"Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit"

King James Version Chapter 23

And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. 46 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.

“Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” These are the final words that Jesus uttered on the cross before he died. These 8 words encapsulate the entirety of Jesus’s life on earth.

Why do I say that these 8 words encapsulate Jesus’s entire life on earth? the answer is simple. When you understand Jesus’s biography as told by the authors of the Gospels, you understand that everything he did in life led him to Calvary. We must remember that even as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we are always looking forward to the Cross, because that was his ultimate destination, his destiny.

In the first chapter of the Gospel According to John, he makes it clear that Jesus existed before the world began. In the 14th verse, the author declares that "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”

In John 8:42, Jesus told the Jews who didn’t believe in him “If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.”

Therefore, any rejection of Jesus constitutes a rejection of God, because Jesus no man can come to god except it be through him.

His suffering and death are foretold many times in the Old Testament. particularly in Isaiah 53:5: “But he was “wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed.”

In John 10:17-18, Jesus explains that he had to die willingly. It was important to the fulfillment of his destiny that he be a willing participant in his demise, which explains why he never defended himself to Pontius Pilate, even rebuking him in John 19:11 when Pilate demanded an answer from him and claimed to have power over his life or death: “Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above”

As Jesus prayed to God after the Last Supper in John 17, he reminded God that he had finished the work God sent Him here to do. In the 4th and 5th verses he says “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.”

This is important because it demonstrates the intimate relationship Jesus had with His Father. For Jesus to divest himself of His eternal glory to die for sinful people when He never sinned took an incredible amount of trust in His Father.

As we begin to watch the things Jesus says during his final six hours of life on the cross, we see his compassion (“Father forgive them for they know not what they do”, “Today you shall be with me in Paradise”, Woman behold thy son, behold thy mother), the conflict between his flesh and his spirit when he felt all alone and neglected (“Why hast thou forsaken me?”), and finally, his resignation that it was time for him to die (“I thirst”, “It is finished, “and finally, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit”)

Jesus had accomplished all he was sent to do, and now it was time for him to go home.

The corresponding Greek verb is paratithēmi, meaning, “to entrust to someone for safekeeping, give over, entrust, commend,” particularly, “to entrust someone to the care and protection of someone.” As he lets go of this life, Jesus trusts his eternal destiny to the Father's everlasting arms. Paul says in II Timothy 4:7-8: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

It is this relationship with God that every believer should have. As long as we trust and obey God, we have the promise of eternal life. We shall wear a crown!

The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Ti 4:7–8). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Jn 17:4–5). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Jn 19:11). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Is 53:5). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Jn 8:42). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

The Holy Bible: King James Version. (2009). (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., Jn 1:14). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.