Title: The Seven words from the cross

Scripture reading: Luke 23:34
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

Main idea: Jesus the Messiah took on the shame and guilt of our sin because of his love for us.

Comparing the Gospel accounts we know that Jesus spoke seven times while hanging on the cross.

• First, He said, “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34).
• Second, He told one of the thief crucified with Him, “Today you shall be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
• Third, He told His mother, “Woman, behold your son,” and He told John, “Behold, your mother” (John 19:26-27).
• Fourth, He cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34).
• Fifth, He said, “I thirst” (John 19:28).
• Sixth, He exclaimed, “It is finished” (John 19:30).
• Seventh, He cried, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Matt. 27:50; Luke 23:46).

There is something significant about the last words of men and women. In the face of death, what a person is often comes clearly to the surface and is reflected in speech. The famous French general and emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s last words are “I die before my time, and my body will be given back to the earth. Such is the fate of him who has been called the great Napoleon. What an abyss between my deep misery and the eternal kingdom of Christ.”

John Chrysostom, the early church father his last words are “Glory to God for all things! Amen.”

Mary, Queen of Scotland’s last words prior to her execution by beheading was “O Lord, into Thy hands I commend my spirit.”

The seven words that Jesus made from the cross have been treasured by all who have followed him as Lord. They demonstrate both his humanity and his divinity. They also capture the last moments of all that Jesus went through to gain forgiveness for believers.

Of the Seven sayings of Christ on the Cross, three of these sayings were addressed to God the Father. Four of them were addressed to man. The three addressed to God were prayers (1st, 4th, and 7th). Luke and John each record three of the seven accounts. Matthew and Mark only record one and they both record the same saying.

Jesus sayings from the cross are significant because they show that:

First, Jesus was in clear possession of his faculties until the very last moment, when he delivered up his spirit to the Father.

Second, He understood his death was intended to provide salvation for the world.

Third, His words show his concern and love for others, even at the moment of his most suffering.

First, words from the cross
The Words of Forgiveness
Luke 23:34 “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

Jesus had proven his ability to forgive sins in his healing ministry (Luke 5:24). He had taught that forgiveness comes only to those who forgive others (Luke 6:37; 11:4) and that forgiveness has no limits (Luke 17:4). He had called for love of enemies (Luke 6:27-28). On the cross he practiced what he had taught. By offering this prayer Jesus fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 53:12 “Yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Forgiveness, intercession, and provision are required even for a person who is sinning ignorantly or unaware that what he’s doing, or saying is a sin. One’s ignorance that what he’s doing is wrong doesn’t negate his responsibility to pay a price. If Jesus had had any sins of His own to confess, this would have been the time to do so. He did not, because He is sinless, so He prayed for others who were sinners instead. Jesus manifested love and forgiveness for those who crucified Him. He prayed for them, basing His petition for mercy on their ignorance.

These words are a prayer for God to forgive those who were crucifying him. They show the merciful loving heart of the Savior. Jesus also provides his executioners with an excuse—they know not what they do—which will later be echoed by Peter, when he observes that they “acted out of ignorance” of Jesus’ true identity (Acts 3:17; 13:27). Presumably, “if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Cor 2:8).

With these words, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” King Jesus shows his mercy and declares that he is in the business of forgiving sinners. As the King of the Jews offers his royal pardon, he gives the clearest proof of his divine and saving grace. To err is human, we often say, but to forgive is divine. Here, then, is a divine forgiveness. In crucified love, the Savior announces the forgiveness that he was dying to give. Have you ever thanked Jesus that he died for your sins?

Jesus prayed for “them” without ever saying exactly who “them” included. Therefore, even though this prayer undoubtedly refers specifically to the men who crucified Jesus, it should not be limited to them in its application.

When Jesus said “Father, forgive them,” he was giving the hope of mercy to every lost sinner who would ever come to him and pray to be forgiven. We too are among the “them” that Jesus prayed for God to forgive. Spurgeon applied this prayer personally when he said, “now into that pronoun ‘them’ I feel that I can crawl. Can you get in there? By a humble faith, appropriate the cross of Christ by trusting in it; and get into that big little word ‘them’!”

When the Son prays to the Father, how can his prayer not receive its answer? Jesus himself said that the Father always hears the Son (John 11:42). When the Son prays for us to the Father, therefore, our sins surely will be forgiven.

They have heard the prayer of Jesus and dared to hope that God would show them mercy. It started happening that very afternoon, when one of the criminals crucified with Jesus came to faith before he died (Luke 23:39-43). Could this have been because he heard Jesus ask for his enemies to be forgiven?

Even now he is at the right hand of God, praying for our forgiveness. He is praying from the throne the same way that he prayed from the cross. As the Scripture says, he “always lives to make intercession” (Heb. 7:25). Jesus is praying, “Father, forgive.” Receive the royal pardon he offers, and as quick as it is as the repentant thief on the cross, you will be forgiven. Then forgive your own enemies and pray for them to be forgiven.

Second, words from the cross
The Words of Adoption
Luke 23:43 “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

These words were spoken to the believing thief and were a confident promise of salvation. The dying thief believed that Jesus would rise from the dead and would eventually reign over the world. The thief said to our Lord “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42) His moment of conversion comes just in time. His appeal recalls biblical prayers to the Lord God—for example, “Remember me according to your mercy” (Ps 25:7; Luke 1:54)—yet it is addressed to Jesus, whom Luke has frequently presented as Lord.

His prayer expresses the hope that he will be saved not from the cross (Luke 23:39) but from his sins, and so enter after his death into Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus rewarded his faith with the promise that, that very day, they would be together in Paradise. Even in death Jesus had power to make people right with God. And yet the rulers … sneered him (Luke 23:35), the soldiers … mocked him (Luke 23:36-37), and one of the criminals crucified with Him insulted Him (Luke 23:39).

The man received more from Jesus than he expected, as is always true in salvation. Jesus has the kingly right and power to open the doors of paradise to those who come into fellowship with him. The thief would not have to wait for the kingdom to be with Jesus. He would be with Him “in paradise”-the place of righteous departed spirits-that very day when they both died. Jesus promised the thief that he would go to paradise simply because of his faith in Jesus. This is one of the clearest examples in Scripture that salvation is not a reward for good works but is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8-9).

The unbelieving thief on the side of the cross used his dying strength to mock Jesus. When he heard the priests and soldiers making fun of the man on the cross next to him, he knew that he had not yet hit absolute bottom. Seeing that Jesus was even lower than he was, he raged against him. This is the way people are. If we feel bad about our situation, we take our anger out on someone else, especially someone in a worse situation than we are. No matter how low we go, we look for someone even lower to ridicule.

This unbelieving criminal demanded Jesus to save him on his own terms. This too is the way of fallen sinners. When we do not get what we want out of life, often our first instinct is to get angry with God and to start telling him what he has to do in order to earn back our loyalty.

What this man wanted Jesus to do was to get him down from the cross. He was not interested in having a relationship with Jesus. He wanted salvation only in the very limited sense of escape from immediate death. There was with him no fear of God, no confession of guilt before God.

This is what many people want from God: practical help in temporary emergencies. They want a God who can work them miracles, but not a God who demands their service and obedience. Once the crisis is over they go right back to living for themselves.

The spiritual problem with this impenitent sinner was that he had neither faith nor repentance. Rather than confessing his crimes, he angrily attacked Jesus. He did not confess Jesus as the Christ, but questioned whether Jesus was the Christ at all.

Jesus does have the power to save us. He is able to take us to the everlasting paradise of God. But we must come on his terms, repenting of our sin and trusting in him for salvation, or else he will never receive us at all.

Second words from the cross is a message of comfort and hope to all who look to Christ in faith. Anyone who prays to him in repentance and faith will be saved forever. Jesus promised to save the man immediately.

This helps to answer a question that almost everyone asks: What will happen to me when I die?

For the believer in Christ, the answer is that death is the entrance into glory. Our bodies will be buried in the ground, where they will wait for their resurrection. But our souls immediately enter the presence of God. To be “away from the body,” the Bible says, is to be “at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). From Jesus Christ’s side one person (the repented sinner) may go to heaven and another to hell. Which side of the cross are you on?

Nicholas Copernicus the famous scientist considered this story from the Gospel, he humbly prayed: “I do not ask for the grace that you gave to St. Paul; nor can I dare to ask for the grace that you granted to St. Peter; but, the mercy which you did show to the dying robber, that mercy, show to me.” (Nicholas Copernicus, quoted in Clarence Macartney, The Making of a Minister (Great Neck, NY: Channel, 1961), 224.

Third, words from the cross
The Words of Provision
John 19:26-27 “Woman, behold your son!” “Behold your mother!”

In these words Jesus commended his mother, Mary, to the care of the beloved disciple John. Jesus entrusts his mother to the care of the Beloved Disciple in an act of love for her. Women without a male protector, especially those of lower classes, had little or no social standing. They depended on a male, usually a husband or son, for survival. The language Jesus used was legal and quite similar to the terms used commonly in adoption proceedings. His action indicates that He was the person responsible for His mother, implying that Joseph was no longer alive and that He was her eldest son.

We know from Matthew 13:55-56, Jesus had four half brothers and sisters. Yet He bypassed the earthly family line and established a new family. And in so doing fulfilled the prophecy of Psalm 69:8, “I am become a stranger unto my brethren and an alien unto my mother’s children.” You see, at this point, Jesus’ brothers didn’t believe in Him. So He turned to one who did. We are told in John 19:27, “And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.” A family is formed at the Cross because that’s where true families are forged and held together.

It was His love that took Him to the cross. He died because He loved us. But His love didn’t end there. He remains a compassionate Savior. He is concerned with the hearts and souls of men. He is concerned about your situation today. He wants to make provision for you and meet your need. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Had He not loved us, He would never have died for us.

Fourth, words from the cross
The Words of Separation
Mark 15:34; Matt. 27:46 “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

“Eli, Eli,” a translation of the Hebrew words that mean “My God, my God.” “Eloi, Eloi,” the Aramaic words that mean the same thing. In this saying the true nature of the atonement is made clear and the deep anguish of the Lord is revealed to us. The words of Jesus’ cry came from Psalm 22:1, echoing the desperate words of his forefather David. But the note of triumph and vindication at the end of the Psalm (Ps. 22:25-31) would not come for Jesus until Sunday morning.

Jesus’ fourth words from the cross is kept in the original Aramaic, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? His native tongue on earth, in order to show the intensity of His cry. The only thing that terrified our Lord was being out of fellowship with His Father. And when He who knew no sin became sin for us, that is exactly what happened.

Every other time Jesus addressed God, it was always as “Abba.” But here He speaks to His Father as He says, “My God, My God.” Paul writes that Jesus not only bore our sin, but actually became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). Therefore, unable to behold evil or look on iniquity, the Father had no other choice but to turn His back on His Son—and Jesus felt the agony of that isolation.

Why God forsaken His Son? The answer is found in Psalm 22:3: “ … You are holy, enthroned in the praises of Israel.” Because God is holy, He cannot overlook sin. On the contrary, He must punish it. When God, as Judge, looked down and saw our sins upon the sinless Substitute, He withdrew from the Son of His love. “The wages of sin is death.” Sin separates from God who is the fount of all life. God was judging the sins of the world in His Son.

He was being “wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities.” God was laying on him “the iniquity of us all,” (Isa 53).

As Jewish leaders mocked Him, He was saying, “Psalm 22:1 is being fulfilled in your very presence.” But they didn’t understand. They were in the dark not only physically but spiritually because they chose not to see the Light. Jesus’ words My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? do not represent despair but anticipate the confident hope of the suffering psalmist that God will rescue him and vindicate him in the end.

The Semitic expression behind “my God” is “Eli,” which is similar to Elijah’s name. This leads the bystanders to mistakenly think Jesus is calling on Elijah for help, reflecting an ancient Jewish belief among some Jews that Elijah would rescue those in need.

Fifth, words from the cross
The Words of Suffering
John 19:28 “I thirst”

This request shows the true humanity of the Lord. “I thirst”—reminding us of the personal agony He endured through it all. But even more important, it shows his desire that every fact of his death (as of his life) be in accord with Scripture. Jesus was aware that everything was now fulfilled. The “everything” is the Father’s work of salvation.

Apostle John then connects Jesus’ thirst with the fulfillment of scripture. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” (John 19:28).

The topic of thirst appeared in Jesus’ dialogue with the Samaritan woman (John 4:7-42). He first asked the woman for water to drink, but as the dialogue unfolded, he revealed that she was the one thirsting for the “living water,” eternal life, which only Jesus can give (John 4:10, 13-14). Jesus’ thirst is not ultimately for physical water for himself. Rather, he thirsts to finish the Father’s will, to drink his “cup” (John18:11) that is, he became an offering for the salvation of the world.

Sixth, words from the cross
The Words of Victory
John 19:30 “It is finished.”

These are the most important words of all, for they refer not merely to his life, perfect and exemplary as it was, but to his completed atonement for sin. Because of this we can be sure of salvation. The Greek word, tetelestai, means “it is accomplished,” “it is paid in full.” Jesus offers his life in a perfect act of love and obedience to the Father and so accomplishes the work of salvation.

What was finished at the cross? For Jesus, at least three things.
First, His response to his Father’s will was completed. With his death his obedience was completed. His passion to do his Father’s will, and thereby to bring glory to him, here reaches its conclusion as he gives up his life at the Father’s command. In doing so he becomes the great model for all who would live the life God purposed for us, a life of complete obedience.

Second, His revealing of the Father’s heart was completed.  Jesus said in John 17:6, ‘I have revealed you to those whom you gave me.’ This echoes John 1:18, ‘no-one has ever seen God … the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.’ The work of making the Father known finds its completion in the cross.

Third, His redeeming of his Father’s world was completed. As he cries, ‘It is finished,’ and gives himself up for death, the knife falls, and all the sacrifices of the ages are gathered up and rendered obsolete for ever. Because he has died, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, for all who have come and trusted in the virtue of that sacrifice there is ‘no longer any sacrifice for sin’ (Heb. 10:18).

With his death, the complex sacrificial system ended because Jesus took all sin upon himself. Now we can freely approach God because of what Jesus did for us. Those who believe in Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection can live eternally with God and escape the penalty that comes from sin. The Christian is called to affirm the completeness and sufficiency of that sacrifice by trusting in it constantly and by exhibiting the peace and confidence which are the fruit of such a trust.

Having thus spoken, “It is finished.” Jesus handed over (Greek. paredoken) “His spirit” to His Father (Luke 23:46), and “bowed His head” in peaceful death. All four Gospels presented Jesus as giving up His life of His own accord. No one took it from Him (John 10:10, 14, 17-18). He did this voluntarily, and in harmony with His Father’s will (John 8:29; 14:31).

“It is finished!” The work His Father had given him to do! The pouring out of His soul as an offering for sin! The work of redemption and of atonement! Thank God for the finished work of the Lord Jesus on the cross of Calvary!  One of the greatest problems in Christian service is right here—many start the race and do well at the start but drop out before the race is over. They cannot say, “It is finished.” But if Christ finished His work for us, how can we do less that finish our work for Him. Jesus was not a failure. He was declaring victory!

Seventh, words from the cross
The Words of Peace
Luke 23:46 “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

These words show Jesus to have been in control of his life until the end and indicate that the relationship between himself and the Father, which earlier had been broken as he was made sin for us (Mark 15:34), was restored. After six days of creation, the Father looked over what He had made and said, “It is very good.” Then He rested. So, too, after being on the Cross six hours, the Son said, “It is finished”—and He rested.

In this prayer, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” Jesus offered Himself to God as a sacrifice for the sins of the world. Jesus voluntarily laid His life down; no one took it from Him (John 10:15-18; John 15:13). His words were similar to those that many religious Jews used in prayer before they went to sleep at night (Ps. 31:5).

“Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” These were the dying words of a dying man—a man forsaken by God. This is what makes his words such a marvel. We know from the other Gospels earlier Jesus had said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34).

These words reveal a mystery beyond human thought: as the Son took on himself the guilt of our sin he was forsaken by the Father. Maybe this is why Jesus did not even call him “Father,” as he did in every other prayer, but called him “God” instead.

As Jesus suffered the wrath our sins deserve, the Son was separated from the intimacy he had known with the Father from all eternity. Yet there was light at the end of the cross. In his last prayer before dying, Jesus expressed full confidence in his Father’s love. Once again he used the paternal name of the First Person of the Trinity and called him “Father.”

Jesus trusted that he would not be forsaken forever, and therefore he committed himself to the Father’s care. As he came to the end of his sin-bearing work on the cross, his sense of the Father’s loving presence was restored. Jesus’ sense of being God’s Son had been present all through his life and ministry.

It was there as a young boy when he was in Jerusalem for Passover and called the temple his “Father’s house” (Luke 2:49). At his baptism when the heavens opened and the Father said, “You are my beloved Son” (Luke 3:22).

It was there when he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane and accepted the cross, saying, “Father . . . not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). It was there in his first words from the cross: “Father, forgive” (Luke 23:34).

It was there again at the very end of the cross, when he said: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46). David uttered this prayer in Psalm 31:5, “Into your hand I commit my spirit.”

It is interesting Jesus used this prayer almost word for word, except that he made it more personal by calling God “Father.” This is an example for our own prayer. There are times in our life when we feel God-forsaken, when we wonder whether God is even there. Jesus as a man knows what this is like because he really was forsaken. Nevertheless, he trusted his Father in the darkness, as we should trust him whenever we are feeling desperate.

Even when we feel, not able to go any further and prayer seems like nothing more than a cry in the dark, we are called to trust the Father, as Jesus did. By faith we are surrendering and committing everything to God. This is not just the way for us to live, but also the way for us to die.

The last prayer that Jesus made before dying is still a good model for our own submission to God, especially at the time of death. Many Christians have used these very words in their dying hour. Stephen used them when he was stoned by the Sanhedrin, except that instead of praying to the Father, he cried out to Jesus himself: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59).

There have been many other examples throughout church history: Polycarp, who was martyred in the days of the early church prayed this prayer. Martin Luther, the protestant reformer prayed this prayer, and the list goes on and on. Mary, Queen of Scotland’s last words prior to her execution by beheading was “O Lord, into Thy hands I commend my spirit.”

When Jesus put his spirit into the Father’s hands, he was expressing full confidence that death was not the end for him. He believed that there was life beyond the grave. Therefore, Jesus rested complete trust in his Father for death and for everything that would come afterwards. From the end of the cross he could see the light of the empty tomb.

Are you able to say what the apostle Paul said: “I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day” (2 Tim. 1:12). We do not need to wait until death to have this confidence.

We can submit our life to God right now, asking the Father to receive us for the sake of the Son, on the basis of his sacrifice for our sins. We can keep using the words of his last prayer every night at bedtime, or whenever we are anxious, helpless, forsaken, or afraid, or even for the last prayer we make before dying: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

Application
The cross of Jesus reveals God’s love because it shows how far God goes for our salvation. God gives absolutely everything; he holds nothing back for the good of his beloved, the salvation of the human race. The Father “so loved the world that he gave his only Son” for the world’s salvation (John 3:16). Jesus out of love and obedience, lays down his life on the cross (John 10:17-18).

The Father gives his all, his beloved Son; by freely giving his all on the cross, Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, reveals that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Jesus calls us to put into practice the same kind of self-sacrificial love. As 1 John 4:11 states, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another.” Being Jesus’ disciples means practicing the same kind of, self-giving love in our families, communities, and in all our relationships. As Jesus said, “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

(Elvina Mable Hall (1820 – 1889), tells in her hymn the message of the cross
Jesus paid it all,
All to him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain —
He washed it white as snow.

His death, in our place, spells the end of death and wins our resurrection from the dead. If we believe in him, it ends our separation from God. So let our love answer his love. Have you submitted your all to God’s kingdom? Are you prepared to make the necessary sacrifices to further his kingdom?

Let’s pray together
Heavenly Father, I thank you for the cross. Jesus you became a sacrifice for us. Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Help me Lord to make sacrifices to further your kingdom. In Jesus Name Amen.