Matthew 7: 24-25 (MSG)
“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.
What an incredible privilege it is to have the opportunity to hear the last words of someone important before they die. Many families don’t get this privilege. I’m not talking about sudden or unexpected death, I’m talking about the words of people who are aware they are dying.
Its interesting what many people say. Obviously believers sound a lot different at the end of their lives than others do. Some people say very wise things, while others say very foolish things. Some are reverent and caring, while others are irreverent and mean. People can teach us a lot by their last words, especially if they are purposefully trying to.
These are the last words they will speak this side of eternity. These are important words when they are from people who have lived their lives for others. Its interesting in most cases however that people die as they lived.
When Harriet Tubman was dying in 1913, she gathered her family around and they sang together. Her last words were, “Swing low, sweet chariot.”
“It is very beautiful over there.“
– Thomas Alva Edison, inventor, d. October 18, 1931
“Oh, do not cry – be good children and we will all meet in heaven.”
-Andrew Jackson, US President, d. 1845
“Nothing matters. Nothing matters.“
-Louis B. Mayer, film producer, d. October 29, 1957
“Lord help my poor soul.“
-Edgar Allan Poe, writer, d. October 7, 1849
“Are you guys ready? Lets roll“
– Todd Beamer
“The best of all is that God is with us, farewell, farewell.”
-John Wesley, preacher and songwriter:
“Can this be death? Why it is better than living! Earth is receding, heaven is opening. This is my coronation day”
-Dwight L. Moody, famous preacher and founder of the Moody Bible Institute, while on his deathbed:
WHAT WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT LAST WORDS EVER SPOKEN?
They were the words that Jesus spoke on the cross right before his death. His last words in death were to teach us how to live our lives.
First He Said…
Luke 23:34
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
The sheer enormity of this statement is incredible, the fact that He is looking down on a crowd calling for his crucifixion fully knowing he is innocent.
This phrase is for people who aren’t small, who aren’t petty, who have the capacity to let offenses go, but when you think about the context of Him saying this at thsytime, it shows us that if he can cross this threshold there is no offense we can’t forgive.
Jesus taught us and modeled for us how to forgive.
Second He Said…
Gospel of Luke 23:43
“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”
He is teaching us, that in all circumstances we should think of others. We should care about others. We should extend love and compassion to others. He is also teaching us that just like everyone is not going to accept truth, everyone will also not receive love.
As He was dying, He was teaching us how to respond
Third He Said…
Gospel of John 19:26-27
“Jesus said to his mother: “Woman, this is your son.” Then he said to the disciple: “This is your mother.”
Jesus is teaching us that we are family. That this is not about religion or biological family or status, it goes well beyond that. It is about relationship, faith, and love.
As He was dying, He was teaching us the importance of spiritual relationship.
Fourth He said…
Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Jesus is teaching us that there are times in our lives that it feels like we have been forsaken. He is letting us know that He knows how that feels. That there are times in life, that seem unfair, and lonely, and depressing, discouraging and isolated. However the truth is, He will never leave us or forsake us even to the end of the age.
as He was dying he was teaching us the importance of belonging.
Fifth He Said…
Gospel of John 19:28
“I thirst.”
He was teaching us to surrender fully, regardless of our discomfort, to the will and purpose of God.
Sixth He Said…
Gospel of John 19:29-30
“IT IS FINISHED”
He was teaching us to finish what we start. He was teaching us to live our lives full on to completion. Not giving up, not stopping short, but finishing strong.
He was also teaching us, that we need not ever pay for sins again. That when he paid the price, He did it once and for all. The work is done. What we do is believe, repent, and follow.
Seventh and Last He Said…
Gospel of Luke 23:46
Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”
He is teaching us how to trust, that from the father we came, and to the father we will go. The only true response in life is to give our lives, our selves, our everything into the loving hands of the father.
He gave his life into the hands of the father, knowing that the father would give his life back to him.
That greatest thing about the last things that Jesus said before He died is that they were not the last things he said.
As Jesus overcame death through his resurrection He not only taught us how to live, He gave us Power to live.
