During the last hours Jesus spent nailed to the cross, He spoke seven times, and these memorable utterances from the Cross are known as "The seven Words". They were His last words. These seven brief utterances Jesus proclaimed were the most profound sermon that has ever been preached. These Seven Words are recorded in Mathew 27:45-50, Mark 15:33-37, Luke 23:34-46 & John 19:26-30.
FIRST WORD
1) Luke 23:34 "Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing"
The whole saving act of crucifixion was in fact a symbol of divine forgiveness. (John 3:14-15). How do we react when we suffer due to someone torturing us? Will we able to forgive someone who caused us to face a huge loss? On the cross, our Lord taught us that forgiveness can be unilateral, and does not require the involvement of both parties. I can, and I must, forgive my offender even if they have not asked for my forgiveness. Stephen, under the rain of stones that was ending his life, was the first of Jesus' followers to follow his Lord and Master's example (Acts 7:60). We are also called to do likewise.
Our Lord taught us in Luke 6:27-28, “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you”. Jesus not only taught us, but it was also proven through His life even until the end as well. When we say that we follow the Lord, we must also apply this principle in our life. When we forgive others, we are released from the pressure of grudge and come to the quietness of rest and comfort in our heart.
There can be cases where forgiving our offender becomes very difficult, we need to ask grace from our Lord to release that person from the animosity. Bible teaches us to forgive others as God has forgiven us (Matthew 6:12) and warns us that if we don’t forgive others we will not be forgiven by God (Matthew 6:14-15 and Matthew 18:35).
SECOND WORD
Luke 23:43 “ I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise”
Jesus died in the company of two anonymous criminals. We don’t know much about them. One of them was mocking at the Lord but the other one rebuked him saying, they deserved the death penalty, but Jesus didn’t deserve the punishment. Then he cried out to the Lord, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom" (Luke 23:42). Jesus gave this man what he needed at that moment: hope, the hope that is born of salvation in Christ, and which would be for him a "great encouragement" in the seemingly endless hours of torture that would follow.
Jesus offered him salvation. Luke 23:43 “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise”. How was he qualified to receive this eternal gift? He was honest enough to acknowledge that he was guilty to be punished. He did not blame anyone. He didn’t blame his friends who influenced him badly, not his circumstances, he didn’t blame the judge for the death sentence, he didn’t blame anybody but blamed himself. He took one hundred percent blame on himself. Paradise is for such people. We see the worst criminal on earth walked hand in hand with the most holy man in the universe in paradise.
No matter how deep you have fallen, no matter what your background is, no matter how much you have rebelled with God so far, if you have a heart of repentance and willing to take one hundred percent blame on yourself for your failures- you can come to the feet of the Lord and ask for forgiveness. He will do it. None is beyond hope, if he or she is willing to acknowledge the fault before the Lord.
THIRD WORD
John 19:26-27 "When Jesus saw his mother there, he said to the disciple: Here is your mother. And from that time on, this disciple took her into his home”.
Jesus could not forget his mother at this time of lacerating pain; the heart of Mary was torn apart by the agony of her son; she was desolate in the face of such a tragic end to His life. What is more, Mary was almost certainly a widow by this stage, because of which she would have been destitute. But the Lord, the good Shepherd, did not neglect his duty to "honour his father and mother" (Matthew 19:19). We haven’t heard of Joseph since Jesus was about twelve years old (Luke 2:41-42). It appears that Joseph had died when Jesus was young. It was Jesus who had taken care of His mother and His siblings (Matthew 13:55-56/ Mark 6:3). Jesus worked as a carpenter until the age of thirty (Luke 3:23). He fulfilled His earthly responsibilities as a son and as a brother and had showed Himself to be an example for us.
We should never leave someone to accuse us of performing our spiritual ministries neglecting our earthly responsibilities. We see Jesus as an example at different occasions in the Scriptures. Once, He was approached by temple tax collectors to collect the tax, though He knew He didn’t have to pay, yet He had paid the taxes to shut the mouth of His enemies (Matthew 17:24-27). Jesus, before He left the world, entrusted His mother in the hands of a faithful disciple. He didn’t trust His own brothers to take care of his mother because they were not godly before their conversion. Bible says, His own brothers didn’t believe in Him (John 7:5) and on one occasion, they forcefully tried to grab Him saying He was mad (Mark 3:21). We need to follow the footsteps of our Lord when we say that we are His followers.
FOURTH WORD
Matthew 27:46/ Mark 15:34 “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
During the thirty-three years of Jesus’ life on earth, He had never called God, ‘GOD’, but He was always calling Him ‘Father’. This is the only time Jesus was crying out as ‘My God’. This is the voice of a sinner not the son. Jeus was not a sinner. But the Bible says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). During His thirty-three years of life on earth, Jesus had never known sin. He never told a lie or had an evil thought. Suddenly, all that filth and dirt from your life and my life poured out on Him and none of us will ever understand the mystery of that moment. No theologian can explain it.
Here we see the love of God meets with the justice of God. In that moment God was laying your sins and mine on Christ. And Christ was suffering for us. In that mysterious moment, He, who knew no sin, was made to be sin for us. This was not the voice of a sinner spitting out God’s name in protest. This was the cry of a perfect believer who held on to his God even as he was being beaten down by that same God.
We have been saved from hell. God already put Jesus through hell for our sins when He turned His back on Him at the cross. He did that so His kindness, His loving face, is now turned towards us.
FIFTH WORD
John 19:28 “Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”
This was the fulfilment of following Bible verses.
Psalms 22:15 “My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death”.
Psalms 69:3 “I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God”.
Psalms 69:21 “Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none. They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst”.
The hours of torture took a tremendous toll on the body of Jesus. Execution by crucifixion was not a sudden death like being shot or beheaded. It was a long drawn out, lingering death carried out publicly. His wounded hands and feet would be quickly inflamed, resulting in a fever of thirst and His body would soon be dehydrated. The above-mentioned verses from prophetic Psalms foretold the suffering of our Lord on the cross. Jesus taught us how to bear suffering with true patience and submission.
SIXTH WORD
John 19:30 “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost”.
The Lord’s cry was proclaiming his victory over the evil one. It was a declaration of victory over sin, death and hell. The work His Father had sent Him to do, which was to teach the Gospel, perform miracles, and achieve reconciliation for His people, was fulfilled. He finished His race as a man and accomplished His purpose as Christ. This was a moment of great joy to the heart of our Saviour. The debt of sin was paid in full. When Jesus said, “It is finished” He had cleared the debt owed by man to his Creator on account of Adam’s sin was finally and forever dealt with. The Lord, with “it is finished,” is saying not only does He take away man’s sin, but now He removed it as far as the east is to the west, for it is finished, done, signed, and sealed by the blood of Jesus.
This teaches us to be faithful unto death. This is an example of endurance to the end. We should not forget to ask for the grace of perseverance, that we too may be faithful in the death that we may finish the work which is in given us to do. Apostle Paul said, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7). When Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30), He brought about the completion of all the Old Testament prophecies, symbols, and foreshadowing about Himself.
The Word, “It is finished” tells us there is nothing left for us to do but to enter the fruits of Christ’s finished work. The Greek word for “finished” was used in general terms that a debt had been paid. It’s like the idea of a rubber stamp bearing the words ‘Payment received’ when stamped on a bill. That’s what Jesus was declaring from the Cross - "it is paid, man’s debt with God has been settled, the debt is wiped out." That is the very meaning of the Gospel. The Lord has paid the price for our redemption.
SEVENTH WORD
Luke 23:46 “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”.
Because He was fully God and fully man, Jesus could have come off the cross, remained alive, and force His divine authority. He chose not to do so. He intentionally chose to no longer hold onto life. This statement is a direct quotation from the passage of Scripture in Psalms 31:3-5, “For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God".
This speaks of his absolute confidence in God, His Father. Jesus found security in His Father’s hands and by doing pointed the way to all people who die believing. The first Christian martyr, Stephen, left this world with the same security. "Lord Jesus" he said, "receive my spirit." (Acts 7:59). These words were uttered by countless believers in Christ ever since.
After hanging on the cross for three hours, Jesus finally gave up his own life. He was not helpless at the hands of those evil men who had crucified him—He alone had the authority to end His life. It was His plan from before creation—He’s the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). He gave up his life was a voluntary sacrifice.
The Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation of Christian faith. The Cross reminds the world of the price God had to pay to redeem the lost humanity.
