Lord’s Day, Vol. 7 No. 15
Christ’s Seven Sayings On the Cross
(Edited and Extracted from “The Guide to the Gospels: A Comprehensive Analysis of the Four Gospels” by Graham Scroggie)
(1) The Significance of the Sayings
Last words are always important and are carefully stored in the memory, especially the last words of the dying, of the martyrs, of people who have been great leaders, inventors, discoverers, writers, and of our own loved ones. But all the greatest last words which have ever been uttered throughout all time are not of comparable significance and value with the Seven Sayings of Jesus on the Cross, and just because no one before or since can be compared with Him, no one before or since has been at once Perfect Man and Very God. It is His Divine-Human Personality that gives all that He ever said its value.
(2) The Number of the Sayings
“That there should be exactly seven, the sacred and mystical number of Scripture, is itself not without its significance” (Trench) No Evangelist records all of them, but each Evangelist records some of them. Matthew and Mark have one; Luke has three, and John has three.
They are:
Sayings References
1 Father, forgive them: for they know Luke 23:34
not what they do
2 To day shalt thou be with Me in Luke 23:43
Paradise
3 Woman, behold thy son…. John 19:27
Behold, thy mother
4 Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? Matt. 27:46;
Mark 15:34
5 I thirst John 19:28
6 ‘It is finished. John 19:30
7 Father, into Thy hands I commend Luke 23:46
My spirit
Observe that the 4thor central saying was recorded by two Apostles.
(3) The Order of the Sayings
The order given above is agreed upon by most expositors, and an examination of it will reveal how eminently significant that order is.
The first, fourth (central), and seventh are addressed to the Almighty, the first and seventh to Him as ‘Father,’ and the fourth to Him as ‘God.’
The first three relate to those around the dying Saviour, and the last four relate to Himself only. Christ’s first consideration was for others.
(4) The Time of the Sayings
Jesus was on the Cross for six hours. The ‘third hour’ (Mark 15:25) was 9:00 a.m.; the ‘sixth hour’ (Mark 15:33) was 12.00 noon; and the ‘ninth hour’ (Mark 15:33) was 3:00 p.m.
These six hours were divided into two periods of three hours each by darkness coming over the whole land at noon (Luke 23:44). The first three Sayings were uttered in the first three hours, in daylight; and the last four Sayings were uttered in the last three hours, in darkness. These facts are significant when it is observed that the last four Sayings only are dominated by the idea of Atonement.
(5) The Roots of the Sayings
All these Sayings have their roots in the Jews’ Bible, the Old Testament; some of them manifestly, and some of them inferentially.
Saying 1: Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do. (Luke 23:34)
Source: He “made intercession for the transgressors”. (Isaiah 53:12)
Saying 2: Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise (Luke 23:43)
Source: He shall see His seed; He shall prolong His days; … He shall see of the travail of His soul’ (Isaiah 53:10, 11).
Saying 3: Woman, behold, thy son … Behold, thy mother (John 19:26, 27)
Source: Illustrating duty to parents (Exodus 20:12; Mark 7:10-13)
Saying 4: Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?…My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Mark 15:34; Matthew 27:46).
Source: Spoken probably in Hebrew Verbatim from Psalm 22:1
Saying 5: I thirst (John 19:28)
Source: In My thirst they gave Me vinegar to drink (Psalm 69:21)
Saying 6: It is finished (John 19:30)
Source: They shall come, and shall declare His righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that He hath done this (Psalm 22:31). This is significant in a Psalm which begins as the 22nd does!
Saying 7: Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit (Luke 23:46)
Source: Into Thine hand I commit My spirit (Psalm 31:5).
Surely it cannot but impress us that in these hours of agony Jesus, breaking His silence, should express His deepest thoughts and feelings in words written long centuries before.
(6) An Analysis of the Sayings
These seven Sayings may be variously divided, and no legitimate classification is without its significance. We may say that the first three are characterized by thoughtfulness; the fourth and fifth, by travail; the sixth and seventh by triumph.
(a) Christ’s Thoughtfulness
In the first three, which reveal Christ’s consideration for others, three parties are in view: His cruel enemies; a repentant sinner; and His faithful followers. For the first He offers a prayer; to the second He gives a promise; for the third He makes a provision. In the first we see Him as Interceder; in the second, as Rewarder; and in the third, as Sympathizer.
(b) Christ’s Travail
Here, in the fourth and fifth Sayings, two aspects of His unspeakable anguish are disclosed: His mental anguishin the cry: “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” the central Saying of the seven; and His physical anguishin the cry, “I thirst.” In these cries His Divine and human natures are revealed.
(c) Christ’s Triumph
In the sixth and seventh sayings the victory of the Cross is proclaimed. The sixth tells of Christ’s satisfaction relative to the past.The Jews supposed, that Christ was finished, but that the work He came to do was finished; the will of God had been perfectly done; man’s redemption complete; salvation offered to all, and a sinner dying by Jesus’ side embraced it.
The seventh saying is one of perfect and joyful yielding up of Himself in death to His Father. It expresses Christ’s satisfaction relative to the future.His first and last Sayings were addressed to His Father.
Yours lovingly,
Pastor Lek Aik Wee