“Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last” (Luke 23;46).
Jesus’ last “word” from the cross was a prayer that once again expressed the submissive spirit that He had displayed throughout His life. John records this moment with the statement, “With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30).
In one sense, Jesus was murdered by evil people. “This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross” (Acts 2:23). Looking at it another way, it was His Father who sent Him to die on the cross. “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,…” (Isaiah 53:10a). From another perspective, no one took Jesus’ life. He gave His life willingly as a substitute sacrifice for the sins of the world. “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again…” (John 10:17-18a).
The scene at the end of Jesus’ ordeal on the cross is an antithesis of everything leading up to this last moment. Jesus had gone through the betrayal of a friend, the desertion of His disciples, the railroading trial, unfathomable scourging, undeserved mocking, and excruciating pain. There was so much unrest because of the inner turmoil and physical pain. Yet, at the end, there was a peace that transcends all human understanding as Jesus commits His Spirit to His Father, breathes His last, and dies.
This is a great example for us today. With all the unrest and uncertainty in our lives today, it is great opportunity to recommit our lives to the Lordship of Jesus, submitting ourselves to the will of God as Jesus did on the cross and in the Garden of Gethsemane. How about praying His final words in the Garden, “not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42b). Submission of your soul will bring a transcending peace to your mind. Try it, you will like it!