Last Words — A Review
Last Words: Seven Sayings from the Heart of Christ on the Cross
By Robert J. Nash
When I was asked by the folks at New Growth Press to reviews new books for them, my first thought was, “Oh boy! Free books.” Then it occurred to me that I might not like the books and that they wouldn’t like my reviewing them anymore (no more free books). I probably should ask if this would be the case, but so as it turns out I don’t need to. At least, not yet.
So, my first book is Last Words, by Robert Nash. I’m going to call him Bob from now on because I’m pretty sure if we ever met, we would be friends. Let me tell you why.
The book is about the seven last things Jesus said before he died. In fact, each chapter goes through each saying and talks about the significance of those words. Here they are:
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Lk 23:34).
“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Lk 23:43).
“Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” (Jn 19:26–27).
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46).
“I thirst” (Jn 19:28).
“It is finished” (Jn 19:30).
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Lk 23:46).
Simple, right?
Yes simple, but also very profound. When I started the chapter on forgiveness, “Father forgive them…” I was very impressed with how Bob took us back to all the times Jesus talked about forgiveness. He told us in the sermon on the mount that unless we forgave folks who sin against us, God wouldn’t forgive us. He told us that in the same way we forgive, the father will forgive us. Later, he told us to forgive 70 X 7 times and another time he told us to forgive 490 times. He told us that we had been forgiven much and no one could ever sin against us to that extent and we have no excuse for holding anyone’s sins against them. Very good stuff. And there Jesus was, hanging on a cross because of evil men, asking his father in Heaven to forgive them. In reality, he was asking his father to forgive us. And Bob took us through all this, explaining and drawing us into the story so that as we read, we respond with, “Please forgive me too!”
Each chapter is like that. It takes what Jesus said and then takes us back through the Bible showing that while these were the last sayings of Jesus, they were also things taught from the beginning of the Bible through the end of the Bible. The Apostle Paul told us that the Gospel, in its smallest nugget form, was “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3–4). And Bob takes us through those last sayings and shows just what “according to the Scriptures” means.
I have to say, when I was about halfway through the book, I didn’t like it very much. I was losing the thrill. I’m a Biblical counselor and I like to make theology personal and practical, but as I read, I forgot that and was taken aback by the fact that Bob didn’t just state the information as facts, words, and propositions. It isn’t a scholarly book (though he included a nice bibliography at the end for the theology wonks out there). He kept interrupting the flow of the passage to interact with me. He kept saying things like, “Can you imagine how that felt?” or “He wants us to be merciful, kind, and forgiving as God is. He wants us to let go of bitterness anger, and grudges. How?” Bob wanted to engage with me; to build a relationship with me such that I was sucked into the historical story so that God could/would take me from where I began and to mold me into someone who looks a lot more like Jesus. When I realized that, the book sprang back to life. Thank you, Bob.
Craig Parro, who wrote the foreword said, “As you read it, your passion for God will be inflamed, your gratitude deepened, and your worship of our great God and Savior enriched, all to the glory of God.”
So, I recommend this book to everyone who wants to see the last sayings of Jesus in a new light and to experience them in a fresh way. Also, for those who are counseling folks who need to know God, this might be a good book to work through in the counseling process. It explains all the basic Gospel facts and events in a clear and concise way. It also isn’t a really long book, so you won’t get bogged down in the process. Again, thank you, Bob.