Jesus had always been in the Father’s hands. Eternal with Him, He would say of Himself the same words His Father had said to Moses: I am. Of His relationship with the Father, He would say, I and the Father are one (John 10:30). Of His actions on earth, Jesus would say, whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise (John 5:19). All this, such that when Philip asked Jesus to show him the Father, Jesus would say, whoever has seen Me has seen the Father (John 14:9).
And yet, as we witness Jesus in prayer, particularly at those times when, early in the morning, He went to a lonely place to pray; as we see Him going to the synagogue to worship every week; as we see Him submit Himself to the Father’s will in the garden of Gethsemane, it becomes clear that Jesus regularly rededicated Himself to God, and into the hands of the One with Whom He was always one.
None the more so than at the moment of His death. On the cross, having suffered for six hours, it was time for Him to yield up His life. And so Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit’ (Luke 23:46). Even though He had never not been in the Father’s hands, it was His desire to re-commend Himself to the Father, to re-place Himself, if you will, into the Father’s hands. Was this made necessary because of His having become our sin on the cross, and thus experiencing separation from a Holy God (my God, my God, why have you forsaken Me? Matthew 27:46)? We will only know the answer to that question when we meet Him face to face.
But for now, in this prayer, into Your hands I commend my spirit, you and I have, not only a model for our death, but also a practice for our life. Though we know that, by grace through faith, we are safe in the Father’s hands, nonetheless we have a need, regularly, to commend ourselves to God, to recognize that we are in His hands, to re-place ourselves into His hands. And no doubt for us this is made necessary because of the sin which separates us from Him, and makes a perpetual repentance, or returning to Him, necessary.
Be sure to do this regularly today, not only at those times when you experience gratitude for being in His hands, when you experience the consolation of His Presence, but also at those times when you are struggling to follow Him or believe, when you experience the desolation of His presumed absence. Re-commend yourself to God. And, particularly so if you are not really sure that you are “safe” with God, just pray that simple prayer: Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit.
