Committed Spirit

Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last. (Luke 23:46)

There is a sort of historical fascination with what a person said in their final words. What were they thinking? What came out in that final moment, when they knew they were going to die? Evangelist John Wesley said, “The best of all is, God is with us!” U.S. patriot Nathan Hale said, “I regret that I only have one life to lose for my country.”

Jesus’ final words came from Scripture. In this closing hour of his torturous death, his last words emerged from Psalm 31:5. Jesus knew he was at death’s door. In fact, he knew that his mission was to sacrifice himself, “to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

His use of Scripture in his final moments shines more light on how He looked to His Father constantly. This is what he did from start to finish in his ministry. Think about his positions of dependence on His Father:

At the start of His ministry, He took out time to get alone and pray over the choice of disciples;

In the garden of Gethsemane, he prayed for the Father’s will to be done, not His;

From the cross, He asked the Father to forgive his tormenters.

He saw that this traumatic event was temporary. Concerning his earthly body, he knew he wasn’t going to keep living. His body was about to expire. But he did know that his spirit belonged to the Father and would go to him. The Father was his focus, his refuge, the one he turned to and longed for, here in his darkest hour. And he was committing himself to Him, without reservation. Jesus showed no effort like: “Let me try to figure this out on my own! I can do this! I’ve done a lot, and I’ve got a little more left in me! Watch me work!” No, He looked to the Father for ultimate rescue, and complete healing, and life after death.

In fact, the second half of the verse he quoted, from Psalm 31:5 is simply, “Rescue me, Lord, for you are a faithful God.” He announced his continued commitment to His Father in his dying breath. He knew that His Father had never failed Him, and would not do so now. The Father indeed would receive his committed spirit.

“Father, thank you for Jesus’ example of turning to you, in full commitment, in his darkest moments.”

Copyright 2019, Freddy Boswell. From the book, Torn Curtain.