7 Last Words of Jesus J
- Global Prophetic Voice
- 19 hours ago
- 5 min read
Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34)
There are many ways of thinking about Easter. One with a long tradition is to consider what Jesus said while he was on the cross. The four Gospel writers record seven sayings (traditionally called the ‘Seven Last Words’) spoken by Jesus on the cross, which overflow with meaning. Taken together they sum up what Easter – and Christianity – means.
The background is that some time in the morning of the first Good Friday, immediately after the evening that saw the start of Passover, Jesus was nailed to the cross. The Gospel writers record that, as Jesus hung on the cross, from noon to three in the afternoon, darkness fell upon the earth. It is a darkness that echoes what Christ experienced: a death somehow worse than death.
In the first of the seven sayings, Jesus prays for his persecutors: ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’
It is important to notice that here Jesus refers to God as ‘Father’ or, in the original Aramaic, ‘Abba’. This was the normal way that Jesus prayed to God, showing how he knew God in a personal way.
The important thing here is the way that Jesus prays for others. Most of us have problems praying for good people at good times. What is remarkable here is that Jesus is able to pray for bad people at a bad time. Here, in appalling pain, Jesus’ concern remains for others. In praying like this, Jesus is living out his own teaching: ‘But to you who are listening I say: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who ill-treat you’ (Luke 6:27–28). Jesus a moral teacher who lives out what he says.
Notice, too, the content of Jesus prayer: ‘Forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’ Jesus puts forward what we might call in legal language ‘extenuating circumstances’ – the fact that his persecutors didn’t fully realise that they were torturing and mocking the Messiah, the Son of God.
In his first letter, the apostle John writes, ‘My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One’ (1 John 2:1). John uses a legal term (παράκλητον) to describe the role of Jesus, a word we might translate as ‘defence lawyer’. What this word means in practice is shown perfectly on the cross.
Jesus asks his heavenly Father to forgive people and offers every possible excuse for them. That’s what we all need, even the best of us: a God who, in Jesus, is on our side and who speaks on our behalf.
Ponder: Who then will condemn us? No one – for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honour at God’s right hand, pleading for us.
Romans 8:34, NLT
Prayer: Thank you, Lord God, that you are on our side. Give us the capacity to forgive others as you have forgiven us. Amen.
Part 2
I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43)
It is a universal feature of human societies that there are hierarchies. There are always those at the top who are successful, and at the bottom those who have failed. One of the humiliations poured on Jesus at the cross is that he is crucified between two failures – criminals who have committed the serious offence of rebelling against Roman rule. It is a calculated insult on the part of the authorities to say what they think of someone who claims to be a king. The crowd around the cross is mocking Jesus and, as they do this, one of the criminals joins in. The other rebukes him, saying, ‘We are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’
Then, in an extraordinary statement, he says, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ It is typical of Christianity, turning things upside down that the first person to acknowledge that the cross was a triumph rather than a disaster was a man at the bottom of society. Those in religious and political authority mock Jesus’ kingship; this dying criminal acknowledges it.
In response, Jesus turns to the criminal and makes this wonderful promise. ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.’ We see authority in this statement. ‘Truly,’ Jesus says. ‘You can rely on it because I say it.’ What Jesus is saying is not just the sort of wishful hollow words of hope that we hear in hospital wards such as, ‘Don’t worry, you’ll soon be out of here.’ It is the most trustworthy of promises.
At the cross, Jesus becomes the ultimate victim, suffering in the place of people. Yet although he loses almost everything on the cross, one thing he retains is his authority. He remains the Lord and as such he is able to make promises. And what a promise it is! ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.’ The word ‘paradise’ means ‘a garden’ and it is used in the Greek version of the Old Testament for the Garden of Eden. What Jesus is saying is, ‘I promise you that this very day, you will be in the Garden of Eden with me.’ What better words could anyone ever hear? What comfort, what hope, what security are in these words.
We see in this exchange between Jesus and the criminal a picture of the breath-taking and almost incomprehensible nature of God’s grace. The criminal on the cross merely acknowledges his own guilt and recognises that Jesus is truly God’s king. And this confession is enough for Jesus to accept him and offer him salvation and eternal life.
This doomed, dying man has no opportunity for baptism, good works or charity; all he can do is admit his guilt and affirm that Jesus is Lord. For almost two thousand years men and women in the most terrible and hopeless situations have found in Jesus’ promise all the hope they need.
Ponder: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Hebrews 13:8, NLT
Prayer: Eternal God, the hope that we have in you is truly staggering. May we live our lives in the light of eternity with you. Amen.
J John
John Ioannou John, best known as J. John, is an evangelist, author and broadcaster based in the United Kingdom.John Ioannou John, best known as J. John, is an evangelist, author and broadcaster based in the United Kingdom.
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