Here is another psalm that Jesus quoted from the cross "Into your hands I commit my spirit" (verse 5). Interestingly, Jesus does not finish the quote and ask for redemption from the cross. Certainly, the rest of the psalm captures the moment of the cross quite well. Jesus had never placed trust or hope in having a crowd of followers or in miracles on His own behalf- Jesus always found a refuge in God. It was that refuge that gave Jesus the strength to do the miracles that He did.
Jesus despairs at the worthless idols that find such a willing audience in our world. Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, Jesus overturns the Temple's idols of wealth and power, Jesus is executed on a symbol of shame and rejection. And for the moment, it seems that God has handed Jesus over to the cross of shame and the power of Jesus' enemies. Yet in that moment on the cross, when Jesus forced out the words "Into your hands, I commit my spirit," Jesus subverted the power of the day. Jesus' Kingdom was not hampered by the cross, it was defined in the cross. It is why each of us may come to the cross- not to bask in the violence in it but to see the world-transforming power of it.
It is a strange thing to say that we have found refuge in the cross. The cross does not seem like a place to hide. It seems like something to hide from. But we have no fear of evil or suffering, because we know that Jesus has been there and invites us into a Kingdom where eventually suffering will be finished. Amen.
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