Cross Words, 8of9

~ More Words To His Father—Submission & Trust ~

Jesus Christ made seven gripping last statements while He was dying for our sins on the Cross of Calvary.  This is part of a Sunday series looking at the last words of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

The Passage (phrase 7)  ~  “Now it was about the sixth hour [noon], and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour [3:00 p.m.].  Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two.  And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit’.”  Having said this, He breathed His last.  So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, ‘Certainly this was a righteous Man!’” (Luke 23:44-47). 

Comments  ~  The New Testament writers agree that Jesus Christ committed his spirit into God the Father’s hand (none say simple that “He died” like they do regarding others).  We know from Scripture that from beginning to end Jesus Christ’s main concern was doing the will of the Father. 

Don’t Miss This  ~  (1) Jesus Christ knew that his time on earth was controlled by Himself and His Father.  The Messiah’s death was an act of His choice (John 10:17-18).  (2) The believer’s time on earth is also under control of the sovereign God.  Would you wish it any other way?  (3) Jesus died the same way He lived His life—as on offering placed in the Father’s hands.  (4) The believer’s life and death should be modeled after Christ.  (5) Jesus Christ’s death on the Cross was not the end but a change point in His relationship with God His Father.  He was immediately transported back from earth to be with His Father in heaven.  (6) The believer’s death is likewise not an end but a change point in the eternal life which they received at their point of salvation.  (7) Someone has put it this way, “Death for the believer is not the end of the road but rather a bend in the road.”  (8) At physical death all human beings are delivered to God either for safekeeping and endless joy or for judgment and never-ending punishment. 

the key question: “Who do you say that I am?” (Matthew 16:15). This is the most important question you will ever answer. If you do not answer it, or answer it incorrectly, you have made the biggest mistake anyone can make!

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

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