Why there is discrepancy in the last words of Jesus in the gospels in the bible?

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  • Matthew 27:46 - "About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?' (which means 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?')."
  • Mark 15:34 - "And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?' (which means 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?')."
  • John 19:30 - "When he had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.' With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."

All verses are from New International Version (NIV) Bible.

Are John's words different from Matthew and Mark?

Yes, explicitly. John records Jesus saying "It is finished" right before giving up his spirit, while Matthew and Mark highlight Jesus saying "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" earlier in the afternoon. 

By reading the Bible and using only the text itself, the Bible provides its own explanation for this discrepancy through three key details found within the Scriptures:

1. Matthew and Mark state that Jesus cried out again before dying

If you keep reading Matthew and Mark slightly past the verses, the text shows that "My God, my God..." were not the absolute last words Jesus spoke. 

  • Matthew 27:50 says, "And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit."
  • Mark 15:37 says, "With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last."

Both Matthew and Mark note that Jesus made a final, loud vocalization at the exact moment of his death, but they do not record the words he said in that final cry. John 19:30 ("It is finished") fills in the words spoken at the exact moment he "gave up his spirit." Therefore, the text shows Jesus spoke multiple times on the cross, and the writers focused on different moments.

Reading the Bible also reveals a third statement in Luke 23:46: "Jesus called out with a loud voice, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.' When he had said this, he breathed his last."

2. The Bible explicitly states the authors did not record everything

Why wouldn't Matthew and Mark write down "It is finished," and why wouldn't John write down "My God, my God..."? The bible text explains that the Gospel writers intentionally did not write down every single word or action of Jesus. 

  • John 21:25 states, "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written."
  • John 20:30 states, "Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book."

Because they could not record everything, the authors selected specific words and events to draw up their accounts (as Luke 1:1-3 also mentions). 

3. The writers are highlighting different Scriptural fulfillments

By reading the Bible, you can see that the different Gospel writers are pointing the reader back to different parts of the Old Testament.

  • Matthew and Mark - By recording "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?", they are showing the reader that Jesus is fulfilling Old Testament prophecy. If you turn to Psalm 22:1, it reads exactly: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew and Mark chose to highlight this to show Jesus fulfilling the Psalms. 
  • John - John is highly focused on the theme of Jesus completing a specific task. Just two verses earlier, in John 19:28, John writes: "Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, 'I am thirsty.'" John chose to record "It is finished" as the final words to prove that Jesus had fully completed the work God sent him to do.

Conclusion

The discrepancy exists because the Gospels are separate, selective accounts of the same event. Matthew and Mark chose to highlight Jesus quoting Psalm 22 at three in the afternoon, while leaving his final cry at the moment of death unrecorded. John chose to omit the Psalm 22 quote and instead recorded the specific words Jesus spoke in his final cry to emphasize that his earthly work was finished. The texts do not contradict each other, rather, the Bible presents them as different statements spoken by Jesus over the course of his crucifixion.

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