The Seven Last Words on the Cross
We learn the spiritual meaning of the Seven Last Words that Jesus spoke before He died on the wooden cross to complete God’s plan of human salvation.
Reading: Luke 23:33–43
“When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. But Jesus was saying, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’ …”
Memory Verse: Matthew 5:44
“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Reference: Matthew 27:38–42
“At that time two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. …”
“Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
(Luke 23:43)
Many people, when death is near, look back on their lives and leave last words for their families and friends. Jesus also spoke seven last words before He died on the cross. These are called The Seven Last Words. What spiritual meaning is contained in the words that Jesus spoke while He was completing the way of salvation on the cross? Let us first look at the First Word and Second Word.
The First Word: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Jesus, the Son of God, was nailed to the wooden cross—something cursed—only because of our sins. The Roman soldiers and the people of Israel did not understand this truth. They mocked Jesus on the cross and treated Him as a wicked criminal.
They said, “He saved others; if He is the Christ of God, His Chosen One, let Him save Himself!” They insulted Him, even though Jesus had done only good and had no fault at all. But even at the moment of death, Jesus had compassion on them and prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Jesus had the power to come down from the cross at any time. But He silently endured the suffering and shame to fulfill God’s plan of salvation for mankind.
People did not know that Jesus, the Son of God, was dying on the cross to forgive their sins. They also did not realize how great their sin was. So Jesus prayed first that God would forgive them.
Here, “them” does not mean only the soldiers and people who mocked Him that day. It means all people in darkness who do not receive Jesus Christ. Even today, many people do not know the true Lord and commit great sins.
The enemy, the devil, controls people in darkness and makes them persecute believers who live in the truth. What should we do at such times? Jesus teaches us through the First Word of the Seven Last Words.
We must pray with love.
Matthew 5:44 also says, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
It is God’s will that we forgive, love, and pray so that souls may come to salvation.
The Second Word: “Today you will be with Me in Paradise”
On Golgotha, Jesus was crucified in the center, and two criminals were crucified, one on His right and the other on His left. At that time, one criminal mocked Jesus, but the other rebuked him and accepted Jesus as the Savior. Then Jesus said, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
This means that the repentant criminal would be saved and would stay in Paradise.
(Paradise is the lowest place in Heaven, with no rewards. It is not the whole Heaven.)
It also declares that Jesus is the Messiah who can forgive sins and lead anyone to salvation when they repent.
When we read the four Gospels, we find that the descriptions about the two criminals differ.
Matthew 27:44 says, “The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him.”
Mark 15:32 also says, “Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.”
Both statements seem to show that both criminals insulted Jesus.
But in Luke 23, it says that one criminal rebuked the other, repented, and received salvation. Why is there this difference in the Gospel records?
This is not a mistake by the writers. God allowed this difference so that readers could better understand the situation with a sense of realism.
At the time of Jesus’ crucifixion, a large crowd surrounded the cross. The chief priests, the scribes, and the people spoke evil words against Jesus. In this noisy situation, one criminal insulted Jesus. People who stood close to him could hear this clearly.
But the other criminal, facing toward Jesus, also spoke—yet from a distance, it looked as if he was also insulting Jesus.
In reality, he was rebuking the other criminal, but to those standing far away, it seemed like he was yelling toward the center—toward Jesus. Because of the noise, some people reported that both criminals insulted Him, while those who understood the situation accurately reported that one criminal repented and talked with Jesus. Thus, God allowed this difference in the written record so later readers could discern the situation.
Then why did Jesus say, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise,” and not, “Today you will be with Me in Heaven”?
The eternal dwelling place for God’s children—Heaven—is unimaginably great and beautiful. Heaven has different dwelling places: Paradise, the First Heavenly Residence, the Second, the Third, and the New Jerusalem. Each place has different levels of happiness and glory. Especially the New Jerusalem, where the throne of God is located, is the most glorious place, prepared for holy and perfect children who resemble God.
In contrast, Paradise is the lowest dwelling place in Heaven. Those who enter Paradise are people who received “shameful salvation”— they accepted the Lord but did not cast off sins, did not change their lives, and did nothing for the kingdom of God. They are saved, but they have no rewards.
The criminal who was saved enters Paradise for the same reason. He followed his conscience, confessed he was a sinner, and accepted Jesus as the Savior— yet he did not cast off sins, live by God’s Word, or lead anyone to salvation. Therefore, he received the promise of Paradise, a place without heavenly rewards.
But when Jesus said,
“You will be with Me in Paradise,”
this does not mean that Jesus Himself would stay in Paradise. Jesus’ true being is at the right hand of God’s throne. Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords— He is the Lord of all Heaven. Therefore, He spoke in this way as the Owner of Heaven.
And the word “today” does not mean a specific date or the same day Jesus died.
It means that once the criminal was saved and became a child of God, Jesus would be with him wherever his spirit would be.
Then did Jesus Himself go to Paradise immediately after His death? No.
The Bible says, “Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:40)
And it also says, “He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison.” (1 Peter 3:19)
Here, “prison” does not mean a physical jail or Hell.
It refers to Upper Hades—
a spiritual waiting place for certain souls. (Upper Hades is not Hell. It is a temporary place belonging to the heavenly realm.)
After Jesus died on the cross, He went to Upper Hades to preach the gospel to the souls there
and rose again on the third day.
Then why did Jesus have to go to Upper Hades?
Before the crucifixion, the Bible says that the saved souls were taken to “Abraham’s bosom” (Luke 16:22). That place—where these souls gathered—is Upper Hades.
There were also people in both Old and New Testament times who never heard the gospel even once before they died. Among them, some lived according to their good conscience and could be saved through conscience judgment (Romans 2:14–15).
So after Jesus died, He went to Upper Hades and preached the gospel to them.
God has given no other name under Heaven by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
Only Jesus has the qualifications to be the Savior.
Therefore, we must pray and evangelize all the more, so that everyone may understand the love of the cross and receive salvation.
What is the Upper Hades?
The Upper Hades is not exactly Heaven, but it is a place that belongs to Heaven. It is a waiting place for saved souls.
In the Old Testament times—more exactly, before Jesus died on the cross—saved people waited in the Upper Hades.
But after Jesus’ resurrection, the waiting place changed.
Now, when a saved person dies, two angels take the soul to the Upper Hades. The soul stays there for three days to adjust to the spiritual world.
After that, the soul moves to a new waiting place at the edge of Paradise.