Luke 23:32 - 35 “And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death. 33And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. 34Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. 35And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God.”[i]
Seven times He spake,
seven words of love,
And all three hours His
silence cried
For mercy on the souls of
men:
Jesus, our Lord, is
crucified.
Come, let us stand beneath
the Cross;
The fountain opened in His
slide
Shall purge our deepest
stains away:
Jesus, our Lord is
crucified
F.W. Faber
Intro : Coming to the end of His earthly ministry Jesus is hanging between heaven and earth with His hands and feet nailed to a rough wooden cross.
Calvary … Golgotha …
“… the place where the contrast between the Savior’s heart of grace and man’s heart of rebellion is most striking. Golgotha is the focal point of revelation and history and experience. There God did His best and man did his worst. There faith is justified, hope assured, and love conquers.” - Russell B. Jones “”Gold from Golgotha”
From this most unusual “pulpit” Jesus speaks His last words. “And His last words are impressive.”
Seven times Jesus spoke words from the cross that have impressed each generation of believers since that day on Calvary. Therefore these words of our Savior are better viewed as “lasting” rather than His last.
Ralph G. Turnbull says …
“In the harrowing experience of Jesus, the seven cries are like the opening of the windows for the soul. We gaze with reverence and awe as we dare to look in. We see bared before us the inner thoughts and secrets of that bleeding heart of incarnate love.” (The Seven Words from the Cross)
From these seven words come lessons that teach us how to live like our Savior. Such as …
These seven words are not “idealistic” notions but practical and worth applying to the very present situations we find ourselves in.
These words are a call from the cross to discipleship as we have heard the call of our Savior … “Take my yoke upon you. And learn of me,” (Mt 11:29)
So let us not be like the crowd who stirred around the cross the day Jesus was crucified to which they did not listen, turning a deaf ear to these powerful life giving “cross words.”