I recently went to my uncle’s funeral. My uncle was a great man who loved his wife and family with all his heart. He lived a long life, almost 80, when he passed suddenly taking out the trash one evening.
We celebrated and grieved my uncle near his home in Ohio. We told stories and comforted one another. For those of faith, we declared we would see him again one day, as he was a man of faith and service in his local church.
Despite being older, his death was unexpected and quick. It was not what any of us would have chosen. I can’t say for sure, but perhaps it wasn’t what my uncle would have chosen, either. However, whether the death is sudden or at the end of a long illness, death is the appointment for us all.
Every human being is appointed to die once and then face the judgment seat of God (Hebrews 9:27)), where every knee will bow, and tongue will confess (Philippians 2:10-11).
This is the future for all men and women. The time is appointed for us by God, not by our choosing, no matter what we believe. As sinners, we are already slaves of death.
This is the gospel that God sent his Son for the world so those who would believe in Jesus wouldn’t be slaves of death but have imperishable, eternal life.=
At the center of the gospel is the person, Jesus, who was sent as a sacrifice for our sins. This Son of God had never sinned and by extension, never under the slavery of death.
This is the background for a mysterious statement from the King James Version of the Bible. At his death on the cross, Jesus “gave up the ghost.”
What Is the Context When Jesus ‘Gave Up the Ghost’ in Luke 23:46?
Chapter 23 of Luke recounts the events leading up to the crucifixion and death of Jesus. Jesus had been arrested and tried by the Sanhedrin, the religious ruling council of the Jews, people who were supposed to be upholding the Old Testament Law and the truth of God.
Since the Jews were a conquered people, they didn’t have the authority to carry out a death sentence, so they sent Jesus to Pilate, the local Roman governor.
Luke 23 begins with Pilate’s questioning of Jesus. When Pilate realizes this is both a religious matter dealing with the local kingship of Judah, he sends Jesus to Herod.
Upon being questioned by Herod, Jesus said nothing, even though the chief priests and scribes accused Jesus. Herod and his troops mocked the Son of God, placing a type of kingly robe on him as a joke, and sent Jesus back to Pilate.
Pilate could still find nothing wrong with Jesus and decided to simply chastise Jesus and release him, since by local law and agreement with the Jews around Passover, he could release one prisoner to the Jews.
The Jewish leaders roused the people to instead called for Pilate to release murderous political revolutionary Barabbas. The Jews cried, “Crucify!” until Pilate relented and delivered Jesus up to be crucified.
Jesus forgives the men who drove the nails into his hands, all while being mocked by the crowd. If he was the Son of God and could do such miracles, why didn’t he save himself?
This is a valid question.
After dealing with the two thieves, one of whom is promised the Kingdom because he defends the innocence of Jesus, the sun darkened, and the veil of the Temple was torn in two.
At this point, we get to the crux of it. Luke 23:46 in the KJV says, “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.”
He gave up the ghost.
What Was the Significance That Jesus ‘Gave Up the Ghost’?
The phrase “gave up the ghost” is an old English translation of the Greek phrase “paradidōmi to pneuma.” The old English phrase means the moment a person dies as if the soul is released when the body transpires.
Other translations don’t use this old phrase for death, however. Even the New King James Version changes it to, “He breathed his last.”
Why is it important for the KJV to use “gave up the ghost”?
First, we can look into the text of Luke 23:46 to give a hint. What words did Jesus say before dying? Jesus said nothing randomly, nor did he speak of his own, as he clearly expressed. He only spoke what the Father spoke (John 12:49), so these final words were intentional and had meaning.
Before his death, Jesus said, “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit.” Here Jesus states he chose the moment of his death, that he had the power to choose exactly when he died.
Some might argue it is possible Jesus simply understood he was about to die; the moment was close. This happens to people who aren’t the Son of God, a mystical reality where regular everyday people sometimes know they are about to die and express it just beforehand.
Even without looking at other gospel accounts of his death, we see the moment carried extreme significance. The sky darkened. The veil was torn in two. These were important symbols of a spiritual breaking of the old ways and bringing of the New Covenant.
Further, we have other evidence from Jesus’ words of his power to choose when he died. In John 10:17-18 KJV, Jesus says, “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”
By his own words, then, Jesus told people no one took his life, Pilate, Herod, the Sanhedrin, or even the men putting the nails in his hands. It was completely his choice. The Father commanded, but Jesus chose to obey.
God is love, and love doesn’t force, coerce, or manipulate. Love speaks truth and gives a choice. Because Jesus was the Son of God and loved us and his Father, he obeyed; knowing the joy set before him (Hebrews 12:2), he chose the cross.
Therefore, we see why the King James makes an interesting choice with the phrase, “gave up the ghost.” When used to describe the death of regular people, “giving up the ghost” doesn’t mean they chose to die in the moment, only that their soul left their body.
But with Jesus, the term takes on a deeper meaning. He chose to come to the Earth as a man and die on the cross. Unlike every other human being, he had the power over death while alive and chose exactly when it would happen in obedience to his Father.
What do other accounts add to this discussion?
What are Other Gospel Accounts of the Moment of Jesus’ Death?
Luke is the only gospel recording Jesus’ words after crying out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit,” after crying out with a loud voice and immediately preceding “giving up the ghost.”
Mark and Matthew give us different last words from Jesus, which are “Eli, Eli, sabachtani?” which meant, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46 and Mark 13:34). Jesus says this when the darkness covers the Earth, also written about in the other Gospels.
However, both Matthew and Mark include Jesus crying out with a loud voice before he died, and afterward, Jesus yielded up his spirit.
Yielding his spirit is the same sentiment as “into your hands I commend my spirit” and “he gave up the ghost.” Jesus yielding his spirit also meant he chose to die at that moment.
John’s gospel provides a slightly different perspective on the moment of Jesus’ death. The final words in John 19:28-30 are “It is finished!” followed by bowing his head and giving up his spirit.
“It is finished” correlates with the completion of the work of Christ in salvation and also the signs around his death like the earthquake and the veil being torn in two.
Again, we have “he gave up his spirit” in death, a clear indication of a personal choice by Jesus to die exactly then, revealing his power over death even while living in a human body.
But didn’t he show this power over death in other narratives, as well? He raised the dead several times, notably Lazarus (John 11). He declared during the raising of Lazarus that he, himself, was the resurrection and the life.
He who is resurrection and life cannot be subject to death in any way. He already was the resurrection before he physically manifested that reality in literally rising from the dead.
This is the life he gives to his followers.
What Are Important Lessons We Can Learn from Luke 23:46?
As stated before, God is love, and he will not force us to follow him. We must choose to die to ourselves and live for God. However, that choice is only available because Jesus paved the way, the firstborn from the dead, and invites us into a work we could not do.
We can’t overcome the power of death on our own. Only Jesus could accomplish that by choosing to die as the perfect righteous Son of God in a human body to defeat the power of death over humanity. This is a finished work Christ invites us into through faith and grace.
If we will believe, we can then make the choice. God will not force us. Nor will he manipulate or coerce us to love and follow him. Even the power to make the choice comes from his grace, which we don’t deserve and could never earn.
But if we do, then we also choose to die to ourselves and follow the teachings of the Bible.
Jesus said in Mark 8:34-35, “When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”
Just like Jesus, we must see the joy before us, the eternal life offered, and endure our own cross. This is a life we would lose anyway since we are slaves of sin and death, and no amount of effort on our part can break those chains.
We must offer up our lives willingly, overcoming sin and death by the blood of the Lamb, the word of our own testimony, and not loving our own lives (Revelation 12:11).
When we willingly choose to give up our lives for Jesus and the Gospel, the power of death over us is eternally broken. We are filled with the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead (Romans 8:11)). Jesus, who is the Resurrection, lives within us through the born-again New Creation. Even when our bodies die, we will be resurrected in new bodies like Jesus had (1 Corinthians 15:49).
Even Death itself can’t kill the Resurrection, and we are able to say now and later, along with all the saints of God, “Oh Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?”
Like Christ, let us give our lives, our souls, willingly unto the God who will translate us into an eternal life no worldly power can kill, giving us victory now and later over the power of Death.
Peace.
For further reading:
What Did Jesus Mean by ‘Father, Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit’?
What Is the Significance of Jesus’ Last Words on the Cross?
Is the Holy Ghost Different from the Holy Spirit?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/VladGans
