7 Words of Christ from the Cross

The seven words of Christ from the cross are amazing. Seven speaks of fullness. Yet the greater wonder is what flows from Him in the height of His suffering. The cross presses Him, and what comes forth reveals so much.

He is crucified, and He prays. “Father, forgive them.” The first sound from the cross is intercession. Even while men are driving the nails, the great High Priest is already pleading.

He is in agony, yet He saves. “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” With one word, He opens heaven to a dying thief. The Man nailed in weakness still has the keys of paradise. A cross will not dethrone Him.

He’s bearing the sins of the bride, yet He does not forget His mother. “Woman, behold thy son.” In the midst of redemptive suffering, He honors the fifth commandment and provides for His mother.

He enters the deepest darkness and cries, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” This is the abyss. Here, He stands where guilty sinners should stand. He does not cease to call Him “my God,” even when He is forsaken. Faith holds while comfort is withdrawn.

He fulfills Scripture in the smallest detail (Ps. 69). “I thirst.” It is a simple word, but it shows the reality of His humanity and the precision of God’s counsel. The Redeemer does not seem to suffer. He truly suffers.

He declares victory before He dies. “It is finished.” The work given Him by the Father is complete. The sacrifice is accomplished. The debt is paid. The types are fulfilled. Hell has not conquered Him. He has finished the work.

Then He dies as Victor. “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” He yields up His life consciously, willingly, trustingly. Death does not seize Him as prey. He lays down His life.

So what is so amazing about the seven sayings?

Amazingly, every word is full of majesty and meekness together. He is priest, king, son, substitute, shepherd, and conqueror together. He is bleeding and blessing. Dying, yet saving. Forsaken, yet trusting. Parched, yet finishing, surrendering His spirit, yet ruling the moment of His own death.

Then the sayings move in holy steps. He speaks to men, to the thief, to His mother, to God, to His own bodily need, to the accomplishment of redemption, and finally back to His Father. The whole cross becomes a window into His heart. Nothing disordered appears. No condeming word escapes Him. No murmur rises. No panic rules Him. The Lamb is spotless even on the altar.

And perhaps most amazing of all, these sayings show that the cross outstretches something done to Jesus, to something Jesus is doing. He’s actively obeying, fulfilling, bearing, loving, finishing, and entrusting Himself to the Father. Even on a cursed tree, He is the obedient second Adam.

That is why the seven sayings are amazing. They are the last jewels from the lips of the dying Redeemer. In them, you hear the heart of the gospel itself, mercy for sinners,

pradise opened,

family loved,

wrath endured,

scripture fulfilled,

Redemption accomplished,

And the Son returning to His Father, and our Father.