The Church Fathers on this verse
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Matthew 27:50Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

And Jesus again crying with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

Douay-Rheims

ο δε ιησους παλιν κραξας φωνη μεγαλη αφηκεν το πνευμα

Greek (Byzantine text)

The Church Fathers on this verse

17 Church Fathers comment on this verse · 33 commentaries

John Chrysostom

4th centuryChurch Father

He uttered this word of prophecy, that He might bear witness to the very last hour to the Old Testament, and that they might see that He honours the Father, and is not against God. And therefore too, He used the Hebrew tongue, that what He said might be intelligible to them.

Also for this reason He cried out with a loud voice to shew that this is done by His own power. For by crying out with a loud voice when dying, He shewed incontestably that He was the true God; because a man in dying can scarcely utter even a feeble sound.

This darkness lasted three hours, whereas an eclipse is transient, and not enduring, as they know who have studied the matter.

Or otherwise; The wonder was in this, that the darkness was over the whole earth, which had never come to pass before, save only in Egypt what time the Passover was celebrated; for the things done then were a type of these. And consider the time when this is done; at mid-day, while over the whole world it was day, that all the dwellers on the earth might perceive it. This is the sign He promised to them that asked Him, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign, and there shall no sign be given it save the sign of Jonas the Prophet, (Matt. 12:39.) alluding to His cross and resurrection. And it was a much greater marvel that this should come to pass when He was fastened to the cross, than when He was walking at large on the earth.

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Surely here was enough to convert them, not by the greatness of the miracle alone, but because it was done not till after all these instances of their frenzy, when their passion was past, when they had uttered all that they would, and were satiated with taunts and gibes. But how did they not all marvel and conclude Him to be God? Because the human race was at that time plunged in exceeding sluggishness and vice, and this wonder was but one, and quickly past away, and none cared to search out its cause, or perhaps they attributed it to eclipse, or some other physical consequence. And on this account He shortly afterwards lifts up His voice to shew that He yet lives, and Himself wrought this miracle; And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, &c.

Creation could not bear the outrage offered to the Creator; whence the sun withdrew his beams, that he might not look upon the crime of these impious men.

Thus the Source of living water is made to drink vinegar, the Giver of honey is fed with gall; Forgiveness is scourged, Acquittance is condemned, Majesty is mocked, Virtue ridiculed, the Bestower of showers is repaid with spitting.

Theophylact of Bulgaria

11th centuryChurch Father

Jesus called out in a powerful voice to illustrate that when He proclaimed, ‘I have authority to lay down my life,’ it was indeed a reality, for He laid down His life with sovereign power. What was this declaration? ‘Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit,’ signifying that He did not surrender His spirit under compulsion but rather chose to do so freely. This reveals His intention to receive His soul again since every deposit is returned. We give thanks to God that when He departed this life, and His spirit was entrusted to the Father, from that moment the souls of the faithful are now safely held in God's care, rather than confined to the depths of hell as they once were, making the death of Christ our means of sanctification. Therefore, death is called out with a bold voice, which would not dare to approach unless summoned.

Augustine of Hippo

5th centuryChurch Father

When now nought of suffering remains to be endured, death still lingers, knowing that it has nothing there. The ancient foe suspected somewhat unusual. This man, first and only, he found having no sin, free from guilt, owing nothing to the laws of his jurisdiction. But leagued with Jewish madness, Death comes again to the assault, and desperately invades the Life-giver. And Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. Wherefore should we be offended that Christ came from the bosom of the Father to take upon Him our bondage, that He might confer on us His freedom; to take upon Him our death, that we might be set free by His death; by despising death He exalted us mortals into Gods, counted them of earth worthy of things in heaven?

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For seeing the Divine power shines forth so brilliant in the contemplation of its works, it is an argument of boundless love, that it suffers for its subjects, dies for its bondsmen. This then was the first cause of the Lord’s Passion, that He would have it known how great God’s love to man, Who desired rather to be loved than feared. The second was that He might abolish with yet more justice the sentence of death which He had with justice passed. For as the first man had by guilt incurred death through God’s sentence, and handed down the same to his posterity, the second Man, who knew no sin, came from heaven that death might be condemned, which, when commissioned to seize the guilty, had presumed to touch the Author of sinlessness. And it is no wonder if for us He laid down what He had taken of us, His life, namely, when He has done other so great things for us, and bestowed so much on us.

Far be from the faithful any suspicion that Christ experienced our death in such sort that life (as far as it can) ceased to live. Had this been so, how could aught have been said to live during that three days, if the Fountain of Life itself was dried up? Therefore Christ’s Godhead experienced death through its partaking of humanity or of human feeling, which it had voluntarily taken on it; but it lost not the properties of its nature by which it gives life to all things. For when we die, without doubt the loss of life by the body is not the destruction of the soul, but the soul quitting the body loses not its own properties, but only lets go what it had quickened, and as far as in it lays produces the death of somewhat else, but itself defies death.

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To speak now of the Saviour’s soul; it might depart without being itself destroyed from His body for this three days’ space, even by the common laws of death, and without taking into account the indwelling Godhead, and His singular righteousness. For I believe that the Son of God died not in punishment of unrighteousness which He had not at all, but according to the law of that nature which He took upon Him for the redemption of the human race.

Luke mentions the words which He thus cries out, Father, into thy hands I commend my Spirit.

Ephraem the Syrian

4th centuryChurch Father

Since this initial voice was mocked, asking, “Why doesn’t Elijah come to rescue Him from the cross?” He called out once more with another voice, which the dead recognized and obeyed, demonstrating that if the deceased, who could not hear Him, responded, how much more could the living understand Him. But when He cried out to His Father, why did the dead not respond instead of the Father? If the Father acknowledged Him through the dead, let the living take this as a sign and motivation to heed Him. Thus, having strayed and moved away from the truth of His first voice, the authority of His second voice set them right. The initial voice was a reproof in their mouths, marked by mockery and scorn, while the second voice led to sorrow in their hearts and struck their breasts.

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The first voice was dismissed, but the subsequent voice issued forth, demanding justice from His rejectors. It is astounding that the dead executed the One who gives life; yet the One who was slain resurrected the dead. They intensified their rage, reaching a peak, while He amplified His glorious gifts and descended even to the depths. Behold the Dead, whom death seized and laid in the tomb, only to rise again and unveil the grave of His imprisonment. Death seized Him and ended His life while He slumbered, but upon awakening, He emerged and took away His captor. Behold the One who was crucified, yet brought down those who led Him to His execution; behold the One now a captive, who has subdued the one who once held Him captive. Your death upon the Cross became the wellspring of life for our frail existence; all who partake of Your source yield fruits akin to Your offering. Death consumed the life concealed in earthly vessels, yet did not realize that life is defiled under the appearance of the same Body in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Death, eager to devour Him, also rushed to liberate Him from its grasp. As death entered through Eve’s listening, life was ushered in through Mary’s hearing, and as humanity fell into bondage through the tree, Christ came to vanquish it through another tree.

Jerome of Stridon

5th centuryChurch Father

It was a mark of Divine power in Him thus to dismiss the Spirit as Himself had said, No man can take my life from me, but I lay it down and take it again. (John 10:18.) For by the ghost in this place we understand the soul; so called either because it is that which makes the body quick or spiritual, or because the substance of the soul itself is spirit, according to that which is written, Thou takest away their breath, and they die. (Ps. 104:29.)

He employed the beginning of the twenty-first Psalm. (Ps. 22:1. Vulg.) That clause in the middle of the verse, Look upon me, is superfluous; for the Hebrew has only ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,’ that is, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? It is impiety therefore to think that this Psalm was spoken in the character of David or Esther or Mardocheus, when passages taken out of it by the Evangelist are understood of the Saviour; as, They parted my garments among them, and, They pierced my hands.

It follows, Some of them that stood by, &c.; some, not all; whom I suppose to have been Roman soldiers, ignorant of Hebrew, but from the words Eli, Eli, thought that He called upon Elias. But if we prefer to suppose them Jews, they do it after their usual manner, that they may accuse the Lord of weakness in thus invoking Elias.

John Damascene

8th centuryChurch Father

Although He died as man, and His holy soul was separated from His unstained body, yet His Godhead remained inseparate from either body or soul. Yet was not the one Person divided into two; for as both body and soul had from the beginning an existence in the Person of the Word, so also had they in death. For neither soul nor body had ever a Person of their own, besides the Person of the Word.

Euthymios Zigabenos

11th centuryCommentator

The nature of the voice is depicted by Luke (Luke 23:46): Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. He called out loudly so that everyone could hear and recognize that throughout His life, even until the moment of His death, He referred to God as Father. He entrusted all to Him and remained obedient, demonstrating that He surrendered His life on His own terms. By proclaiming, Father, into Thy hands I commit My spirit, He ultimately welcomed death. The events following this declaration are recounted by John, as the other Gospel writers did not include them: But His mother stood by the cross of Jesus, etc. (John 19:25).

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After describing how Jesus entrusted His dear Mother and the beloved disciple to each other and how, in His thirst, He consumed vinegar, John concludes with Jesus stating, ‘It is finished’ (John 19:30). He then bowed His head and yielded up His spirit. More details regarding these events can be found in the Gospel of John.

Origen of Alexandria

3rd centuryChurch Father

Some take occasion from this text to cavil against the truth of the Gospel. For indeed from the beginning eclipses of the sun have happened in their proper seasons; but such an eclipse as would be brought about by the ordinary course of the seasons could only be at such time as the sun and moon come together, when the moon passing beneath intercepts the sun’s rays. But at the time of Christ’s passion it is clear that this was not the case, because it was the paschal feast, which it was customary to celebrate when the moon was full. Some believers, desiring to produce some answer to this objection, have said, that this eclipse in accordance with the other prodigies was an exception to the established laws of nature.

Against this the children of this world urge, How is it that of the Greeks and Barbarians, who have made observations of these things, not one has recorded so remarkable a phenomenon as this? Phlegon indeed has recorded such an event as happening in the time of Tiberius Caesar, but he has not mentioned that it was at the full moon. I think therefore that, like the other miracles which took place at the Passion, the rending of the veil, and the earthquake, this also was confined to Jerusalem. Or, if any one chooses, it may be extended to the whole of Judæa; as in the book of Kings, Abdias said to Elias, As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee, (1 Kings 18:10.) meaning that he had been sought in the countries round about Judæa.

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Accordingly we might suppose many and dense clouds to have been brought together over Jerusalem and Judæa, enough to produce thick darkness from the sixth to the ninth hour. For we understand that there were two creatures created on the sixth day, the beasts before the sixth hour, man on the sixth; and therefore it was fitting that He who died for the salvation of man should be crucified at the sixth hour, and for this cause that darkness should be over the whole earth from the sixth to the ninth hour. And as by Moses stretching out his hands towards heaven darkness was brought upon the Egyptians who held the servants of God in bondage, so likewise when at the sixth hour Christ stretched out his hands on the cross to heaven, darkness came over all the people who had cried out, Crucify him, and they were deprived of all light as a sign of the darkness that should come, and that should envelop the whole people of the Jews. Further, under Moses there was darkness over the land of Egypt three days, but all the children of Israel had light; so under Christ there was darkness over all Judæa for three hours, because for their sins they were deprived of the light of God the Father, the splendour of Christ, and the illumination of the Holy Spirit. But over the rest of the earth there is light, which every where illumines the Church of God in Christ. And if to the ninth hour there was darkness over Judæa, it is manifest that light returned to them again after that; so, when the fulness of the Gentiles shall have entered in, then all Israel shall be saved. (Rom. 11:25.)

But it must be asked, What means this, that Christ is forsaken of God? Some, unable to explain how Christ could be forsaken of God, say that this was spoken out of humility. But you will be able clearly to comprehend His meaning if you make a comparison of the glory which He had with the Father with the shame which He despised when He endured the cross.

When He saw darkness over the whole land of Judæa He said this, Father, why hast thou forsaken me? meaning, Why hast thou given Me over exhausted to such sufferings? that the people who were honoured by Thee may receive the things that they have dared against Me, and should be deprived of the light of Thy countenance. Also, Thou hast forsaken Me for the salvation of the Gentiles. But what good have they of the Gentiles who have believed done, that I should deliver them from the evil one by shedding My precious blood on the ground for them? Or will they, for whom I suffer these things, ever do aught worthy of them? Or foreseeing the sins of those for whom He suffered, He said, Why hast thou forsaken me?

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that I should become as one that, gathereth stubble in the harvest, and gleanings in the vintage. (Mic. 7:1.) But you must not imagine that the Saviour said this after the manner of men by reason of the misery which encompassed Him on the cross; for if you take it so you will not hear His loud voice and mighty words which point to something great hidden.

And perhaps all who know the ecclesiastical doctrine, but live amiss, have given them to drink wine mingled with gall; but they who attribute to Christ untrue opinions, these filling a sponge with vinegar, put it upon the reed of Scripture, and put it to His mouth.

Hilarius of Poitiers

4th centuryChurch Father

Or, He gave up the ghost with a loud voice, in grief that He was not carrying the sins of all men.

From these words heretical spirits contend either that God the Word was entirely absorbed into the soul at the time it discharged the function of a soul in quickening the body; or that Christ could not have been born man, because the Divine Word dwelt in Him after the manner of a prophetical spirit. As though Jesus Christ was a man of ordinary soul and body, having His beginning then when He began to be man, and thus now deserted upon the withdrawal of the protection of God’s word cries out, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Or at least that the nature of the Word being transmuted into soul, Christ, who had depended in all things upon His Father’s support, now deserted and left to death, mourns over this desertion, and pleads with Him departing.

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But amidst these impious and feeble opinions, the faith of the Church imbued with Apostolic teaching does not sever Christ that He should be considered as Son of God and not as Son of Man. The complaint of His being deserted is the weakness of the dying man; the promise of Paradise is the kingdom of the living God. You have Him complaining that He is left to death, and thus He is Man; you have Him as He is dying declaring that He reigns in Paradise; and thus He is God. Wonder not then at the humility of these words, when you know the form of a servant, and see the offence of the cross.

Vinegar is wine, which has turned sour either from neglect, or the fault of the vessel. Wine is the honour of immortality, or virtue. When this then had been turned sour in Adam, He took and drunk it at the hands of the Gentiles. It is offered to Him on a reed and a spunge; that is, He took from the bodies of the Gentiles immortality spoiled and corrupted, and transfused in Himself into a mixture of immortality that in us which was spoiled.

Rabanus Maurus

9th centuryChurch Father

The soldiers misunderstanding the sound of the Lord’s words, foolishly looked for the coming of Elias. But God, whom the Saviour thus invoked in the Hebrew tongue, He had ever inseparably with Him.

Or, The Saviour said this as bearing about with Him our feelings, who when placed in dangers think ourselves forsaken by God. Human nature was forsaken by God because of its sins, and the Son of God becoming our Advocate laments the misery of those whose guilt He took upon Himf; there in shewing how they who sin ought to mourn, when He who never sinned did thus mourn.

Remigius of Auxerre

9th centuryChurch Father

Or otherwise; The Jews as degenerating from the wine of the Patriarchs and Prophets were vinegar; they had deceitful hearts, like to the winding holes and hollows in spunge. By the reed, Sacred Scripture is denoted, which was fulfilled in this action; for as we call that which the tongue utters, the Hebrew tongue, or the Greek tongue, for example; so the writing, or letters which the seed produces, we may call a reed.

Philaret (Gumilevski)

19th centuryChurch Father

Death remains an enigma. Where can one observe it without experiencing deep reverence? Moreover, is the death of the God-Man, Jesus, not deserving of that same reverence? In a humble acknowledgment of our thoughts and emotions, let us approach the profound reality of His death. With a loud voice, Jesus declared, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46), and after bowing His head, He yielded His spirit (John 19:30). Simple words, but they invoke deep reflections. Jesus spoke with authority; this occurred after He had proclaimed to heaven and earth, “It is finished.” It is only when every task on earth was completed that the suffering Redeemer willingly surrendered His spirit to the Father.

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The Evangelists affirm that after crying out with a great voice (Luke 23:46; Mark 15:37), He expressed His final thoughts. A strong voice from one facing death signals that the individual dies not merely in resignation, but with complete volition, dominating over the harsh reality of death with a strength beyond human capacity. Witnessing this, the centurion was compelled to exclaim, “Truly this man was the Son of God” (Mark 15:39). In His final moments, Jesus spoke to the Father, drawing parallels to his earlier declarations of divine sonship, as He had done in His youth, stating His place in the Father’s household (Luke 2:49), and during His ministry, admonishing those who profaned His Father’s house (John 2:16). Even in death, He maintained an acute awareness of His divine mission. He had come from the Father and was returning to Him, offering comfort to His disciples in their final discourse (John 16:28). His declaration, “I commit my spirit,” was likely intended to impart some faint yet real solace to grieving believers. Previously, He had stated: “I lay down my life for myself; I have the power to lay it down and the authority to take it up again” (John 10:18). In the moment of His death, He relinquished the divine authority over life and death. By His own volition, He executed the will of His heavenly Father on earth: He willingly accepted the shameful suffering for humanity. Having faithfully fulfilled the Father’s purpose, He calmly entrusted His life back to Him as a sign of obedience. He died freely, knowing all had been accomplished in accordance with the Father’s plan (John 19:28). “Into your hands I commit my spirit” conveys a surrender to the Father’s authority and protection, a temporary separation until His spirit would reunite with His body once more. In doing so, Jesus entrusted His spirit like a traveler who safely leaves belongings with a trusted companion, assured that they will remain safe until reclaimed. Likewise, the Lord Jesus entrusted His spirit to the Father, united in purpose and will. When He desires, He will take up life again; nothing will confine Him to the grave—not the malice of humanity nor the darkness of hell. While the faithful, such as the first martyr Stephen, also entrust their spirits to God (Acts 7:59), their surrender carries a different essence. Humans submit their spirits to avoid condemnation for inevitable sins, a concern that can weigh heavily on the righteous before the ultimate truth of God. However, Christ Jesus was immaculate and free from any transgression against His Father’s commandments. Thus, He yielded His spirit in utter tranquility, untouched by despair. The apostle Peter attests that Christ, who was killed in the flesh, remained alive in the spirit and proclaimed to the imprisoned souls (1 Pet. 3:18, 19). The life He entrusted to the Father’s care penetrated even into the realm of death, awakening the spirits long held in the grave. Furthermore, His act of bowing His head signified His voluntary surrender (John 19:30). This moment further demonstrates His dominion over death. Most would bow their heads only after yielding their spirit, yet Christ, filled with vibrant life and power, bowed His head before releasing His spirit. This bowing symbolized submission, not to the cruelty of death, but to the will of His heavenly Father—His Divine Purpose. What majesty resides in that moment of death! As Saint Augustine writes, “Who falls asleep when he wills, as Jesus dies at His own command? Who casts off his garments at his own whim as He discards His flesh?” How remarkable is the manner of our Savior's death! He died at the ninth hour on the 14th of Nisan, which corresponds to noon by our reckoning—precisely when the Passover lamb was sacrificed according to the law. His timing of death unequivocally identified Him as the Lamb of God offered for the sins of humanity. Indeed, there is much in the death of our Savior that remains extraordinary and beyond human comprehension. Yet, can we grasp what it means to die in peace? He completed everything the heavenly Father ordained for Him while on earth, and He did so in perfect repose. Should we believe we will find peace in death and eternity by other means? We must live not for ourselves but for God's glory. The Son glorifies the Father, and the servant reveres his master. “If I am the Father, where is my glory? If I am Lord, where is my fear?” (Malachi 1:6) Thus speaks the Lord of heaven and earth to us with sorrow. The divine will has precisely outlined what is expected of us on earth, defining our relationships with God, ourselves, and one another—guiding us toward eternity. Is this guidance in vain? The day will come when our bodies return to dust, and our spirits will return to God, who bestowed them. What will the soul's encounter with the Lord be like if its earthly existence was marked by forgetfulness of Him? “Amen, amen, I say unto you, If any man keep My word, he shall never see death” (John 8:51). Spiritual death awaits those who disregard His commandments. What a tragic scene will confront the sinful soul when faced with death and eternity! In the rush of earthly life, amidst myriad distractions, even the most attentive may overlook significant truths. Yet, once the ties binding the sinful soul to this world are severed, it will be left to grapple with its own actions and the profound reality of God’s judgment. Ah! One who has not lived as a faithful follower of Christ cannot find peace in death. Will the conscience remain silent at death’s threshold if it was disregarded during life's healthier moments? How can the soul embrace the solace of prayer in death’s hours if it was a stranger to prayer in life? How might it find comfort in confronting death through a faith that has been neglected throughout its journey? It is essential to align our lives with God’s will to prepare for a tranquil death and an everlasting legacy. Parents, do not shy away from the heavenly calling placed upon you. If you neglect to raise your children in the fear of God, how will you face the Father in heaven? He will hold you accountable for the souls entrusted to your care. Young people, cherish your youth in service to the Lord; it will be grievous for you posthumously if your formative years are squandered in wickedness instead of cultivated in virtue. Servants and employers, heed God’s will as laid out for you: servants must serve their masters with sincerity and honesty, while masters must nurture their servants' hearts, remembering there is a Lord above all. Let each of us earnestly fulfill the work assigned by God. Thus, with trust in the Lord Jesus, our faithful Intercessor, we shall embrace eternal rest. Amen.

Apollinarius of Laodicea

4th centuryTeacher of the Church

This marks the initiation of the passage of souls into the presence of God. Those who follow Christ ascend to heaven, as demonstrated by Stephen when he proclaimed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit’ (Acts 7:59), and by Paul when he expressed, ‘It is better to be resolved and be with Christ’ (Phil. 1:23). In contrast, the Old Testament indicated that the souls of the deceased were to return to their own kin. Souls were once believed to descend, but the Lord transformed this descent into an ascent through His divine power.

Abbot Panteleimon about the Trinity

19th centuryCommentator

After taking a refreshing drink, Jesus again called out with a loud voice, “It is finished! Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit....” At these sacred words, His head fell, as is customary for those who are dying, and He surrendered His Spirit.... Thus concluded a life unlike any other that has ever been or will ever be on earth. The mission for the salvation of the world was fulfilled. Everything anticipated, promised, foretold, and envisioned by the patriarchs and prophets of the Old Testament came to fruition. This powerful declaration from the Lord, “It has been accomplished!” (John 19:30), is the pronouncement of the victorious Conqueror over death and hell: “I have ... accomplished the work which You have given Me to do” (John 17:4).

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The will of the heavenly Father has been realized: the cross of the Son of God has brought salvation to the world, the Old Covenant has concluded, and the New Covenant has been unveiled. Having completed His obedience, the Son of God, who remained faithful to His Father’s will even to the death of the cross, bows His head and entrusts His spirit to God the Father as an act of submission. He declared, “I have the authority to lay it down” (His life) “and I have the authority to take it again”.... “But I lay it down of My own accord” (John 10:18). He cried out to demonstrate that it was done according to His desire. The Evangelist Mark recounts, “Pilate marveled that He had already died” (Mark 15:44), while “the centurion, particularly because he believed that Jesus died with signs of authority” (St John Chrysostom). Glory to Your humility, O Lord! Glory to Your unfathomable love...!

Gladkow B.I.

19th centuryCommentator

The soldiers offered Him a sponge soaked in vinegar on a branch of hyssop. After Jesus had satisfied His thirst, He proclaimed, ‘It is finished!’ (John 19:30). The death of Jesus signifies the conclusion of His earthly mission as the Messiah, and the redemption plan designed by the Father has been fulfilled. Subsequently, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit’ (Luke 23:46). With His head bowed, He surrendered His spirit and passed away.

Lopuchin A.P.

19th centuryCommentator

The conclusion of the Son of God’s suffering was imminent. As He sensed death drawing near, He shouted with a powerful voice: ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!’ Then, with one final exertion, He declared the words: ‘It is finished,’ and immediately surrendered His spirit, His head dropping lifelessly against His chest. Thus concluded the earthly existence of the God-man who had come to rescue humanity. To redeem fallen humanity from the original curse and death, He willingly bore the immense weight of the world's sins upon Himself, and to atone for them, He underwent all possible physical and moral trials that one may endure.

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The profound depth of His moral anguish is accentuated by the fact that He faced these sufferings from the very people whom God had nurtured and cherished as His chosen and beloved ones for millennia, the individuals on whom the hopes for the future relied, serving as a beacon amidst profound spiritual and moral darkness.

A noteworthy aspect highlights the physiological reason for Christ’s death: He died on the cross before the criminals beside Him, eliminating the need for the Romans to resort to their brutal practice of breaking the legs of the crucified. Typically, death could linger on the cross for two to three days, yet Christ passed from this life in just six hours (from 3 to 9) after being affixed to the cross. This occurrence, particularly notable since He was in peak health throughout His life, seemed extraordinary to early Christians and was attributed to a miraculous cause. However, there was also an immediate reason behind His quick demise. When the soldier pierced His side to confirm His death, blood and water flowed from the wound, strongly suggesting that the immediate cause of His death was a rupture of the heart, resulting from overwhelming mental distress. It is well known that extreme joy or sorrow can lead to the tearing of heart tissue, causing blood to fill the pericardium, the cavity surrounding the heart. Typically, this condition is identified only through post-mortem examination, but in Christ’s case, the soldier's spear thrust clearly indicated it.

It is a common occurrence for a person dying from a ruptured heart to abruptly clutch their chest and emit a sharp, agonizing cry. Although the Savior could not raise His hand due to His hands being nailed, the Evangelists distinctly recount His last loud cry, followed by immediate death. Thus, the Savior of the world literally succumbed to a broken heart. This infinitely loving heart could not withstand the painful ignorance of those who, in their furious rage, did not recognize the enormity of their actions. It could not bear the unfathomable insanity that prompted humanity to subject the One who came to liberate them from death’s grasp, to rescue them from the destructive power of hell, and to guide them toward everlasting life and eternal happiness, to the most brutal tortures of demise.

Michail (Lusin)

19th centuryCommentator

He cried out with a loud voice: “It is finished” (John 19:30) and “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit” (Luke 23:46). When He “gave up the spirit,” it meant He had passed away. This occurred around the ninth hour (Matthew 27:46), after having been crucified approximately at six o'clock; thus, He remained on the cross for about three hours. Typically, those who were crucified could survive for several days, yet the Lord's swift departure shocked even Pilate (Mark 15:14). This rapid demise can be attributed to the immense agony He suffered beforehand, which so drained His strength that He was unable to carry His own cross.

Cross references

Passages read together with this verse.

The original text

Greek text, 10 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.

  1. Ὁ
    ho
    the
    G3588 · ὁ
  2. δὲ
    de
    but
    G1161 · δέ
  3. Ἰησοῦς
    iēsous
    Jesus
    G2424 · Ἰησοῦς
  4. πάλιν
    palin
    again
    G3825 · πάλιν
  5. κράξας
    kraxas
    I cry aloud
    G2896 · κράζω
  6. φωνῇ
    phōnē
    a sound
    G5456 · φωνή
  7. μεγάλῃ
    megalē
    large
    G3173 · μέγας
  8. ἀφῆκεν
    aphēken
    I send away
    G863 · ἀφίημι
  9. τὸ
    to
    the
    G3588 · ὁ
  10. πνεῦμα
    pneuma
    wind
    G4151 · πνεῦμα