This document summarizes and provides commentary on the seven last words of Christ from the gospels. It discusses Jesus' first word of forgiveness, his promise of paradise to a fellow crucified criminal, his instruction to take care of his mother, his cry of feeling forsaken by God, his statement of thirst, committing his spirit to God, and final word commending his spirit. The commentary reflects on themes of forgiveness and justice, hope in difficult times, family and community, suffering, serving others, and following God.

1. Seven Last
Words of Christ
By: Group 2

2. First Word
• Luke 23:33-34
And when they came to the place which is called The
Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on
the right and one on the left. And Jesus said, "Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do."
• Yes, we must forgive; but to do so requires that we also
work for justice. After all, what is forgiveness for if not
the restoration of right relationships?

3. Second Word
• Luke 23:39-43
One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying,
“ Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked
him, saying, “ Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence
of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are
getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing
wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your
kingdom.” He replied, “ Truly I tell you, today you will be in Paradise with
me.”
• Paradise is possible – even when evil surrounds us, even when we are
humbled, together with the criminal hung beside Jesus, by our own
culpability and the simple truth that we don’t deserve to be a part of
God’s promise.

4. Third Word
• John 19:25-27
When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved
standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your
son." 27 and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time
on, this disciple took her into his home.
• Purposefully and intentionally expanding our own particular
family circles is God’s work; it’s the Church’s work; expanding
our own family is the beating heart of Peacemaking; it’s your
work and mine. For we are all relatives.

5. Fourth Word
• Matthew 27:46
About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi,
lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have
you forsaken me?"
• We long to escape, to pass through the horror of
crucifixion to the joy of resurrection. But before we
can identify with the One who was crucified, we must
identify with those who crucified him. We must
remember that it was at our hand that he suffered.

6. Fifth Word
• John 19:28
Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that
the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am
thirsty."
• Whenever we give a cup of water to those who are
thirsty, we are responding to Jesus’ plea. Whenever
we work to end personal executions and the mass
execution of war, we are giving a drink to Jesus.

7. Sixth Word
• Luke 23:46
Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your
hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he
breathed his last.
• Never mind that Jesus was on the receiving end of it.
Never mind that he still is, because what we do to the
least of persons we do to him. Don’t think too
consistently about that. He’s finished.

8. Last Word
• Luke 23:46
As Jesus as dying “Father, into your hands I commend
my spirit”.
• It is time to reflect on our individual responsibility to
this radical action of God in Jesus. This final act of
dying. God died! So that we could live. What does the
Lord require of you? To do justice...to love
mercy...and to walk humbly with your Lord!