He Breathed His Last Breath

Luke 23:44-46
It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

My daughter and I drove to Sullivan's Island to visit the ocean. Being from Ohio, I don't get to listen to the crashing waves and feel the wind off the water often. When we arrived we set up our spot on the sand then walked toward the salty water. Along the way, we spotted a sandy graveyard of jellyfish. They rested all along one area of the beach. I researched later and found out this phenomenon tends to happen in the spring when the cold waves roll in. A natural process for the sea.

After Jesus dragged his cross to the top of the hill, the soldiers nailed his hands and feet to the wood, then dropped the cross into a hole in the ground. With a thud, they planted him there. With a thief on either side, Jesus waited to die. Unlike the jellyfish, this was not a natural process. He was murdered by the people who despised him. Sad as he was about it, he knew his Father's plan for his life and understood his place in the story of salvation. After humiliation, frustration, and pain, Jesus committed his spirit to God and breathed his last breath. He knew his role, he knew the sacrifice involved. Jesus died because he loves us. He died to set us free.

Isaiah 53:5

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.