Sayings of Jesus on the cross

Crucifixion, seen from the Cross by James Tissot, c. 1890

The sayings of Jesus on the cross (sometimes called the Seven Last Words from the Cross) are seven expressions biblically attributed to Jesus during his crucifixion. Traditionally, the brief sayings have been called "words".

The seven sayings are gathered from the four canonical gospels.[1][2] In Matthew and Mark, Jesus cries out to God. In Luke, he forgives his killers, reassures the penitent thief, and commends his spirit to the Father. In John, he speaks to his mother, says he thirsts, and declares the end of his earthly life. This is an example of the Christian approach to the construction of a gospel harmony, in which material from different gospels is combined, producing an account that goes beyond each gospel.[3][4]

Since the 16th century, these sayings have been widely used in sermons on Good Friday, and entire books have been written on theological analysis of them.[3][5][6] The Seven Last Words from the Cross are an integral part of the liturgy in the Catholic, Protestant, and other Christian traditions.[7][8] Several composers have set the sayings to music.

  1. ^ Bromiley, Geoffrey W. (1988). International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 4. Eerdmans Press. p. 426. ISBN 0-8028-3784-0.
  2. ^ Kelly, Joseph F. (2006). An Introduction to the New Testament for Catholics. Liturgical Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-8146-5216-9.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Houlden627 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Ehrman, Bart D. (2009). Jesus, Interrupted. HarperCollins. pp. 69–70. ISBN 978-0-06-117393-6.
  5. ^ McCrocklin, W. (2006). Jesus of Nazareth. Xulon Press. p. 134. ISBN 1-59781-863-1.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Houlden645 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Young, Richard (2005). Echoes from Calvary, Volume 1. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 190–191. ISBN 978-0742543843. Interestingly, the Methodist Book of Worship adopted by the General Conference of 1964 presented two services for Good Friday: a Three Hours' Service for the afternoon and a Good Friday evening service that includes the "Adoration at the Cross" (the Gospel, Deprecations, and Adoration of the Cross) but omits a communion service, which would be the Methodist equivalent of the Mass of the Presanctified.
  8. ^ "Good Friday". The Encyclopedia Americana, Volume 13. The Encyclopedia Americana Corporation. 1919. p. 51 – via HathiTrust Digital Library. The 'Three Hours' Devotion, borrowed from Roman usage, with meditation on the 'seven last words' from the Cross, and held from 12 till 3, when our Lord hung on the Cross, is a service of Good Friday that meets with increasing acceptance among the Anglicans.