There are four at the foot of the cross, Mary his Mother, John, the disciple whom he loved, his mother's sister Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. As Jesus hung on the Cross, he uttered seven last words of great meaning to those who contemplate his Passion and Death. In saying these words … So this is what the soldiers did. 12Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. We cannot escape the cross. This online prayer commemorates each of the Seven Last Words in a separate meditation. 5th Saying: Jesus then spoke the fifth saying: "I am thirsty" (John 19:28). When a man's debt was paid, it was tetelestai. The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Seven Last Words: The Message from the Cross. In Last Words: Seven Sayings from the Heart of Christ on the Cross, Robert J. Nash devotes his literary skill to exploring, explaining, and applying the final words of Jesus during His crucifixion. Psalm 22 of David makes a striking prophecy of the crucifixion of the Messiah at a time when crucifixion was not known to exist: "They have pierced my hands and my feet, they have numbered all my bones" (22:16-17). 30When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." Before they drove the six-inch spikes into His hands and feet, they offered Christ something to drink. Jesus who came to save us is crucified, and He realizes the horror of what is happening and what He now is enduring. What will you do with the full pardon offered to you by the Chief Justice—the God of the Universe?[5]. 26When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, "Woman, here is your son," 27and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." Jesus was obedient to His Father to the end, and his final word before his death on the Cross was a prayer to His Father. "What I have written, I have written" (John 19:22). St. Joseph was noticeably absent. So, George Wilson was executed, although his pardon lay on the sheriff's desk. The Hour of Jesus: The Passion and Resurrection of Jesus. Then, turning to Jesus, he asks, "Jesus, remember me when you come in your kingdom" (Luke 23:42). The Jewish elders were incensed by this and tried to get the sign changed to say that Jesus had said that He was the King of the Jews. 23When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. In this passage, Jesus is assuring one of the criminals on the cross that when he died, he would be with Jesus in heaven. This statement was also prophesied by King David, saying, "My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth" (Psalm 22:15). He became the sin-bearer for the whole human race. He forgives the paralytic at Capernaum (Mark 2:3-12), the sinful woman who anointed him in the home of Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:37-48), and the adulteress caught in the act and about to be stoned (John 8:1-11). After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” Luke 23:34 ESV / 14 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful. In John, there is no trial before the Sanhedrin, but rather Jesus is introduced at the Roman trial as "Behold your King!" Some hymns are also suggested in the Appendix. "Behold I make all things new" The Father looked away from the Son due to Jesus carrying your sin and mine upon Himself. The Stations of the Cross are:   (1) Pilate condemns Jesus to death; (2) Jesus takes up his Cross; (3) He falls the first time; (4) Jesus meets his sorrowful mother Mary; (5) Simon of Cyrene is pressed into service to help Jesus carry his cross; (6) Veronica wipes his face with her veil; (7) He falls the second time; (8) Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem; (9) He falls the third time; (10) Jesus is stripped of his garments; (11) Jesus is nailed to the cross; (12) Jesus Christ dies on the cross; (13) Our Lord is taken down from the cross; (14) Christ is laid in the tomb. Jesus cried out in a loud voice, One of the two robbers crucified with Him joined in the scorning while the other was repentant: The life of the Lord Jesus causes a division in humanity: "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (Matthew 12:30). Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2015. We cannot escape the cross. Seven Words. Translation: Fathers of the English Dominican Province, 1920. 2nd Saying: "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise." Let him deliver him, since he delights in him." 19You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before you. It was common for those crucified to be entirely nude to increase the shame, but it is possible that Jewish sensibilities allowed a loincloth. He wanted nothing to dull His senses at the crucial time. We don't hear of Mary's husband, Joseph, being around during Jesus' ministry. It was unusual for a man to be led to the place of crucifixion, for usually a man condemned was forced through much resistance to the place of crucifixion. Title: Seven Words of Jesus From the Cross John 19:1424 1 Seven Words of Jesus From the Cross (John 1914-24) These Statements of Jesus summarize the Life, Character and Work of Jesus! He did not fight, but He willingly followed. Christ became the Paschal or Passover Lamb, as noted by St. Paul: "For Christ our Passover lamb has been sacrificed" (First Corinthians 5:7). John records one of the Roman soldiers bringing a sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant. It also means to pay in full, as in a tax or tribute. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works" (14:10). My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. Many can't understand such grace given to the penitent thief for he never had time to do any good works, nor was he baptized, but Christ said that his faith in Jesus that day was sufficient. John's account does not mention this, but Matthew records unusual darkness that came over the Earth for three hours, "Now from the sixth hour there occurred darkness over all the land until the ninth hour" (Matthew 27:45). Then he said to the disciple: "This is your mother." It is hard to suppose that a person under the sentence of death would refuse to accept a pardon, but if it is rejected, it is then not a pardon. "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." If you go to Jerusalem today, you will find more than one location identified as "Golgotha" or "Calvary" (which means The Place of the Skull), e.g., the Catholic Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the Evangelical Garden Tomb or Gordon’s Calvary. 18There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. When Jesus died, He "handed over" the Spirit. A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips (John 19:29). THE SEVEN WORDS OF JESUS ON THE CROSS - In observance of Good Friday, we remember the day Jesus willingly suffered and died by crucifixion as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. "It is finished!" Summa Theologica, Third Part - The Passion of Christ. [4] This shout was a cry of triumph! Christ's purpose in coming was to die on the cross in place of guilty humanity. 2 Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. may not perish but have eternal life." Jesus pushed Himself up one more time filling His lungs and shouted out for the entire world to hear. Luke 23:43. Jesus practiced what he preached: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. (John 1935) Condemned to death by Pontius Pilate, he carried his Cross up the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem to Calvary, was nailed to the cross, and hung between two common criminals. All the words of Christ’s were powerful words of life although His seven last sayings as He died for us are worth our reflection. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. But the criminal on the right speaks up for Jesus, explaining the two criminals are receiving their just due, whereas "this man has done nothing wrong." One may meditate on the Passion of Christ by reflecting on his Seven Words on the Cross or by a devotion known as The Way of the Cross. 41In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42"He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! We all have to make choices as to which one we wish to be like at our death. (John 19:14). This free study is one of 42 studies on the book of John. John 19:26–27: Woman, behold your son. Finally, carbon dioxide builds up in the lungs, and the bloodstream and the cramps partially subside. Jesus told the repentant thief that he would be with Him in paradise that very day. Alba House, Staten Island, New York, 1989. It was the supreme sacrifice that secured our salvation. George Wilson must be hanged. 8"He trusts in the LORD," they say, "let the LORD rescue him. Air can be drawn into the lungs, but cannot be exhaled. Prayer: Father, thank You for Your great love and mercy, which You revealed in Christ Jesus and His great sacrifice for me. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (John 20:22-23). No! He teaches forgiveness in the Lord's prayer: "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us" (Matthew 6:12). Jesus remained in control to the end, and it is He who handed over his Spirit. "For there is one God. Jesus fulfills His own mission and that of His Father on the Cross: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, Luke 23:46. The writer prophesied that the Messiah would be offered sour wine (vinegar) mixed with gall. Greater love has no man than this, Many of the classical painters thought that Jesus was nailed through the palms, but now, through Roman historical accounts, we know that the nails were driven through the small bones of the wrists, (radial and ulna). They would then place a. It is by His death that we are redeemed. He thirsts for the love of his Father, who has left him unaided during this dreadful hour when He must fulfill his mission all alone. It is now almost over—the loss of tissue fluid has reached a critical level—the compressed heart is struggling to pump heavy, thick, sluggish blood into the tissues—the tortured lungs are making a frantic effort to gasp in small gulps of air. 13Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me. Jesus of Nazareth is looking down from the cross just after he was crucified between two criminals. We don't know Pilate's motive for keeping the sign the way it was written, but Jesus' Lordship was proclaimed from the cross. Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb. (Mark 15:34). It is only John that gives us the one word in Greek, tetelestai. He did not fight, but He willingly followed. When Jesus refused the mild narcotic, myrrh (Mark 15:23), they laid Him down on the, There is some evidence that suggests that, in some instances, there were four spikes used, with the feet nailed separately to the upright. (tetelestai) was a word used in accounting in the common Greek language of the day. When the Israelites were slaves to Pharaoh and Egypt, the means of deliverance was the blood of a pure and perfect lamb whose blood was to be shed and placed in a basin at the bottom of the door. "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." We must all make our choice: to continue in sin or to believe and place our trust in the substitutionary work of Christ for us and as us. Seven 7 words of Jesus on the cross - Explanation of Jesus. Jesus asks his Father to forgive, but it is by His very Sacrifice on the Cross that mankind is able to be forgiven! But, when he was informed of this, George Wilson refused to accept the pardon! So every year, we listen to a preaching about the 7 last words of Jesus on the cross. He addresses his third word to his mother Mary and John, the only eye-witness of the Gospel writers. "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." Some believe that Christ spoke the whole psalm while on the cross. Jesus of Nazareth fulfills the Messianic prophecy of the Suffering Servant of the Lord (Isaiah 53:12, Mark 15:28, Luke 24:46). Does he react angrily? Here are excerpts from Psalms 22: 1My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Right up to his final hours on earth, Jesus preaches forgiveness. The innocent Lamb of God bore in His body our sin and did away with it. The fifth word of Jesus is His only human expression of His physical suffering. How beautiful are the mercy and grace extended to us in those words! Ignoring his own suffering, Jesus responds with mercy in His second word, living out his own Beatitude, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." It is possible that Jesus spoke more words than these during the six hours He hung on the Cross, but these are all that have been preserved for us. One of the two robbers crucified with Him joined in the scorning while the other was repentant: 39One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Messiah? John 19:26-27, Jesus and Mary are together again, at the beginning of his ministry in Cana and now at the end of his public ministry at the foot of the Cross. Christ Jesus died on the Cross to redeem mankind, to save us from our sins because of his love for us. And in John, the inscription at the head of the cross is pointedly written "Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews" (John 19:19). He suffered an indescribable end, recalled by the Church on Good Friday of Holy Week. Some will see no value in the death of Christ and die in their sins; whereas, others will see the redemptive work of Christ on that day and receive it as being suffered for them. But when you think about it, we are the real ones that sent Jesus to the cross -- our sins, our corruption, our weakness and pettiness. ... John 19:26-27 provides an explanation for what would happen to Mary, the mother of Jesus. "I tell you the truth, today you will be … (Mark 15:34). Here’s my humble contribution to the church community, to help save time with all the Holy Week preparations. Thomas Davis, a medical doctor, has studied what effect crucifixion has on the body: As the arms fatigue, great waves of cramps sweep over the muscles, knotting them in deep, relentless, throbbing pain. It is a poignant thought that, at the very same time of Jesus' death, several hundred yards away in the Temple area, the Passover lambs were being slaughtered all around Jerusalem for Israelites to eat the Passover that evening. The Messiah has paid your debt for you, but until you receive accept and receive the pardon, you remain in your sin, carrying that burden that He died to remove from you. 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