Luke 23:46. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
These are literally the last words of Jesus before taking his final breath on the cross. They are a quote from Psalm 31.
Psalm 31:1-8. 1In you, O Lord, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me! 2Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! 3For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me; 4you take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge. 5Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. 6I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols, but I trust in the Lord. 7I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul, 8and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy; you have set my feet in a broad place.
Like David’s faith, the faith of Jesus was on display when he uttered Psalm 31:5 from the cross – Into your hands I commit my spirit. But Jesus stopped short of quoting the whole verse didn’t he? Why? Because Jesus wasn’t redeemed on that Good Friday. He wasn’t delivered. He wasn’t saved. He wasn’t taken out of the net of his enemies, or delivered from their hands. Instead he was put to shame for you and for me.
And that is why the cross of Christ is the greatest display of faith ever. Committing your spirit, your life force, to a God who didn’t rescue you, who didn’t come through with the deliverance you needed, who sees your affliction and does nothing…but knowing that this “failure” to respond is actually the greatest response of love ever conceived. Knowing that the deliverance is assured even when delayed for three days. And knowing that the feet that were nailed to the cross will stand in the broad place of heaven’s gate.
That’s faith.
How do you follow, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” with faith? How do you move from the cry of dereliction to the declaration of committal? Only by faith in the resurrection. Jesus’ faith in his own resurrection was so assured that he could walk into death no longer fighting but resting.
Relatively speaking, Jesus died quickly. We know this because his legs were not broken in order to speed up the process. Crucifixion is not only a physical torture but also a psychological one. The victim is forced to choose when they will die. How much more will they endure to survive? You see, being nailed to a cross does not kill a man. Rather it is the collapsing of the torso upon itself whereby the lungs are crushed. Crucifixion is death by asphyxiation. You suffocate to death. That is unless you can push and pull yourself up by those nails and let out another breath of air.
Jesus didn’t fight death. He received it trusting that the Father would receive his spirit. And so he died when he wanted to die. Even the cross did not take his life, he gave it away freely when he chose to stop speaking and instead breathe his last.
Jesus died in six hours. Six hours of separation from the Father. Six hours of cursedness. Six hours of condemnation. Six hours to say seven things. Seven the number of perfection. With this seventh “word” Jesus has said all that is needed to be said.
Forgive them.
Be with me in Paradise.
Behold your son…mother.
Why?
I thirst.
Finished.
Into your hands.
To live is Christ is to commit your spirit to the hands of God just as Jesus did, knowing that by your union with Christ your deliverance has already come, your feet stand firm, and your shame is gone.
Now stop fighting and rest.
You: In what ways are you actively trusting God with your life?
You in Christ: How can knowing that God is committed to your spirit much more than you are committed to his Spirit help you to grow in your faith?
Christ in you: What would it look like for you to stop fighting and start resting today?
Prayer: Father, I commit my spirit to you. Hold me. Keep me. Use me as I learn to rest in you. Amen.
To Live is Christ 