Luke 23:46

Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last.

One of the persistent questions we ask when we approach the Passion story is “why?” Why did Jesus have to endure the pain, the suffering, the abuse, ridicule, and shame? Why, in short, did Jesus have to experience the unimaginable agony of crucifixion?

It’s an understandable, perhaps even natural, question. But it’s also a question that the gospels themselves ultimately do not answer. They do however, address another question, and that is “for whom.” Here, Luke is unambiguous: Jesus dies for his disciples, those who believed in him yet faltered. He dies for the crowds, those who cheered him one week and called for his death the next. He dies even for those who sentenced him to death, praying for God’s forgiveness upon their ignorance and injustice. And he dies for us, those who at various times have believed and faltered, been faithful and fallen short of God’s calling.

This scene, in particular, is crucial to understanding, if not the why, at least the for whom, of Jesus’ death. For Luke makes it abundantly clear that Jesus gives himself over to death willingly. His life, that is, is not ripped away as in some horrible accident, nor is it torn from him as in some senseless tragedy. Rather, he commends his Spirit to the Father, giving his life of his own accord.

So whatever other questions we may have, this we know for certain: Jesus gave himself, fully and freely, for us and for all the world. Why? Because that is who he is: God’s love embodied. And that is why he came: to declare the Lord’s favor to all.

Prayer: Dear God, when we look at the cross remind us of your great love for us and all the world and empower us to share that love with everyone we meet. In Jesus’ name, Amen.