“FATHER INTO THY HANDS I COMMEND MY SPIRIT”

Adrian Rogers said that the only man made thing in heaven will be the scars in the hands, feet, and side of Jesus.  What better way to die than in the perfect hands of the Father and now for us, in Jesus.

The mouth that spoke as never a mere man spoke became silent. The heart that never beat except in love was stilled. JESUS DIED! But as we read in the Scriptures a moment ago, before He did in His seventh saying from the cross, He committed His spirit to God for safe-keeping. Now, was Jesus merely whistling in the dark? I mean, did it do any good for Him to say, “Father into THY hands I commit My Spirit.”

Well, the Resurrection gives us the answer. Because on the 3rd day, God raised Him Who was truly and really dead and now He lives forever and He offers us eternal life as well. So you see, because of the cross, death no longer terrifies us. Now we know that for Christians death is just a gateway to heaven. 

“IT IS FINISHED”

These THREE words in English were only ONE word in the original Greek and that word was, “TETELESTAI.” 

It means, “To bring to an end, to accomplish, to complete.” 

It was used in that day of a servant reporting back to his master.  In other words, what you gave me to do, I accomplished. 

It was used after running a race.  A person would cross the finish line and say, “It is finished.” 

It was most commonly used in paying bills. A bill would be stamped with that word meaning, "Paid in full.".

When Jesus uttered this, there was no precise subject for it.  The word “it” just kind of embodies the whole scope of redemption. 

One thing important to remember is, Jesus didn’t say, “I’m finished.”  It was not the end of Him but the beginning of a whole new chapter of life. It is the most triumphant cry in all of human history. 

It is in the perfect tense.  That is when something happened that still holds good.  Jesus cried out, “It is finished and it is forever finished.” In other words, “This work that I have done will hold good for eternity.” 

What was finished?

His suffering

His sacrifice

Jesus took my bankruptcy and covered it with His solvency.  Jesus didn’t just make the down payment and then make us make the installment payments the rest of our life.  Jesus paid it all. The wages of sin is death but Jesus paid the last cent of the wages of sin.

How do we know that the price was paid in full and that the Father accept it? We have self-satisfaction by self-substitution.  God satisfied Himself by substituting Himself.  I know that is complex but nevertheless true. The resurrection is the receipt for the payment…that God accepted it.  The father also accepted Jesus back in heaven.  

All of our sin is paid for.  Nobody needs to carry the guilt of sin.  We cannot add anything because it is paid in full.  All we do is believe, trust and rest in what he has done for us. In actuality I am stacking my eternal destiny on that one word. “TETELESTAI!” 

“I THIRST”

Jesus was enduring extreme dehydration.  It began in Gethsemane when Jesus in great anguish sweat drops of blood.

The Creator was on cross.  The One who made the rivers and oceans is thirsty.  The water of life is thirsty.

What does this tell us? What does it speak to us of?

The humanity of Jesus

We are tempted to forget or minimize His humanity.  He was the God-man. He fully entered into our world. He began His ministry fasting.  The Bread of life was fasting in the wilderness.  Then He ends His life thirsting.  The Bread of Life is hungry at the beginning and the Water of Life thirsty at the end.

The submission of Jesus

This shows Jesus submitting to the word and will of God.  He knew that all thing were accomplished.  But He said this to fulfill the Scripture. Psalm 69:21 (KJV) They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

The substitution of Jesus

He suffered with parched lips so we might be able to drink from the well of salvation. He suffered the raging fires of hell for us so that its fires might be quenched for us.  I think His physical thirst pictures our spiritual thirst and His death as the means of quenching that thirst.  Hell is a place of unquenchable thirst.  As Jesus thirsted there on the cross, He bore that for us so that we can drink forever of the well of salvation. 

The issue is not will we thirst.  We are all born into this world thirsty.  The question is, “How long will we thirst?”  The soul of man has an inexhaustible thirst. Only Jesus can quench this thirst. As He said to to woman at the well: If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again.

Jesus drank from the cup of death so that we could drink from the cup of life.  He drank the cup of wrath so that we could drink the cup of blessing.  Take a drink of living water now and you will enjoy it forever. The final invitation in the Bible is Revelation 22:17 (KJV) And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.   The only qualification is if you are thirsty.  Those who come to the One who was once thirsty, never ever have to thirst again.  

"MY God, My God why hast thou forsaken Me?"

In the garden, the first Adam forsook God. On the cross, the second Adam is forsaken by God to redeem for Himself the fallen sons of Adam.  However, this Father’s forsaking was not one of unfaithfulness but of justice and to accomplish a greater purpose.

Additionally, the second Adam took on the first Adam’s nakedness and shame so Adam’s fallen seed could one day be redeemed, and clothed in righteousness.

Jesus addressed God in this moment. He spoke to His Father three times from the Cross. Two of those times, Jesus called Him, “Father” but not this time. No, here Jesus calls Him “God.” It’s as if you were to walk up to your father and address Him as “Mister” rather than “Dad” or “Daddy.” So there IS a separation-an alienation here. God has forsaken-DESERTED-His Son.

Jesus said those words so that you wouldn’t have to. Jesus cried out, “My God, My God why have you forsaken me” so that those very words would never have to be spoken by you. And you know, I think this is the greatest thing about being a Christian-I am never forsaken by God. I am never alone. He is always with me. 

"Mother Behold Your Son"

"WOMAN BEHOLD THY SON…DISCIPLE BEHOLD THY MOTHER"

She who had delivered Him was being delivered by Him. The fruit of her womb becomes the Firstfruits of all creation.

How significant that the God-man hangs as a mediator between His heavenly Father and His earthly mother.  Mary’s eldest heir dies to make her one of the joint heirs with Christ.  Because the son died, the mother lives to become a daughter of the Father, who sent His Son to be the Savior.

Mary lost a son who died to save the lost.  Now while dying He gives His mother another son who will lead many lost to salvation.

As Christ fulfills His Levitical role as firstborn son to dispatch care for His mother, so John fulfills his role as a born again son in his care for the widow.  

Jesus' Words To The Dying Thief

"VERILY I SAY UNTO THEE, TODAY SHALT THOU BE WITH ME IN PARADISE"

The three crosses represent the state of all men: the unredeemed, the redeemed, and the Redeemer. The Savior, the saint, the sinner.

Just as there are two sides to every story, in this story there is two eternally different results.

How many people cried out for salvation at the scene of the cross? The answer may surprise you. Two. That’s not counting the centurion’s remarkable confession.  Two sinners’ prayers were offered that day from the two crosses on either side of the Savior.

In this account we have two robbers, two responses, and two results. The first demanded, Luke 23:39 (KJV) …If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. The second implored, Luke 23:42 (KJV) …Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.

The request, “Save yourself and us” was impossible to grant. How could Christ saved that wretched man if He first saved Himself from impending death? If He had come down from the cross he would have not been able to save anyone. What kind of Savior would He be?  Jesus could have temporarily saved him from death and he could have lived for a while but without his sins atoned for he would have eventually died in his sins. 

The repentant thief openly confessed Jesus as Lord. From his own three of death he pleads for life. He calls out in simple faith, “Remember me.”  This thief recognized that while the three men on Calvary shared a common punishment, there was one thing they did not have in common: the thieves were sinners dying for their own sins, while the man in the middle was the sinless One dying for the sins of others. "Lord remember me."  Before a person can be saved, he must realize his own sin and weakness. What could the dying thief do?  Arthur Pink explains, “He could not walk in the paths of righteousness, for there was a nail through either foot. He could not perform any good works, for there was a nail through either hand.  He could not turn over a new leaf and live a better life, for he was dying.” He could do nothing to be saved except confess his belief and plead with Jesus to remember him.

A prayer was answered, a divine pardon was granted, and a price was paid that even the thief’s terrible cross could not satisfy. In an instant, a common, worthless, condemned thief becomes a royal son of the Most High and is given a promise of eternal paradise. 

This man, for a moment of faith, was given more in an instant than he'd ever stolen. He was given eternal life. How can this be?  Because another Son hangs next to him. The only one who can take his place and bear his penalty at the same time. In an incredible display of unconditional love the thief dies with Christ and yet lives with Him.

"Father forgiven them." Part 4

And then a third thing I want to point out in the Greek here is that the word “forgive” also means “permit.” So Jesus was also saying, “Father, permit them; do not hinder them from doing this to Me.” 

Jesus petitions the Father to forgive them.  But who are they?

•        The Roman soldiers

•        The Religious leaders

•        The deserting disciples

•        The apathetic bystanders

•        The malicious mob

•        The entire fallen race of Adam (past, present, and future)

•        Perhaps He was praying for you!

"Father Forgive Them" Part 3

"Father forgive them" Part 3.

And another thing-the form of this Greek verb also indicates that Jesus prayed this prayer of intercession more than once. You see, this verb is in the imperfect tense which indicates repeated action in the past. In fact your Bible may translate verse 34 in this way, “But Jesus was SAYING, ‘Father, forgive…'” In other words Jesus prayed this prayer over and over again. So the Bible is saying that, when they arrived at the place of the skull, Jesus looked about and prayed, “Father, forgive them…” As the centurion crushed Him to the ground and tied His arms to the cross beam, He prayed, “Father, forgive them….” When the blunt spikes tore through each quivering palm, He prayed, “Father forgive them….” When they nailed His feet to the beam, Jesus prayed, “Father, Forgive them…” When they lifted that timber high and dropped it in the hole with a jolt that tore His flesh, Jesus prayed, “Father, Forgive them…” When the crowd cursed and reviled Him, He prayed, “Father, forgive them…” When the soldiers parted His garments and gambled for the seamless robe, He prayed, “Father, forgive them…” In fact, no one knows how many times that prayer pierced Heaven’s blue but Jesus prayed this prayer over and over again continuing to intercede for the transgressors.

And you know the truth is He STILL PRAYS this prayer for you and me.

Father Forgive Them Part 2

Luke 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do...

As blood flows from His wounds, forgiveness flows from His words.

The Greek verb here that we translate as “forgive” is a very rich word-it has several shades of meaning so we need to look closely if we are to understand every facet of Jesus’ prayer.

First off, the word “forgive” expressed the idea of letting go of a debt by not demanding its payment. Jesus was asking that our sin debt be forgiven. But you see, this could only be done by placing the obligation on another. So in His prayer for our forgiveness Jesus was asking that our sin be placed on Him. In short Jesus prayed, “Father forgive them by condemning Me.” As He hung there on the cross, Jesus did not ask that God IGNORE our sin. A righteous God could not do that. God could not simply say, “Let’s just forget about mankind’s sin and let bygones be bygones.” No-God’s searing holiness demanded an infinite penalty. Our sin had to be atoned for. There was a price to be paid-and only Jesus could pay it. And that’s what He was doing. Jesus was saying, “Father, let Me pay the price for their sin.”

"Father forgive them" Part 1

"FATHER FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO"

A Word of Prayer

Remarkably the last words of Jesus start with a prayer. His public ministry had opened with prayer (Luke 3:21 (KJV) Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened) and here we see it closing in prayer. He prayed during His baptism in water and now in the baptism of His suffering.

No longer might those hands minister to the sick for they are nailed to the cross; no longer may those feet carry Him on errands of mercy, for they are fastened to the cruel tree; no longer may Jesus engage in instructing Apostles, for they have forsaken him and fled-how does He occupy Himself? In the ministry of prayer!  What a lesson for us.

Jesus is praying for His tormentors and dying for them at the same time.

Isaiah 53:12 (KJV) ¹²  Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Prayer marked the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and prayer consumed His life and practice.