The Seven Words of the Cross of Calvary

The seven words of the Cross of Calvary

1.  Luke 23:34: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.
2. Luke 23:43: Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.
3. John 19:26–27: Woman, behold your son. Son, behold your mother.
4. Matthew 27:46 & Mark 15:34 My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?
5. John 19:28: I thirst.
6. John 19:30: It is finished. (From the Greek "Tetelestai" which is also translated "It is accomplished", or "It is complete".)-It is Finished.
7. Luke 23:46: Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

1. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.Luke 23:34

Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do".

This first saying of Jesus on the cross is traditionally called "The Word of Forgiveness".It is theologically interpreted as Jesus' prayer for forgiveness for those who were crucifying him: the Roman soldiers, and apparently for all others who were involved in his crucifixion.
Some early manuscripts do not include this sentence in Luke 23:34.

2. Today you will be with me in paradise.Luke 23:43

And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise".

This saying is traditionally called "The Word of Salvation". According to Luke's Gospel, Jesus was crucified between two thieves (traditionally named Dismas and Gestas), one of whom supports Jesus' innocence and asks him to remember him when he comes into his kingdom. Jesus replies, "Truly, I say to you..." , followed with the only appearance of the word "Paradise" in the Gospels .

3. Behold your son: behold your mother. John 19:26-27

Jesus saw his own mother, and the disciple standing near whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold your son". Then he said to the disciple, "Behold your mother". And from that hour, he took his mother into his family.

This statement is traditionally called "The Word of Relationship" and in it Jesus entrusts Mary, his mother, into the care of "the disciple whom Jesus loved".

4. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

"My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me?" redirects here. For the film, see My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? (film).

Matthew 27:46

Around the ninth hour, Jesus shouted in a loud voice, saying "Eli Eli lama sabachthani?" which is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Mark 15:34

And at the ninth hour, Jesus shouted in a loud voice, "Eloi Eloi lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

It is the only saying that appears in more than one Gospel,^[13] and is a quote from Psalms 22:2. This saying is taken by some as an abandonment of the Son by the Father. Other theologians understand the cry as that of one who was truly human and who felt forsaken. Put to death by his foes, very largely deserted by his friends, he may have felt also deserted by God.

5. I thirst. John 19:28

He said, "I thirst".

This statement is traditionally called "The Word of Distress" and is compared and contrasted with the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan Woman at the Well in John 4:4-26.
As in the other accounts, the Gospel of John says Jesus was offered a drink of sour wine, adding that this person placed a sponge dipped in wine on a hyssop branch and held it to Jesus' lips. Hyssop branches had figured significantly in the Old Testament and in the Book of Hebrews.
This statement of Jesus is interpreted by John as fulfilment of the prophecy given in Psalm 69:21 Psalm 22:15, hence the quotation from John's Gospel includes the comment "to fulfill the scriptures".

6. It is finished John 19:30

Jesus said, "It is finished".

This statement is traditionally called "The Word of Triumph" and is theologically interpreted as the announcement of the end of the earthly life of Jesus, in anticipation for the Resurrection.
Adam Hamilton writes: "These last words are seen as a cry of victory, not of dereliction. Jesus had now completed what he came to do. A plan was fulfilled; a salvation was made possible; a love shown. He had taken our place. He had demonstrated both humanity's brokenness and God's love. He had offered himself fully to God as a sacrifice on behalf of humanity. As he died, it was finished. With these words, the noblest person who ever walked the face of this planet, God in the flesh, breathed his last."
The verse has also been translated as "It is consummated

7. Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.Luke 23:46

And speaking in a loud voice, Jesus said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit".

From Psalm 31:5, this saying, which is an announcement and not a request, is traditionally called "The Word of Reunion" and is theologically interpreted as the proclamation of Jesus joining God the Father in Heaven.
Hamilton has written that "When darkness seem to prevail in life, it takes faith even to talk to God, even if it is to complain to him. These last words of Jesus from the cross show his absolute trust in God: 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit'. This has been termed a model of prayer for everyone when afraid, sick, or facing one's own death. It says in effect:"