Intimacy of Father / Son

Luke 23:46

In Luke 23:46 we have the last of Christ’s words on the cross:

“Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.”

Based on Psalm 31:5, these words were the first every Jewish mother taught her child to say before going to bed. They would be equivalent to “Now I lay me down to sleep…”

So these words reveal the intimacy and tenderness between Father and Son. Here we have Jesus dying like a child falling asleep in his father’s arms. The cup of bitterness has been drained to the last drop and all that remains is death.

This pattern of the Lord’s has been imitated by His followers who too have died victoriously. D. L. Moody said, “But there is no ‘valley’ here.” William Carey stated, “All my desires are satisfied,” and St. Francis of Assisi shared, “Welcome, sister Death! She is to me the gate of life.” Yes, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.