Jesus’ Sayings from the Cross

Jesus’ seven sayings from the cross are:

• Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.
• Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. 
• Woman, behold, thy son! 
• My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? 
• I thirst, 
• It is finished
• Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit. 

Books have been written about these final sayings by Jesus. 

About the ninth hour (3 pm) after Jesus had been hanging on the cross for 6 hours, Matthew 27:46 records that Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

Why did Jesus utter this plea of abandonment?  There are two major schools of thought. Some speculate that Jesus’ cry is a fulfillment of Psalm 22:1 which reads word-for-word with Jesus’ plea.  In a broader sense, the entire chapter of Psalm 22 is a collection of Messianic prophecies fulfilled in Jesus. Two notable examples are: “they have pierced my hands and feet” (verse 16) and “they divide my garments among them, and for my raiment they cast lots” (Verse 18).  Since Psalm 22 concludes in triumph (Verses 23-31), it is said that Jesus picked Psalm 22:1 to show that in the end His suffering would end in victory.  This line of reasoning may satisfy some, but an individual fighting for his life in unbearable agony doesn’t quote poetry–even the poetry of a Psalm. Yet, in Jesus’ Gethsemane prayer, He pleaded to God the Father, “If it is your will, take this cup away from me; nevertheless, not my will but your will be done” Since Jesus had already accepted God’s will in His suffering, it is inconceivable that He would reverse His thinking in a statement of rebellion.

Others contend that the human side of Jesus was expressing feelings of abandonment as God placed the sins of the entire world on Him. Because of that, God had to momentarily “turn away” from His Son. As Jesus was feeling the weight of human sin, He was experiencing separation from God– for the first and only occasion in all of eternity. It was at this time that 2 Corinthians 5:21 observed: “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Thus, Jesus became sin for us, and as a consequence He felt the loneliness and abandonment that sin produces. Except, in this case, it was not Jesus’ sin; it was our sins. 

In both Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 are Jesus’ pleas. Bible scholars have placed the seven last sayings in chronological order. Listed number 4 is: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Number 5 is John 19:30: After receiving sour wine to assuage His thirst, Jesus said: “It is Finished! And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” You would think John 19:30 was the last saying of Jesus, but Luke 23:46 adds another. In this verse, Jesus said: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Having said this, He breathed His last.” A centurion, watching the crucifixion as He observed the earthquake and the tearing of the temple veil, said: “Certainly this was a righteous man.” 

To summarize, Jesus felt abandonment because God turned away from Him as Jesus bore the full weight of our sins–all the murder, all the sins of the flesh, all the ugliness of humanity, and every deed of unrighteousness. He who was sinless became sin for us—so that we might one day enter God’s eternal paradise.