There are seven words, the last seven expressions of Jesus Christ which he uttered on the Cross at Calvary (Golgotha in Hebrew according to John 19:17, meaning a place of a skull (Mark 15:22). The testimony of a dying man holds more value in the court. So the words of Christ on Calvary carry legal weight. In other words they are true. Supposedly crucifixion happened on a Friday, we call it Good Friday.
There are seven expressions traditionally attributed to Jesus during his crucifixion, gathered from the four Gospels. 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 good 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.
THE FIRST WORD
"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."
Gospel of Luke 23:34
Jesus says this first word only in the Gospel of Luke, just after he was crucified by the soldiers on Golgotha, with the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. The timing of this suggests that Jesus asks his Father to primarily forgive his enemies, the soldiers, who have scourged him, mocked him, tortured him, and who have just nailed him to the cross. Even though He was dying on the Cross, His focus seems to be the other people. The other people are the Jews, Gentiles (all of us, not just Romans who crucified Him), His disciples who deserted Him. Forgiveness dominates his life style and his preachings. We see it in the Lord’s Prayer (Mathew 6:12), he tells it to Peter, his disciple (Mathew 18:21-22), at the last supper (Mathew 26:27-28), he forgives the Paralytic at Capernaum (Mark 2:5), the adulteress caught in act (John 8:1-11), after resurrection he commissions His disciples to forgive (John 20:22-23). Forgiveness flows in His blood. So we also can appreciate its importance on our lives as well.
THE SECOND WORD
"Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
Gospel of Luke 23:43
Luke 23:39-42 (New King James Version)
39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ,[a]save Yourself and us.”
40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord,[b] remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”
Here we see how one thief mocks Jesus, but the other one asks for forgiveness and receives it. The second word is about salvation with forgiveness underlying it. Here we see salvation through faith alone, not works as the thief had no time for good works, not even for Baptism. He just believed and was saved.
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Habakkuk 2:4, Hebrews 10:38).
THE THIRD WORD
"Jesus said to his mother: "Woman, this is your son".
Then he said to the disciple: "This is your mother."
Gospel of John 19:26-27
Jesus was with his mother at the beginning of his ministry in Cana and also now at the end of his public ministry at the Golgotha. There are four at the foot of the cross according to the Bible. John 19:25
25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home His third word is addressed to Mary and John, the only eye-witness of the Gospel writers. The third word is about affection or love he has for the mother who gave birth to him on earth. He is doing his duty as her eldest son, making sure her needs are met after he is dead and gone.
THE FOURTH WORD
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34
Matthew 27:46 (New King James Version)
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”[a]
Mark 15:34 (New King James Version)
34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”[a]
This is the only expression of Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Both Gospels relate that it was in the ninth hour, after 3 hours of darkness, that Jesus cried out this fourth word. Here we see as a completely human with no God part in him as he feels loneliness deserted by His Father and the Holy Spirit, not to mention his earthly companions the Apostles. As if to emphasize his loneliness, Jesus feels separated from his Father. He is now all alone, and he must face death by himself. His fourth word expresses his loneliness and expresses pain of rejection by everybody including God, the father.
His fourth Word is the opening line of Psalm 22. Psalm 22 of David made a striking prophecy of the crucifixion of the Messiah, at a time when crucifixion did not exist: "They have pierced my hands and my feet, they have numbered all my bones" (22:16-17). The Psalm continued: "they divide my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots" (22:18). It is by His death that we are redeemed. "For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself as ransom for all" (l Timothy 2:5-6).
THE FIFTH WORD
"I thirst"
Gospel of John 19:28
This is mentioned in the Gospel of John 19:28. The fifth word of Jesus is His only human expression of His physical suffering. Jesus is now in shock. The wounds inflicted upon him in the scourging, the crowning with thorns, and the nailing upon the cross are now taking their toll, especially after losing blood on the three-hour walk through the city of Jerusalem to Golgotha on the Way of the Cross.
"He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross,
so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness.
By his wounds you have been healed" (l Peter 2:24).
THE SIXTH WORD
When Jesus had received the wine, he said,
"It is finished";
and he bowed his head and handed over the spirit.
Gospel of John 19:30
As they say, he came to die. His mission is finished. He came from heaven for this purpose only, to provide salvation for the perishing human race. His birth and victory over the powers of darkness are clearly mentioned in the Bible. God has made a promise to the Mankind when Adam and Eve failed him at the Garden of Eden. God could not disown his own creation, so he came with a redemptive plan. Jesus fulfilled that redemptive plan of God for Man.
Genesis 3:15 (New King James Version)
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
When Jesus died, He "handed over" the Spirit. Jesus remains in control to the end and it is He who handed over his Spirit.
THE SEVENTH WORD
Luke 23:46 (New King James Version)
46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’”[a] Having said this, He breathed His last.
Gospel of Luke 23:46
The seventh word of Jesus is from the Gospel of Luke, and is directed to the Father in heaven, just before He dies. Jesus recalls Psalm 31:5 - "Into thy hands I commend my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God He died at the ninth hour (three o'clock in the afternoon); about the same time as the Passover lambs were slaughtered in the Temple. Christ became the Paschal or Passover Lamb, as noted by Paul: "For Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed" (1 Corinthians 5:7). The innocent Lamb was slain for our sins, so that we might be forgiven.
Jesus fulfilled His mission: "They are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as an expiation by his blood, to be received by faith" (Romans 3:24-25).. Jesus practiced what He preached: "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).
