The final words of a person who is dying generally are very weighty and memorable. It seems that many people, when they know they are facing death, want to deliver a message to those they love. I was just a lad when my Grandfather Zinn passed away, but I can still remember his final words to my dad, “Son, I love you and I am praying for you.” Those were his last words on earth.
Let’s consider now the final words of some well-known Bible characters. The aged Apostle Paul was in a Roman jail cell just before he was martyred for his faith in Christ, and his last words are recorded for us in II Timothy 4:6-8, “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.” This passage of Scripture speaks of Christian faithfulness and its reward. God blesses our faithfulness.
My mind goes next to an Old Testament saint named Joseph. In Genesis 50:24-26, we read, “And Joseph said unto his brethren, ‘I die, and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which He sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.’ And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel saying, ‘God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry my bones from hence.’ So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. This Scripture speaks to us of putting our faith in the faithfulness of God. We can know that He always keeps His promises.
When we come to the book of Ecclesiastes, we find the last words of King Solomon in Chapter 12, Verses 13-14, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” This passage speaks to us of the purpose of God for our lives, and reminds us that we must face Him on the day of judgment. I am reminded of a little chorus my wife’s grandmother often sang, “Oh, be careful each day, what you do, what you say, for you’ll meet it again someday,” and how very true it is.
The greatest and most powerful last words ever spoken by man, however, were spoken by the God Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, as found in John 19:30, “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, ‘It is finished:’ and He bowed His head and gave up the ghost.” It is very unlikely that humanity could ever fathom the depths of that declaration, but all mankind can avail themselves of the glorious salvation it announced. I love the song by Gloria Gaither, “It is finished; the battle is over. It is finished, there’ll be no more war. It is finished, the end of the conflict. It is finished and Jesus is Lord!”
— Randy Zinn is pastor of Russell Missionary Baptist Church, Russell, Ark.; formerly of Okmulgee.
