The Seven Words from the Cross

By Simon J. Kistemaker

Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, Mississippi

Of the seven words spoken by Jesus from the cross, Matthew and Mark record one, Luke three, and John three. We may assume that Luke consulted eyewitnesses (see Luke 1:2) who furnished him with additional information. And we may assume that John relied on memory when he wrote down Jesus’ utterances.

The order of the seven sayings is usually given as follows: 1: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34); 2: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43); 3: “Woman, here is your son” and “Here is your mother” (John 19:26, 27); 4: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34); 5: “I am thirsty” (John 19:28); 6: “It is finished” (John 19:30); 7: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

As the other evangelists, so John records the incident of the soldiers casting lots for Jesus’ garments. Though he omits Jesus’ prayer: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing,” he does provide much descriptive detail such as the number of shares—one for each of the four soldiers, the seamless garment, and the conversation of the soldiers. Immediately following this incident, John records the presence of women and Jesus commending his mother to John. Considering the sequence, I take John 19:26, 27 (“Woman, here is your son” and “Here is your mother”) as the second word from the cross. The third word, then is Luke 23:43 (“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise”).[1]

First Word: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34).

The first word from the cross is absent from a number of important and diversified manuscripts. It is found in other leading manuscripts. The saying is of an early date because Tatian incorporated it in his Diatessaron in A.D. 175, Irenaeus in his writings against heretics mentions it, and Origen in his homily on Leviticus refers to it. The saying occurs in the Apostolic Constitutions, and Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History relates that James, the brother of Jesus, prayed this prayer at his death in A.D. 63.[2]

The question why this word was omitted has often been answered by saying that copyists in the early centuries understood Jesus’ prayer to refer to the Jews. For this reason they disregarded the saying. However, it is much easier to explain the omission of this word than to explain its insertion.[3] The immediate context makes it plain that the prayer of Jesus was offered for the Roman soldiers who crucified Him and who cast lots for His clothes (see Luke 23:33 and 34b).

Second Word: “Woman, here is your son” and “Here is your mother” (John 19:26,27)

In continuous sequence John relates the crucifixion at Golgotha (19:18), the superscription (19:20ff), the casting of lots (19:24), the presence of women (19:25), the address to Mary (19:26), and the address to John (19:27).

The Synoptic Gospel writers are in harmony with the order of John’s Gospel up to and including the superscription. At that point they include such scenes as the derision of the crowd and of the one criminal, the death of Jesus, the exclamation of the Roman centurion, followed by the account of the women at the cross.

John is most detailed and descriptive in his account. Here the eyewitness speaks, relating the words Pilate wrote on the superscription: “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews,” in Aramaic, Latin, and Greek. Only John mentions the three languages. John writes that many of the Jews read the sign, because the place of crucifixion was near the city. He records the discussion between the chief priests and Pilate concerning the wording of the superscription. He describes the vivid detail of the four Roman soldiers near the cross who discuss the value of Jesus’ clothing and decide to cast lots. He enumerates the women standing near the cross by name, but he modestly refers to his own mother as the sister of Jesus’ mother (19:25). This enumeration introduces the second word from the cross: “Woman, here is your son” and “Here is your mother.”

Third Word: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

Unique to the Gospel of Luke is the section of chapter 23:39–43:

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Matthew and Mark simply state that the robbers who were crucified with Jesus also heaped insults on him (Matt 27:44; Mark 15:32). Luke records the words spoken by the robbers and indicates that one of them asked Jesus to remember him. In reply, Jesus stated: “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”[4]

Throughout his Gospel account, as well as the book of Acts, Luke manifests an interest in outcasts. He records that Jesus brought the Gospel of the kingdom to publicans, sinners, and, in this case, criminals. Jesus saved a criminal hanging on the cross.

Fourth Word: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34).

Only Matthew and Mark have this saying. Also, it is the only saying they have recorded in their crucifixion account. Yet the wording differs in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Therefore the question should be raised: what did Jesus say in this fourth word? If the wording in Matthew and Mark were identical, there would be no problem. But this is not the case. The variations in the saying are significant; they touch on the language Jesus spoke.

In current English translations of this passage the differences are pronounced. The Revised Standard Version reads: “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani” in Matthew, and, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani” in Mark. The Berkeley Version has “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani” in both Matthew and Mark. The New English Bible does the same thing except for the word “lama” which is given as “lema.” The New International Version reads in Matthew and Mark: “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.”

The Massoretic Text in Ps 22:2 reads:

אלי אלי למה עזבתני

The Aramaic of this verse is as follows:

אלהי אלהי למא שבקתני

If we take Matthew’s reading as “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,” it seems clear that the first three words are Hebrew and the last Aramaic (שבקתני instead of עזבתני). If we take Mark’s reading as “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani,” it may be asserted that the entire sentence is Aramaic.

Did Jesus speak Aramaic, as Mark evidently indicates, or did he utter the first two or three works of this saying in Hebrew and the last in Aramaic, as some manuscripts of Matthew have it? In support of Mark’s reading, I refer to Mark 5:41, where Jesus says to Jairus’ daughter: “Talitha koum!” And I refer to Mark 7:34, where Jesus says to the deaf and dumb man: “Ephphatha!” In both verses the evangelist provides the translations of these Aramaic utterances. He does the same in regard to the psalm citation (Ps 22:1) spoken by Jesus from the cross. By contrast, Matthew seldom resorts to Aramaic or Hebrew words, which must be translated for the benefit of his readers. In the case of Ps 22:1, he uses the Semitic wording which he provides with a Greek translation. Nevertheless, Jesus may have uttered the words recorded by Matthew. Perhaps from a linguistic point of view, one could conjecture that the word “Eli” in Jesus’ day was understood as an abbreviation of the name Elijah. Of course, in the Old Testament the full name, never the abbreviated form, of Elijah is given. In New Testament times this may have changed. The expression “Eli” was not regularly used for God because the Aramaic word “Eloi” had taken its place. Thus when Jesus uttered the saying “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” the people understood Him to refer to Elijah.[5] This workable hypothesis would answer the question why the crowd linked the coming of the prophet Elijah to Jesus’ quoting Ps 22:1.

Fifth Word: “I am thirsty” (John 19:28).

Of the four evangelists, it is John who repeatedly records the human characteristics of Jesus. For example, when he came to Jacob’s well at Sychar, Jesus was tired and thirsty from the journey (4:6, 7); when he came to the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus wept (11:35). In relating the scene of the crucifixion, John records Jesus’ fifth word: “I am thirsty.” Someone close to Jesus observed His human needs.

John mentions the concept thirst a number of times in his Gospel. Jesus asked the Samaritan woman at the well for a drink. He told her, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to everlasting life” (4:13, 14). And in his discourse on the bread of life, Jesus said: “He who comes to me…will never be thirsty” (6:35). Also on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus proclaimed in the temple: “If a man is thirsty, let him come to me and drink” (7:37). Jesus did not say: “I am in pain.” He said: “I am thirsty,” in order to fulfill Scripture (Ps 22:15) as a true prophet.

In the psalms, the concept thirst is at times expressed to indicate a longing for God (see Ps 42:2; 63:1). In the Gospel of John, Jesus conveyed the same concept when he addressed the Samaritan woman.[6]

Sixth Word: “It is finished” (John 19:30).

The question could be raised whether the sixth word “It is finished” should follow the seventh word “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). The general context of the fourth Gospel seems to indicate that Jesus spoke the sixth word immediately after receiving a drink. John introduces the sixth word already in 19:28 (ἤδη πάντα τετέλεσται, “all was now completed”). He indicates that Jesus summed up His work in one word: τετέλεσται—”It is finished.”

Seventh Word: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

Luke has recorded two sayings of Jesus which are addressed to the Father. Whereas Matthew and Mark have Jesus quote Ps 22: 1, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Luke records that Jesus calls God “Father.” Furthermore, the first word from the cross begins with “Father”—”Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34), and the last word from the cross begins with “Father”—”Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit” (Luke 23:46). The words of this saying are taken from Ps 31:5 which in Jewish circles is used as an evening prayer.[7] Therefore, this word, too, is a fulfillment of Scripture.

Luke traces the life of Jesus from beginning to end. In harmony with his introduction—”I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning…to write an orderly account” (1:3)—Luke records the last word spoken by Jesus from the cross. Luke records the beginning of Jesus’ life as well as the end.

Theology

If all four evangelists had access to the passion narrative, why did they record different words from the cross? Matthew and Mark quote Ps 22:1, but they leave the other six sayings to Luke and John. Luke most likely consulted eyewitnesses (Luke 1:2)—perhaps women who were standing near the cross when Jesus uttered these sayings. And John recollected words which he heard Jesus speak from the cross. John does not repeat any of the sayings from the cross recorded in the Synoptic Gospels. John omits the four sayings found in Matthew, Mark and Luke. As is characteristic of his Gospel, John supplements the Synoptics. He recalls from memory additional words spoken by Jesus.

The presence of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in John’s home was a constant reminder of Jesus’ word: “Woman, here is your son,” and “Here is your mother.” Comparing the accounts of Matt 27:56, Mark 15:40, and John 19:25, we have reason to assume that Mary, Jesus’ mother, was John’s aunt. John records the saying, “Woman, here is your son,” because the address “woman” instead of “mother” indicates that Mary should regard Jesus as her Saviour and not as her son. The address, therefore, has a soteriological motif: the redemption of the mother of Jesus.[8]

John, in noting the human characteristics of Jesus, stresses the concept of thirst quenched by living water repeatedly: he who drinks the living water of life eternal will never thirst again. But when Jesus, having offered this life-saving water to anyone who wished to take it, hangs under divine condemnation on the cross, he cries out: “I am thirsty.” John uses this word from the cross to indicate the severity Jesus experienced not merely of physical thirst; forsaken by God He suffered spiritual thirst.[9] Again, Jesus is portrayed as the true prophet fulfilling Scripture. So that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” The Scripture fulfilled is Ps 69:21.

Luke does not repeat Jesus’ quotation from Ps 22:1 (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me”). Though Matthew and Mark give the Hebrew-Aramaic text together with a translation in the Greek, Luke omits this saying. Reasons for this omission may be found in Luke’s background—reportedly he was born and raised in Antioch; Greek was his native tongue. Also, he addresses his Gospel to the Hellenist, not the Jew (see 1:4).

From the general context of the Gethsemane scene, it appears that Matthew and Mark have a deeper understanding of the spiritual suffering of Jesus than Luke. In the garden scene, Luke emphasizes Jesus’ admonition to pray “so that you will not fall into temptation” (Luke 22:40, 46). Apart from his description of Jesus’ sweat falling to the ground like drops of blood, Luke indicates nothing of the spiritual suffering which took place. The other two evangelists, by contrast, elaborate extensively on the spiritual agony Jesus endured. “He began to be sorrowful and troubled,” Matthew writes. “Then he said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death’“ (Matt 26:37f). And Mark says that Jesus “began to be deeply distressed and troubled” (14:33). Likewise Matthew and Mark describe the hellish agony Jesus suffered, by recording the word “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani.” Luke, it seems, has more of an interest in relating the physical than the spiritual anguish of Jesus. And for this reason he may have omitted the citation from Ps 22:1 recorded by Matthew and Mark.

Furthermore, Luke’s Gospel is highly evangelistic, and his choice of words from the cross reflects a mission motif. He begins with the prayer for forgiveness. On the basis of the immediate context which speaks of those who crucified Him and divided His clothes by casting lots, it seems reasonable to assume that the prayer was offered in behalf of the four Roman soldiers who were immediately involved. Luke throughout his Gospel and the book of Acts demonstrates an interest in foreigners and outcasts. Thus the second word of the seven sayings concerns the salvation of one of the criminals crucified alongside of Jesus: “Today you shall be with me in paradise.”

In regard to the prayers of Jesus, it is primarily Luke who records them.[10] Two of the sayings from the cross are prayers, and both of these prayers begin with the address “Father.” In fact, the first and the last saying are addressed to the Father. Luke chose to include the last saying from the cross in his passion narrative because it completes his careful investigation of the life of Jesus. The context of the other Synoptics indicates that this last word was uttered. Matthew reads: “And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit” (27:50), and Mark has “with a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last” (15:37). These two texts harmonize with Luke’s introduction, “Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit’.”

All three Synoptics made a choice. Luke took the last saying because it served his theological purpose by tracing Jesus’ life from beginning to end. Matthew and Mark chose the citation from Ps 22:1 because of Semitic wording. Mark frequently uses Aramaic expressions: Boanerges (3:17), Talitha koum (5:41), Korban (7:11), Ephphatha (7:34), Rabbi (9:15; 11:21; 14:45), Bartimaeus (10:46), Abba (14:36), Golgotha (15:22), Eloi (15:34). Many of these expressions were uttered by Jesus at significant moments in His life. Thus Mark records the Aramaic version of Ps 22:1, and Matthew provides a version which is half Hebrew, half Aramaic.[11] The saying fits Matthew’s theological purpose of showing that Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled the Old Testament messianic prophecies. Matthew more than the other evangelists quotes and alludes to Old Testament passages.

Four evangelists have given us seven utterances of Jesus spoken from the cross. No single evangelist has recorded all of them. Together, however, they present the complete account. Four voices form one symphony.[12] And four evangelists demonstrate the unity of Scripture.

Notes

1. K. Aland (editor), Synopsis Quattuor Evangeliorum, 4th edition revised (Stuttgart: Württembergische Bibelanstalt, (1967) pp. 482ff.
2. B. M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (London, New York: United Bible Societies, 1971), p. 180, says: “At the same time, the logion, though probably not a part of the original Gospel of Luke, bears self-evident tokens of its dominical origin, and was retained…in its traditional place where it had been incorporated by unknown copyists relatively early in the transmission of the Third Gospel.”
3. Among others, see N. Geldenhuys, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1960), pp. 613f; S. Greydanus, Het Heilig Evangelie naar de Beschrijving van Lucas, Vol. II (Amsterdam: Van Bottenburg, 1941), p. 141; Th. Zahn, Das Evangelium des Lucas (Leipzig, Erlangen: Deichert, 1920), p. 699, n.6.
4. “Paradise is here the place which receives the souls of the righteous departed after death,” J. Jeremias, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. V (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1967), p. 771.
5. Cf. M. Rehm, “Eli, Eli, lamma sabachthani” Biblische Zeitschrift 2 (1958), pp. 275-278. See J. Gnilka, “Mein Gott, mein Gott, warum hast du mich verlassen?” (Mark 15, 34 Par.) Biblische Zeitschrift 3 (1959), pp. 294-297, who asserts that because Jesus prayed in Hebrew the people did not understand Him. An interesting conjecture is made by A. Guillaume, “Matt 27:46 in the Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls of Isaiah” Palestine Exploration Quarterly 83 (1951), pp. 78-81. From his studies of the Isaiah scroll found at Qumran (1 Q Isa), Guillaume shows that the suffix of the first person singular is followed by the letter aleph. If this were the reading of Ps 22:1, Jesus would have said, “Elia.” Also see R. Holst, “The Cry of Dereliction—Another Point of View” The Springfielder 35 (4, 1972), pp. 286-289.
6. Cf. J. M. Spurrell, “An Interpretation of ‘I thirst’“, The Church Quarterly Review 167 (1966), pp. 12-18.
7. Strack-Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament Vol. II (Munich: Beck, 1961), p. 269.
8. W. Hendriksen, The Gospel of John, Vol. II (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1954), p. 432. Also see A. Feuillet, “Les adieux du Christ à sa mre (John 19, 25–27) et la maternité spirituelle de Marie”, Nouvelle Revue Théologique 86 (5, 1964), pp. 469-489.
9. Spurrell, op. cit., p. 16. Cf. L. Morris, Commentary on the Gospel of John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971), p. 813.
10. A. T. Robertson, Luke the Historian in the Light of Research (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1920), p. 239.
11. R. H. Gundry, The Use of the Old Testament in St. Matthew’s Gospel (Leiden: Brill, 1967), p. 64.
12. J. A. Bengel, Gnomon of the New Testament, Vol. II (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1887), p. 211.