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.