We often use the phrase “famous last words” in the wrong context. For example, if your spouse is doing a home improvement project, they might say to you, “I am going to run over to the store, get what I need, and then the project should take a couple hours.”
You’ve been down this road before. You highly doubt that their project will take either one trip to the store or just a couple hours. So what do you say in response? “Famous last words.” What you mean is “When you undertake a project, you regularly say that it will go quickly and smoothly, but there have been so many projects that take multiple trips to the store and take way longer than just a couple hours. Those projects are often more expensive than you thought too.”
When we say “famous last words” to someone we are often being sarcastic, using figurative speech to say “I’ve heard you say that before, many times, and I do not believe you.”
But there is a very literal way to understand the phrase “famous last words.” There are words that people have shared on their death bed, their final words, the last thing they ever say in this lifetime.
As a Star Wars fan, I think of the movie Return of the Jedi, when the Jedi Master Yoda’s famous last words are a barely audible whisper, “There is another…Sky…walker.”
As Christians we think of Jesus’ famous last words on the cross, “It is finished.” He successfully and obediently completed the work that God gave him to do, and he fulfilled the Law. It is finished! His complete work means that all people have hope of new life, both abundant life on earth and eternal life in heaven.
Can you think of other famous last words? What last words do you think you should share?
This coming week on the blog, I conclude our series through the life of David, and we will observe David’s famous last words on his death bed. Fittingly for David’s life, this story of his final days and hours is filled with all sorts of drama. We’ll learn about that, and we will focus on his famous last words. What he says applies so well to our lives in 2025.
Check back here on Monday as we begin a week of studying 1 Kings chapters 1 and 2.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash
Engaging Scripture 