“Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, son of Jesse, the oracle of the man whom God exalted, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the favorite of the Strong One of Israel: The spirit of the LORD speaks through me, his word is upon my tongue. The God of Israel has spoken, the Rock of Israel has said to me: One who rules over people justly, ruling in the fear of God, is like the light of morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land. Is not my house like this with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. Will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire? but the godless are all like thorns that are thrown away; for they cannot be picked up with the hand; to touch them one uses an iron bar or the shaft of a spear. And they are entirely consumed in fire on the spot.” 2 Samuel 23:1-7

Have you ever googled “famous last words” and looked at some of the purported last words of famous people? I have. Here are a few:

Surgeon Joseph Henry Green was checking his own pulse as he lay dying. His last word: “Stopped.”

Basketball great “Pistol” Pete Maravich collapsed during a pickup game. His last words: “I feel great.”

What would you like to be remembered for your last words? Will you have a choice – or the wherewithal – or the insight to know these are your last words? Being a pastor, I often hear someone’s last words, and they are usually words that come from a love and concern for their loved ones, sometimes from a haze of pain medications, sometimes they are just the random thought someone was having not knowing they were about to have a heart attack and die. Martin Luther is purported to have said something to the effect of “We are all beggars.” Jesus, of course said “It is finished” in one Gospel, and in others he is said to have yelled “Eloi, Eloi lema Sabachthani”, or “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.”

The last words of Jesus are as profound as the words he has given us within the Gospels. Even on his final day Jesus taught his disciples, cared for his mother, and even told a thief he would soon see paradise. The last words and the final deeds of Jesus are profound indeed – so perhaps we should spend every day immersed in the words of Jesus.

Pastor Dave