HIS DYING WORDS

      I might as well confess it: I'm fascinated by dying words, and I love to reflect on them. Some are prophetic, some regretful, some defiant, some very hopeful. Any internet search will yield more examples of last words than you care to read... but here are a few that speak to me. When urged to renounce the devil, Voltaire uttered, "My good man, this is no time to be making enemies," and Benedict Arnold lamented, "Let me die in the old uniform in which I fought my battles for freedom. May God forgive me for putting on another." Robert Childers yelled to his firing squad, "Take a step forward lads- it'll be easier that way," and when his wife told him that it would be easier for him to breathe if he rolled over on his side, Ben Franklin replied, "Nothing is easy for a dying man." It's true of course- nothing is easy for a dying man... but faith makes a profound difference! Tammy Faye Bakker's last words were "I'm in the hands of Jesus," and one of my friends cried, "Look, I can see Jesus and my love. They're waiting for me." Sometimes, last words are just the product of pain and drugs. They don't make much sense, but when people are not out of their minds, their last words can be quite revealing. And this brings me to Good Friday... and to Jesus' final words. His death was agonizing; it was public; it was unjust and painful in every sense of the word. Most men cursed, or pleaded, as they fought to breathe, but the man from Nazareth kept his eye on his Father and on those whom he came to save.

1)    Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. 
They are like sheep. They rush this way and that way, they are easily frightened and prone to wander. They have a hard time thinking of others and they can't get their arms around things like grace and sacrifice. They are more foolish than evil, so forgive them. Who among us has ever heard of a dying man utter, "Father, forgive them for being the... insecure, self-centered, and blustering creatures they are? Good news indeed... but who, exactly, is "them"?  When he prayed, "Forgive them," was he talking about the Romans who were crucifying him, the Jewish authorities who had condemned him, the disciples who had abandoned him, the passersby who were mocking him, those of us who would add our voice to the crowd's "Crucify him. Crucify him"?

2)    Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.
What a wonderful thing this is to say to a man who is hanging on the cross next to you! What an amazingly grace-filled act! These words reveal a deep trust in his Father's power and an awareness that repentant "men" really will reach heaven through him. All the convicted man said was "remember me," and Jesus gave him a ticket to heaven. Wow! This is too much grace for many Christians I know because, even though they won't admit it, they continue to harbor the belief that they aren't good enough for God. Truth is- grace is both necessary and sufficient for salvation!

3)    Woman, behold your son! Behold your mother!
This is another loving and other-directed thing to say. Death is a "passing" into a new realm, but for those who are left behind, life on earth goes on. For parents who have lost a child, for lover's who have lost a partner, for children who have lost parents and friends... life goes on. It goes on in an emptier way, but it goes on. Jesus knew this, and with his dying words, he responded to his mother's need for care. The first of his last "words" were other-directed, and that in itself, says a lot about the man. He died with forgiveness and salvation on his lips, and this says volumes about who he is! But then, Jesus' mind turned to his relationship with his Father, and he cried out...

4)    Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani (My God, my God, why have you left, abandoned/forsaken me?
Jesus was in excruciating physical, emotional and psychological pain. It was becoming increasingly difficult for him to pull his body up so that he could breathe, and the weight of our sins had separated him from his Father.  So his 4th utterance concerned himself, as he cried, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani," knowing that these words come directly from Psalm 22:1. As he was dying, Jesus identified with a Psalm that expresses both pain and hope. If you aren't familiar with Psalm 22, it is worth noting that the Psalmist is being ridiculed and insulted and that his feet and his hands have been pierced. Like Jesus, the psalmist' throat was dry (22:15) and like Jesus, his enemies were dividing his clothes between them (22:18). However, the 22nd Psalm goes on to celebrate God's power and proclaim a day when people will praise God with the words, "He has done it!" In other words, when he quoted Psalm 22, Jesus was acknowledging his agony and suffering, but he was not expressing doubt in His Father. It may even be said that Jesus of Nazareth died with his God's promise and victory on his lips.

5)    I thirst.
This is the most ordinary of his last words and they reveal Jesus' humanity. His lips were parched, his throat had swollen, so much so that when he cried, "Eli, Eli" to his Father, many who stood beneath his cross thought that he had said "Elijah," and they thought that because he could not be understood. Nothing is easy for a dying man- so he said, "I thirst."

6)    Tetelestai (It is finished)
It is finished. It is complete. These were among his very last words. At some level, of course, they could refer to his life on earth. It was very close to being finished, but at a deeper and yet still obvious level, the word "tetelestai" surely spoke to his mission, which was to save the lost and open the gates of heaven to all who believe in him. According to Paul, Jesus voluntarily emptied himself of divinity and came to earth to save sinners. He exchanged glory for a cross, so that God's children would be saved in his name. Like all of us who have a calling or a purpose of any kind, there comes a time when our work is accomplished. On Good Friday, in a far away and little known place, his work was completed... and the Nazarene uttered, "Tetelestai."

7)    Into Thy hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.
If his first three sayings had others in mind, his last two were clearly focused on his work and his Father. He died with surrendered trust on his lips. This is fitting because it was surrendered trust that he taught- that and obedience- as a way of life. It was surrendered trust that he called for from Peter and the others, and it was surrendered trust that he reaffirmed for himself at Gethsemane. No one can earn, force, charm, or buy their way into heaven. The door is only opened by God's invitation, which came on Calvary's Hill, and lives on to this very moment... in and through His Son.

They say that you can tell a lot about a man by the way in which he dies, and according to Mark, at least one Roman soldier found this to be true... because when he saw how Jesus died, (Mk 15:39), he said, "Surely this man was the Son of God." Amen.