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“I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father” (John 10:17-18).
As a divine Person, the Lord Jesus did not only have power over the life and death of others; He had power over His own life. While on the cross, He did not die as others died from crucifixion. Others died from weakness and the inability to lift themselves up and take another breath. But just before He died, the Lord Jesus cried with a loud voice, and then voluntarily dismissed His spirit. No other human being could do that. People can commit suicide by various means, but none can dismiss their spirit by an act of will. That is why the centurion was so amazed when the Lord Jesus died. Doubtless he had seen others die from crucifixion, but none of them, at the point of death, had the strength to cry with a loud voice.
More than this, the Lord Jesus had the power to raise Himself from the dead. He had the power to take back his human spirit and rise from the dead. He did this on the third day, and in a calm and orderly way. He took the time to fold up the napkin that was about His head, and place it by itself. All of this was in keeping with His glory as the Son of God.
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