The final utterance of Jesus from the Cross is the culminating declaration of a life fully surrendered to the will of the Father. As darkness blanketed the earth and the veil in the temple tore in two, the Son of God lifted up His voice one final time, not in defeat, but in divine release: “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” With these words, Jesus concluded His earthly assignment. He handed over His life not to man, not to death, and not to fate—but to the Father who had sent Him.
This seventh Word is more than a closing benediction; it is the fulfillment of perfect trust, complete obedience, and divine sonship. In this phrase, we see the final movement in the redemptive symphony. What began in agony now ends in assurance. What was marked by suffering now concludes in surrender. Jesus, the Lamb of God, lays down His life willingly, resting His spirit in the hands of His Father.
Let us begin by revisiting the words themselves. “Father” —this is the return to intimacy. In the fourth Word, Jesus had cried, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” There, in the weight of divine abandonment, He experienced the fullness of separation brought on by sin. But now, having borne the curse, having fulfilled the prophecies, having declared “It is finished,” He once again calls God “Father.” The relationship, never truly broken, is now fully reconciled. The language of distance has been replaced with the language of closeness.
Jesus began His ministry with the words “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15, KJV). And now, at the conclusion, He once again fulfills righteousness by entrusting His spirit to the only One who could receive it. This seventh Word is not a cry of pain—it is a statement of completion, control, and confidence.
“Into thy hands…” The hands of God represent protection, power, and providence. Throughout the Scriptures, the hand of the Lord symbolizes strength and security. In Psalm 31:5, David prayed, “Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth” (KJV). Jesus, quoting this very verse, places His eternal being into the hands that fashioned the heavens, guided the patriarchs, delivered Israel, and sustained Him throughout His earthly journey.
Hands that shaped the universe now receive the surrendered spirit of the Savior. The hands that upheld Moses, fought for Joshua, and covered David, now cradle the spirit of the Redeemer. This was not resignation to death—it was a handing over to divine authority. Jesus did not die because His body failed; He gave up His spirit. He had already declared in John 10:18, “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself.” The Cross was not an execution—it was a willing offering.
“I commend my spirit…” To commend means to entrust, to deposit, to place in safekeeping. Jesus entrusts His spirit to the Father as a final act of obedience. He had trusted the Father’s plan in Gethsemane. He had obeyed the Father’s will throughout His ministry. Now He concludes that journey by placing His very life into the Father’s hands. This is the ultimate model of surrender. Not only did He walk in obedience—He died in trust.
This Word confirms the full humanity and full divinity of Christ. As a man, He breathes His last. As God, He does so willingly, authoritatively, and prophetically. His death is not the collapse of a life but the coronation of a King. He who began by saying “Lo, I come to do thy will, O God” (Hebrews 10:7, KJV), now ends by saying “Into thy hands I commend my spirit.” This is the journey of the obedient Son—the perfect pattern of submission to the Father’s will from beginning to end.
This seventh Word also affirms the hope we have in death. Because Jesus entrusted His spirit to the Father, we too can face death without fear. For those who are in Christ, death is not a curse—it is a transition. Paul would later declare, “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8, KJV). The believer, like Jesus, can commend their spirit into the hands of a faithful God. The final breath is not the end—it is the release into eternal fellowship with the Father.
“Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit” is also a call to live with eternity in view. Jesus did not wait until the last moment to live a life of surrender—He lived every moment that way. His entire journey was marked by faithfulness, focus, and faith. This final Word is the exclamation mark on a life yielded fully to divine purpose. We are reminded that how we live determines how we die. If we walk with God in life, we can rest in God in death.
There is also a prophetic and priestly dimension to this Word. Jesus is not just speaking as a man—He is speaking as our High Priest, finishing the work of atonement. Just as the Old Testament priest would complete the sacrificial ceremony, Jesus now closes His own offering with a declaration of completion and commitment. The Lamb is slain. The blood is shed. The offering is acceptable. The priest declares the transaction complete and places it into the hands of the Father.
This seventh Word also challenges the Church to live with the same posture of surrender. We must ask ourselves: Have we truly commended our lives into the Father’s hands? Not just in words, but in will, in decision-making, in destiny? Jesus shows us that total trust in God leads to total peace—even in death. To commend one’s spirit is to surrender one’s will. It is to say, “Lord, not my way, not my understanding, not my timing—but Your hands, Your way, Your will.”
This Word becomes a model prayer for every believer, not only in death but in daily life. “Father, into thy hands I commend my marriage. Into thy hands I commend my children. Into thy hands I commend my future. Into thy hands I commend my ministry.” This is the posture of faith. This is the place of peace. When we release control and place everything into God’s hands, we position ourselves for supernatural rest.
The moment after Jesus uttered this final Word, the Scripture declares, “he gave up the ghost” (Luke 23:46, KJV). He yielded. He released. He breathed His last with full authority. No other death in history was like this. Most men are taken by death. Jesus gave Himself to it. He laid down His life so that we might take ours up again in Him. And through this Word, He teaches us not only how to die—but how to live.
The seventh Word is both a benediction and a beginning. It marks the end of the suffering, the end of the sacrifice, but also the beginning of the unfolding miracle of resurrection. It is not a period, but a comma. Jesus may have commended His spirit, but His story was not over. The third day was coming. The stone would roll away. The empty tomb would declare what the Cross had confirmed: the Son of God lives.
And so we receive this final Word, not as a farewell, but as a faith statement. In the hands of the Father, our spirit is safe. In the will of the Father, our destiny is sure. In the presence of the Father, we find our eternal rest. May we echo this Word in our own journey. May we live in such a way that, at the end of our days, we too can say: “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.”
Selah Moment with Prophetess Dr. Althea Winifred
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