Includes bibliographical references (pages 113-125).

"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." -- "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise." -- "Woman, behold thy son!" "Behold thy mother!" -- "My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?" -- "I thirst." -- "It is finished." -- "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." -- Epilogue.

"Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham explores the seven last sayings of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels, combining rich historical and theological insights to reflect on the true heart of the Christian story. For Jon Meacham, like believers worldwide, the events of Good Friday and Easter reveal essential truths about Christianity. A former vestryman of Trinity Church Wall Street and St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue, Meacham delves into that intersection of faith and history in this meditation on the seven phrases Jesus spoke from the cross. Beginning with "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do," and ending with "Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit," Meacham captures for the reader how these words epitomize Jesus's message of love, not hate; grace, not rage; and, instead of vengeance, extraordinary mercy. For each saying, Meacham composes a meditation on the origins of Christianity and how Jesus's final words created a foundation for oral and written traditions that upended the very order of the world. In a tone more intimate than any of his previous award-winning works, Jon Meacham returns us to the moment that transformed Jesus from a historical figure into the proclaimed Son of God, worshiped by billions"-- Provided by publisher.

For believers worldwide, the events of Good Friday and Easter reveal essential truths about Christianity. Meacham explores the seven last sayings of Jesus as recorded in the Gospels. He combines rich historical and theological insights to reflect on the true heart of the Christian story. Meacham captures for the reader how these words epitomize Jesus's message of love, not hate; grace, not rage; and, instead of vengeance, extraordinary mercy. -- adapted from jacket.