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Luke 23:46 - The Seventh of the Seven Words of Christ from the Cross.

Luke 23:46; The Seventh of the Seven Words of Christ from the 
Cross. 

Luke 23:46 (KJV)  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. 

This is the last of seven utterances of Jesus as He hung upon 
the cross, sometimes called the Seven Words. No gospel writer 
mentions more than three, nor less than one, of these utterances. 
Arranged in point of time the seven "utterances" are as follows: 
1. "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do" 
(Luk.23:34). 
2. "Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in 
paradise" (Luk.23:43). 
3. "Woman, behold thy son! ... Behold thy mother!" (John 19:26).
4. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matt. 27:46; 
Mark 15:34). 
5. "I thirst" (John 19:28).
6. "It is finished" (John 19:30).
7. "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Luke 23:46). 
[SDA Commentary] 

The Gospels report seven utterances by Jesus as He hung on the 
cross. Three of these can be assigned to the first three hours, between 
9 a.m. and 12 noon. Four can be assigned to the next three hours, 
12-3 p.m., during which the scene was shrouded in darkness. 
It is traditional during Good Friday services to meditate on 
these seven utterances. Surely there is much here for us to ponder. 
[Victor Bible Background Commentary] 

Jesus died with the words of Ps. 31:5 upon His lips. The 
attitude thus expressed brings to a sublime climax the spirit of humble 
submission to the will of the Father exemplified throughout Jesus' life on 
earth. In the Garden of Gethsemane it was the same selfless spirit that 
had prompted Jesus' words, "not as I will, but as thou wilt" (Matt. 
26:39). For comment on Christ's perfect submissiveness to the Father see 
on Luke 2:49. Happy the man or woman who lives and dies in the 
"hands" of God! Our all is safe--in His hands. [SDA Commentary] 

Jesus died with a prayer on his lips. "Father, into your hands I 
commit my spirit." That is Ps 31:5 with one word added--Father. That 
verse was the prayer every Jewish mother taught her child to say last 
thing at night. Just as we were taught, maybe, to say, "This night I 
lay me down to sleep," so the Jewish mother taught her child to say, 
before the threatening dark came down, "Into thy hands I commit my 
spirit."  Jesus made it even more lovely for he began it with the word 
Father. Even on a cross Jesus died like a child falling asleep in his 
father's arms. [Barclay Commentary] 

The fact that Jesus dismissed His spirit is evidence that He was 
in full control of the situation  [Wiersbe Expository Outlines] 

The words are from yet another psalm, Ps. 31:5, and were used in 
Israel as an evening prayer. The psalm is a beautiful expression of 
unshakable confidence. It reminds us that, although Christ accepted death 
as the Father's will, His suffering in no way threatened the loving 
bond of trust that existed between them. 
The words of that psalm, penned by David, remind us that even in 
the darkest of times God is our refuge too. Jesus' willingness to 
suffer for us is unshakable proof that as He committed His spirit into 
the Father's hands, so can we. [Victor Bible Background Commentary 
re Mar.15:34]