Have you ever been with someone when that person breathed his or her last breath? Oh, how we cling to the last words spoken before death. Have you ever wondered what Jesus said just before He died upon the cross? “And Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said this, he gave up the ghost” (Luke 23:46).
“Into thy hand I commend my spirit” are the words of Psalm 31:5. Jesus was thoroughly familiar with Scriptures, and He had quoted them often throughout His preaching ministry. Now, even at the point of death, He quoted once again. What an example! He died with Scripture on His lips.
Many claim to love God and purport to love His Word. However, few really seem to feast daily upon the Holy Bible. How fitting it would be for you and for me to die with Scripture upon our tongues.
It is also significant that with His dying breath, Jesus called God, His “Father.” He had called Him “Father” so many times before. The Jews did not accept the implication of His usage. On one occasion, they sought to kill Him, because He “called God his own Father, making himself equal with God” (John 5:18). Those jealous men knew there were only two possibilities to explain what Christ had spoken. Either Jesus was on a level with God, or He spoke blasphemy. They never even considered the possibility that this poor man raised near Galilee could be God in the flesh, so they charged Him with blasphemy. In reality, Jesus actually was “Immanuel, which is, being interpreted, God with us” (Matthew 1:23).
Our Lord’s dying words also indicate His trust in the Heavenly Father. The word “commend” here means “to present; as one who would make a deposit.” He was entrusting His spirit to the Father’s safekeeping. Similarly, when Paul was facing death (2 Timothy 4:6), he wrote, “I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Timothy 1:12).
Once Jesus had spoken His last words, he “yielded up his spirit” (Matthew 27:50). Just as had been predicted, “he poured out his soul unto death” (Isaiah 53:12). “Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15)!
