This post is part of The Seven Words of Jesus series.
“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46).
Not even a few hours ago, the dying man had cried out with a loud voice, “‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (Mark 15:34).
God forsook his Son so that you and I might never experience what it’s like to be forsaken by our God and Father. Now, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46). Then, he breathed his last.
It’s been said that people’s final moments reveal a lot about their character. Our Savior’s final moments—his final words from the cross—reveal this:
Perfect obedience and unwavering trust—from first to final breath.
Even in the face of death, Jesus knew that he was in his Father’s hands. He had done everything his Father asked of him. He had done it all perfectly. And now, he was trusting his God and Father just as he had throughout his whole life.
That perfect trust was for you and me. So that we might know in our final moments, when the end draws near, we have nothing to fear. We are safe in our Father’s loving hands.
Our trust may waver, we may doubt and fear, but the certainty of our salvation does not rest with us. It rests entirely with the one who said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” (Luke 23:46).
It rests entirely with the One who knew that his Father always heard him yet spoke for our sake so that we might know that God the Father heard and answered his one and only Son.
These seven words our Savior spoke from the cross echo what he says to us and for us throughout his Word.
One final thought:
As the apostle John recorded it, the first words Jesus spoke to his disciples on Easter Sunday evening after his resurrection were these: “Peace be with you!” (John 20:19).
That’s what Jesus came to do. He came to create peace between us and God, to restore a relationship shattered by the ugliness of sin. He came to fill our troubled, world-weary hearts with peace. He came to reassure us that our sins are forgiven, we’re dearly loved, and a home in heaven is waiting for us—all because of him.
My death will be triumphant no matter how I die; Lord Jesus, in that instant escort my soul on high into my Father’s keeping, all-blameless and all-blest, like waking up from sleeping, his hands my place of rest.
(CW 436:7)
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Scripture references come from the Holy Bible: Evangelical Heritage Version. Click here to learn more about this translation.
© 2021 Michael D. Schultz, admin. Northwestern Publishing House
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Alex Brown is the marketing and content copywriter at Northwestern Publishing House. He has his Master of Divinity degree from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary and enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in God’s creation.
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