Good Friday: The Seven Last Words

The last sayings of Jesus from the cross (often 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. 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.

Since the 16th century, these sayings have been widely used in sermons on Good Friday. The Seven Last Words from the Cross are an integral part of the liturgy in the Anglican (Methodist), Catholic, Protestant, and other Christian traditions (including African-American Churches). Several Composers have set the sayings to music and often incorporate them into a style of service know as Tenebrae.

The seven last words are arranged from the Gospels in their traditional order. Traditionally, these seven sayings are called words of: (1) forgiveness, (2) salvation, (3) relationship, (4) abandonment, (5) distress, (6) triumph, and (7) reunion. The sayings form part of the Stations of the Cross, a Christian meditation that is often used during Lent, Holy Week, and Good Friday. The number seven is seen as significant, as seven is the number denoting perfection in the Bible. As God created the world in seven days, so these seven days, so these seven words belong to God's act of breaking into our world to complete what was intended in that creation.

Have a blessed Holy Saturday as together we stand between the cross and the empty tomb, looking forward to Easter and the Resurrection.