Christian Reflection and Prayer

Read Luke 23: 44-49.

TEXT: Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said,
"Father, into Your Hands I commit My spirit!"
(See Luke 23:46.)

Having completed the payment for all our sins, and loudly
proclaiming it to the world, there is no reason for Jesus to
continue suffering on the cross. He fulfills the prediction
He once made to the Jews, "For this reason the Father
loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up
again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My
own accord" (see John 10:17-18).

The time has now come. Luke tells us Jesus called out
with a loud voice, committed His spirit to His Father's
safe-keeping, and breathed His last.
 
His sudden death and the events that surrounded it had
a monumental impact on the people who witnessed it.
The centurion had watched many criminals die from
crucifixion-none was like Jesus. In the moments before
He died Jesus proclaimed four statements with a loud
voice: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?",
"I'm thirsty," "It is finished," and "Father, into Your
hands I commend My spirit." Crucified criminals died
from suffocation due to the accumulation of fluid in their
lungs. How could Jesus speak loudly if His lungs were
filled with fluid? And conversely, how could He suddenly
die if His lungs were empty enough to speak loudly four
times?
 
Seeing the way Jesus conducted Himself throughout His
crucifixion, the unnatural way He died, and the
miraculous signs that accompanied His death, the
centurion could reach only one conclusion: "Certainly
this man was innocent" (see Luke 23:47) and "Truly this
was the Son of God!" (See Matthew 27:54.)

THE PRAYER:

Lord Jesus Christ, when Your work on the cross was
done You laid down Your life. On Sunday morning You
took it back up again, rising from the dead. Give me faith
to trust You always. Amen.

(Lenten Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries)