The Seven Sayings from the Cross

Good Friday is a great day to commemorate the saving death of our Lord Jesus Christ.?It is a very special day because without the crucifixion there would be no resurrection, and without the resurrection, there would be no Christianity. You see, without this day there would be no third day. The Cross of Christ is God’s final word as to the character and consequence of human sin, and of the wonder and sacrifice of divine love.?God’s law demanded punishment for sins. Christ died our death. He who was innocent died in the place of we who were guilty. The death of Jesus was the answer to that demand. His death was a punishment for our sins. For Christ also died for sins once and for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit (1 Peter 3:18). Jesus went to the Cross so that we, through his death and resurrection might have a personal relationship with God and that we might know its power in every area of our lives.?

Jesus spoke seven times during the closing moments on the Cross. The last words that a man or woman pronounces before dying come directly from the heart. The Cross of Christ is the place "to where heaven’s love and heaven’s justice meet".?The Words from the Cross-reveal God’s answer to our basic needs.?"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" Christ Jesus died on the Cross to redeem mankind, to save us from our sins because of his love for us. As recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Jesus Christ was mocked, scorned, and tortured. He carried his cross up the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem to Calvary, was nailed to the Cross and hung between two common criminals, and suffered an indescribable culmination.?

As Jesus hung on the cross, he uttered seven last words of great meaning to those who contemplate his passion and death. The words which Jesus uttered on the Cross are worthy of special consideration because of who uttered them, where they were uttered, why they were spoken, and what they mean. They are precious because they are deep expressions of the Eternal son of God in His time of terrible agony in those moments when He actually paid the price of our redemption. Every statement from the Incarnate Word bears timeless significance. Three of the sayings appear exclusively in the Gospel of Luke and three appear exclusively in the Gospel of John. The other saying appears both in the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Mathew. In Mark and Matthew, Jesus cries out to God. In Luke, he forgives his killers, reassures the repented 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. These seven words which Christ pronounced from the cross there is historic, theological, and existential relevance. Let us briefly reflect on the significance of the seven last words of Jesus.

These seven words are taken from different gospels, but assembled into what was probably their chronological order according to a?simple harmony of the various gospel accounts of the crucifixion:

"Father, forgive them, they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)

"This day you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:43)

"Woman, behold your son." (John 19:26-27)

"My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34; Matthew 27:46)

"I thirst." (John 19:28)

"It is finished." (John 19:30)

"Into your hands, I commit my spirit." (Luke 23:46)

The seven last sayings, also called the seven last words of Jesus, not only reveal what was most important to our loving Saviour, but several of them helped complete the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies about that momentous day. These meaningful sayings gave understanding, instruction, motivation, and inspiration to the disciples and to the Church through the ages. What can we gain from studying each of them today?

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The First Word: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." Luke 23:34

Luke is the only gospel writer to record this saying. Luke's gospel presents the sufficiency of Christ to save sinners (19:10). It makes sense that the first word of Jesus from the cross is a word of forgiveness. That is the point of the cross, after all. Jesus is dying so that we might be forgiven for our sins so that we might be reconciled to God for eternity. John writes in his first letter, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (1 John 1:9). Because Christ died on the cross for us, we are cleansed from all wickedness, from every sin. We are united with God the Father as his beloved children.

In his ministry, Jesus had proven his power to forgive sins. He had taught his disciples to forgive both enemies and friends. Now Jesus practiced what he had preached, forgiving his own torturers. During his excruciating suffering, the heart of Jesus focused on others rather than himself. Here we see the?nature of his love—Redemptive, unconditional, sacrificial, steadfast, and divine.

THE SECOND WORD "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." Luke 23:43

As Jesus hung on the cross, he was mocked by the leaders and the soldiers. One of the criminals being crucified with him added his own measure of scorn. But the other crucified criminal sensed that Jesus was being treated unjustly. He had recognized who Jesus was and expressed faith in him as Savior. After speaking up for Jesus, he cried out, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”. Jesus responded to this criminal, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise”. Here we see?God's grace?poured out through faith, as Jesus assured the dying man of his?forgiveness?and?eternal salvation. The thief would not even have to wait, as Jesus promised the man that he would share eternal life with Christ in paradise that very day. His faith secured him an immediate home in?God's kingdom. Adam sinned against God and was cast from the paradise of God. The story of the Bible is how God took mankind from paradise lost to paradise regained. Mankind sinned and lost paradise. Through Christ, God restores mankind and offers the paradise of heaven. When Jesus said, "Today you will be with me in Paradise," He was saying, "I have completed the work the Father gave Me to do. I have redeemed a people who will enjoy the glories of eternity with God."

THE THIRD WORD: Jesus said to his mother: "Woman, this is your son” Then he said to the disciple: "This is your mother." John 19:26-27

To find Jesus' third statement, we must turn to John's gospel. Luke is the only gospel writer to record Jesus' first two declarations. John alone records the third. John penned this biography of Jesus some 60 years after Jesus returned to heaven. There's a reason why John recorded Jesus' third saying. Because it fits with His purpose (John 20:30-31) and it also involved Him! Jesus spoke it directly to Mary, and to John. And having heard it, John knew that no one ever loved, or cared like Jesus!

When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." (NIV)

Jesus, looking down from the cross, was still filled with the concerns of a son for the earthly needs of his mother. None of his brothers were there to care for her, so he gave this task to the?Apostle John. Here we clearly see Christ's love, care, and humanity.

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THE FOURTH WORD: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34

When we come to the 4th saying on the cross, we have reached the pinnacle of our Savior's suffering. His first three sayings focused on the needs of others: In behalf of His murderers, He prayed: "Father, forgive them." To the repentant thief, He offered hope: "Today you will be with Me." To Mary and John, He spoke words of compassion and care: "Behold thy son...mother." Finally, in His fourth saying, Jesus speaks of Himself. And what does He say? "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken Me?" Preachers and writers have described this fourth saying in a variety of ways. It's been called "The Cry of Desolation," "The Cry of Desertion," "The Cry of Deriliction," "The Cry of Despair," and "The Cry of Desperation." The bottom line is this. Jesus was alone on the cross. He faced loneliness like no other person. We may go through deep valleys where we FEEL alone, and forsaken. But Jesus was alone.

Friends, God the Father turned His back on His Son that day on the cross. Sin isolates man from God. Sin cut off Adam from God in the garden. Sin cut off Jesus from the Father. Not His sin. Our sin, Sin pierced the heart of the Incarnate God; if our sin put Jesus through such agony, how can we be so casual about it? If we really love Christ, we will hate sin. Christ was quoting from probably one of the most famous Messianic psalms of David: Psalm 22. Before the Passover lamb was sacrificed, the priests would often read a Passover psalm. The first verse in Psalm 22 is "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" In the darkest hours of his suffering, Jesus cried out the opening words of Psalm 22. And although much has been suggested regarding the meaning of this phrase, it was quite apparent the agony Christ felt as he expressed separation from God. Here we see the Father turning away from the Son as Jesus bore the full weight of our?sin.

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The significance of the verse is that it is in the form of a question the Lord is posing to get us to think. For instance, first question in the Bible God asked to Adam, "Adam, where are you?" God knows everything. He wanted Adam to think about where sin had brought him. God asks questions not because He does not know, but because He wants us to think about the significance of what the question evokes. So when Jesus said, "Why have you forsaken me," He was inviting all those who beheld Him on the cross to consider why He was there. It was a rhetorical question. Why was the father separated from the Son? It is because the Son was taking our sin; He was taking our place. Jesus was forsaken by the Father for our benefit. Isaiah 53:4-6 says, “Surely, he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds, we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” What really happened during those dreadful, dark hours on the cross? Jesus faced the pain of being alone so that we might never be alone again.

THE FIFTH WORD: "I thirst" John 19:28

Now, we come to His fifth statement. "After this, Jesus says, I thirst." Jesus had been on the cross nearly 6 hours. The 3 hours of thick darkness were nearly over. After this, He spoke. "I thirst." Why did He say that? Jesus said, "I thirst," because He knew that all things were now accomplished. Because of what the Old Testament predicted In Ps 69:21 “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst." Ps 69 prophecies that the Messiah will be humiliated, so does Ps 22. The Old Testament predicted that He would be a Suffering Messiah. When Jesus suffered, He fulfilled prophecy. His death was no accident, and certainly no afterthought. It was the very plan of God. And it was revealed in the Word of God, hundreds of years ahead of time! Jesus uttered these words in order to fulfill prophecy and He also felt physical and spiritual pain. Jesus sees our brokenness. He knows us. He loves us. He suffered for us. He thirsts for lost men. And He bids us thirst for lost men, too

THE SIXTH WORD: "It is finished"; John 19:30 "The Day He Finished What We Started"

Jesus did not say, "I am finished," for that would imply that he died defeated and exhausted. Rather, he cried out "It is finished." Do you know what happened on the cross? There on the cross, Jesus finished what we started. He finished the horrible problem that entered the world when our first forefather, Adam, sinned and brought the curse of God upon us. Jesus won the victory at the cross. We learn from Jesus' own lips what really happened on the cross. The prayer he prayed for Pardon, the paradise he offered to the sinners, the pattern of love and care he demonstrated for his loved ones, the punishment, and the pain he suffered for us, and the purpose he accomplished.?Please notice carefully that Jesus did NOT say, "I am finished." He said, "IT is finished." What did He mean? First, He meant He had finished the work of redemption. Jesus' redemption work is complete and sufficient. We need not add anything to it. "If Jesus won the victory over sin, Satan, and death, why do we still struggle? The problem is not with Jesus' provision. The problem is with us. We need to learn to live considering what Jesus finished.

The sixth statement from Jesus while on the cross was a cry of victory. The Greek text reads?tetelestai,?"It is finished." What was finished? As we consider the life and ministry of Jesus, we can think of several things that His death made complete.

Jesus Finished the Job That the Father Gave Him To Do

First, Jesus had to finish the task the Father had sent Him to earth to accomplish, namely to provide salvation for humankind. By living His entire life without sin, Jesus was able to become the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. The way of salvation had now been made complete. No more animal sacrifices were necessary for they had only pointed to the ultimate sacrifice Jesus had now offered. His was the supreme sacrifice that satisfied the righteous demands of a holy God.

Jesus Fulfilled Prophecy

The second thing that was accomplished by Jesus on the cross was the fulfillment of prophecy. The predicted Messiah had come as God promised He would. Prophecies of the Word of God, which are always accurate, had again come to pass. The Savior was promised; now Christ the Savior had come and accomplished the promised salvation.

Jesus Achieved Victory Over the Devil

A third matter that was accomplished by Jesus' death on the cross was the victory over the devil. The Scripture says that one of the purposes for Jesus' coming was to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). The death of Christ finished that task. The dominion over the earth that man, through his sin, had handed over to the devil was now won back. The authority of Satan had been vanquished - the victory had been won. When Christ comes back again, He will take hold of the victory that He won over the devil on Calvary's cross.

Jesus' Suffering Was Finished

A fourth and final reason that Jesus said, "It is finished" is about His own suffering. Jesus spent over thirty years on the earth living among sinful man, suffering from the self-imposed limitations of that existence. He had now endured the final six hours of that suffering on a cross. This was now finished. He would no longer have to suffer the limits of space and time. It was finished!

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THE SEVENTH WORD: Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit": Luke 23:46.

The last word of Jesus is from the Gospel of Luke and is directed to the Father in heaven, just before He dies. These last words of Jesus corresponded to the prayer that Jewish mothers taught their children to say before going to sleep. This prayer is an expression of total trust in God. By dying, Jesus threw himself into the arms of the Father, because he knew that God had prepared wonderful things for him. Here Jesus closes with the words of Psalm 31:5, speaking to the Father. We see his complete trust in the Father. What is the significance of Jesus' final statement from the cross? Why did Jesus say what He said? As we consider Luke 23:46, we will learn that our Lord had two objects in mind when He spoke His final words from the cross.

First, it will generate contentment in our lives.

Second Jesus calls our attention to His Plan and revealed His power over death. He died when He chose to die! "Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit." This is not a wish or even a request but a pronouncement! Jesus controlled His destiny and ours too. Augustine said, "He gave up His life BECAUSE He willed it, WHEN He willed it, and AS He willed it." When He called out to His Father, Jesus revealed His power over death. He gave up His spirit. Jesus entered death in the same way he lived each day of his life, offering up his life as the perfect sacrifice and placing himself in God's hands. Jesus knew that after he suffered, the Father would raise him from the dead and would lift him up above all else. When Jesus mentioned his sufferings to come to his disciples, he always mentioned the glory that would follow them. It is this hope of Glory to come that gave Jesus the strength to suffer and to persevere to the very end.

Jesus died, unlike any other person. His life was not taken. He gave it up. Just like He said in John 10:18, "No man takes My life from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have the POWER to lay it down, and I have the power to take it again." This speaks of his confidence in God, his Father. He found security in his Father’s hands and in so doing pointed the way to all who die believing. The first Christian martyr, Stephen, left this life with the same security. "Lord Jesus," he said, "receives my spirit." They have been used by countless believers in Christ ever since. This is the security that comes from knowing "Him whom we have believed and are persuaded that he is able to keep that which we have committed unto Him." Yes, there is eternal security in the Cross of Christ.

Death was not the end of Jesus. Nor is it for us! Hear His marvelous affirmation again, "Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit." Never forget this. The same hands that received our Blessed Lord hold us. The same ears that heard our Savior's prayer from the cross hear our humble cries. Friends, know this. Our Savior showed us not only how to live. He showed us how to die. We can face death knowing there is a future beyond the grave! When we know Christ, death is not the end. Have you placed your life into the hands of the Father? Only then can we experience contentment and rest in life.

Summary

The seven statements Jesus made from the cross have far-reaching significance for us today. They once again remind us that His death, besides being a fact of history, was much more than that. It was the supreme sacrifice that secured our salvation. His final words show us that we can have the utmost confidence in Him as our Savior.