Last Words: Hearing the Words of Christ

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.
Luke 23:34 NASB

The last words of a dying person are significant. They can communicate good or ill to those left behind. Because the last words are so final and so revealing of what was uppermost in the person's mind as he was leaving this earth to face his Maker.

Some years ago, my grandmother, was hospitalized after a heart attack. She wasn't expected to die at that time, but she did die, just before being released. I had visited her from out of town just days before. I remember her looking at a picture of Christ hanging on the wall of her room and saying, "O how much he suffered for us!" To me, these were her last words that reflected a lifetime of devotion to her Lord. 

Another person I visited shortly before his death was the father of a young friend. As I took his hand to pray for him that night in hospice, this dad struggled to say something. I waited to hear what he was trying to say. Finally his words came: “I'm concerned about Mary's [not her real name] relationship with Jesus." I told Mary the next day about her dad's concern. That day she had time alone with him and said, "Daddy, I love Jesus." And right then her daddy went home to his Lord.

Have you ever thought about what your own last words might be? Michael McKay, theology professor, husband and father, had done just that. So when facing a serious, life-threatening surgery recently, he actually shared with his wife Lee-Ann the words he had “rehearsed in his head over the years.”

He told her, “I don’t want you to be angry at the Lord for what’s going on here. I don’t want you to be bitter.” And he wanted Lee-Ann and the kids to “know their dad and husband was dying very grateful for the life he had been given.”

Last words can have an incredible impact on one’s life. This is especially true of the last statements of our Savior from the cross. When we realize the agonizing physical death caused by crucifixion, it's incredible to think that our Lord would say what he said, hanging on a cruel cross. Angry, blaspheming words like those spoken by the criminals crucified with him would more readily come to mind for most people.

Each of Christ’s amazing statements conveys deep truths concerning our Lord’s cross work for us.

1. A word of forgiveness: “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34 NIV

2. A word of salvation: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43 NCV

3. A word of family affection: “Dear woman, here is your son . . . Here is your mother.” John 19:26–27 NCV

4. A word of abandonment: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46 NIV  

5. A word of personal need: “I am thirsty.” John 19:28 NIV

6. A word of completion: “It is finished.” John 19:30 NIV

7. A word of reunion: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” Luke 23:46 NIV

Each of our Savior’s words spoke love, hope, and truth to the people surrounding Him, as well as ourselves.

Prayer

Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I bow in awe of You and Your selfless love for me. I am filled with gratitude for the new life that is mine because of Your forgiving sacrifice on the cross . Thank You for those precious words that captivate my mind and heart and life.  May I speak Your words of life and grace to those around me.

In Your Loving Name. Amen.

LAST WORDS

What will be the thoughts I’ll think 
Just before I die?
What will be the words I’ll speak 
To those who are nearby?

Will I be forgiving
Of those who’ve caused me pain?
Will I be concerned about
My loved ones who’ll remain?

Will I anxiously be waiting
For You to come for me?
Or will this world have ties on me
And prevent my being free?

Lord, let me be ready
Before that day arrives
To make my peace with everyone
Who’s come into my life.

Show me how to shed regret
For the things I should have done.
Instead, may I be thankful
For the things I’ve overcome.

Then, when it’s time to go with You
My heart will be at peace.
And I can bless my loved ones
And into Your arms joyfully be released.
            Penny Mandeville

Project

1. Meditate on Jesus’ sayings from the Cross, one by one.

Visualize yourself right there beneath his cross?
Take in the sights, sounds, emotions, but above all, the words.
Receive them as your own.
Which one grabs hold of you most? Why?

Journal your thoughts and meditations.

2. Prayerfully consider what you would like your last words to be.

Jot down your thoughts and feelings in your journal. Pray.

When we think about our own mortality, we often like to push that off as much as possible. And yet we know it’s going to happen.
I think it’s healthy for us to think about it before it happens,
because it causes us to ask the big questions in life.
Michael McKay