Father, into your hands I commit my spirit

By Adrian Early, Pastor of Students and Leadership Development

Breathing. We typically think nothing of it and take it for granted. That is until we have a hard time with it, or until someone we love is on their last breath. When this happens we are saddened and grieved–because the last breath means death. The last breath brings life to an end. However, when we hear the last words of Jesus before He breathed His last, there is a different emotion that should come over us. His last words were…

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

Leading up to these words was a battle for the souls of humanity. From the garden of Gethsemane to the cross, Jesus had been feeling the separation from His eternal Father. This separation caused by the sin of humanity, punishable by death, was placed squarely on the shoulders of the perfect Son of God.

While hanging on the cross Jesus writhed in pain because of our sin. While hanging on the cross Jesus felt the consequences of sin for the billions who have walked this earth–and have yet to walk this earth. Yet His last phrase brought life and hope.

On the cross Jesus took His last breath, so that we could breathe our first. 

“And you were dead in the trespasses and sinsin which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:1-30

The spiritually dead cannot be raised to live unless someone who is able can raise them.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved…” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

Because Jesus committed His spirit to His Father in death anyone who  commits their life to following Him will have the Spirit of life breathed into them. 

As we look forward to Resurrection Sunday let the words of this song, especially this phrase, “By Your Spirit I will rise, from the ashes of defeat; the resurrected King, is resurrecting me” bring joy to you, and exaltation to Jesus.