Main Text: Luke 23:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
I. The seven sayings from the cross.
A. Lk. 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
B. Lk. 23:42-43 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
C. Jn. 19:26-27 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.
D. Mk. 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
E. Jn. 19:28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
F. Jn. 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
G. Lk. 23:46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
II. The context of the cross.
Jn. 10:17-18 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
III. The context of the seventh saying.
Ps. 31:1-5 In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness. Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me. For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name's sake lead me, and guide me. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength. Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.
IV. The hands of men and the hands of God.
A. Ps. 31:15 My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me.
B. Jn. 10:29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all: and none is able to pluck out of my Father's hand
C. Mt. 26:45 Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
D. Lk. 24:7 Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.
E. Acts 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.
F. "Voluntarily had the Saviour delivered Himself into the hands of sinners, and now, voluntarily He delivers His spirit into the hands of the Father. What a blessed contrast!" Arthur W. Pink
"The act by which the Saviour placed His spirit into the hands of the Father was an act of faith -- 'I commend.' It was a blessed act designed as a precedent for all His people. The last point observable is the manner in which Christ performed this act: He uttered those words 'with a loud voice.' He spoke that all might hear, and that His enemies who judged Him destitute and forsaken of God might know it was not so any longer; but instead, that He was dear to His Father still, and could put His spirit confidently into His hands." Arthur W. Pink
"'The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?' (John 18:11). On the cross, at the beginning, the Lord Jesus is still found in communion with the Father, for had He not cried, 'Father, forgive them!' His first crossutterance then, was 'Father forgive' and now His last word is, 'Father into thy hands I commend my spirit.' But between those utterances He had hung there for six hours: three spent in sufferings at the hands of man and Satan; three spent in suffering at the hand of God, as the sword of divine justice was awakened to smite Jehovah’s Fellow. During those last three hours, God had withdrawn from the Saviour, evoking that terrible cry, 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?' But now all is done. The cup is drained; the storm of wrath has spent itself; the darkness is past; and the Saviour is seen once more in communion with the Father, never more to be broken." Arthur W. Pink
"On the cross Christ hung as the representative of His people, and therefore we view His last act as a representative one. When the Lord Jesus commended His spirit into the hands of His Father, He also presented our spirits along with His, to the Father's acceptance. Jesus Christ neither lived nor died for Himself, but for believers: what He did in this last act referred to them as much as to Himself. We must look then on Christ as here gathering all the souls of the elect together, and making a solemn tender of them, with His own spirit, to God." Arthur W. Pink
"Let us now remember that it was not in reference to Himself alone that Christ committed His soul to the Father, but that He included, as it were, in one bundle all the souls of those who believe in Him, that they may be preserved along with His own; and not only so, but by this prayer He obtained authority, so that not only does the heavenly Father, for Christ's sake, deign to take them into His custody, but, giving up the authority into His hands, commits them to the Father to be protected. And therefore Stephen also, when dying, resigns his soul into His hands, saying, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' Every one who, when he comes to die, following this example, believing in Christ, will not breathe his soul at random into the air, but will resort to a faithful guardian, who keeps in safety whatever has been delivered to Him by the Father." John Calvin
"Do you see our Lord? He is dying and yet, His face is pointed toward man. His last word to man is the cry, 'It is finished.' Hear, all ye sons of men, He speaks to you, 'It is finished.' He speaks to you, and declares with His dying utterance, 'It is finished.' Now He has done with you, and He turns His faced the other way. His day's work is done, His more than Herculean toil is accomplished, the great champion is going back to His Father's throne, and He speaks; but not to you. His last word is address to His Father, 'Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.' Think of these words, and may they be your first words too, when you return to your Father. Our Lord used words quoted from the scriptures. This sentence is taken from the 31st Psalm in the fifth verse. Our Lord was not one of those who think little of the Word of God; He was saturated with it. He could not speak even in His death without uttering scripture. There are no prayers so good as those that are full of the Word of God." Charles Spurgeon