What Were Jesus' Last Words?
What Were Jesus' Last Words?
One supposed contradiction is what Jesus had said last.
According to Matthew 27:46-50 he said the following: "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias. And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink. The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him. Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost," (Matthew 27:46-50 KJV).
Mark agrees with this statement saying: "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. And one ran and filled a spunge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost," (Mark 15:34-37 KJV).
The Gospel of Luke notes: "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost," (Luke 23:46 KJV).
Finally, John notes: "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost," (John 19:30 KJV).
This is a very lousy contradiction for one specific reason, none of the verses provided claim to be the last thing Jesus had said. When on the cross, Jesus had said many things so it is not impossible he merely said all of these things before his death. As we do not when he died compared to the phrase, except it being after of course, it is to be debated what his last words actually were.