Final Words

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”
—Luke 23:34 (NLT)

Though I realize it had to be, though I understand what it accomplished, and though I know that a brilliant dawn awaited Him who endured the darkest of all days, I am unable to shake free from the sound of those square nails being pounded into place. I cannot erase from my mind “the very dying form of One who suffered there for me.” Perhaps I shouldn’t try. And perhaps you shouldn’t either.

Let’s linger here awhile. Let’s stand at the foot of His cross and watch and listen. If we pay close attention, we’ll hear not one or two utterances fall from His lips but seven.

The last words a person utters can be of great importance or significance. Loved ones stand close and stay quiet, not wanting to miss those final, parting words. Never was this truer than with Jesus’ final words on the cross—seven statements of incomparable significance and timeless truth:

“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”
“Today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
“Mother, behold your son. Son behold your mother.”
“My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”
“I am thirsty.”
“It is finished.”
“Into Your hands I commit My spirit.”

The first three were said during daylight. They concerned other people, His horizontal relationships with others around Him, and His compassion for others. The last four were uttered after darkness came over the land. They concerned Jesus himself, His vertical relationship with God the Father, and His suffering and the meaning of His death.

Another dimension to this event, spiritually speaking, is that we’re in this scene—you and I. When the Lord Jesus asked the Father to forgive, He also had us in mind!

Seven times He spake, seven words of low;
And all three hours His silence cried
For mercy on the souls of men;
Jesus, our Lord, is crucified!
—FREDERICK W. FABER, 1849