. He was with him in time and space, under the sentence of death, but he couldn’t be farther away in his heart. But the second thief, was with Jesus already by faith, and that meant Jesus had a word of hope for him in this dark hour.
But Jesus speaks a beautiful word of comfort here. He answers this poor sinner’s prayer, directly, profoundly. Today you will be with me in paradise.
Death is not the end of us. Paradise awaits. Those who are with Christ now, in faith, will be with him even in death. But even paradise isn’t the end of the story. For that thief, and for all scoundrels who find our hope in Christ, paradise for the soul gives way to a resurrection of the body and a life in the world to come.
The Third Word: John 19:26-27
26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” 27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
He cares for his enemies. He cares for condemned thieves. Of course he cares also for his mother and his beloved disciple. There is no time for self-pity, or crying victim. Jesus is always, even at his lowest, concerned for others.
He provides for Mary. Take care of her, John. You’re family now. But isn’t that the way of the church? Our connection to Christ connects us to each other, and it all starts at the foot of the cross.
Today there are many Marys who bear griefs and sorrows, and many Beloved disciples who bear all manner of sins and hurts. We all need Jesus and his cross. But we also need each other. And so the Christ who dies for his people also gives us each other – the Church – in which to proclaim and hear his gospel, to forgive and be forgiven, and to bear one another’s burdens – even as he has borne the sins of all.
The Fourth Word: Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
The word of ultimate suffering. The thorns, the nails, the flogging, the mockery, the nakedness, the despair of death – none of it compares to this. Being forsaken by the Father. We can’t even imagine. The Son of God, in perfect communion with the Father from eternity, sharing a unity that we cannot comprehend and can only barely confess, somehow experiences separation from his Father This is hell. This is the pinnacle of his suffering. The wrath and punishment of a Father who turns his back on his Son, because the Son has become sin, the very thing the Father hates.
This is for you, dear Christian. This is so you will never, ever, have to fear such a fate. The Father will never forsake you, because Jesus was forsaken for you. The Father’s anger is turned away from you, because it was all spent upon Jesus. Thanks be to God.
The Fifth Word: John 19:28
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”
And now, a very human word. A very human thing: thirst. We could explain it scientifically, clinically, noting all the blood and sweat that he had lost. We could see it as yet another aspect of his suffering, that after all of this, now also thirst. But we can also see it as John tells it, this fulfills prophecy.
That same Psalm 22 Jesus had already quoted, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” foretells this part too:
my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
And so we see that even in his death, in the final moments of suffering, Jesus does what needs to be done. He fulfills prophecy, he completes his mission, down to the last little detail. He has done all things well.
And maybe one last reason for the thirst, and the last sip. To prepare his dry mouth for the great declaration that is to follow in the next word:
The Sixth Word: John 19:30
30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
In the Greek, one word, “Tetelestai”. In English 3 little words, “it is finished”. With this word Jesus puts a giant bow on the gift of his work for us. He declares his work for us complete.
But it’s not just an exhausted exclamation, like a runner who’s huffing and puffing after finishing a long race. This is an official decree. A pronouncement. Like when the jury reads the verdict, “not guilty” or the pastor says, “I now pronounce you husband and wife” or, “I forgive you your sins”. These words, or this word, makes it official. It is finished.
And finished not just in the sense of done and over with, but also fulfilled. It’s complete. It’s perfect. His work of salvation for you has left no sone unturned, not loose end untied, like a masterpiece painting and the artist adds that final magical brush-stroke. It is finished. With the flourish of a single word, Jesus declares it, and it is so.
Your sins are finished. Guilt and shame are finished. The devil and all his works are finished. Even death itself is finished. Jesus suffering is complete, and now as he dies, there is nothing left to do.
We cannot add anything to his work. No merit or worthiness of our own counts a whit, can add a thing to his perfect, completed, all-sufficient work of salvation. Jesus died for you. Let the period at the end of that sentence stand forever.
The Seventh Word: Luke 23:46
46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
Jesus’ work of suffering now complete, all that is left is to die. He commits his spirit to the Father. And he shows us by this word that we also may die in peace, committing our spirits to the Father.
His final word, like his first word, is a prayer to the Father. It is a prayer of trust, knowing that his work complete, the Father will receive him joyfully. Indeed, the Father will soon show just how please he is with his beloved Son and his work of salvation – for after his brief rest in the tomb, the Father will raise the Son to life again.
Until then, Jesus rests secure in the Father’s hands. Just so, when we die, we rest secure in the Father’s hands until our own resurrection. After all, “It is finished”, the Father has forgiven us, and we will be with Jesus in paradise.
Jesus’ last word on the cross is no word of despair, but of hope, and trust and faith. It stands as an example of the same for all who die in Christ, that we too can depart in peace, secure in the care of the Father, because of the precious death of the Son.
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