Week 31: The Seven Words from the Cross
Week 31: The Seven Words from the Cross
Last week we followed Jesus to crucifixion and burial and watched this climax through the eyes of onlookers. This week we will seek to gain an insider’s view of what was happening through the eyes of Jesus himself. He spoke seven short but significant sentences from the cross, which together throw light on the cross. No one evangelist records them all. Matthew and Mark preserve only one (the cry of dereliction), while of the remaining six, Luke records three and John three. The church has cherished these so-called seven words from the cross as disclosing the otherwise unknown thoughts of Jesus. None of them was uttered in bitterness or complaint. As we will see, each is an expression either of his great love for us, or of his dreadful work of sin bearing, or of his final triumph and victory.
Sunday: His Prayer for His Executioners
Monday: His Salvation of a Criminal
Tuesday: His Commendation of His Mother
Wednesday: His Cry of Dereliction
Thursday: His Agony of Thirst
Friday: His Shout of Triumph
Saturday: His Final Surrender