Luke 23:46a

“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”

Why is this Friday called “Good”? Because Jesus has died and, by doing so, defeated death. We live no longer in the quiet desperation of most men, going day by day through the motions, awaiting the inevitable. For those who follow Christ, who surrender all to Him, the inevitable is merely the next step in a journey of joy that culminates in the light of Christ. The dark tunnel through which we travel is inundated with the light of Christ. Because of this, we travel that dark tunnel with joy and in anticipation of eternal life. What is death but the last vestige of a devil who knows he is defeated? Yet even death is no longer his domain. Since Christ has died, death itself is transformed, redeemed into a friend, a lover who escorts us from the temporal to the eternal realm.

Jesus gave all, surrendered all to the Father. “Into your hands I commend my spirit.” I give it all to you, holding nothing back. At the very end, Jesus is not the victim of death. Rather, He gives up His spirit. He is in control. He decides when “It is finished.” He is Victor. He is King. All praise and glory to Christ our Lord.

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.