On one atheist's internet site he states that he cannot believe in the Bible because the authors can't even decide what Jesus' final words on the cross were. This conclusion firstly betrays a profound ignorance of how books for adults are written. He seems to feel that since the Gospels are historical accounts, each one of the four must parrot the others in exact wording and chronology. This simple-minded view completely leaves out any thematic and literary characteristics that are present not only in the Gospels, but also in all secular history books as well. Let me explain by first outlining the seven “words,” or sayings of Christ on the cross.
Figure 1: The Seven Sayings
1. “Father, forgive them: for they know not what they do.” (Luke)
2. “Today you shall be with me in Paradise.” (Luke)
3. “Woman, behold thy son; [Beloved disciple,] Behold thy mother.” (John)
4. “My God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew, Mark)
5. “I thirst.” (John)
6. “It is finished.” (John)
7. “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” (Luke)
As Raymond Brown summarizes, “The crucified Jesus makes three statements in John and three in Luke; but there is no duplication the two sets of statements (and each set is characteristic of the theology of the respective Gospel). Moreover, none of the six statements in Luke matches the one statement attributed to Jesus in Mark/Matt. The traditional 'Seven Last words of Jesus (on the Cross)' are highly composite.”
The fact that there are three different combinations of sayings within the Gospel account is not in itself any indication of a contradiction since by their very nature these records must be selective in which details to narrate. For more on that subject, see my earlier post “Christ's Seven Last Words on the Cross.”
But the question remains whether there is a contradiction in the final one of these sayings. Therefore, let us concentrate only on the last four of them, considering the order in which they appear in their respective Gospel accounts along with any pertinent comments by the authors.
Figure 2: Chronology of the Final Sayings
Matthew Mark Luke John
Saying #4 15:34-35 27:46-47 ------ ------
Saying #5 ------ ------ ------ 19:28
Vinegar is given to Jesus 15:36 27:48-49 ------ 19:29-30a
Jesus cries out with a loud voice 15:37a 27: 50a 23:46a ------
Saying #6 ------ ------ ------ 19:30b
Saying #7 ------ ------ 23:46b ------
Jesus gives up the ghost 15:37b 27:50b 23:46c 19:30c
At this point we are ready to discuss the differences between the four accounts, taking the parallel wording of Matthew/Mark as the standard by which to compare the other two.
A. Note that Luke is the only version to completely leave out Jesus' apparent cry of despair “Why have you forsaken me?” and the associated giving of vinegar to him to drink. Raymond Brown explains that this is consistent with his similar omission of Jesus' distraught saying in Mark – “My soul is sorrowful unto death.” And although Saying # 4 can be, and has been, taken as a cry of despair, that is not necessarily correct, as explained below. But it is negative enough for Luke to want to omit it from his account.
The other fact to note is that the giving of vinegar is not omitted by Luke after all; it has merely been relocated to an earlier point in the narrative (Luke 23:37) to include it with the other occasions of mocking (see Luke 23:35-39) when Jesus was first put up on the cross. This move is fully in line with other examples of Luke grouping his material topically instead of chronologically.
B. The next piece of data to consider is the fact that only John records Jesus saying “I thirst.” By contrast, Matthew and Mark have people running to give Jesus a drink of vinegar without any apparent reason for them doing so. John provides that reason left out by the others. As to Luke, he treats the offer of vinegar (i.e. sour wine) as a cruelty, unlike those onlookers in the other accounts who are pictured as being motivated by more altruistic motives.
C. Then why do none of the Synoptic accounts record the words in John 19:30: “It is finished”? For one thing, as Morris points out, “It could mean that Jesus' life was finished...but it is highly improbable that is the whole story. More important is the truth that Jesus' work was finished...This mighty work of redemption has now reached its consummation.”
But although the Synoptic Gospels do not actually quote these words, the loud cry mentioned in all three of them was probably that same cry of “It is finished.” (so Morris).
And there is another possible reason for only John recording Saying #6, and that involves the relative usages of the Greek word translated “finished” in these four accounts. It is foreign to Luke's vocabulary and it only used in a few mundane contexts in Matthew and Mark. However, in John's Gospel it is fraught with a consistent theological significance, as you can see from the passages quoted below:
“My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” (John 4:34)
“The works which the Father has given me to finish...bear witness of me, that the Father has sent me.” (John 5:36)
“I glorified thee on the earth, having finished the work which thou hast given me to do.” (John 17:4)
Thus, readers of John's Gospel would have absolutely no doubt that “It is finished” was Jesus' triumphant announcement that he had accomplished everything God with which God had entrusted him to do. By contrast, the same words from the pens of the Synoptic writers would have taken on a much more ambiguous, and possible negative, meaning.
D. The last potential “contradiction” concerns Luke's unique quoting of Saying #7. This is another example of a particular Greek word, paratithemai (“to commend”), being used often by one evangelist and not nearly as often by the others. Thus, besides its appearance in Luke 23:46b, it can be found in Luke 9:16; 10:8; 11:6; 12:48 and Acts 14:23; 16:34; 20:32.
In addition, Brown notes a possible inclusio (set of bookends) in Luke's Gospel to encapsulate Jesus' ministry on earth. “In Jesus' case...'spirit' goes beyond the usual anthropological definitions, for he was conceived by the Spirit that came upon Mary (Luke 1:35), and at his baptism the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form (3:22), so that he was full of the Holy Spirit (4:1) and moved about Palestine in the power of the Spirit (4:14). When Jesus 'places over' his spirit to the Father, he is bringing round to its place of origin his life and mission.”
E. Moving back to Mark (followed by Matthew), Brown feels that they may have also been intending another inclusio with their unique mention of Elijah in the context of the drink of vinegar. This can be paired with events at the start of Mark's Gospel in which 1:2 mentions the expectation of Elijah returning at the last days; Mark 1:3 also uses the word phone (“voice”), John the Baptist cries out (boam), and 1:10-11 has the spirit descending on Jesus with a voice from heaven.
F. Only John's account has Jesus drinking the vinegar, as a possible fulfillment of His words recorded only in that Gospel at 18:11 – “The cup which my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?” (Brown) Culpepper similarly notes: “His death is implicitly understood to be the act of drinking the cup the Father has given him. With profound irony, the giver of living water must himself thirst (19:28), and the giver of good wine must drink vinegar or common wine.”
F. Preceding Jesus' saying “I thirst” in John 19:28 is the phrase “Jesus, having known that,” words also appearing significantly at 13:1. Since most commentators divide John's Gospel into two distinct parts, chapters 1-12 and 13-the end, we may have here another intended inclusio, this time for the second half of the book.
In conclusion, there is really no contradiction at all concerning Jesus' closing words once one takes into account some of the underlying rationale in the minds of the four Evangelists behind the order and wording of the “Last Words.”
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