His Final Words: “Into Your Hands, I Commit My Spirit”

by David Chadwick

When someone is about to die or is approaching the end of life, he or she usually shares words that are full of perspective, insight and purpose.

There is something about nearing the end of the road that provokes people to say what they wished they had always said and to communicate things they may have missed the opportunity to communicate.

Jesus’s final words held the most significant meanings in all of history. We are looking at some of his final words.

Here is what he said in Luke 23:46, “Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit.”

Notice that Jesus acknowledged in that moment that he had a spirit. Yes, he walked in a human body with flesh and blood, but Jesus is a spirit! Jesus’s identity is fully God and he lived with a soul and personality (mind, will and emotions) that were fully aligned with the Father’s original intent.

As he was nailed to the cross, breathing his final breath, he yielded fully into the Father’s plan. He surrendered his life into God’s hands and committed himself completely to the plan that had been established before the beginning of time.

Therefore, when Jesus's body died, his spirit remained and still lives on today! That’s why the Bible teaches that all people have eternity in their hearts (Ecclesiastes 3:11). We have all been stamped by the image of God and have a spirit that will either be awakened to the reality of Christ or will remain asleep.

Whenever someone dies, they will live forever – either in heaven or in hell.

Because of Jesus’s death on the cross, the Temple veil was torn. As a side note, there are some who believe it could have been several feet wide!

Jesus’s commitment to the Father’s plan has now given full access to the Father to anyone who chooses to put trust in Jesus. Whatever need we have, we can now bring straight to the Father in heaven because of Jesus’s death on the cross.

If we follow Jesus, we can also be assured that our spirits will live forever. After this flesh and blood body dies, we are assured to have a new, perfect resurrection body that will live forever without pain, suffering, disease, or sin!

Hallelujah for the Lord our God lives forever!

His Final Words: “It Is Finished”

by David Chadwick

Final words. Defined as “the final things said in an argument or a discussion.” I love to think about all of the final words that Jesus spoke as he put an end to the argument of who would end up having the victory between him and Satan.

Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection settled the discussion once and for all when he took back the keys that Adam relinquished in the Garden of Eden. And now, because of the victory on the cross, he holds those keys forever (Revelation 1:18)!

The finality of Jesus’s victory is shown in these final words in John 19:30, “It is finished.”

What is the “it” that Jesus is referencing?

It is his 33-year mission on earth, fully God and fully man, and sent purposefully by the Father to accomplish the work of salvation for mankind. The “it” is the assignment that the Father asked him to take on when he left the splendor of heaven to enter the squalor of this world. “It” is the battle that Jesus set out to win!

“Is” is significant because Jesus knew of the present tense reality of the future hope. He did not say, “It will be finished,” he said, “It IS finished.” He lived out Hebrews 11:1, being sure of what was hoped for and confident of what was not yet seen. The present tense use of “is” was a display of his confidence and assurance.

And then “finished.” Completed. Accomplished. Finalized. Brought to fruition. The work was done. The battle had been won!

Jesus met the righteous requirements of the law in every way (Romans 8:4). He lived in perfect obedience to everything the Father demanded and asked him to do. Where the first Adam failed in disobedience, the second Adam, Jesus, succeeded in perfect obedience to the Father’s will.

Our sin debt was paid in full. Jesus paid it all! All to him we owe. Our sins are forever forgiven.  We need never fear death.

All the Old Testament prophecies are fulfilled in perfection. To be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:7) to the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 bearing our sins for his glory, now finished! On the cross, the Father’s love manifested to us all.

His Final Words: “I Thirst”

by David Chadwick

Have you ever spent the day at the beach on an especially hot summer day? Splashing through the waves for hours? After so much time in the salt, sand and sun, it is very common to feel very thirsty.

Did you know that some of Jesus’s final words in John 19:28 were, “I thirst”?

I love the depth of this phrase.

Jesus was most likely physically dehydrated. He probably had not had anything to drink for more than 18 hours. His last liquid was most likely at the Last Supper the night before. But he was probably also spiritually thirsty for all God was about to do!

Think about the timeline of events he walked through. After going through an hour of prayer in the Garden, he faced arrest. He was beaten, imprisoned, and had a crown of thorns placed on his head. He endured intense mocking and was then forced to carry his cross to Golgotha. He was nailed to the cross. For six hours, from 9 am to 3 pm on the cross, he was pinned to the cross in a scorching sun with no option other than to await death.

In his physical state, of course he would say, “I thirst.” He was thirsty! But I think it goes beyond physical thirst. Why does this phrase make it into the council of Scripture? Why point out his thirst from the cross?

First, I think these words emphasized that Jesus was totally divine. He perfectly hungered and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6) and lived the life that none of us could live. The divinity of Jesus is an essential piece of the Gospel as that is the only way that he could forgive us of our sin.

Secondly, these words emphasized that Jesus was totally human. He experienced real human sensations, emotions, and temptations. While totally divine, he did not consider “equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself” and took on a servant’s form. He completely understood what it felt like to be thirsty. Yet, remained perfect as he walked out his life. Only a perfect human life could be the substitute for us in our sin and pay the price for our sins.

If Jesus walked this earth as a perfect human, then there is nothing we go through that he and God himself do not empathize with us and fully understand (Hebrews 4:15-16).

From the cross, Jesus wants us to understand his divinity and total humanity. He understands the things we feel in every way…even our thirst!