The Seven Last Words of Christ on the Cross: Beyond Holy Week

The Bible tells us that as Jesus was being crucified, He made seven final proclamations known as The Seven Last Words on the Cross. These scriptures are read during Easter plays and expounded upon from pulpits during Holy Week, which begins on Palm Sunday and ends on Resurrection Sunday.

The seven final sayings of Christ are then put away until the following Spring. In the community where I grew up, these Bible verses had an impact beyond Easter Sunday.

I was talking to one of my cousins today, and we discussed how each Easter, seven children in the church would be given one of the sayings, which you can read below.

The Seven Last Sayings of Christ

1. “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34.

2. “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43

3. “Woman, behold your son… Behold your mother.” John 19:26–27.

4. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34.

5. “I thirst.” John 19:28

6. “It is finished.” John 19:30

7. “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Luke 23:46

We would hold a large card in front of us, stating the chapter and verse of what Jesus said on the cross, as we recited the words. We then used a thumbtack to pin the card on a wooden cross.

Beyond Easter Sunday

Teenagers in my neighborhood began working at age 14, cleaning the local elementary school. We swept and dusted the office, classrooms, restrooms, and the library. The boys scrubbed and buffed floors, and the girls took turns answering the phone in the office.

In 1976, there were more teenagers than usual, but not everyone was needed at the school. Some were given the job of cleaning our church. They were tasked with sweeping and dusting the sanctuary, classrooms, the pastor's study, the balcony, and the basement. I had forgotten this until today,

As my cousin and I talked about a local church featuring the Seven Last Words from the cross this Good Friday, she shared something with me. She said the summer she worked at the church, two older neighbors who were sisters, provided lunch each day.

They would come early and have a brief Bible study with the teens, but would not serve lunch until they all recited a Bible verse. Every family in the community attended our church except one, and a teenage boy working that summer was a member of this family. He had not attended Sunday School, did not own a Bible, and knew no scripture.

There were also a few other boys who could not easily recall scripture. My cousin said the cross with the Seven Last Words was in the basement, where they had lunch. She said she noticed the boys began reciting scripture, chapter, and verse by reading from the cross.

The sisters were so happy that the boys were quoting the Bible, they did not realize they were listening to the Easter scriptures or that the teens were quoting from the cross, and my cousin did not snitch.

We both had a good laugh about it, and I was reminded of the television film The Homecoming, which led to the series The Waltons. There was a scene where Christmas gifts were given to the children after they recited scripture. Mary Ellen Walton (Judy Norton) knew many Bible verses, and she was whispering scripture to most of the other children so they could get a gift.

The church my cousin and I attended was an old clapboard building with a wood and coal furnace and outdoor toilets. It was replaced in 1979 with a brick building, but our fond memories within those walls, including The Seven Last Words on the Cross, remain.