I Entrust My Spirit

Then Jesus shouted, “Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!” And with those words he breathed his last. Luke 23:46

Indicative of His time on earth, Jesus’ last words were a prayer to His Father and a recitation of scripture from Psalm 31:5, “I entrust my spirit into your hand. Rescue me, Lord, for you are a faithful God.”

Jesus adds the endearing name “Father” to His version which expresses the beautiful love and trust He has for God even in this agonizing moment. The psalms are filled with prayers and praises to God for His infinite and unchanging love, power, wisdom, and rescue. Indeed, they are a powerful source for God’s truth in troubled times and is no wonder our Savior spoke them in His last words.

In his commentary Lawrence D. Richards writes,

“(This) psalm is a beautiful expression of unshakable confidence. It reminds us that, although Christ accepted death as the Father’s will, His suffering in no way threatened the loving bond of trust that existed between them. The words of that psalm, penned by David, remind us that even in the darkest of times God is our refuge too. Jesus’ willingness to suffer for us is unshakable proof that as He committed His spirit into the Father’s hands, so can we.”

It is Finished!

When Jesus had tasted it, he said, ‘It is finished!’ Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. -John 19:30 (NLT)

My father was the toughest man I’ve ever known. Not stern or hard to get to know or unloving. On the contrary, dad wore his heart on his sleeve, had a tender heart, and was always loving and affectionate. But dad had a threshold for pain that I will never understand. The guy was as tough as nails. No one could take a baseball bat to the chin (there were many baseball injuries), a knee to the thigh (there were many wrestling injuries), or a tablesaw to the hand (there were many construction injuries) like he could.

Dad was also a fighter. He fought through years of diabetes, heart attacks, a stroke, botched back surgeries, and ultimately liver failure in a way that defies logic. In his final days, dad held onto life longer than anyone could have ever imagined, surviving conditions to which most healthy people would have easily succumbed. The sheer grit and will of John Scribner in his final days in this world was a marvel to behold.

But in a distinct point in time, he died. In one moment he was alive; in the next moment he was not. I watched it happen. I’ll never forget that moment as long as I live.

He Died a Real Death

As unique as the story about my father’s life may be, the truth is there was nothing unique about his death. It was quite ordinary. So ordinary, in fact, you could say he died the same death we all die. Here one moment; gone the next. In an instant. Whether one suffers from a terminal disease for years or dies suddenly in a car accident, the death of one is the same as the other. Death is death.

In this regard, the death of Jesus Christ was no different. It was a normal human death. It was real. There was a specific moment in time where he was alive and then in the next his spirit departed from his body, just like with dad and just like (someday) you and me.

In all the ways that pertain to our salvation, Jesus Christ was both utterly unique and at the same time utterly ordinary.

If this were not true, it could not be argued he was fully human. As Gregory of Nyssa once said, “He who decided to share our humanity had to experience all that belongs to our nature.”

Human life is encompassed between a definite start and end. If he had experienced one without the other, he would have only half fulfilled his purpose.

His Redeeming Work Was Complete

It would be a mistake to think that when Christ said, “It is finished,” he only meant his earthly life. Yes, it meant that, but so much more. It meant the very purpose and mission for which he had come into the world, including all prophecy pointing toward this moment, had been completed.

What began in his baptism had come to its conclusion: His redeeming work for humanity.

In the words of Martin Luther:

By the departing word, ‘It is finished,’ Christ indicates that all scripture is fulfilled. He says in effect: World and devil have done as much to me as they were able to do, and I have suffered as much as was necessary for the salvation of men…and no one need argue something still remains to be fulfilled.

As Jesus, the spotless lamb of God, gave up his life for the sins of the world, his saving work was complete. On his cross, the saving act had decisively occurred. It was objectively done. It required no further sacrificial work on the part of the crucified Lord. The ransom for sin had been paid. The penalty for sin had been endured. The divine-human enmity was at an end. Redemption was sufficiently and perfectly accomplished.

It is forever finished.

He Saves to the Uttermost

Because his work on the cross is complete, you and I can be completely saved. In an instant. Right now!

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. -2 Cor. 5:21 (NLT)

The complete work of Jesus means you and I can be reconciled to God. Where once there was hostility, now there is peace. What Jesus accomplished objectively on a Roman cross 2,000 years ago for all humanity is subjectively available to you and me by faith in this moment. Nothing more needs to be done. We need only believe and receive.

But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. -Hebrews 10:12 (NLT)

He saves to the uttermost. The words of Gregory of Nazianzus, “A few drops of blood recreate the whole world,” echo in those of Luther, “The person is eternal and infinite, and even one little drop of his blood would have been enough to save the entire world,” and they can be experienced by you.

I invite you to let the him recreate you. Resolve now to trust in his sacrifice on your behalf and in your place. May it be said of your faith in his saving work, “It is finished.”

I Am Thirsty

Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips-John 19:28-29; NLT

We’ve all been thirsty before and we have all felt a longing for the satisfaction and refreshment that comes from a nice cool drink of water after a few hours in the scorching hot sun.

The rich man in Luke 16 who died without repenting, pleaded with Abraham for just a drop of water to cool his tongue, because he was being tortured in the flames. The Samaritan woman at the well who was able to give Jesus a drink, was unable to refresh her own soul with the living water that could only be provided to her by an encounter with Jesus, the true Living Water. Continue reading I Am Thirsty

When the Heavens Were Silent

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” -Mark 15:34; ESV

The ministry of Jesus began with his baptism, pointing toward his destiny with the cross. At the baptism the heavens were torn open, the Spirit descends as a dove and the Father speaks, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Mk 1:11).

In stark contrast as he hangs dying the heavens remain silent, closed, and dark.

No divine voice reassures him, only a centurion acknowledges his sonship (15:39).

The Elijah (i.e. John the Baptist; see 9:11-13) who inaugurated his ministry, does not come to save him (15:35-36).

The heavens aren’t torn, only the temple veil (15:38).

The One he called “Abba” just hours before (14:36), has forsaken him. Continue reading When the Heavens Were Silent

Here is Your Son

This is part 3 of our series going through Jesus’ 7 last words.  Catch up on part 1 and 2 as well.

“When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” And he said to this disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from then on this disciple took her into his home.”
-John 19:26-27 NLT

Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus led and loved by serving. He washed feet, fed thousands, walked to heal the sick and raise the dead. He stopped to touch and heal a sick woman and spent time with those no one else cared to spend time with. “Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25). Continue reading Here is Your Son