The Seventh Word

[0:00] From Luke chapter 23, verse 46, then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

[0:22] Now, this seems like a pretty simple and natural thing to do. You're at the end of your life, and you've lived for God, and here you are at your last breath, and you say, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

[0:42] It seems pretty simple, and for me, I looked at it and figured this is the natural thing to do. You're about to go on to what we call the next life, to be with God, into his presence.

[0:56] And this is actually taken from a prayer that the Jewish people would pray, I believe, every day in the evening. It's taken from Psalm 31. So I will turn to Psalm 31 and read that for you.

[1:08] So the first five verses. Psalm 31, verse 46, then Jesus, calling out with a prayer. In you, O Lord, do I take refuge. Let me never be put to shame.

[1:19] In your righteousness, deliver me. Incline your ear to me. Rescue me speedily. Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me.

[1:31] For you are my rock and my fortress, and for your name's sake, you lead me and guide me. You take me out of the net they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge.

[1:43] Into your hand I commit my spirit. You have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God. Now this is a prayer that they would pray because they would be the people of God, and they would be the people who would follow God the best that they know how, and their prayer was as such because people would be persecuting them.

[2:02] And it's been throughout the course of history, people have persecuted the Jewish people. And now here how Jesus is on the cross. He came to his own people, and they did not accept him.

[2:13] They did not receive him. And in fact, they crucified him. And Jesus is crying out to God as his refuge, as the God who is faithful, who will deliver him from his enemies, and he will restore him.

[2:29] And all these beautiful things. And in looking at this, this kind of flavors this last statement that Jesus says, I commit my spirit into your hands.

[2:40] And I wonder why does Jesus say that? Jesus, who was called the Son of God in his baptism in Luke chapter 3, everyone heard the voice of God so audibly when God said, this is my Son with whom I am well pleased.

[2:55] And Jesus, who his food was doing the will of God, and doing the will of God led him to this cross, this cross that brought much shame, where he was hung there completely naked with nails through his feet, through his hands.

[3:14] Throughout his ministry, he was showing to the people that he was the Son of God, the Messiah. And there he was crucified. And just lived through utter shame.

[3:28] And he is calling out to God and giving his spirit into this Father who, in his sovereignty, allowed this to happen.

[3:41] I remember once when I was in high school, I went skiing out for the first time. And it was the last time I skied. And I'll tell you why. I was just following some friends.

[3:53] And one of my good friends that I trusted at the time, he was a professional skier. He was very young, but he was very talented. And we were at the top of this black diamond ski hill.

[4:05] And I asked him, do you think I can do this? And he said, of course, this is easy. And so I went down. And that was my first time, I'm reminding you.

[4:16] I was down the whole hill. My skis were just pointed because that was the only thing I knew what to do. And I just went really, really fast. Almost died.

[4:27] Almost brought a few people with me. And my trust in this friend was completely severed. I did not trust him anymore. And looking at this text and looking at the story of Jesus going through this passion and going to the cross, I wonder how did he, in his very last words, give his spirit to God who allowed him to go through this.

[4:51] I think as Lisa read just earlier in Hebrews, we see that the joy that was set before Jesus, that was one of the things that led him to bear the cross and bear the pain and the suffering.

[5:04] And even the separation, as we see in Luke 23, in this very same context, we see that the sun, the light of the sun was completely stopped and there was darkness over the land for three hours.

[5:17] And now we see that Jesus, who is the light of the world, is separated from God. And he even asks the question, why have you forsaken me? And yet his last statement is that he gives his spirit into God's hands.

[5:31] So Jesus, right before he said this statement, the veil was torn. And this reveals two things to us, that Jesus, his identity and his mission, his identity that Jesus was the Lamb of God who was to come to save the people from their sins.

[5:50] And his mission was to be the priest, the priest that would intercede between the people, mankind who is so sinful and separated from God. And he would bring these people and usher them into the kingdom of God.

[6:04] And by separating this veil, he made the way for the people. And this is one of the things that really led Jesus to endure the pain and the suffering on the cross.

[6:17] And that also that with his priestly ministry, that he would offer sacrifice. And this sacrifice was himself. And Jesus dying on the cross was not the end of this story.

[6:31] In fact, let me read to you the words in Philippians chapter 2, starting at verse 5, or 6 rather.

[6:43] Who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God, a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

[7:02] Therefore God has exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

[7:19] Now this is a beautiful statement, and it kind of leads us from this statement that Jesus says that into the hands of his Father he commits his spirit, his person, so that he trusts God to the point where God exalts him to be the king that is above every other king on earth, the Lord of lords, and now the name that is above every name.

[7:45] And this is the invitation of Jesus today. If you don't know Jesus, he is one who trusted God the Father so much as to go through the suffering, and maybe you are going through suffering and pain, and Jesus endured it so that you can know the Father like he did, know him so well that even in the midst of his suffering, that God is still God, still enthroned, and that he has a purpose for it, and that his purpose for Jesus at that time was to be glorified, and for us is that we may know Jesus and that we may know God through Jesus, who is now the name above all names.

[8:24] And that was true then and is true today, and it will be true forever. I invite you to stand as a minute of silence for this word.

[8:41] Father, every morning when we wake, we ask that you would help us to commit ourselves into your hands for that day. Father, as we lay ourselves down at night to sleep, we ask that you would help us to commit ourselves into your hands.

[9:00] As we do simple or difficult things throughout the day, help us, Father, to remember Jesus and commit ourselves into your hands.

[9:12] At the hour of our death, deliver us from fear. Make us disciples of Jesus who are gripped by the gospel, living for your glory, and help us, Father, to commit ourselves into your hands.

[9:30] This we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Here.