The Last Words of Christ

Mark Dunagan
08/03/08 - Sunday Morning

"Last words are always impressive, especially when they come from the lips of one dearly loved. It is significant that He spoke seven times from the cross — a complete interpretation of the stupendous event that was being enacted. Each of these sayings is an ocean of truth compressed into a drop of speech" (The Incomparable Christ, J. Oswald Sanders, p. 155)

The Word of Forgiveness

"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34)

• "Forgive them" is the manifesto of His kingdom (Sanders p. 158), see Matthew 5:44. Jesus is putting His own command into practice, "leaving an inspiring example of the way in which trouble can be turned into treasure" (p. 158). Often, when dying, people ask to be forgiven; yet there is no consciousness of guilt with Christ. He did not need to be forgiven; rather "they" needed it. In addition, Jesus during this time of extreme pain is not praying for Himself or for the end of His own suffering. His entire life had been a life of service for others (Luke 19:10; Philippians 2:3ff), and that continues while He is hanging upon the cross.

• Jesus is praying for others even though they clearly never asked Him to do so. No one in the crowd said, "Intercede for us, dying King!" In fact, many may have been offended by such a prayer — "He was in trouble, not them".

James Montgomery Boice observed, "Most people do not have difficulty believing in the existence of God. The Bible recognizes this indirectly when it says that only fools deny it (Psalm 14:1). Most people do not have difficulty accepting the fact of God's love or God's power. Many people will believe that the same God of love, who created them, also has a purpose for their lives. If they are not cynical, because of circumstances, many will even listen to you talk about Jesus Christ so long as you talk about him as a man who came to teach a high system of morality and to set an example for us to follow. However, if you talk about the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior, as the One who died to save sinners, there you will find hostility an vigorous rejection" (The Gospel of John, Volume 1, p. 248).

• Jesus prayed for people who did not deserve the prayer, for their actions deserved a curse rather than a plea for mercy. How gracious!

• During times of tremendous stress, what we really are (on the inside) comes out into the open. Jesus' lifetime habit of wanting people to experience God's mercy persisted even during His own suffering. "His hands can no longer perform acts of love for friend or enemy. His feet can no more carry Him on errands of mercy. But one form of service, and the highest, is still open to Him. He can still pray" (p. 157).

• "I hear Christians say, 'I can't talk to God! I can't pray! I do not believe anyone — after the way people have treated me!' Look at the way they treated the Lord Jesus! His own nation sinned against Him. His own disciples failed Him and fled" (Jesus' Seven Last Words, Warren W. Wiersbe p. 6). And God expects us to rise above as Jesus did and extend mercy and kindness to the unkind (Ephesians 4:31-32).

It is significant that while Jesus had been silent before His accusers, He was not silent before God. The lesson is that we need to continue in prayer as long as we have life. We must not let any excuses of "suffering" or "having a hard day" move us away from our dependence upon God. Even in the midst of tremendous pain and all sorts of distractions, we must remain steadfast in prayer. Prayer had become such a habit for Jesus that He could not cease from it.

"For they know not what they do"

• Clearly, ignorance is not an excuse. These ignorant individuals still needed forgiveness, indicating that God was holding them accountable for their actions (Acts 3:18-19). What is amazing is that Jesus argued or pleaded on their behalf. Consider how much God desires men to be saved and to be given a chance at forgiveness (2 Peter 3:9). Jesus saw a crumb of a reason for mercy, "ignorance", and pleaded with that small crumb. God is not looking for the earliest time to condemn men, rather, He often extends mercy right down to the last possible moment, although many in the crowd that day would not have considered themselves "ignorant", they would have argued that they were putting a blasphemer to death and doing the will of God.

• Anytime we are going against the will of God — we are in a state of ignorance. Sin never enlightens, and it does not educate in a positive direction.

• This prayer was not answered by unconditional pardon at that moment, rather, the prayer was answered when the gospel was preached to many of these same people, in this same city, and the offer of forgiveness was extended (Acts 2:36-38).

• One lesson for us today from this prayer is that we need to be just as unselfish, even during times of tremendous upheaval in our lives. The local congregation needs to be interceding for the sinners in the community, asking that God would grant them more time, and be actively involved in inviting them to hear about God's gracious offer.

"I believe that the more the church of God strains after, before God, the forgiveness of sinners, and the more she seeks in her life-prayer to teach sinners what sin is, and what the blood of Christ is, and what the hell is that must follow if sin be not washed out, and what the heaven is which will be ensured to all those who are cleansed from sin, the more she keeps to this the better" (Christ's Words from the Cross, Charles H. Spurgeon, pp. 25-26).

The Word of Assurance

"Verily, I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43).

• Apparently this particular thief had started the day mocking Christ along with the crowds and the other thief (Matthew 27:44). "One of the most incredible facts of the whole event is that those seasoned criminals became anxious for their reputations though being crucified in His company! Lest they be credited with being His friends or associates, they joined company with the passerby, the chief priests, scribes and elders" (Sanders p. 164).

• Yet I am also amazed at the faith of the repentant thief. "Can you put yourself into his place, and suppose yourself to be looking upon One who hangs in agony upon a cross? Could you readily believe Him to be the Lord of glory, who would soon come to His kingdom? Recollect, also, that He was surrounded by scoffers. It is easy to swim with the current, and hard to go against the stream. This man heard the priests in their pride ridicule the Lord, and the great multitude of the common people, with one consent, joined in scorning; his comrade caught the spirit of the hour, and mocked also... Like a jutting rock, standing out in the midst of a torrent, he declared the innocence of the Christ. He had no member that was free except his tongue, and he used that member wisely to rebuke his brother malefactor and defend his Lord" (Spurgeon pp. 32-33). And in a very real sense, every week we play the role of one of these thieves.

For a moment consider how the Father guarded the reputation of His Son even at this dark hour. Judas was moved to say, "I have betrayed innocent blood". Pilate testified, "I find no fault in Him". Pilate's wife announced, "Have nothing to do with that just man". Now the thief gives his testimony:

• Reverence: "Do you not fear God?"

• Self-accusation: "We receive the due reward of our deeds" — a self-confessing sinner is never far from salvation.

• Vindication of God: "This man has done nothing". The deeper the conviction of his own deserved sentence, and his own guilt, the more sure he was that Jesus was completely innocent.

The Thief's Prayer

• "Lord": In spite of the mocking, he acknowledges Jesus to be the Lord.

• "Remember me": To be excluded from heaven is to be forgotten for eternity. He had heard Jesus' prayer that offered forgiveness and he was earnest and quick to ask for such. Here is Jesus, still the "friend of sinners". "How I rejoice at this! It gives me assurance that He will not refuse to associate with me!" (Spurgeon p. 33).

• "When You come in Your Kingdom": He anticipates Jesus' victory over the present moment. Observe that once we believe that Jesus is truly "the Lord" then nothing else is hard to believe. Jesus did not look like a king hanging on the cross, but the thief could see what was possible by the power of God.

Jesus' Response

• "Verily I say unto thee": Only Jesus can speak the words of absolute truth. What certainty!

• "Today": What speed! No long sleep for the righteous, rather, instant glory and communion with God.

• "You shall be with Me": What friendship and fellowship!

• "In Paradise": What glory!