First Lutheran Church
Good Friday + April 10, 2020
“The Seven Last Words of Jesus”
I. "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing."
Luke 23:32-38
32 Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. 33 When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’ And they cast lots to divide his clothing. 35 And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!’ 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, 37 and saying, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!’38 There was also an inscription over him, ‘This is the King of the Jews.’
Reflection
It’s not surprising that the first words of Jesus from the cross are words of grace and forgiveness. Jesus came into the world not to judge and condemn but rather to reconcile all of creation unto God and reconcile each of us to one another. Jesus came into the world to end the vicious cycles of scapegoating, to end the violent cycles of revenge, to replace and eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, - with grace, peace, mercy, and forgiveness.
II. "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
Luke 23: 39-43
39 One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’ 40 But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’ 42 Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ 43 He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’
Reflection
Jesus’ grace and mercy are not just idle words. His words of forgiveness are followed by words of absolution and proclamation. He tells the thief hanging next to him, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” These words are spoken not to a disciple, not to a man who had showed interest in following Jesus, not even to a man who was able to demonstrate some kind of repentance, but rather to a man who only admits that he is guilty and deserving of his death sentence. In his promise from the cross Jesus proclaims that God still loves this thief and that in death he will not be alone, that ultimately he is not just a thief but a beloved child of God, and that in the end nothing in all of heaven and earth can separate any of us from the love of God fully present and revealed in Christ Jesus. God’s love for all of us is stronger than sin and the bonds of death.
III. "Woman, here is your son." "Here is your mother."
John 19:25-27
Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ 27 Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.
Reflection
In his third word from the cross we are reminded that Jesus was truly human, that he was born into a family, and that his friends, his follower had become like family to him. Jesus gathered everyone up and into the family of God. Around Jesus there were no strangers, no foreigners, no immigrants, no insiders and no outsiders, no castaways, - just family. Jesus proclaimed that all are welcome in the family of God. In this word from the cross we are comforted that we too, in – with – and through Christ, are members of God’s beloved family. And we are challenged to keep extending our love, the circles that make up our family to include those who are marginalized, those who are forgotten, those who are strangers to us, and even those who may appear to be enemies.
IV. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Matthew 27:45-46
45 From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 46 And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’
Reflection
I find these words, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me,” to be the most powerful words spoken from the cross. It reveals the true humanity of Christ. It reveals that while Jesus had put all his hope and trust in God, he was still walking as yet by faith, walking in the frailty of fragile human faith, perhaps even walking in our shoes, along the same path we must walk. In these words, spoken from the cross, we hear some fear, and perhaps even some doubt? I am comforted and inspired by this “very human Jesus” who trusts in God even when he might not fully know the outcome with absolute certainty! This Jesus knows what its like to be human, he knows our hopes and our fears because he has been there, he has been here, and therefore we do not walk alone in this life. May God grant us all a portion of the faith and courage of Jesus.
V. "I am thirsty."
John 19:28-29
28 After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), ‘I am thirsty.’ 29 A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth.
Reflection
In the end, as he suffered the cruel punishment of the cross, as life was being drained from his body, Jesus was thirsty. Thirst was nothing new for Jesus. From the beginning he was thirsty for the kingdom of God, for peace and justice. And he was eager to share with those who were thirsty, proclaiming to be “living water” that would quench the world’s enduring thirst forever. He turned water into wine celebrating the kingdom, and he encouraged us to share a simple drink with “the least of these.” Jesus thirsted for the kingdom of God. As he speaks these last words, we are prompted to ask ourselves, “For what do we thirst?”
VI. "It is finished."
John 19:30
30 When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’ Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Reflection
It is finished, - yet our salvation has just begun! Jesus runs the race that has been set before him. He does not let the cup pass but instead drinks deeply from it. He puts his trust in God, in the power of love, and resists the fear that the power of death instills in so many of us. “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.”
VII "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."
Luke 23:44-46
44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’ Having said this, he breathed his last.
Reflection
In his darkest hour Jesus is able to trust in God. When all seems lost, when the light is disappearing, and hope is fading away, Jesus knows that he is not alone. In the end he does not give up, he does not bargain with the devil, he does not look for an easy way out, he does not seek a theology of glory but instead remains committed to a theology of the cross; he remains fully incarnate, focused not on his will but on the will of God, he remains faithful to his calling, to the power of love, to the Kingdom of God. And in doing so, the separation between humanity and God is closed, the temple curtain is torn open, and creation is reconciled once again with its creator, we are reconciled to each other, and in the great of love of God, in God’s amazing grace, we are finally and forever reconciled with God.