The Seventh Saying

The Gospel writers record seven sayings of Jesus while he was dying on the cross. Let’s review the first six.

1. “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).
2. “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
3. “Woman, behold your son! Behold your mother!” (John 19:26-27).
4. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46; cf. Mark 15:34).
5. “I thirst” (John 19:28).
6. “It is finished” (John 19:30).

The seventh and final saying of Jesus on the cross is found in Luke 23:46, where Jesus says, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

Trust Issues

To “commit” yourself into the hands of another person requires trust in that person. Another word for “commit” is “entrust. 

I remember when I was very young, probably 3 years old, there were two activities in which I was afraid to commit myself into the hands of my parents. One was riding in the baby seat on the back of my mom’s bicycle. The other was being held by my dad in a swimming pool. You could say that I had trust issues.

Jesus, on the other hand, didn’t have any trust issues. He had committed his life into the Father’s hands, and now, as he dies, he commits his spirit into the Father’s hands.

Jesus and Psalm 31

When Jesus says, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit,” he’s quoting a line from Psalm 31. [Read Ps. 31:5a.] This psalm was written by David. It’s a psalm of an innocent sufferer. 

It seems clear that it is not merely these few words that Jesus and the Gospel writer wished to bring to the reader’s attention, but the whole context of Psalm 31 in which they originally stood. In a position of public condemnation and shame, perceived by the surrounding community to have been a criminal, a charlatan, and a failure, Jesus made his last speech the words of this psalm.

Let’s read a few verses from Psalm 31. As we do, let’s think about why Jesus—while he was suffering and dying—identified with David’s struggles in this psalm. [Read vv. 9-15.]

The Ultimate Innocent Sufferer

Jesus was the ultimate innocent sufferer. His innocence is stated multiple times in Luke 23.

• “I find no guilt in this man” (v. 4).
• “Nothing deserving death has been done by him” (v. 15).
• “I have found in him no guilt deserving death” (v. 22). 
• “Certainly this man was innocent!” (v. 47).

Jesus never committed a single crime, yet he was executed. On top of that, as he was dying on the cross, he was mocked and humiliated. Psalm 31 begins with David requesting, “Let me never be put to shame” (v. 1), but Jesus was put to shame on the cross. And think of the true identity of the one who was dying on that cross! “In the Hebrew context of Psalm 31, shame is not so much a feeling (although feelings must have been involved) as it is an outward, visible circumstance of public disgrace.” While suffering on the cross, Jesus’ enemies mocked him: “He saved others; let him save himself” (Luke 23:35).

The apostle Peter writes, “When [Jesus] was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23). Jesus was an innocent sufferer who had the power to destroy his enemies. Yet he “did not revile in return”; he “did not threaten.” He knew that in the end all wrongs would be made right.

Worth It All

There is also much in this psalm that Jesus could not identify with, especially verse 8: “You have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy.” David was saved, but Jesus was executed. The life of Jesus seemed to have a tragic ending. Was it a mistake for Jesus to put his trust in his Father? No! We know how the story really ends. “For the joy set before him he endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2, NIV). There would be a happy ending!

As Jesus died, we should live. We should commit our lives to God. We should say, as Jesus did, “Father, into your hands I commit my life.” This means to trust in God no matter what happens. Jesus didn’t stop trusting during the intense suffering of the cross. We must not stop trusting God when life gets difficult.

Why should you commit your life to God? First, you should commit your life to God because he has shown that you are of great value to him. Some people might ask, “What does God know about unjust suffering?” He knows a lot about it. God the Son became a man and suffered unjustly. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Why did he die for us? To save us from the punishment that we deserved because of our sins.

Second, you should commit your life to God because his plans are always best. God’s “hands” make no mistakes. Sometimes, though, it appears to us that God does make mistakes. Before the resurrection, the followers of Jesus viewed the crucifixion as a mistake. They didn’t understand that the hands of God delivered Jesus into the hands of sinful men. “This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23). Jesus was delivered into the hands of sinners so that sinners could be delivered. What seemed like a mistake turned out to be the greatest act of kindness in the history of the world.

Third, you should commit your life to God because in the end it will be worth it. “One entrusts one’s spirit to God not merely in light of life’s imminent end but also in light of the conviction that life will continue.” This life is not all there is. When we stand before Jesus one day, no sacrifice will be regretted.

Psalm 31 has a happy ending: “Love the LORD, all you his saints! The LORD preserves the faithful.... Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD!” (vv. 23-24). There is a happy ending to all who say, “Father, into your hands I commit my life.” Today, Jesus does not regret His decision to endure the suffering of the cross. And if you put your trust in Him, you will not regret that decision when you stand before him in heaven. There will be a happy ending.

Entrusting Your Life to God

There are situations in life in which we entrust our lives to another person.

• When taking a flight, you are entrusting your life to the pilot.
• When having a surgery, you are entrusting your life to the surgeon.
• When skydiving, you are entrusting your life to the skydiving instructor.

Into the pilot’s/surgeon’s/skydiving instructor’s hands you are committing your life.

Have you said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit”? Have you entrusted your life to him?