With the Passover approaching, our focus remains on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, especially as this year's Passover aligns with His last in AD 31 when He was crucified. During those critical moments before, during, and after His crucifixion, His final words from the cross hold profound significance. The number seven, symbolizing completion and perfection in Scripture, is fittingly reflected in the seven statements He made while hanging on the cross. In the first three hours of light, from 9 AM to noon, He uttered His first three sayings, revealing His perfect character of love. His initial statement was a prayer for forgiveness for those who crucified Him, demonstrating His focus on others despite His immense suffering. His second statement offered assurance of eternal life to one of the robbers crucified beside Him, showing His special love for those who turned to Him in faith. The third statement honored His mother by entrusting her care to John, the beloved disciple, fulfilling His duty even in agony. At noon, darkness suddenly covered the land until 3 PM, marking a shift from hours of hate and mockery to a time of horror and silence among onlookers. During this darkness, His fourth statement echoed Psalm 22, expressing His anguish. The fifth statement acknowledged His thirst, fulfilling prophecy as soldiers offered Him vinegar on a hyssop stalk, symbolizing His role as the true Passover Lamb. The sixth statement, "It is finished," declared the completion of His redemptive work, a single Greek word meaning "paid in full," signifying that He had accomplished what the Father sent Him to do. Finally, in His seventh statement, He cried out with a loud voice, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit," before bowing His head and dismissing His spirit, ensuring every drop of His blood was spilled as a sacrifice for the sins of the world.

Jesus Christ, in His final hours on the stake at Calvary, spoke seven profound statements that reveal the depth of His love and purpose during His greatest agony. These last words, preserved across the four gospels, offer a powerful message of hope and victory over sin and death. No single gospel writer records all of His statements, but together they form a complete testimony of His mind and heart. First, Jesus thought of others, praying to God, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." This plea encompassed all humanity, including those crucifying Him, reflecting His boundless compassion even amidst intense suffering. Second, He offered hope to a repentant thief crucified beside Him, assuring him of a future in God's Kingdom, demonstrating His concern for individual souls. Third, He provided for His mother, entrusting her care to His disciple John, honoring family even in His final moments. In His fourth statement, Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" This intense expression revealed His total separation from the Father as He bore the sins of mankind, experiencing the profound loneliness of that burden. Fifth, He acknowledged His physical need, expressing thirst and accepting sour wine, fulfilling prophecy and affirming His true humanity in suffering. Sixth, He declared triumphantly, "It is finished," signifying the completion of His redemptive work on earth, the penalty for sin paid in full. Finally, in His seventh statement, He surrendered with trust, praying, "Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit," affirming His unwavering reliance on the Father even at the moment of death. These seven statements from the stake stand as a source of encouragement, showcasing Jesus Christ's commitment to humanity, His victory over every obstacle, and His ultimate sacrifice for all.

In the closing chapters of John's gospel, we find a series of final words spoken by Jesus Christ after His resurrection and before His ascension. Among these, the fourth and fifth sayings focus on the matter of faith. The fourth saying, directed to Thomas, is: Do not be unbelieving, but be believing. This utterance comes as a challenge, emphasizing that Jesus, in His grace, stoops to provide what is needed to lead one from doubt to belief, even when there is no right to demand such evidence. The presence of Christ Himself, identified by His wounds, ultimately convinces Thomas, revealing the love of Christ as the greatest proof. The fifth saying of Jesus Christ is: Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. This pronouncement carries a great blessing, highlighting that a faith satisfied with what God provides, without yearning for visions or tangible proofs, is not inferior but superior. It underscores a remarkable characteristic of God's Word, which is filled more with blessings than with curses, affirming that the blessings of faith are for all who believe in Him, not just a select few.

In the closing chapters of John's gospel, we find a series of final words spoken by Jesus Christ after His resurrection and before His ascension. These seven sayings are: 1. Peace be with you. 2. As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you. 3. Receive the Holy Spirit. 4. Stop doubting and believe. 5. Blessed are those who have not seen but yet have believed. 6. Feed My sheep. 7. Follow Me. The sixth and seventh sayings, Feed My sheep and Follow Me, carry profound significance. Feed My sheep is repeated three times in variations, emphasizing the great responsibility entrusted to under-shepherds to nourish Christ's flock with the Word of God. Follow Me, repeated twice, serves as a great invitation to discipleship, urging unwavering focus on Christ as the standard of service. These final words in John's gospel underscore the call to duty and the ongoing relationship with the living Christ, encouraging all to remain steadfast in following Him.

When considering the final words of Jesus Christ, attention often turns to the seven statements spoken during the hours preceding His death by crucifixion: "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing," "Woman, here is your Son," "You will be with Me in paradise," "I am thirsty," "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me," "Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit," and "It is finished!" However, these are not the last words He spoke upon earth, nor are they deemed the most significant in all contexts. In the closing chapter of John's gospel, a series of seven last sayings are recorded, spoken after His resurrection but before His ascension, which carry profound importance. These sayings are: "Peace be with you," "As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you," "Receive the Holy Spirit," "Stop doubting and believe," "Blessed are those who have not seen, but yet have believed," "Feed My sheep," and "Follow Me." Among these, the first three hold particular weight during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, enhancing their relevance. The initial greeting, "Peace be with you," spoken to the disciples in the upper room, transcends a mere salutation. It embodies a serious endowment of peace, akin to a divine blessing, reflecting the peace achieved through His death and resurrection. This peace signifies reconciliation with God, a gift purchased by His suffering, addressing humanity's natural state of conflict with the Divine. It also offers the peace of God, a solace amidst life's turmoil, providing comfort to the disciples who had endured immense fear and trauma following His arrest and crucifixion. The second saying, "As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you," connects directly with the peace offered, commissioning the disciples to carry forth His mission. This directive implies a pattern of engagement with the world, mirroring His own entry into humanity, urging them to be in the world yet not of it, to witness and share truth as He did, with the ultimate goal of glorifying Him as He glorified the Father. The third saying, "Receive the Holy Spirit," signifies a transformative impartation, essential for understanding divine truth. Spoken after His resurrection, it marks a foretaste of the fuller outpouring at Pentecost, equipping the disciples for their mission. This act of breathing the Spirit upon them echoes the creation of life, opening their minds to spiritual knowledge and affirming their new identity under the New Covenant, with blessings and responsibilities as brethren in a new relationship with God through Him.

Suffering and sorrow indeed come to those Jesus Christ loves, as evidenced by the fulfillment of prophecy during His crucifixion. The apostle John records three of Christ's seven profound statements from the cross, each reflecting His deep concern for others even in His final hours. These sayings, spoken between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. amidst darkness from noon to 3 p.m., reveal His clarity of mind, understanding of His purpose, and love for humanity. The first statement, found in Luke 23, is a prayer for forgiveness for those crucifying Him, showcasing His merciful heart. The second, also in Luke 23, offers a promise to the believing thief of a future opportunity in God's Kingdom, demonstrating His compassion. The third, recorded in John 19, addresses His mother and the beloved disciple, entrusting her care to him with the words, "Woman, behold your son!" and to the disciple, "Behold your mother!" This act highlights His concern for His family even in agony. The fourth statement, noted in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34, cries out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" revealing the deep anguish of separation from the Father. The fifth, in John 19, is the simple plea, "I thirst," fulfilling prophecy and affirming His humanity and commitment to Scripture. The sixth, also in John 19, declares, "It is finished!" signaling the completion of His work. Finally, the seventh, in Luke 23, commits His spirit to the Father, showing His control over His life until the end and the restoration of His relationship with God. These final words from the cross underscore that Jesus Christ, even in His most acute suffering, remained focused on others, providing for their needs and fulfilling the prophecies that framed His mission.