In God's hands
This week marked the end of our series of Jesus’ Last Words. When Jesus hung upon the cross, He made seven statements, which is the number of completeness or perfection in the Bible. In this case, it is telling us that God always finishes what He starts (Philippians 1:6).
What can we learn from the final cry of Christ from the cross? Let’s break down the important parts of the statement.
“Father”
“Into your hands I commit my spirit” is actually a quote from Psalm 31:5 and is a familiar saying for any Jewish person who heard Him say this. Jewish mothers would teach their children to recite that verse every night, but Jesus used it in a way that no other Jewish person had ever used it before because of the word that He added at the beginning, “Father.”
One of the things that irritated the Pharisees regarding Jesus was the way that He kept referring to God as “His Father.” Throughout his entire life, Jesus cared about one thing only - doing and finishing the will of the Father and we see that in reading His life story. He died exactly as He lived; in fellowship, communion, and connection with the heavenly Father. Because of the finished work of Christ on the cross, we can trust in His salvation and be a part of the family of God. We too can call God by the name “Father”.
1 John 3:1 “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”
“Into Your hands”
No one can choose to live forever. Death does not ask for your permission to take you, but it had to get Jesus’ permission. It’s important to note that Jesus was not murdered by the Roman soldiers or by the way He was hung on the cross. Unlike most crucified men, He didn't die of asphyxiation or dehydration. He chose to die as we know from the words “into Your hands I commit my spirit,” (more on the second part of that statement below).
The word commit means ‘to place beside.’ It is something you do voluntarily, not by force. He did it fully trusting God by placing His Spirit into God's hands, so that we can have hope in God alone!
Hebrews 6:19-20 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
“I commit my spirit”
At this moment, Jesus committed His spirit to the Father. This is the most valuable part of all humans and the only part of us that is eternal. Committing His spirit to God shows us that His life wasn’t taken away. Rather, Jesus died a death like no other - he laid down His spirit into the loving hands of the Father. From this display on the cross, believers find a model of how we should face death when that time comes.
But what about the time between now and then? We experience life with God by surrendering and trusting God as Jesus did on the cross. We too can have the confidence and boldness to say, “into Your hands, God, I commit my spirit.”
Heavenly Father,
I thank You that we have the privilege to call You ‘Father’. Thank You for Jesus, who is our forerunner; the one to pull us out to the safe harbour that is Your hands. Forgive us for when we put our security in something temporary. We want to learn to live in total surrender to You for we now know that it’s only in God’s hands that we find safety.
In Jesus’ mighty name we pray,
Amen.