Then, “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). These words of Jesus from the cross appear only in the Gospel of Luke and are considered the last of the seven sayings of Jesus. It is also the final of the three sayings recorded in Luke. Derived from Psalm 31:5, this statement–an announcement rather than a request–is traditionally called The Word of Reunion.
Jesus cried out with a great voice. The Synoptic Gospels testify to this final cry (Matthew 27:50; Mark 15:37; Luke 23:46), but only Luke adds a prayer to this lament. It is not a cry of despair but an offertory prayer of contentment and gratitude, through which Jesus offers His life back to the Father who gave it. Even as He breathes His last in pain, He transforms His suffering into an offering placed into God’s hands. Biblical scholars call this prayer and offering a reunion. Theologically, it is interpreted as Jesus proclaiming His union with God the Father in heaven. It echoes Jesus’ deep satisfaction in knowing that He, who came from the Father, now returns to Him after completely fulfilling His will. In this sense, it is not a lament of pain or despair but rather an expression of trust and hope in the One on whom He completely relied.
Jesus made this offertory prayer by quoting Psalm 31:5, a Psalm of lamentation. This psalm reflects the cry of a person undergoing suffering, mocked by others, yet placing complete trust in God. Declaring, “The Lord is my rock and fortress who gives me salvation,” the psalmist prays, “Into Your hands, I entrust my spirit.” This prayer was traditionally taught by Jewish mothers to their children as a bedtime prayer. Now, at the end of His life, Jesus prays these words one last time and lets go of human life to embrace the eternal Life that the Father offers in His own presence. For Jesus, death was but a sleep, and He may have prayed this same night prayer at His final moment.
In Psalm 31:5, the word commit is the Hebrew verb pãqad, meaning “to entrust, give over, or commend.” The corresponding Greek verb is paratithãmi, which means “to entrust someone to the care and protection of another.” As Jesus lets go of this life, He places His eternal destiny into the Father’s everlasting arms.
Jesus makes this moment even more profound by addressing God as Abba, Father. In doing so, He transforms a Psalm of lament into an intimate reunion with the Father. His entire life was an act of self-offering to the Father, seeking nothing but to fulfill His will. From childhood, Jesus had already expressed His awareness of His unity with the Father when He asked His parents at the Jerusalem Temple, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49). He later reaffirmed this deep relationship by declaring, “I and the Father are one” (John 10:30) and “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work” (John 4:34). Finally, in His last breath, He surrenders Himself into the Father’s hands, not out of despair, but as a child entrusting Himself to a loving parent. At this final moment on the cross, Jesus reaches the zenith of His abba-consciousness.
Jesus’ self-sacrifice was an unparalleled act of love for the world. With a deep sense of fulfillment and self-realization, He offered Himself completely. The phrase “Into your hands I commit my spirit” demonstrates Jesus’ absolute trust and reliance on the Father, even in the face of death. This moment of surrender has been beautifully termed His entrance greeting to heaven, marking the moment of reunion with the Father. In this last prayer and utterance, Jesus speaks to God with intimacy. He prays to the Father as He has done throughout His ministry. For Jesus, death is not an out-of-control enemy. No matter how bleak the moment, He knows His Father is present with Him–now ready to receive His spirit.
As believers and disciples of Jesus, we are encouraged to follow His example by trusting in God’s care, especially in times of difficulty and death. As His disciples, we must cultivate an intimate relationship with our heavenly Father so that, in all circumstances, we can place our trust in His providence.
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