Jesus’ Last Words

On this special Friday, believers throughout the world pause to consider the death of Jesus. This was called “good” because of all Jesus endured. What it meant.

A church in Cádiz, Spain, developed a special tradition for each “Good Friday.” The cathedral was draped in black cloth, with the only light emanating from a large lamp hanging in the cathedral’s center. Parishioners entered, sitting in silence, their thoughts shaped by the solemn darkness.

At noon, all doors were closed. Then, the bishop ascended the pulpit, speaking the first words Jesus spoke from the cross. After brief comments, he descended from the pulpit and fell on his knees before the altar.

The process was repeated seven times, challenging the congregation to ponder each series of words. To worship Jesus. To fall at His feet in their hearts.

In 1785, knowing that music was crucial for this service, church leaders asked Franz Joseph Haydn, then the world’s leading composer, to write some special music. His work, “The Seven Last Words of Our Savior on the Cross,” debuted in that church on Good Friday, 1787.

This extraordinary composition became part of the repertoire of many groups throughout the world. In response to the demand, Haydn developed four separate versions.

Yet, when just playing the notes, one elite group of musicians sensed that, in their performances, something was missing. Everything seemed too formal. So cold.

But everything changed when Jesus’ words were spoken aloud during the performance. These words made the experience “transforming.” It was

so overwhelming that one musician admitted, “I could barely read the music for the tears in my eyes.”

The words Jesus spoke that day are powerful. Pointing us to the deeper meaning. Today, pause to think about all that Jesus said and did, when He died on that cross, for you.