A Triumphant Conqueror

Just before Jesus yielded up His spirit, and interesting statement is made. Go back to Luke 23 and read it; just before, after He had said, “I’m thirsty,” after He had triumphantly said, “It is finished (tetelestai)", just before He gave up His spirit, verse 46 of Luke 23 says, “And Jesus crying out with a loud voice." This is very important! Matthew 27:50 says the same thing as well as Mark 15:37. It would be impossible for a crucified victim to do that if he were dying a natural death because you die of asphyxiation, no oxygen, no strength, barely able to whisper and incoherent in the trauma; this is the death by crucifixion. But He is strong, and He is triumphant. He said in John 10, “The Great Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” He said, “No one takes My life from Me, I lay it down on My own initiative. I have power to lay it down, or authority to lay it down. I have authority to take it up again. Nobody takes My life.” This is the proof, “He cries out with a loud voice, He shouts at the top of His lungs in full strength.” What does He say? “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.”

Well, all the Jews around there would have understood that phrase. That was Psalm 31:5, a very familiar verse. In fact, it was so familiar, it was their evening prayer. It was their night prayer before they went to bed. It was their “Now I lay me down to sleep” prayer. “Into Your hands I commit My spirit,” very familiar to all of them. They prayed it regularly.

But there were two changes Jesus made in it. First, He added something, “Father,” sweet communion has been established. Hell was there for three hours on Calvary, and then it was gone. The punishment is over. The suffering is over. Sweet communion with the Father is reestablished.

And then He left something out. Psalm 31:5 ends like this, “You have ransomed Me, O God, God of truth,” or, “You have redeemed Me.” Well it was not He who was redeemed at the cross, He was the Redeemer. The precision of Scripture is something, isn’t it? He added Father to let us know that that relationship was all that we would expect it to be. He took out the part about being redeemed because He wasn’t redeemed, He was the Redeemer. Jesus borrows that Psalm because Psalm 31 is about the prayer of a righteous sufferer who is in the midst of His suffering saying, “All I can do is commit My heart to You, commit My spirit to You, commit My life to You.” And Jesus is the perfect, sinless, righteous sufferer who in death expresses perfect trust in His Father’s love and promise to receive Him.

That’s what Peter said, didn’t he? He didn’t revile, he committed himself to a faithful Creator. By the way, Stephen borrowed that. Remember when Stephen died he said, “Jesus, receive my spirit,” just as Jesus said, “Father, receive Mine.”

This is our triumphant, majestic, sovereign, death conqueror...

I love Him today. Do you?

pcraig