Comments on: Seven Words from the Cross

By: Victor

Victor — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:00:21 +0000

Ok, so it is tradition that determines the sequence. Fair enough. I remember studying the order of the seven words at length years ago, but had simply forgotten that the sequence above was the dominant one. (Cf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayings_of_Jesus_on_the_cross)

It is a tough reconstruction, actually. Nothing prevents several of them moving from here to there. The fact that there is a long-lived well-accepted tradition behind it lends credence to the order.

As I write this I noticed a chiastic correspondence between the first and the last. They are exactly the two that are echoed by Stephen in his martyrdom. (Acts 7:59,60)

By: Mike Bull

Mike Bull — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 13:01:19 +0000

I’m fairly sure this is the traditionally accepted order. It would be difficult to move them around much. And Spurgeon ordered them in this way for what it’s worth.

By: Victor

Victor — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 12:49:05 +0000

How come we know that this is the order of the seven words? Although we can estimate that some come first and some come last, I don’t know how we can determine that this is “the” sequence.