What were Jesus' last words on the cross?

'Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit' (Luke 23:46). This final word was one of trust, quoting Psalm 31:5. Having said it, Jesus deliberately gave up his spirit, turning his death into an act of faith in his Father.

What does 'into your hands I commend my spirit' mean?

It means entrusting oneself completely to God. Jesus was quoting a psalm Jewish children prayed at bedtime, treating death as a sleep the Father would wake him from. It shows that for those who trust God, even death becomes an act of faith rather than fear.

A word from the cross

Into Thy Hands I Commend My Spirit

The word of trust · Luke 23:46

Jesus' last word from the cross was one of trust: 'Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit' (Luke 23:46). Having begun in a cry of abandonment, he ends by placing himself entirely into his Father's hands, transforming death itself into an act of faith.

The word

“Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.”

Luke 23:46

What it means

The journey of the seven words is almost unbearable to trace: from 'Father, forgive them' through the cry of abandonment and the raw 'I thirst,' down into darkness. And then, at the very end, it comes home. His last words are not a scream and not a question but the most peaceful sentence imaginable: 'Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.' The One who cried 'why hast thou forsaken me' now says 'Father' again. The distance is crossed. Trust has the last word.

He is quoting Scripture once more, Psalm 31, a verse Jewish children were taught to pray at bedtime, the prayer you said before sleep, trusting God to keep you through the night. Jesus prayed his bedtime prayer as he died, treating death as a sleep from which the Father would wake him. He was not overcome by death; he entrusted himself to it, deliberately, 'having said thus, he gave up the ghost.' He handed over his spirit; it was not taken from him. Even in dying, he was the One giving.

He began the cross forsaken and ended it saying Father. Trust, not fear, had the last word.

For you, at the foot of the crossThis is how the children of God are given to die, and to live: with our spirits placed, deliberately, into hands we have learned to trust. Whatever darkness you are moving through, the pattern of the cross runs from the cry of abandonment all the way home to 'into thy hands.' You can put yourself there now, not only at the end. Into your hands, Father. It is the safest place in all the universe, and Christ has shown you it holds.

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He said it for you

Every one of these words was spoken over the very people who put him there, which means they were spoken over you and me. The cross is not a tragedy to admire from a distance; it is a door held open. The Living Bread is a quiet place to come and stand at the foot of it, read the Gospels, and pray, and find that the arms were spread open for you.

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Frequently asked questions

What were Jesus' last words on the cross?: 'Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit' (Luke 23:46). This final word was one of trust, quoting Psalm 31:5. Having said it, Jesus deliberately gave up his spirit, turning his death into an act of faith in his Father.
What does 'into your hands I commend my spirit' mean?: It means entrusting oneself completely to God. Jesus was quoting a psalm Jewish children prayed at bedtime, treating death as a sleep the Father would wake him from. It shows that for those who trust God, even death becomes an act of faith rather than fear.

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