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This week is Crossway’s last trackback Thursday—The Heart of the Cross by the late James Montgomery Boice and Philip Graham Ryken. (Don’t worry, we’ll still have some other fun giveaways)!

“I have always thought it unfortunate that the seven sayings of Jesus on the cross have been called his ‘last words,’” expressed Boyce. “Because the perhaps unwitting implication is that Jesus did not rise again and therefore never said anything else. Jesus did rise again, of course.”

Jesus’ words from the cross are these:

1. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). These words are a prayer for God to forgive those who were crucifying him. They show the merciful heart of the Savior.
2. “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). These words were spoken to the believing thief and were a confident promise of salvation. They show that while life lasts, it is never too late to believe on Jesus and be saved.
3. “Dear woman, here is your son” and “Here is your mother” (John 19:26-27). Here Jesus commended his mother, Mary, to the care of John, one of his disciples. It shows Jesus’ concern for family ties.
4. “I am thirsty” (John 19:28). This request shows the true humanity of Jesus. But it also shows his concern that every facet of his death be in accord with the Bible’s prophecies about him.
5. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34; Matt. 27:46). This statement is the most shattering of all. It reveals more than any other what was really happening on the cross. It teaches the nature of the atonement and what our salvation cost God.
6. “It is finished” (John19:30).These are the most important words, because they refer not to Jesus’ life, as if he were saying, “It is over,” but to his atonement for sin. It is because Jesus made a complete and final atonement for sin that we can be sure of our salvation.
7. “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke23:46). These words show Jesus to have been in control of his life until the very end. They also show that the relationship between himself and the Father, which earlier had in some sense been broken, was now restored.

These saying have been interpreted as teaching seven duties: 1) to forgive our enemies, 2) to have faith in Christ, etc. Far more important than looking at these words to learn our duties is to look at them for what they teach us about the nature and work of Christ himself, which is what this book does.

Check out the preface and Chapter 1-3 here.

A reminder of how Trackback Thursday works: Simply link to the blog post from your blog, leave a comment on Crossway’s Facebook Page, or re-tweet Trackback Thursday on Twitter @Crosswaybooks. Winners are picked on Friday morning.