After being mocked and tortured on the cross, the Bible says, “Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed His last” (Mark 15:37), but what were His final words? John tells us “It is finished” (John 19:30). Jesus’s final cry was a faithful yet painful shout of trust in God, for Jesus knew He had fulfilled His purpose and death was not the end. This Easter, we’re looking at everything Jesus said on the cross leading up to His last words. What do they tell us about who He is and what He did for us?

This article with 7 devotions, each for one of Jesus’ words on the Cross offers us an opportunity to spend the Holy Week with the Savior who lived, died, and triumphantly arose for us. Read on to understand His last words a little better and what they could mean to you today!

*This reading is also available in SINHALA and TAMIL

.

“I wish they’d bloom longer,” my wife said wistfully as she gazed at the giant pink and white flowers. She leaned in to enjoy the fragrance of flowers she’d planted twenty years ago. They’d been a gift from my mother, who knew she wasn’t long for this world and wanted her garden to live on after her.

Soon our three-year-old granddaughter bounded up the garden walkway, ponytail bouncing with each rapid-fire step. Handing a small stone to our son’s friend Caleb, she announced, “Here!” Accepting the rock from her, he turned it over in his hands. Perceptive beyond his seventeen years, he slipped it into his pocket and said, “Flowers don’t last long.This will last a lot longer.” A shy smile captured our granddaughter’s face. She walked away contentedly, anticipating more garden treasures. Life’s brevity, beauty, and promise, all in a single moment.

Long ago in an upper room, another scene distilled life’s pain, love, and hope into just a few concentrated hours. John the disciple describes the Last Supper:

“Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world” (JOHN 13:1). In those fleeting moments, Christ showed His disciples what real leadership looks like (VV. 3-17). He warned of His imminent betrayal at the hands of Judas (VV. 18-30), and cautioned Peter that he would soon deny his Master (V. 38). He told the disciples He was leaving soon but gave them this promise: “I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you” (14:18). He assured them, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth” (VV. 16-17).

Even as He anticipated His own torturous death, Jesus gave comfort to others. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (14:27).

Soon Jesus and the disciples—minus Judas—would leave the upper room and walk to the Mount of Olives. On any other night, it might have been a lovely evening stroll. Not this night. There, in the garden of Gethsemane, He told His disciples, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death” (MATTHEW 26:38). He prayed, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me” (V. 39).

Here we see the humanity of Jesus in all its full intensity. Here, too, we see His fierce obedience to His Father to the very end: “Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (V. 39).

Arrested in that garden, Jesus endured two sham trials and the most unjust verdict in all history. The Creator of the cosmos, crucified by His creatures on a hill outside Jerusalem. From that awful site, Christ would speak His “last seven words.”

You’ll find reflections on each of these seven words as you scroll through. As you read these devotional articles, we pray that you’ll ponder their significance and gain encouragement from the promise of the hope that blooms eternally.

This life inevitably brings pain and death. Too soon, we say goodbye to those we love. Too soon, we ourselves “go the way of all the earth,” as King David poetically described his own approaching death (1 KINGS 2:2 niv).

But, like the blooms in summer, this life also contains immense beauty. And because of Jesus, we anticipate the joy that lies ahead. The flowers my mother gave to my wife live on through the propagation of plants that our Creator planned out before the foundation of the world. Mom’s legacy also thrives through her children, her grandchildren, and in a great- granddaughter who lovingly gives stones to her many friends. But even more wonderfully, we anticipate a forever reunion with all those who love God and choose to follow Him by believing in His Son.

Flowers eventually die. Gifts large and small can be lost, forgotten, or misused. But these days, little joys like the gift of a small rock from my granddaughter to a friend remind me of a much larger stone—one from another garden. “Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance” (JOHN 20:1). We remember what Jesus said to His disciples: “Since I live, you also will live” (14:19).

Let’s see what the One who conquered death has to say to us in His last seven words.

Tim Gustafson, Our Daily Bread author

 

Word 1: Grace to Forgive

On January 23rd, 1999 Graham Staines and his two young sons Philip and Timothy, were torched to death in their jeep, while they slept.

READ MORE

 

Word 2: Too Bad? Too Late?

Christopher Hitchens was a famous atheist who enthusiastically debated believers in Christ.

READ MORE

 

Word 3: A Word of Care

When my dad passed away soon after my parents’ fortieth anniversary, my mother grieved deeply, but she also worried.

READ MORE

 

Word 4: Never Forsaken

When my grandfather was dying, I went to the hospital to say goodbye.

READ MORE

 

Word 5: I Am Thirsty

A family excitedly opened their door to a team of volunteers who’d traveled to their village in a rural region of India to provide a borewell and a simple home water filter system.

READ MORE

 

Word 6: A Long-Standing Debt

In 2014, Britain announced that it was working to pay back a £2.6 billion (roughly ₹2420 crores) debt dating back to the eighteenth century.

READ MORE

 

Word 7: Last Word

As Martin Luther lay dying, a pastor roused him and asked, “Reverend father, will you die steadfast in Christ and the doctrines you have preached?” Luther replied,….

READ MORE

What Jesus’ Last Words Mean To Me

I had never heard of the seven last words of Christ before I attended my current church in Chicago, Illinois. I still remember searching the Scriptures after I heard about the “Seven Last Words” service to count each of the words Jesus said before He died. I was never able to find just seven words. But then I went to my first Seven Last Words service on Good Friday at my church. During this gathering, almost all of our congregation and visitors crammed into the sanctuary, and we listened to seven different ministers. These ministers shared from the Gospels the seven phrases Jesus said while hanging on the cross.

That’s when I got it, and I learned the seven phrases (“words”) Jesus said before dying.

And each Good Friday when I attend this service and listen to seven different sermons inspired by these seven phrases—a great deal of preaching to take in during one sitting—I hear something different, new, and inspiring.

I cling just a bit more to Jesus, His amazing character, and the example He demonstrated for His disciples as He died.

When I hear “Father, forgive them” (LUKE 23:34), I see Christ modeling forgiveness for us—even for the really tough things in life, the really painful acts done to me or my loved ones out of maliciousness. How do I forgive? I ask for God’s help as I recall Jesus’ words through His perspective and pain.

When I hear “Today you will be with me in paradise” (LUKE 23:43), I not only hear Jesus forgiving, I see His restoration of a sinner. I see Him embodying Scripture that says He will wipe away the sins of all who turn to Him and grant eternal life—regardless of our past (SEE MATTHEW 9:2 AND JOHN 3:16). I see His desire to be with us forever.

When I hear “Dear woman, here is your son” and to a beloved disciple, “Here is your mother” (JOHN 19:26-27), I see Christ caring for others even in the midst of excruciating pain. I see Him providing families for those without families and commanding us to care for each other.

When I hear “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (MATTHEW 27:46), I hear a big, looming question. I hear depression. I hear loneliness. I hear hurt even in the midst of completing a mission Jesus knew He was called to do—a mission He talked about with His disciples (SEE MARK 8:31-33). He knew He was sent as a sacrifice for our sins and to show us the way to live, yet He grappled with real, raw human emotions of isolation, loneliness, and despair. Through Jesus’ heart-wrenching question, I learn how to lean in and cry out to God with the questions of life. I learn that lamenting is okay. I can honestly present my questions and concerns to Him. I also learn that some questions may go unanswered; lamenting is about acknowledging my God and releasing those questions to Him.

When I hear “I am thirsty” (JOHN 19:28), I’m reminded that though Jesus is fully God, He’s also fully human. He felt what I feel as a human being.

When I hear “It is finished!” (JOHN 19:30), I see our Savior completing His mission on His own terms—He died because He said He was done. He was still in control—even unto death. When what He came to accomplish was done, He pronounced it and let go.

And when I hear “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” (LUKE 23:46), I see Christ willingly giving up His spirit to God, His Father. Recognizing who really controls everything, I see surrender, peace, and true faith. And a reminder to rest in God as I turn things over to Him.

Reflecting on the seven last words of Jesus takes me back; it carries me to a cross I did not know, an incident where He was strung up to die. It takes me back to who Christ is and His model for us today. It reminds me of what I need to do as

I attempt to follow the Messiah and live according to God’s plan. Jesus truly lived as a shining example of how we are to strive to live through His Spirit and power.

Jesus’ last words remind me of His heart, emotions, care, and commitment. I pray His words are examples for you too that lead to a changed life; that His words encourage you to strive by the power of His transforming grace to be more like Him through hard days and through easy ones. I hope His words provide a vivid picture of caring for others even when they hurt you and need forgiveness. I hope Jesus’ words and actions show you how to leave whatever you’re facing in God’s hands and in God’s care with His help.

Following Christ’s example like this is impossible on our own. It requires faith in the Messiah—constant trust and reliance on God’s power and grace. We must surrender our lives to Him every day. Jesus showed us the way; now it’s up to us to follow.

Will you follow Him?

Katara Patton, Our Daily Bread author

“Our response to Jesus is the infallible evidence of whether or not we have understood and received forgiveness.”

~GARY INRIG