The Seven Phrases Christ Spoke on the Cross - St. Nikolai Velimirović

Orthodox Wisdom

St. Nikolai Velimirović offers comments on the seven phrases Christ spoke on the Cross, helping us go deeper in our understanding and love for Christ. -READ the text here: https://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2019/04/the-seven-phrases-christ-spoke-on-cross.html -FIND an Orthodox parish and monastery near you: https://orthodoxyinamerica.org/ ______ St. Nikolai teaches: The fourth phrase: "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?" (Matt. 27:46). These words show both the strength of human nature and the Lord’s foreknowledge. As a man, He was suffering, but underneath human pain there’s a mystery. You see, only these words would be able to dispel the heresy which was later to shake the Church and which stated that the divine nature suffered on the cross. But the eternal Son of God became incarnate as a man so that He could be a man in body and soul, so that, when the time came, He’d be able to suffer for people and to die on their behalf. Because, if the divine nature of Christ had suffered on the cross, this would mean that His divine nature would have died. And that’s something we shouldn’t even contemplate. Ponder as deeply as you can on these great and terrible words: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" The seventh phrase: "It is finished" (Jn. 19:30). This doesn’t mean that life is ended. No! It means that His mission, which was concentrated on the salvation of the human race, had ended. The divine task of our sole, true Messiah had been completed and was sealed with His blood and earthly death. The torments were over, but life was just beginning. The tragedy was finished, but not the drama. Next to come was the majestic achievement: victory over death, the resurrection, and glory. ______ Orthodox Wisdom is dedicated to sharing the writings and lives of the Saints of the Orthodox Church. Glory to Jesus Christ!