JESUS’ FINAL WORDS ON THE CROSS

JESUS’ FINAL WORDS ON THE CROSS

Good and Holy Friday

Fr. Luke A. Veronis

Today we stand before the Cross on this most solemn of all days of the year, Holy and Good Friday, and we hear the final words of Jesus in the midst of His extreme suffering.

We stand not as spectators, but as participants listening with trembling hearts to the last words of our Crucified Savior. Each word He speaks from the wood of the Cross is like a precious drop of Divine Love spoken not in comfort, but in agony. And yet, each word reveals the heart and spirit of God.

Let us reflect attentively to these final words. Let us be present. Let us weep. Let us believe.

1. "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." (Luke 23:34)

How astonishing are these words. The nails have pierced His hands. The whip has torn His flesh. The thorns press into His brow. And yet, His first word is not vengeance—but mercy. Christ does not cry out against injustice—He offers forgiveness.

We see this same spirit in the martyrs of the Church. Saint Stephen, the first martyr, would echo this prayer when his enemies threw stones at him: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And we, beloved, are called to echo the same forgiveness to those who deeply hurt us.

“The One who forgives his executioners,” Saint Ambrose highlights, “shows us the path how and gives us the strength to forgive any wrong done to us.”

This is love beyond comprehension: an unconditional love that forgives even in the face of betrayal and pain.

2. "Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." (Luke 23:43)

One criminal mocks and distains the Lord. The other humbly pleads, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”

This man - a criminal whose name was Dismas (or Demas) - was not righteous. He lived a life of theft and rebellion. And yet, with a single act of faith, a single moment of confession and repentance, he receives the promise of Paradise. He is the first to enter Paradise.

"The first to enter heaven was a thief. And the first to enter hell was an apostle of Christ,” noted Metropolitan Athanasios of Limassol. “And how all this happened is a great lesson for us. Therefore, one should never despair nor give up on another." This concurs with Saint John Chrysostom’s advice, “Do not despair, even if you have spent your whole life in sin. The thief entered Paradise in a single moment of repentance.”

Our Lord’s parable of the workers in the field reminds us that whether we come at the first hour or the eleventh, the Lord gives the same reward: eternal life.

3. "I thirst." (John 19:28)

This is the shortest of Christ’s sayings—and perhaps the most human. He thirsts. His mouth is dry. His body is dehydrated. He is dying on the Cross in the most horrific manner. Yet, more than physical thirst, His is the thirst of divine love.

He thirsts for each one of us. Mother Teresa of Calcutta would often tell her sisters, “Jesus is always thirsting—not for water, but for our love. He thirsts that we might thirst for Him.”

Do we quench His thirst with our love? Do we offer our hearts to Him or do we leave Him parched?

4. "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46)

A seeming cry of anguish. A Psalm of lament. Yet, Psalm 22 begins with despair but ends in praise. Jesus speaks these words not as one abandoned, but as one who enters into the full experience of human suffering.

This Psalm continues: “You who fear the Lord, praise Him ... All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord.” Christ is not abandoned. He is fulfilling the prophecy.

In the midst of His cry, hope breaks forth. Even in the deep darkness, light has not been extinguished. Jesus journeys through the human reality of suffering but points beyond suffering. His cry is one of hope!

5. "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit." (Luke 23:46)

With this final breath, Jesus shows us how to die - in trust, in surrender, in the arms of the Father. He does not die in despair, abandoned and lost. He dies in communion with the Heavenly Father and returns to the Father, not as a defeated man, but as the Lamb of God who loving offered His life for the world.

“He gave up His spirit not by necessity,” Saint Basil notes, “but in authority. He chose the moment, the manner, and the purpose – to reveal His love and save us."

6. "It is accomplished." (John 19:30)

Not “I am finished.” Not “This is over.” But: “It is accomplished.” He completed the Divine Plan. He has begun his defeat of Satan and sin and even death itself! He accomplished the Divine Mission for which He came to earth and is opening the gates of Paradise.

“By His death,” St. Athansios writes, “He trampled down death. He did not merely die—He destroyed death by dying.” This is the final cry of victory from the Cross.

+++

We call today “Holy and Good” Friday—not because of what was done to Christ, but because of what He did for the world.

• He speaks forgiveness.
• He promises Paradise.
• He thirsts for our love.
• He shares our suffering and sorrow.
• He entrusts Himself to the Father.
• He accomplishes the Divine Mission for our salvation.

Let us stand in awe and silence—and let allow His final words speak in the depths of our hearts.

We venerate Your Cross, O Christ. And we await and glorify Your Holy Resurrection!