The Seven Last Words on the Cross (7)

 

 

[Luke 23:44–46]

 

This is the seventh and final word that Jesus spoke from the cross: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46)  A scholar named Arthur Pink called this seventh word of Jesus a “word of contentment.” He described it as an act of satisfaction, faith, trust, and love. Arthur Pink broke down this “word of contentment” into seven parts for deeper explanation:

  1. Here we see the Savior restored to communion with the Father.

  2. Here we see a deliberate contrast.

  3. Here we see Christ’s perfect obedience to God.

  4. Here we see the absolute uniqueness of the Savior.

  5. Here we see an eternally perfect refuge.

  6. Here we see the blessedness of fellowship with God.

  7. Here we see the true resting place of the heart.

Today, we will reflect on the first of these: “Here we see the Savior restored to communion with the Father.”

Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God. Even before the creation of the world, the Father and the Son shared perfect fellowship in eternity. This is seen in John 17:5:

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

In this prayer, which Jesus offered as the High Priest before going to the cross, He reflects on the eternal glory and communion He shared with the Father even before the creation of the world.

Moreover, even as He approached the cross, Jesus remained in communion with the Father. In John 18:11, Jesus says:

“Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

This statement came after Peter struck off the ear of Malchus (v.10), one of the men sent to arrest Jesus. Jesus referred to “the cup” — meaning the cup of suffering — which was given to Him by the Father. Despite knowing the agony ahead, Jesus accepted it as part of His relationship with the Father. This demonstrates that even in suffering, Jesus remained in fellowship with God.

Even during His time on the cross — whether three or six hours — Jesus maintained this relationship with the Father. But at a certain point, when darkness had come over the land, Jesus cried out:

“Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”
(Meaning: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” – Mark 15:33–34)

At that moment, God forsook Jesus. This signified a breaking of fellowship between the Father and the Son.

Why did God forsake Jesus?
The answer is because of sin.

God is holy, righteous, and pure. He cannot tolerate sin. As it says in Habakkuk 1:13:

“Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing…”

Although Jesus was sinless, He took on our sin and bore it on the cross as if He were the guilty one. Isaiah 53:4–6 tells us:

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Jesus, though sinless, was forsaken by God because He bore our sins. He was punished in our place so that we could be reconciled to God.

Romans 5:10 says:

“For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”

This reconciliation was made possible through Jesus’ death.

Let’s return to Luke 23:46:

“Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last.”

This is significant. Unlike the earlier cry — “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” — which reflected the broken relationship, Jesus’ final cry — “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” — shows that His relationship with the Father was restored.

Jesus did not remain in the grave. After bearing the punishment of our sin and dying on the cross, He rose again on the third day.

The first thing Jesus emphasized after His resurrection was that God is our Father. In John 20:17, Jesus said to Mary:

“Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Here, Jesus points out that the Father of Jesus is now also our Father, and we are His children.

Romans 8:15 affirms this:

“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’”

As God’s children, we can now cry out to Him, “Abba, Father.”

Romans 8:17 continues:

“Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

We are not only children of God but also heirs — co-heirs with Christ. This means we share in Christ’s sufferings, but also in His glory.

Romans 8:18 concludes:

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

On the cross, Jesus broke His silence twice with loud cries:

  1. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)

  2. “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” (Luke 23:46)

Through these two cries, we see both the agony of separation and the joy of restoration. And because of this, we are now able to call God “Father” and become heirs of His kingdom.

This means that the suffering we face on earth is not the end. There is incomparable glory awaiting us. So let us endure our trials with hope, fix our eyes on the glory to come, and live victoriously in Christ.