As Christians around the world focus during this Easter weekend on how Jesus

Christ died on the Cross to redeem mankind and to save sinners, some will be (Photo : Reuters )

contemplating the final lessons the Savior's last imparted. Following are the last seven expressions recorded in Scripture of Jesus Christ on the

As recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the Holy Bible, Cross.

Jesus Christ was mocked, scorned and tortured in the praetorian. He carried his "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." -- Gospel of Luke 23:34

cross up the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem to Calvary, was nailed to the Cross and "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." -- Gospel of Luke

hung between two common criminals. He suffered an indescribable end, recalled by 23:43

the Church on Good Friday of Holy Week.  "Jesus said to his mother: "Woman, this is your son." Then he said to the disciple:

Some Christians reference meditations about the Passion of Christ as the Way of the "This is your mother." -- Gospel of John 19:26-27

Cross.  "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" -- Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34

When religious pilgrimages to the Holy Land ended with the military occupation of "I thirst." -- Gospel of John 19:28

Jerusalem in the Middle Ages, a popular devotion known as the Way of the Cross "They put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth.

arose during Lent retracing the Passion, Crucifixion, and Death of Jesus. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished;" and he bowed his head

The 14 Stations of the Cross are (1) Pilate condemns Jesus to death; (2) Jesus takes and handed over the spirit. -- Gospel of John 19:29-30

up his Cross; (3) He falls the first time; (4) Jesus meets his sorrowful mother Mary; "Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." --

(5) Simon helps carry the cross; (6) Veronica cleans his face; (7) He falls the second Gospel of Luke 23:46

time; (8) Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem; (9) He falls the third time; (10) Jesus was obedient to His Father to the end, and his final word before his death on

Jesus is stripped of his garments; (11) Jesus is nailed to the cross; (12) Jesus Christ the Cross was a prayer to His Father.

dies on the cross; (13) He is taken down from the cross; (14) Christ is laid in the
tomb. 
Christ Jesus died on the Cross to redeem mankind, to save us from our sins because Pilate realized it was out of envy that they handed him over (Matthew 27:18, Mark
of his love for us. As recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in 15:10). But is Jesus not also thinking of his Apostles and companions who have
the Holy Bible, Jesus Christ was mocked, scorned, and tortured in the praetorium. deserted him, to Peter who has denied him three times, to the fickle crowd who only
He carried his cross up the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem to Calvary, was nailed to the days before praised him on his entrance to Jerusalem, and then days later demanded
Cross, and hung between two common criminals. He suffered an indescribable end, his crucifixion?
recalled by the Church on Good Friday of Holy Week.
Is he also thinking of us, who daily forget him in our lives?
One may meditate on the Passion of Christ by reflecting on his Seven Words on the
Cross or by a devotion known as The Way of the Cross. Does he react angrily? No! At the height of his physical suffering, his love prevails
and He asks His Father to forgive! Could there ever be greater irony? Jesus asks his
When religious pilgrimages to the Holy Land ended with military occupation of Father to forgive, but it is by His very Sacrifice on the Cross that mankind is able to
Jerusalem in the Middle Ages, a popular devotion known as The Way of the Cross be forgiven!
arose during Lent retracing the Passion, Crucifixion, and Death of Jesus. The
fourteen Stations of the Cross are (1) Pilate condemns Jesus to death; (2) Jesus takes Right up to his final hours on earth, Jesus preaches forgiveness. He teaches
up his Cross; (3) He falls the first time; (4) Jesus meets his sorrowful mother Mary; forgiveness in the Lord's prayer: "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those
(5) Simon helps carry the cross; (6) Veronica cleans his face; (7) He falls the second who trespass against us" (Matthew 6:12). When asked by Peter, how many times
time; (8) Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem; (9) He falls the third time; (10) should we forgive someone, Jesus answers seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21-
Jesus is stripped of his garments; (11) Jesus is nailed to the cross; (12) Jesus Christ 22). He forgives the paralytic at Capernaum (Mark 2:3-12), the sinful woman who
dies on the cross; (13) Our Lord is taken down from the cross; (14) Christ is laid in anointed him in the home of Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:37-48), and the adulteress
the tomb. caught in the act and about to be stoned (John 8:1-11). During the Institution of the
Eucharist at the Last Supper, Jesus tells them to drink of the cup: "Drink of it, all of
Here are his Seven Words, the last seven expressions of Jesus Christ on the Cross you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the
recorded in Scripture. forgiveness of sins" (Matthew 26:27-28). And even following his Resurrection, his
first act is to commission his disciples to forgive: "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you
forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are
retained" (John 20:22-23).
THE FIRST WORD

"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."
Luke 23:34 THE SECOND WORD

Jesus of Nazareth is looking down from the cross just after he was crucified "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
between two criminals. He sees the soldiers who have mocked, scourged, and Luke 23:43
tortured him, and who have just nailed him to the cross. He probably remembers
those who have sentenced him - Caiaphas and the high priests of the Sanhedrin.
Now it is not just the religious leaders or the soldiers that mock Jesus, but even one 21:5). And then she had to watch him being nailed to the Cross. Once again, a
of the criminals, a downward progression of mockery. But the criminal on the right sword pierces Mary's soul: we are reminded of the prophecy of Simeon at the
speaks up for Jesus, explaining the two criminals are receiving their just due, Presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:35).
whereas "this man has done nothing wrong." Then, turning to Jesus, he asks, "Jesus,
remember me when you come in your kingdom" (Luke 23:42). What wonderful The loved ones of Jesus are with Him in John's Gospel. There are four at the foot of
faith this repentant sinner has in Jesus - far more than the doubting Thomas, one of the cross, Mary his Mother, John, the disciple whom he loved, his mother's sister
his own Apostles. Ignoring his own suffering, Jesus responds with mercy in His Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. He addresses his third word to his
second word, living out his own Beatitude, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall mother Mary and John, the only eye-witness of the Gospel writers.
obtain mercy."
Jesus again rises above the occasion as he cares for the ones that love him. The
The second word again is about forgiveness, this time directed to a sinner. Just as good son that He is, Jesus is concerned about looking after his mother.
the first word, this Biblical expression is found only in the Gospel of Luke. Jesus St. Joseph was noticeably absent. St. Joseph was not present at family occasions like
shows his Divinity by opening heaven for a repentant sinner - such generosity to a the Wedding Feast of Cana and had probably died before the public ministry of
man that only asked to be remembered! Jesus, or else he would have been the one to take care of Mary following the
This expression offers us hope for salvation, for if we turn our hearts and prayers to Passion of Our Lord. In fact, this passage indicates that Jesus was the only child of
Him and accept his forgiveness, we will also be with Jesus Christ at the end of our Mary, because if he did have natural brothers or sisters, they would have provided
lives. for her. But Jesus looks to John to care for her.

Another striking phrase indicating Jesus of Nazareth was an only child is Mark 6:3,
referring to Jesus: "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of
THE THIRD WORD James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" The
terms brother and sister in Hebrew or Aramaic at that time could mean either
biological sibling, cousin or kinsman, or a spiritual brother or sister. Now if James,
"Jesus said to his mother: "Woman, this is your son." Joses and Judas and Simon were also natural sons of Mary, Jesus would not have
Then he said to the disciple: "This is your mother." been called the "son of Mary," but rather "one of the sons of Mary."
John 19:26-27

Jesus and Mary are together again, at the beginning of his ministry in Cana and now
at the end of his public ministry at the foot of the Cross. John is the only Evangelist
to record Our Lord's mother Mary at the Cross. The Lord refers to his mother THE FOURTH WORD
as woman at the Wedding Feast of Cana (John 2:1-11) and in this passage, recalling
the woman in Genesis 3:15, the first Messianic prophecy of the Redeemer, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
anticipating the woman clothed with the sun in Revelation 12. Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34

What sorrow must fill Mary's heart! How she must have felt meeting her Son as he This was the only expression of Jesus in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Both
carried the Cross on the Via Dolorosa. "Behold I make all things new" (Revelation Gospels related that it was in the ninth hour, after 3 hours of darkness, that Jesus
cried out this fourth word. The ninth hour was three o'clock in Judea. After the "He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross,
fourth Word, Mark related with a horrible sense of finality, "And Jesus uttered a so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness.
loud cry, and breathed his last" (Mark 15:37). By his wounds you have been healed."
First Peter 2:24
One is struck by the anguished tone of this expression in contrast to the first three
words of Jesus. He feels separated from his Father. This cry is from the painful
heart of the human Jesus who must feel deserted by His Father and the Holy Spirit,
not to mention his earthly companions the disciples, who "all left him and fled" THE FIFTH WORD
(Matthew 26:56, Mark 14:50). As if to emphasize his loneliness, Mark (15:40) even
has his loved ones "looking on from afar." Jesus is now all alone, and he must face
death by himself. "I thirst."
John 19:28
But is not this exactly what happens to all of us when we die? We too are all alone
at the time of death! Jesus completely lives the human experience as we do, and by The fifth word of Jesus is His only human expression of His physical suffering.
doing so, frees us from the clutches of sin. Jesus is now in shock. The wounds inflicted upon him in the scourging, the
crowning with thorns, losing blood on the three-hour walk through the city of
His fourth Word is the opening line of Psalm 22, and thus his cry from the Cross Jerusalem on the Via Dolorosa to Golgotha, and the nailing upon the cross are now
recalls the cry of Israel, and of all innocent persons who suffer. Psalm 22 of David taking their toll.
makes a striking prophecy of the crucifixion of the Messiah at a time when
crucifixion was not known to exist: "They have pierced my hands and my feet, they The Gospel of John first refers to thirst when Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at
have numbered all my bones" (22:16-17). The Psalm continues: "They divide my the well. After first asking for "a drink," he answers the woman, “Everyone who
garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots" (22:18). drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will
give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a
There can not be a more dreadful moment in the history of man as this moment. spring of water gushing up to eternal life" (John 4:13-14). This passage implies
Jesus who came to save us is crucified, and He realizes the horror of what is there is more than just physical thirst.
happening and what He now is enduring. He is about to be engulfed in the raging
sea of sin. Evil triumphs, as Jesus admits: "But this is your hour" (Luke 22:53). But Jesus also thirsts in a spiritual sense. He thirsts for love. He thirsts for the love of his
it is only for a moment. The burden of all the sins of humanity for a moment Father, who has left him unaided during this dreadful hour when He must fulfill his
overwhelm the humanity of our Savior. mission all alone. And he thirsts for the love and salvation of his people, the human
race. Jesus practiced what he preached:
But does this not have to happen? Does this not have to occur if Jesus is to save us?
It is in defeat of his humanity that the Divine plan of His Father will be completed. "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
It is by His death that we are redeemed. "For there is one God. There is also one Greater love has no man than this,
mediator between God and the human race, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave That he lay down his life for his friends."
himself as ransom for all" (I Timothy 2:5-6). John 15:12-13
 In contrast, the passion of Jesus in the Gospel of John expresses his Kingship and
proves to be His triumphant road to glory. John presents Jesus as directing the
THE SIXTH WORD action the entire way. The phrase "It is finished" carries a sense of accomplishment.
In John, there is no trial before the Sanhedrin, but rather Jesus is introduced at the
When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished;" Roman trial as "Behold your King!" (John 19:14). Jesus is not stumbling or falling
and he bowed his head and handed over the spirit. as in the Synoptic Gospels, but the way of the Cross is presented with majesty and
John 19:30 dignity, for "Jesus went out bearing his own Cross" (John 19:17). And in John, the
inscription at the head of the cross is pointedly written "Jesus of Nazareth, The King
of the Jews" (John 19:19). The inscription INRI at the top of the cross is the
The Gospel of John recalls the sacrifice of the Passover Lamb in Exodus 12 in this Latin Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum.
passage. The soldiers offered wine on a sprig of hyssop to the Lord. Hyssop is a
small plant that was used to sprinkle the blood of the Passover Lamb on the When Jesus died, He "handed over" the Spirit. Jesus remained in control to the end,
doorposts of the Hebrews (Exodus 12:22). John's Gospel related that it was the Day and it is He who handed over his Spirit. One should not miss the double entendre
of Preparation, the day before the actual Sabbath Passover, that Jesus was sentenced here, for this may also be interpreted as His death brought forth the Holy Spirit.
to death (19:14) and sacrificed on the Cross (19:31). John continues in 19:33-
34: "But when they came to Jesus and saw he was already dead, they did not break The Gospel of John gradually reveals the Holy Spirit. Jesus mentions living water in
his legs," recalling the instruction in Exodus 12:46 concerning the Passover Lamb. John 4:10 and during the Feast of Tabernacles refers to living water as the Holy
He died at the ninth hour (three o'clock in the afternoon), about the same time as the Spirit in 7:37-39. At the Last Supper, Christ announces he would ask the Father to
Passover lambs were slaughtered in the Temple. Christ became the Paschal or send "another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth" (14:16-17). The
Passover Lamb, as noted by St. Paul: "For Christ our Passover lamb has been word Advocate is also translated as Comforter, Helper, Paraclete, or Counselor.
sacrificed" (First Corinthians 5:7). The innocent Lamb was slain for our sins, so that "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will
we might be forgiven. It is now a fait accomplit. The sixth word is Jesus' teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you" (14:26). The
recognition that his suffering is over and his task is completed. Jesus is obedient to symbolism of water for the Holy Spirit becomes more evident in John 19:34: "But
the Father and gives his love for mankind by redeeming us with His death on the one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately there came out
Cross. blood and water." The piercing of his side fulfills the prophecy in Zechariah 12:10:
"They will look on me whom they have pierced." The piercing of Jesus' side
The above painting is meant to capture the moment. prefigures the Sacraments of Eucharist (blood) and Baptism (water), as well as the
What was the darkest day of mankind became the brightest day for mankind. beginning of the Church.

And the Gospels as a group captured this paradox. The Synoptic Gospels narrated
the horror of the event - the agony in the garden, the abandonment by his Apostles,
the trial before the Sanhedrin, the intense mockery and torture heaped upon Jesus, THE SEVENTH WORD
his suffering all alone, the darkness over the land, and his death, starkly portrayed
by both Matthew (27:47-51) and Mark (15:33-38).
 Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." The relationship of Jesus to the Father is revealed in the Gospel of John, for He
Luke 23:46 remarked, "The Father and I are one" (10:30), and again at the Last Supper: "Do
you not believe I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to
The seventh word of Jesus is from the Gospel of Luke, and is directed to the Father you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works"
in heaven, just before He dies. Jesus recalls Psalm 31:5 - "Into thy hands I commend (14:10). And He can return: "I came from the Father and have come into the world;
my spirit; thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God." Luke repeatedly pleads again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father" (16:28). Jesus fulfills His
Jesus' innocence: with Pilate (Luke 23:4, 14-15, 22), through Dismas the criminal own mission and that of His Father on the Cross:
(by legend) (Luke 23:41), and immediately after His death with the centurion -
"Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
"Certainly this man was innocent" (Luke 23:47). So that everyone who believes in him
may not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus was obedient to His Father to the end, and his final word before his death on John 3:16
the Cross was a prayer to His Father.