“Dear Woman, here is your son!” and “Here is your mother!” When Jesus recognized His mother standing near the cross with the Apostle John, He entrusted His mother’s well-being to John’s responsibility. The response of Jesus in this instance was profound to the criminal, as He promised this sinner that he too would enter the gates of Heaven to live in Paradise, not later but that day!" (excerpt from What Did Jesus Mean When He Told the Thief "Today You Will Be with Me in Paradise"? Cally Logan)Ĥ. Both men spoke to Jesus, but only one would die to be greeted into the promise of Heaven. Jesus was blameless, without sin, and was not guilty of such a horrific death, but two men who were guilty of their crimes hung next to Him that fateful day. “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise" ( Luke 23:43). This prayer, from upon the cross particularly, would have been a confirmation of His identity to those awaiting their beloved messiah, as described by the prophets of God." (excerpt from Why Did Jesus Say "Father Forgive Them," Amy Swanson)ģ. "By interceding for His transgressors through this prayer, Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy foretold by Isaiah hundreds of years prior. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” ( Luke 23:34). Matthew 27:46 tells us that about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”Ģ. This charge I have received from my Father. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I make take it up again. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold.
I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father and I lay down my life for the sheep. The significance of Jesus’ statement lies in a conversation he had with religious leaders about his role in God’s great plan:
When everything was said and done, Jesus’ work on the cross was all but complete, and his proclamation, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” finished the work. This passage is a moving account of Jesus’ dying words. ( Luke 23:44) Significance of Jesus' Last Words Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. Luke records the final words of Jesus before he died on the cross: One of the ways Christians have traditionally meditated on Good Friday is by reading and reflecting on the seven last words of Jesus from the cross. It’s a time to dwell on what Jesus suffered for us, in all its pain and intensity, without rushing straight ahead to the good news of Easter, resurrection, and new life. Every year on Good Friday, Christians meditate on the depth of Jesus’ sacrifice for us in suffering a humiliating, bloody death by crucifixion.