A 2026 Good Friday Devotion from Pastor Chris

“Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’ And having said this he breathed his last.” – Luke 23:46

In reading through the four Gospel accounts, we find seven statements made by Jesus before He breathed His last. And the words He spoke above were spoken moments before He would.

Should the Lord give me the gracious opportunity to realize when I speak my final words, I would hope they would be significant and full of meaning, words that respond thoughtfully to a reflection on my entire life, words that speak to my legacy and are worth repeating. Given this tall order, I fear that whatever wise or clever thing I come up with will not be enough.

In doing a web search of famous last words, I found numerous statements which ranged from profound, to funny, to seemingly mediocre. A profound example comes from Issac Newton’s last words: “I don’t know what I may seem to the world. But as to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore and diverting myself now and then in finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than the ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”  Yet a more funny example comes from a prisoner named Thomas J. Grasso before he was put death for murder. His final words complained about his last meal: “I did not get my Spaghetti-O’s; I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this.”

While I’m not sure what my words would be, maybe Jesus is the first place to start. In fact, His words in Luke 23:46 quote Psalm 31:5. Jesus turned to Scripture: “Into your hands I commit my spirit.” God’s Word is always a good place to start when looking for something to say. Why? Because God’s Word is true. We can trust what is written and trust that it doesn’t change. Also, God’s Words give us hope and remain with us wherever we are.

Jesus’ words here reinforce this. As He prepares to leave this world on a cross, He looks to His Father and commends His spirit to His Father. That is, Jesus gives the last thing He has to God before He goes.

Of all the great things we could say, nothing could be greater than giving all we have and all we are to God. In commending ourselves to the Lord, we are entrusting everything we are to Him, yet we are also speaking the truth because we already belong to the Lord. Though He commended His Spirit to His Father, He commended His body to us…for us on the cross, that all our sins would be forgiven. He died so you and I could live.

Yet the new life we have in Jesus through His resurrection isn’t just found in heaven. That new life is also now. Let us then begin each new day as forgiven people, people who pray, “Father, thank You for this new day. Into Your hands I commit my spirit, my body, my possessions, and all You have given me to do. In Jesus’ name. Amen”

We invite you to join us this Good Friday for our Tenebrae service as we reflect on, and thank Jesus, for what He did for us on the cross: 

You’re Invited: Good Friday Tenebrae Service
 Friday, April 3, 2026 7PM

Celebrate Easter Sunday with Us!
 Sunday, April 5, 2026
Sunrise: 6:30AM | Traditional: 8:30AM | Contemporary: 10:30AM

Easter Egg Hunt following the 8:30AM service

Vine & Branches Lutheran Church & Childcare
25615 Lennox Hale Drive, Aldie, VA 20105

[1] Higgins, Chris. “65 People and Their Famous Last Words.” Mental Floss, Mental Floss, 5 July 2023, www.mentalfloss.com/article/58534/64-people-and-their-famous-last-words.

[2] Ibid.