And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
English Standard Version (ESV)
What’s so striking here is the phrase "yielded up his spirit." This isn't about death overcoming Jesus; it's about Him dismissing His own life. It emphasizes that even in His suffering, His death was a voluntary act, a deliberate laying down of His life out of love for us, not a loss of control.
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Following a supernatural darkness that covered the land for three hours, Jesus uttered a final, loud cry. This cry, which signaled the completion of his atoning work and a voluntary surrender, was followed by his death, demonstrating that his life was given freely, not taken by force. This moment marks the culmination of his suffering and the decisive act of redemption described in the Gospels.
Did Jesus die because the pain was too much, or because He chose to?
The way Jesus' death is described isn't about being overcome by suffering. The original language suggests He 'dismissed' or 'gave up' His spirit, not that it was 'taken' from Him.
What did Jesus' final, loud cry reveal about His condition and identity?
The loud cry Jesus uttered just before yielding His spirit wasn't a sign of weakness, but of incredible strength and divine power.
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Understand the original words
pneuma · Greek Noun
The immaterial part of a human being that is the seat of life and personality. In the context of death, yielding it signifies the voluntary release of one's life force to God.
The text emphasizes Jesus' voluntary death, not as a victim of circumstances, but as the active Lord of His own life, deliberately laying it down as a sacrifice.
c. 30 AD— this verse
Jesus' Crucifixion and Death
Jesus is crucified at Golgotha, experiences supernatural darkness, and cries out before commending his spirit to the Father and dying.
c. 30 AD
Temple Veil Rents
Immediately after Jesus' death, the thick veil in the Jerusalem Temple, separating the Holy of Holies from the outer chambers, tears in two from top to bottom.
c. 30 AD
Earthquake and Rising of Saints
An earthquake shakes the land, and the tombs of many holy people open, with some rising and appearing in the city after Jesus' resurrection.
c. 30 AD
Roman Centurion's Confession
The Roman commander overseeing the crucifixion witnesses these events and confesses, 'Truly this was the Son of God!'
This passage directly echoes the sentiment found in Matthew 27:50, highlighting Jesus' voluntary 'laying down' of His life, not as something taken by force, but as a deliberate act of His own will.
Luke 23:46This verse provides the specific words Jesus spoke before yielding His spirit, 'Father, into your hands I commit my spirit,' underscoring the profound trust and control He held even in death.
Psalm 22:1The cry Jesus uttered before His death, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?', is a direct quote from this psalm, showing how His suffering was foretold and deeply rooted in the Old Testament narrative.
John 19:30John's Gospel records Jesus saying, 'It is finished,' just before yielding His spirit, connecting the finality of His cry in Matthew with the completion of His redemptive mission.
vincentMatthew 27:50: "Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost."
Yielded up the ghost (ἀφῆκε τὸ πνεῦμα)Lit., dismissed his spirit. Rev., yielded up his spirit. The fact that the evangelists, in describing our Lord's death, do not use the neuter verb, ἔθανεν, he died, but he breathed out his life (ἐξέπνευσε, Mark 15:37), he gave us his spirit (παρέδωκε τὸ πνεῦμα, John 19:30), seems to imply a voluntary yielding up of his life. Compare John 10:18. Augustine says…
henryMatthew 27:45-50: "Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour."
27:45-50 During the three hours which the darkness continued, Jesus was in agony, wrestling with the powers of darkness, and suffering his Father's displeasure against the sin of man, for which he was now making his soul an offering. Never were there three such hours since the day God created man upon the earth, never such a dark and awful scene; it was the turning point of that great affair, m…
What’s so striking here is the phrase "yielded up his spirit." This isn't about death overcoming Jesus; it's about Him dismissing His own life. It emphasizes that even in His suffering, His death was a voluntary act, a deliberate laying down of His life out of love for us, not a loss of control.
Following a supernatural darkness that covered the land for three hours, Jesus uttered a final, loud cry. This cry, which signaled the completion of his atoning work and a voluntary surrender, was followed by his death, demonstrating that his life was given freely, not taken by force. This moment marks the culmination of his suffering and the decisive act of redemption described in the Gospels.
Following a supernatural darkness that covered the land for three hours, Jesus uttered a final, loud cry. This cry, which signaled the completion of his atoning work and a voluntary surrender, was followed by his death, demonstrating that his life was given freely, not taken by force. This moment marks the culmination of his suffering and the decisive act of redemption described in the Gospels.
"And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit." — What’s so striking here is the phrase "yielded up his spirit." This isn't about death overcoming Jesus; it's about Him dismissing His own life. It emphasizes that even in His suffering, His death w…
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Last reviewed October 2026