Jesus Gives Up His Spirit

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.   John 19:30

No flowery language.  No brilliant metaphors.  Just a simple statement.  "It is finished."  Just a quiet moment.  He "gave up his spirit."

At that moment, nothing that the chief priests, the soldiers, Pilate, Herod, Annas, Caiaphas . . . none of what they had done to Jesus mattered.  Jesus made the choice.  He gave up His spirit. 

Don't mistake that phrase with giving up.  He wasn't giving up.  He wasn't giving in.  He was giving.  Giving his life in exchange for ours.  Giving his spirit to give our spirits another chance.  Giving his righteousness so that we may know righteousness.

Giving.  He gave.  Think about how far we have come in this story.  Jesus gave up the richness of a full, complete life in heaven, as King and Ruler of all things, of all eternity, of all of time and space.  He gave when He came to be born.

He gave when He entered into His ministry, preaching His father's word.  He gave up any hope of a permanent home.  Hope of a family, of friends.  He gave all that up, knowing that those friends would abandon Him at His hour of need.

He gave when He told the truth to the scribes and priests, the church officials, the Pharisees and Sadducees.  He told the truth knowing He would be mocked and ridiculed. 

He gave when He limited Himself, allowing these mere men to question Him.  He gave when He allowed these "grasshoppers" to beat Him - in fact, to touch Him at all!  He gave, and gave, and gave.

Right up to the moment that He gave up His spirit.

What telling words.  "It is finished."  Other versions says, "It is completed."  In other words, there was nothing left for Him to do.  No more He could give.  I think during those hours of agony He felt the pain, the guilt, the shame, of all the sin of all the world of all time.  He took it all.  And when there was no more to take, it was finished.

Matthew Henry says this about that moment:

It is finished; that is, the counsels of the Father concerning his sufferings were now fulfilled. It is finished; all the types and prophecies of the Old Testament, which pointed at the sufferings of the Messiah, were accomplished. It is finished; the ceremonial law is abolished; the substance is now come, and all the shadows are done away. It is finished; an end is made of transgression by bringing in an everlasting righteousness. His sufferings were now finished, both those of his soul, and those of his body. It is finished; the work of man's redemption and salvation is now completed. His life was not taken from him by force, but freely given up.

I think it is important to see here that no one took His life from Him.  If man were in charge of His death, He would have died after the first beating.  Or the second.  Or from the pain, dehydration and exhaustion.  Or when He carried His cross and couldn't go anymore. 

But no.  He died when it was His time.  Notice that He didn't die, and then His head bowed, as in slumping down because there was no more life.  Look at what the verse says, "He bowed His head, and gave us His spirit."

It was His choice.  Man made his death miserable, no doubt.  But His death - His life - was His to give up.  He said in John 10:18:  "No one takes it from me [my life], but I lay it down of my own accord."  

He gave His life.  He bowed His head and gave His life over.  He acted in the ultimate submission to His Father.  Giving everything.  

Please.  Today, think about this.  Think of how He gave up heaven - for earth.  Life - for death.  Glory - for submission.  Think of all He gave up.  

For you.  For me.  For all of us.  

Please think about this today.  Think of ALL that He gave up.