THE LAST SEVEN SAYINGS OF CHRIST ON THE CROSS

Proclamation:

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

“Truly I tell you, today you will be with Me in paradise.”  Luke 23:43

“Woman, here is your son … Here is your mother.”  John 19:26-27

“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  Matthew 27:46

“I thirst.”  John 19:28

“It is finished.”  John 19:30

“Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.”  Luke 23:46

Explanation:

After He had been beaten, scourged, and mocked, Jesus, The Christ, was nailed to a cross in a place called Golgotha.  While on the cross, He prayed to His Heavenly Father and asked Him to forgive them.  Then He briefly ignored His suffering to offer salvation to one of the criminals who was being crucified beside of Him.  He also took the time to provide for the care of His earthly mother.  He suffered physically and mentally and cried out in a loud voice while He was on the cross.  When He had finished all that He had to do, He gave up His spirit and died.

Application:

Jesus, The Christ, was chastised, beaten, bruised, scourged, wiped, wounded, and crucified for our transgressions and iniquities. (Isaiah 53:5)  We are all included in the people that He prayed for His Heavenly Father to forgive because we made it necessary for Him to pay the price for our sins, and to take our place and suffer the punishment we deserved.  He was considerate and concerned for others even while He was suffering.  He who was without sin, took on the sins of the world, and paid the price for our sins, past, present and future. (John 1:29)  He suffered and gave us His life for us.  We should remember that, and how He suffered, especially when we take communion.  The good news is, that is not how the story ends.  Three days later He conquered death and rose from the dead.

"FATHER INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT"

Proclamation:

“Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit.’  When He had said this, He breathed His last.” Luke 23:46 (NIV)  In The King James version of The Bible it reads “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, He said, ‘Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit; and having said thus, He gave up The Ghost.”

Explanation:

Under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God Luke, the physician and traveling companion of the Apostle Paul, recorded these words which are considered to be the seventh and final of the last seven saying of Christ that He spoke while on the cross.  Normally death by crucifixion on the cross is a long, slow, painful process.  However, Jesus was only on the cross for a little over three hours before He died. (Luke 23:44)  Jesus was in control of the situation and ended His own life by quoting a verse from the Old Testament. (Psalm 31:5)  He had already told His disciples beforehand that no man could take His life, He had the power to lay down His life and to pick it back up again. (John 10:18)  Jesus ended His own earthly life after He had all that had to be done for the redemptive process of man. (Matthew 20:28)

Application:

When we die, the soul and the body separate, (James 2:26) the soul returns to God created it and gave it to us. (Genesis 2:7)  The body remains on earth to be buried, cremated, or disposed of in some manner prior to it returning to the dust of the earth. (Ecclesiastes 3:20 and 12:7)  When Jesus died His soul went to paradise and on that third day morning His earthly body was resurrected.  (Luke 23:43 and 24:6-7)  Now He sits at the right hand of The Father making intercessions for us. (Romans 8:34)  In order for us to be saved we must confess and believe that God raised Jesus, The Christ, from the dead. (Romans 10:9)  We can entrust our soul to the hands of God knowing that there is no place which is more secure.

JESUS SAID "IT IS FINISHED"

Proclamation:

"When He had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.'  With that, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit."  John 19:30 (NIV) 

Explanation:

The Apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, records that one of the last words that Jesus said while He was on the cross before He died was "It is finished."  These three words are considered to be the sixth of the last seven saying of Christ on the cross.  This was a reference to having finished the work that God, The Father, had assigned for Him to do for the redemption of mankind.

Application:

Early in His life on earth Jesus said that He must be about His Father's business and He must work the work of Him that sent Him. (Luke 2:49 and John 9:4)  He knew from the very beginning that He came into this world to teach, suffer, and die, so that we could have the choice of salvation. (John 18:37)  Because of His love for us, Christ died for us. (John 15:13-14 and Romans 5:8)  He could have saved Himself or called for legions of angels to do whatever He wanted, but He knew that his death on the cross was the only way that we could be saved and that the scriptures could be fulfilled. (Matthew 26:53-54)  When Jesus said "It is finished" He knew that He had done all that needed to be done in the redemptive process for the salvation of man.  He could now give up His earthly life because His earthly body had served its purpose.  Thankfully, He completed His work and He did not come down off of that cross. (Philippians 2:8)  He paid the price for our salvation.  All we have to do to be saved is believe in Him. (John 3:16)