For more than twelve hours, Christ had been in the hands of men. He had warned His disciples that "the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: and they shall kill him" (Matthew 17:22-23). To this the angels made reference on the resurrection morning, saying to the women, "He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spoke to you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again" (Luke 24:6-7). This received its fulfillment when the Lord Jesus delivered Himself up to those who came to arrest Him in the Garden.
Christ could have easily avoided arrest. All He had to do was to leave the officers of the priests prostrate on the ground and walk quietly away. But He did not do so. The appointed hour had come. The time when He should submit himself to be led as a lamb to the slaughter had arrived. And He delivered Himself into "the hands of sinners." How they treated him is well known; they took full advantage of their opportunity. They gave full vent to the hatred of the carnal heart for God. With "wicked hands" (Acts 2:23) they crucified him. But now all is over. Man has done his worst. The cross has been endured; the appointed work is finished.
Voluntarily had the Savior delivered Himself into the hands of sinners, and now, voluntarily He delivers His spirit into the hands of the Father. Never again will He be in the "hands of men." Never again will He be at the mercy of the wicked. Never again will He suffer shame. Into the hands of the Father He commits Himself, and the Father will now look after His interests. Three days later the Father raised Him from the dead. Forty days after that the Father exalted Him high above all principalities and powers and every name that is named, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavens. And there He now sits on the Father’s throne (Revelation 3:21), waiting till His enemies be made His footstool.
Adapted from The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross, 7. The Word of Contentment, by A.W. Pink.
