Mumbling Words
by Pastor George Van Alstine

Every year during Holy Week, services are held based on the traditional “Seven Words from the Cross.” These are a compilation of all the things, Jesus was heard to say by those standing nearby as he suffered for three hours on the cross before dying. None of the Gospels mentions more than three of these sayings, but they add up to seven in all:

First Word – “Father, Forgive Them, for They Do Not Know What They Are Doing” (Luke 23:34)

Second Word – “This Day You Will Be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43)

Third Word – “Woman, Behold Your Son; Son, Behold Your Mother” (John 19:25-27)

Fourth Word – My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?” (Mark 15:34)

Fifth Word – “I Am Thirsty” (John 19:25)

Sixth Word – “It Is Finished” (John 19:30)

Seventh Word – “Father, into Your Hands I Commend My Spirit” (Luke 23:46)

In his famous prophecy of the Suffering Servant, Isaiah seemed to be foretelling the crucifixion of Jesus through the metaphor of a lamb being sacrificed in the Jerusalem Temple:

“But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:5-7)

These words from Isaiah were certainly in the mind of the unknown person who first sang this spiritual which is a meditation on Jesus’ death on the cross:

“They led him to Pilate’s bar, and he never said a mumbling word;
They led him to Pilate’s bar, and he never said a mumbling word,
not a word, not a word, not a word.
They all cried ‘Crucify!’ and he never said a mumbling word;
They all cried ‘Crucify!’ and he never said a mumbling word,
not a word, not a word, not a word.
They nailed him to the tree, and he never said a mumbling word;
They nailed him to the tree, and he never said a mumbling word,
not a word, not a word, not a word.
They pierced him in the side, and he never said a mumbling word;
They pierced him in the side, and he never said a mumbling word,
not a word, not a word, not a word.
He hung his head and died, and he never said a mumbling word;
He hung his head and died, and he never said a mumbling word,
not a word, not a word, not a word.

Wait a minute, which is it? Was he silent as a lamb submitting to its sacrifice? Or did he speak those significant words from the cross? I believe the song explains this seeming conflict. He spoke words, all right, but none of them were “mumbling words.” “Mumbling words” are words of smoldering protest you may speak under your breath, when you feel resentment, but are unable or unwilling to express it openly. Most of Jesus’ words from the cross were spoken on behalf of others, asking God to forgive them, assuring them of earthly comfort or of a place in heaven. Only two focused on Jesus’ own suffering. “My God, why have you forsaken me?” was cried out with a loud voice; there was nothing “mumbling” about that. And “I am thirsty” was a simple request for something to drink, not a complaint about his sorry lot.

So, it’s true: Jesus went through it all without expressing those petty complaints so common in our lives. I’d like to emulate him by taking all the “mumbling words” out of my vocabulary. Compared to what he went through for me, I should be ashamed ever to complain about my lot in life.