Sayings of Jesus on the Cross

The sayings of Jesus on the cross or the Seven Last Words on the Cross are seven expressions biblically attributed to Jesus during his crucifixion. Traditionally, the brief sayings have been called "words."

The seven sayings were gathered from the four canonical Gospels. In Matthew and Mark, Jesus cries out to God. In Luke, he forgives his killers, reassures the penitent thief, and commends his spirit to the Father. In John, he speaks to his mother, says he thirsts, and declares the end of his earthly life. This is an example of the Christian approach to the construction of a Gospel harmony, in which material from different Gospels is combined, producing an account that goes beyond each Gospel.

Since the 16th century, these sayings have been widely used in sermons on Good Friday, and entire books have been written on theological analysis of them. The Seven Last Words from the Cross are integral part of the liturgy of Anglican, Catholic, Protestant and other Christian traditions. Several composers have set the sayings to music.

In the following bullet points, the seven sayings are arranged according to their traditional order. However, all seven sayings cannot be found in any one account of Jesus' crucifixion. The ordering is a harmonization of the texts from each of the canonical Gospels. Three of the sayings appear only in Luke and three only in John. One other saying appears both in Matthew and Mark, and another ("It is finished") is only directly quoted in John but alluded to in Matthew and Mark.

Quotations here were taken from King James translation:

Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34)
Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43)
Woman, behold thy son! and Behold thy mother! (John 19:26-27)
Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani [My god, my god, why have you forsaken me] (Matthew 27:46); (Mark 15:34)
I thirst (John 19:28)
It is finished (John 19:30)
Father, into thy hands, I commend my spirit (Luke 23:46)

Traditionally, these sayings are called words of (a) Forgiveness, (b) Salvation, (c) Relationship, (d) Abandonment, (e) Distress, (f) Triumph, and (g) Reunion. The sayings form part of a Christian meditation that is often used during Lent, Holy Week, and Good Friday.

Priest and author Timothy Radcliffe sees the number seven as significant, as the number of perfection in the Bible. He writes that as God created the world in seven days, "these seven words belong to God's completion of that creation."

Today is Good Friday. Let us pray.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Amen.

x-------x

This post is made possible by Levi's Men Shoes.

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