Reflections on the seven statements Jesus made from the cross

“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

This famous sentence is the first of the "Seven Last Words" of Jesus spoken from the cross. It offers a profound look at what true grace looks like in the real world. The most important thing to notice here is Jesus’s immediate reaction. Even while experiencing extreme physical and emotional trauma, his first instinct was intercession, not accusation. He wasn't looking for someone to blame; he was looking for someone to help.

By praying for the people executing him, Jesus identified the root cause of their actions as ignorance. He didn't just see them as oppressors or bullies; he saw them as "spiritually blind" individuals who were acting out of a deep lack of understanding. Essentially, he used his final breaths to bridge the gap between justice and mercy, asking for grace for the very people as they were actively killing him. His forgiveness toward His tormentors gives us great comfort in how Jesus approaches our offenses. He leads with forgiveness. He leads with compassion. He leads with the understanding that we lack. Our. sin. causes. pain. and yet He willing absorbs the pain upon Himself and grants forgiveness to us.

For us, the challenge is to practice what we can call "Proactive Forgiveness" in our daily lives. Think about how we usually handle being wronged. Many people wait for an apology before we even consider letting go of a grudge. We want the other person to "know exactly what they did," feel the full weight of the guilt, and come to us to make it right. We treat forgiveness like a transaction: "I’ll give you peace once you give me an apology."

But following Jesus’s example means choosing to release bitterness even when the other person hasn't asked for a second chance—and even if they don’t realize they’ve hurt you at all.

When you find yourself in a conflict, try to shift your focus. Instead of obsessing over how much they harmed you, try to look at the brokenness or ignorance that caused them to act that way.

Maybe that person who was rude to you is dealing with a hidden pain at home. Maybe they were never taught how to handle their own stress. When we see people as "broken" rather than "evil," it doesn’t excuse what they did, but it changes how much power they have over our hearts. It’s a way of saying, "I’m not going to let your confusion dictate my peace of mind."

Think of someone who has wronged you recently. It might be a small thing—a sarcastic comment or being left out of a plan—or something much bigger. Instead of dwelling on the "debt" they owe you, offer a brief prayer for their well-being and clarity.

Choosing to let go isn't about letting them "off the hook." It’s about unhooking yourself from the resentment. It breaks the power that anger has over you and allows you to move forward, regardless of what the other person does next.

“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

There is something deeply powerful about the words of Jesus in His final moments. As He hangs on the cross, beaten, bleeding, struggling to breathe, He speaks a promise that echoes through eternity. He says, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” Not tomorrow. Not someday. Today.

And what makes this moment even more astonishing is who He is speaking to. He says this to a criminal. A man who had lived his life far from God. A man who had nothing left to offer… no good works, no time to fix his past, no chance to prove himself. All he had… was a moment of faith.

In his final breath, he turns to Jesus and says, “Remember me.” And that was enough.
And Jesus responds not with hesitation, not with conditions, but with certainty: “Today you will be with me in paradise.” This is the beauty of grace. The thief didn’t earn salvation. He couldn’t. He didn’t deserve it. None of us does. And yet, in a single moment of genuine repentance and faith, everything changed.

That’s what grace does. It meets us in our worst moments and gives us what we could never achieve on our own. And notice the word Jesus uses: today. There is no delay. No waiting room. No second process. For those who trust in Him, death is not the end; it’s a doorway. An immediate entrance into the presence of Christ.

Paradise is not just a place. Paradise or Heaven is about being with JESUS.

Which means this promise is not just about the future, it’s about assurance in our present. It’s about knowing that when this life ends, we are not lost… we are received. And if that’s true, then it changes how we live right now.

So, how can we apply this? If eternity is real… If being with Jesus is our ultimate destination…Then every day matters.

Don’t wait until the last moment like the thief, though even then, grace is available. Live now, preparing your hearts, aligning your lives, and walking with the One we will one day see face to face. Don’t delay anymore. Turn to Jesus today. Trust Him. Walk with Him.

Because the same Jesus who spoke that promise on the cross… still keeps it today.

And for those who belong to Him, the end is not the end. It’s the beginning of paradise.

“Woman, here is your son, here is your mother.” John 19:26

While suffering and securing eternal life for all who will believe, Jesus also cares about the practical and spiritual needs on this side of eternity. He provides others in our lives to support us spiritually and practically, especially when we are most vulnerable, and maybe our natural family cannot. As we reflect on the cross, the suffering and the love - Also remember how Jesus put others in your life through the years for you practically and spiritually.

I know this to be true. In my own life, God put others in my life to meet those needs.
When my family's life was abruptly changed by tragedy, just like Mary’s was…

As an infant and the youngest of 4, my mother died. This began a downward spiral for my father. By the age of 6, he was unable to care for us and be the parent my siblings and I needed.

Our grandparents stepped in and raised us to adulthood, meeting our physical needs.

On this journey, God put others in my life to meet my spiritual needs.  

A friend and her family invited me to Vacation Bible School at her church, then Sunday School and Youth group.  They used events and fun activities to bring me to Jesus.

Eventually, I had a whole church of spiritual family to love me and guide me.  Sometimes this included meeting physical needs as well.
 
This is where my relationship with Jesus began.  

Did they even understand the gravity of Jesus entrusting them with my spiritual needs?

Do we understand the gravity of those God entrusts to us to meet their spiritual needs and sometimes physical needs?  

May we step up and be the strong spiritual family God has called us to be.

Are our eyes open to see those around us as Jesus does, even when we are suffering?

Remember your spiritual family every day in your prayer life and even in your day-to-day.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46

In this moment on the cross, Jesus steps into one of the deepest human experiences & emotions- feeling abandoned. —--Forgotten—When He says— “Why have you forsaken me?” “Why have you left me?” This is deep. suffering. Emotional, spiritual, and physical anguish all at once.

In this moment, there on the cross…

He knows what it feels like to be alone. He knows what it feels like to cry out and not hear an answer, in this moment. He knows what it feels like to carry overwhelming weight, in this moment. Jesus chose to enter into that pain for us. For you, and for me.

The kind of pain that at some point in our lives, we’ve probably felt- the feeling that God is distant, silent, or far away.

And, even in His anguish, He reaches toward God— “My God, My God…”

Jesus is not distant from our struggles and everything we are facing today.  He is not removed from our suffering. He isn’t unaware. He doesn’t stand far off, leaving us on our own. He stepped fully into the brokenness of this world,  into the darkest moment imaginable,  on that cross, so that nothing we experience would ever be outside of His understanding.

There is no depth of pain Jesus cannot relate to.

Because Jesus understands our pain, we can come to Him with our pain. We don’t have to hide it, or try to carry it alone. So often, when we’re hurting, our instinct is to pull back, to shut down,  to pretend we’re fine, or to believe “no one would understand anyway.”

Maybe YOU are sitting here today, and YOU feel alone—He understands. Maybe you feel like no one else could possibly get it—He understands. When you feel forgotten or unseen- He understands.

And because He understands, He invites you to come to Him. He invites us to bring our honest prayers, our real emotions, They don’t have to be perfect and polished. You don’t have to have the right words— even Jesus cried out, “Why?”

I encourage you to come to him with your questions, your doubts, and your grief.
Not only does Jesus understand your pain—He meets you in it.

“The same Jesus who cried out in pain then, walks with you in yours today.”

“I thirst.” John 19:28

With just two words, this verse is an acknowledgement of Jesus’ physical suffering during this very difficult moment. It is to fulfill prophecy that He was human and can fully relate to our own physical suffering. Even through all that pain on the cross, He stayed because he was thinking about you and me. Through Him we would have eternal life and never thirst.

Physical suffering is very personal to me right now because pregnancy is causing me some physical pain. Yet this pain will bring forth life and a person created in the image of God.

We have to remember that sometimes our physical suffering isn’t from the Lord, but a result of us not following Him or the consequences of another person’s actions. To know the difference, we need to continue to train our ears to listen to the Lord.

Where do you see your pain bringing life? Maybe staying late to give your friend a ride even when you want to go home? Worshipping God by singing, raising your hands or clapping even when you don’t feel good? Possibly serving your family when it seems really hard? What does it look like in your life?

“Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit.” Luke 23:46

These final words come just before Jesus breathes his last breath. It’s now the ninth hour, the sky has grown dark, and the end of Jesus’s earthly life is imminent.

Scripture records that Jesus said this sentence in a loud voice. Even in the weakness his body is surely experiencing, His words are clear and confident. These words are meant to be heard by those present at his crucifixion and meant to be recorded by Luke to be heard for all time.

Jesus is quoting Psalm 31:5, written by David, a lament from a faithful servant seeking help from God amid enemies who seek to do harm. This psalm was recited nightly by Jews as their day came to an end. And now is recited by Jesus as His earthly life is coming to an end. How fitting that these words, which serve as a comfort to Jesus as he faces death, also serve as a comfort for us in this life.

He chooses his final words to declare his surrender and his trust.

Our daughter Chloe loved small things. Polly Pockets, Littlest Pet Shop, in today’s era, she’d have a room full of Lego mini-figs. But she also loved to make little things. She’d take paper and fold it or draw on it, and create little friends, each with a distinct name and a voice. In her five-year-old mind, these were real. I took it for granted then, but I see now the trust she had in me when she’d place her little paper friend in the palm of my hand. It was only a scrap of construction paper with a face drawn with a marker, but now this little “life” was no longer hers; it was mine. She yielded it to my hands.

Hands are fascinating. They are capable of so many things. They are industrious and get things done. The move about a keyboard makes thoughts tangible. They can make a fist to crush what is inside them or to deliver a blow. And yet, hands comfort, guard, protect and hold. When we put anything in someone’s hand, we’ve surrendered it to them, trusting what their hands will do.

It was human hands that swung the hammer and struck the nails.

It was Jesus’ hands that were opened and pierced for us.

It is the Father’s hands that received him, and receive us into everlasting life.

The comfort in these final words is because of the trustworthiness of the hands that life is surrendered to.

Father, we commit our Spirit into your hands.

There is a mystery and a miracle to LIFE. Any parent understands this.

If you have been in a delivery room and witnessed a newborn baby gasp, as they INHALE & draw their first breath…you hear that first cry, YOUR HEART BURSTS WITH TEARS OF JOY. You know this to be true.

There is a mystery and a miracle to LIFE. But there is also the very real TRAGEDY AND TRAUMA of DEATH.

And anyone who has had the solemn, sacred honor to be AT THE SIDE a loved one…to be with them at the very moment the light leaves their eyes… YOUR HEART BREAKS as they EXHALE their final breath… even when you can’t HOLD BACK tears, YOU STILL KNOW this to be true.

I have been there… at that very moment with people that I loved dearly and I tell you: It is jarring. It is unforgettable. Whether we see it coming or not, death is traumatizing for those who witness it. But it is also sacred. And it is holy.

Church leaders gathered in the 2nd century AD to answer the question: what is it that we should fundamentally believe about Jesus?

They penned this:

I believe in God, the Father,
the Almighty, maker of heaven and maker of earth
And in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord
He was conceived by the Holy
Born to the Virgin Mary
Suffered under Pontius Pilate
He was crucified dead,
and was buried

For the Son of God…this is what we honor tonight. The MYSTERY and the MIRACLE that LIFE HIMSELF COULD surrender His Life, and THAT SOMEHOW - through the power of His LOVE for us - God the Father would allow the light to depart from the eyes of the Light of the World.
God in the flesh DIED that night. He DIED SO THAT WE MIGHT LIVE.

The final statement of Christ on the cross comes from the gospel of John 19:30, declaring the COMPLETION of his REDEMPTIVE work.

Jesus said, “It is finished”