Contextual Details for Harmonizing the 7 Utterances of Jesus Christ on the Cross

Article #1 on the 7 Utterances of Jesus Christ on the Cross 

The 7 Utterances in Chronological Order 

(#1) “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” - Luke 23:34 
(#2) “Woman, behold thy son!...Behold thy mother!” -  John 19:26-27
(#3) “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” - Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34
(#4) “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” - Luke 23:43
(#5) “I thirst” - John 19:28
(#6) “It is finished” - John 19:30
(#7) “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit:” - Luke 23:46 (Matt. 27:50)

Contextual Details for Harmony 

1st Utterance

Luke gives us the only testimony of the 1st utterance of Christ in Luke 23:33-38. It was spoken immediately after our Lord was nailed and lifted up on the Cross. Hardened sinners heard the gracious words, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34). Following this utterance, the crowd proceeded to revile, mock, scorn, and challenge the dying Lamb, as depicted in Luke 23:35-38, Matthew 27:39-44, & Mark 15:29-32. We can assume that this activity continued for some time without relaxation. 

2nd Utterance 

The noise and commotion of the crowd eventually calmed down. This gave opportunity for Mary and the apostle John to draw near to the Cross, among others, creating an occasion for the 2nd utterance of Christ (John 19:26-27). “Woman, behold thy son!...Behold thy mother!” (John 19:26-27). It is doubtful that they would have drawn near at a heated time amidst the throng. Their “far off” position during the 9th hour is intentionally noted by one Evangelist (Mk. 15:40-41). Thus, we can assume that they were in a far off position at the beginning and ending of the Passion of our Lord on the Cross, and they intentionally chose to draw near momentarily during a brief reprieve of commotion from antagonists.

Contextually, the placement of the 2nd utterance at this time makes the most sense. However, admittedly, this is not made clear in a basic reading of John's Gospel. While this placement of chronology might appear to be based on opinion more than objectivity, we can have objective certainty about the chronology of the following five utterances, and this allows for the 2nd utterance to fall into place. Of note, Matthew and Mark start with the 3rd utterance, and while Luke records the 1st utterance, this Evangelist skips two utterances and immediately proceeds to the 4th utterance. It is up to interpreters to do the hard work of harmonization. 

3rd Utterance 

Before readers even reach the 3rd utterance of Christ, Matthew and Mark are compelled to make a timely clarification. Namely, in Matthew 27:45 and Mark 15:33, the Evangelists report when the supernatural darkness appeared and disappeared at the 6th hour and the 9th hour of the day (noon to 3 pm), emphasizing how this darkness corresponded with the crucifixion and death of our Lord (Note: Luke gives this clarification later in Luke 23:44). However, Matthew and Mark then immediately bring readers to the 9th hour where they record the 3rd utterance of Christ: “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46, Mk. 14:34). Anything important overlooked by Matthew and Mark is then brought into view by John.

​Granted, some readers of Matthew and Mark had to wonder about the events that transpired in the first 2+ hours of Christ on the Cross, a large chunk of time during the 6th, 7th, 8th hours of the day. But only one scene is provided by John where our Lord commits the care of his earthly mother to the apostle John, and this serves as the 2nd utterance of Christ from the Cross, according to John 19:25-27. Once again, we can assume that this happened at a quieter moment during the first ≈2 hours that were omitted by Matthew and Mark, especially because the remaining utterances, counting from the 3rd to the 7th, were all spoken in close succession during the 9th hour. 

4th Utterance 

​Luke also gives us a scene where Christ speaks to the repentant thief on the Cross, but this couldn’t have happened in the earlier hours, and had to happen during the 9th hour - serving as the 4th utterance of Christ on the Cross (Lk. 23:39-43). Why? Because both thieves were reviling and mocking Christ in the beginning (Matt. 27:44, Mk. 15:32). Therefore, something very profound and evidently miraculous had to happen to bring a mocking thief to repentance and faith in ≈3 hours. Of course, we are talking about something much more impressive than observing Jesus of Nazareth taking care of Mary. Appropriately, the 4th utterance is the reaping of a very unlikely convert, the Thief on the Cross. “Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Lk. 23:43).

5th, 6th, & 7th Utterances

At last, this brings us to the 5th, 6th, and 7th utterances, which closely detail the final minutes and seconds of Christ’s bloody passion on the Cross. The Evangelists make it clear that the 9th hour was the hour of miracles. More specifically, we are speaking about the latter part of the Passion in the 9th hour, namely, everything that followed the 3rd utterance of Christ from the Cross, where He said, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”, according to the predestinated script of Psalm 22:1.

John leads us into the 5th & 6th utterances with the words, “After this”, indicating that there was a time gap in between John 19:25-27 and John 19:28-30. Following the reading of John 19:28-30, detailing the 5th & 6th utterances of Christ from the Cross, it is evident that these things were spoken back-to-back, as in a few minutes of each other, shortly before Christ died.

"After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." - John 19:28-30

During the final seconds of Christ’s life, following the reading of Matthew 27:50 and Luke 23:46, we can see that Christ spoke the 7th utterance with the last and final breath of His mortal body, saying: “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit:” (Lk. 23:46). A glorious ending! These words were accompanied with such mighty signs and wonders, the spectacle shook people to the core, even making them reconsider the events of the day. Now, as readers, it is up to us to take in the full story of the Gospel. The 7 Utterances of Christ markedly guide us through the glorious work of the Passion on the Cross from beginning to end, from start to finish, with a special focus on the finish. There is something to be seen here.