The Last Seven
Words of Jesus on the Cross
1] One of Seven
And when they were come to the place
which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on
the right hand, and the other on the left.
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they
do. (Luke 23:33-34).
Luke wrote this gospel to one
name Theophilus to share with him what Theophilus was hearing about Jesus and
his followers. Luke tells of the
compassion Jesus had for his people, compassion for the Jewish leaders who wanted
Jesus crucified, envious and out of their way and who stood by watching relieved
of the fear of losing control of the people and their position before Rome. Jesus had compassion for those gathered
around, the soldiers and Jews who had a week before singing songs of “Hosanna” mocking
and criticizing him. And the compassion
Jesus had those in sorrow and sadness who followed him during his
ministry. While suffering in great pain
and agony from the lashes, the crown embedded in his skull, and of the spikes pounded
into his hands and feet, Jesus hangs from the cross and asks, prays to God, his
father on behalf of those who nailed him to the cross and for those mocking, “Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
2] Two of Seven
And one of the malefactors which
were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying,
Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due
reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me
when thou comest into thy kingdom. And
Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in
paradise. (Luke 23:39-43)
Jesus, while hanging on the
cross, continues to show compassion. Luke
writes of two criminals who were hanged on crosses, one to the right of Jesus
and the other to the left of Jesus. Luke
does not say which one of the criminals spoke but the first one railed, complaining
bitterly to Jesus and asking Jesus to free himself and them from the cross. The first criminal may have heard of Jesus’s
miracles of healing, but he did not really know Jesus. The second criminal rebuked the first acknowledging
that they deserved their punishment. Turning
to Jesus the second criminal asked that Jesus remember him when Jesus comes to
his kingdom. The writer of Matthew’s
gospel shares the narrative of the sheep on the right and the goats on the left
of the one on the throne, the Son of Man (Matthew 25:31-.46). The second criminal may have been on the
right of Jesus for he found mercy and forgiveness for Jesus told him, “Verily
I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
3] Three of Seven
Now there stood by the cross of
Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary
Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his
mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman,
behold thy son! Then saith he to the
disciple, Behold thy mother! And
from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home (John 19:25-27)
The writer of the gospel of John tells
us that John, the disciple whom Jesus loved was there at the crucifixion of
Jesus. John stood there with Mary, the
mother of Jesus who now understood the “piercing of her heart as told to her by
Simeon when she and Joseph were at the Temple to dedicate Jesus after his birth
(Luke 2:33-36). The gospel of John not
only reveals the compassion of Jesus for his people, for those who rejected him
but reveals his love for those who follow him (John 1:10-14). Jesus, while dying on the cross has
compassion of his mother, and entrusts her to John, the disciple who Jesus
loved, “Woman, behold they son…Behold thy mother!”
4] Four of Seven
And about the ninth hour Jesus
cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say,
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46).
The gospel writer of Matthew
points out that from the 6th hour to the 9th hour (12 pm
to 3 pm) there was darkness, most likely a solar eclipse. This was the darkest hour for Jesus who took
the sins of the world upon himself as the “sacrificial lamb” led to the
slaughter (Isaiah 53:7; Galatians 1:3; Titus 2:14). Jesus took our sins upon himself to die on
the cross in our place. God had to turn
his face from Jesus, leave him until Jesus gave up his life. God could not look upon sin nor could God’s
Spirit dwell in Jesus at that moment.
Jesus sacrificed his life to redeem us, the savior of the world (Matthew
1:19-21; Luke 2:9-11). And thus, Jesus
while on the cross knew that God had turned his face from him, “My God, my
God, why have you forsaken me?
5] Five of Seven
After this, Jesus knowing that
all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith,
I thirst. Now there was set a
vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon
hyssop, and put it to his mouth (John 19:28-29).
When Jesus cried out from the
cross, “I thirst,” many of us are led to believe that Jesus was dehydrating, in
need of water. Jesus was hanging on the
cross from the sixth hour of the day to the ninth hour, 12:00 noon to 3:00 in
the afternoon. It was hot and the heat
was unbearable. Jesus had not had water
or anything to drink since the night before when arrested by the temple guards. The Roman soldiers standing by assumed Jesus
was thirsty and went for sponge full of vinegar. However, if following the sequence of the words
of Jesus spoken from the cross, Jesus was not thirsty for water. Jesus was thirsty for God (Psalm 42:1-2; 63:1).
God, in giving his only begotten son had
turned his face from Jesus and heard him say, “My, God, my God, why have you
forsaken me,” now heard Jesus say, “I thirst!”
6] Six of Seven
When Jesus therefore had received
the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up
the ghost (John 19:30)
For God so loved the world, that
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life. For
God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world
through him might be saved (John 3:16-17).
Jesus accomplished what God had sent him to do, give his life in ransom
for many (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45; 1 Timothy 2;5-6). Old Testament Scriptures were fulfilled
concerning the crucifixion of Jesus (Deuteronomy 18:18-19; Isaiah 50: 5-6; 53:1-12;
Psalm 22:1-21). Jesus was the “Passover
Lamb” slaughtered, sacrificed and by shedding his blood provided a covering to those
who believe from sin and death (Exodus 12:3-7).
Jesus said, “As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I
lay down my life for the sheep. And
other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and
they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Therefore doth my Father love me, because I
lay down my life, that I might take it again.
No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to
lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I
received of my Father (John 10:15-18).
As so Jesus laid down his life to save us from our sins – saving us from
death to give us life everlasting. It
is finished.
7] Seven of Seven
And it was about the sixth hour,
and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45
And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he
said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus,
he gave up the ghost (Luke 23:44-46).
Jesus died. The hour had come. Jesus gave his life on the cross on the hill
of Mt. Calvary (Golgotha). In the
beginning of Jesus’s ministry his mother, Mary, Jesus, and the disciples of
Jesus were guests at wedding in Cana.
Mary approached Jesus saying to him that there was no more wine to offer
the guests. Jesus had told his mother at
that time, “Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come” (John
2:4). But on the night of his arrest in
the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said that his hour had come (Matthew 26:45;
Mark 14:41; John 12:23; 17:1). Jesus was
in anguish and in agony as his hour approached (Matthew 26:36-38; Luke
22:39-44). The work Jesus came to do was
done. The hour was over, it was
accomplished, it was finished. “Father,
into thy hands I commend my spirit.”
I watched again, The Passion of
Christ. I recall watching this film by
Mel Gibson for the first time on the Big Screen in Union Square, New York
City. Tears streamed from my eyes as I watched
the lashing, the hammering of the nails and heard voices of mockery of the
religious leaders, the soldiers and of the crowds who a week ago shouted “Hosanna.” I heard compassion from the heart of the one
on the cross for his mother, for the one criminal who asked for mercy, and for
the those crucifying him, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” I watched as people slowly walked out of the
theater crying, wiping their eyes and sadness on their faces. In three days, Jesus said, “Destroy this
temple, and I will raise up” (John 2:19).
And Jesus did!
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