April / May - 2020 Vol. 109

The Seven Last Words of Jesus Christ from the Cross

John Dunne
                            painting 6

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The Word of Commital
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“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit”
– Luke 23: 46  

The penultimate word of Jesus marks a return to what we would expect from Christ; the mention of his Father as the one who can save him out of death.

We have here a dramatic presentation of these last minutes of the agony of Jesus and the conflict between the elements surrounding the event. For it is spring in Palestine, so the sky is clear. Jesus was crucified at the third hour, that is at 9 am.

Then at the sixth hour, noon, suddenly darkness covers the land, and descends on Golgotha. 

In this painting, two figures are present beneath the cross, Mary of Magdela, who represents the reformed sinner, and the figure of death. Jesus has his head turned away from this figure and looks down at Mary; for death has no power over him. Death will have a short stay with him, but we know in faith that he would burst asunder the holding place of the death chamber and walk free.

And what of the words themselves? One commentator opens up for us what they could mean.1 

"For Luke, Jesus’ last words are not a cry of abandonment but a giving of himself back  into the hands that had made him. At an ordinary funeral, this is called “the commendation.” The official stands near the body and commends the person who has died to God. There was no one to do that for Jesus, which is why he did it for himself. This may have scandalized those who could hear it, but by doing so he took himself out of their hands. By commending himself to the God whose enemy they said he was, he redefined what was happening to him. 

"He gave away what they thought they were taking from him, and the whole scene lost its balance. 

"Thus Jesus introduced us to the shocking power of sacrifice. Which can turn something that looks for all the world like loss, into something that feels for all the world like gain?”
The Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep; he gives up his life for none can take it away from him." 

As we look at this work we could do nothing better that repeats the prayer of Charles de Foucauld:
Father, I abandon myself into your hands; 
do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you: 
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me, 
and in all your creatures -
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul;
I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,
for I love you Lord,
and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands,
without reserve,
and with boundless confidence,
For you are my Father.


1 The Rev. Dr. Barbara Brown Taylor, Butman Professor of Religion and Philosophy, Piedmont College, Demorest, Georgia

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John Dunne is a noted Irish painter. He and his wife are members of Nazareth Community in Dublin, Ireland. His interests include theology and its relationship to art. He has a degree in theology. .

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