FAMOUS LAST WORDS: TRUST
For six brutal hours Jesus hung from the cross between heaven and earth. And during those six hours, He spoke seven times. Seven times He pushed up on the nail in His feet and with a grasp of breath He would speak words filled with such majesty and power and wisdom that nothing on earth can match them. For the past 6 weeks, we have quietly and humbly stood at the cross and listened as Jesus spoke His eternal words.
In the first sermon, we heard Jesus sound out God’s eternal forgiveness when He said, “Father, forgive them.”
In the second sermon we heard Jesus tell a dying thief that “today, you would be with Me in paradise.” What a sweet promise that must have been the ears of that dying thief.
Then in the third sermon, we heard Jesus speak to the whole family of believers when He said, ‘Behold your mother, and behold your son.”
In the fourth message, we heard what I believe may be among the most mystifying and profound words uttered from the cross when Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?”
I believe those words were spoken at that single eternal moment when God the Father laid upon His only Son the dark sins of the world. There is no other moment in human history that comes anywhere near matching the significance of that one single moment.
In His fifth words from the cross, Jesus simply said, “I thirst.”
He did not thirst for the temporal water of this world. He did not thirst to be relieved from the pain and trials of the cross. Jesus said, “I thirst” because he had a deep thirst to fulfill the great eternal purpose and plan of God. His great thirst was to make sure the prophetic word of God remained true and accurate even to the smallest detail.
Then last week, in His sixth statement from the cross, we heard Jesus speak the words that all of heaven rejoiced to hear when Jesus said, “It is finished.”
When Jesus said, “It is finished,” God’s eternal plan of redemption that He had set into motion before the foundation of the world was now complete.
The moment Jesus said, “It is finished,” eternal life became a reality for all who would choose to believe.
The moment Jesus said, “It is finished,” heaven rejoiced and hell trembled in fear and terror.
And now today, we come to Jesus seventh and final words from the cross. Of all the things He could have said, these are Jesus final words…
Luke 23:44 Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 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. NKJV
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
Famous last words…
The final words of a dying man can sometimes reveal the true nature of a man’s heart.
It is really interesting to read the final words of the rich and famous. And what is truly
remarkable about their final words is that most of them were absolutely clueless about eternity and to the fact that they would have to give an account of how they lived their lives.
Jesus final words from the cross are all about eternity and the importance of being prepared for eternity. In His final words from the cross, Jesus reveals both the heart of God and God’s purpose for how you are called to live your life.
In His final words from the cross, Jesus reveals several profound truths of what it means to be prepared for eternity.
Jesus famous last words, "Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit,' " tells us that eternity is for real and that it is vital that we be prepared for eternity and that we seek to make our lives count for eternity.
For example, Jesus could have used His last words to curse and condemn those at the cross who mocked and ridiculed Him.
He could have used His final words to curse God for His situation.
He could have used His final words to call upon heaven for deliverance.
But instead of cursing God and His circumstances, and instead of condemning those around Him at the cross, instead of demanding His deliverance, Jesus used His final last words to show us how we can trust God with our lives, and how important it is that we be prepared for that moment when we step into eternity.
I want to be prepared for that moment.
When you see Jesus final words through the eyes of God’s word, He is telling us how to end our lives for the glory of God.
From what I read in God’s word, of all that you will ever seek to do and accomplish with your life, there is nothing greater than for your life to bring glory and honor to God.
So a great question here that comes to us at this final moment from the cross is how do you want to end your life?
Let’s say you only have 10 years left to make your eternal mark for the kingdom of God, how are you going to do that?
When all is done in your life, what kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?
In His final words from the cross, Jesus shows us how to make that happen. He shows us how to end our lives in a way that will impact eternity.
There are several parts to Jesus final words and in every word of this prayer Jesus revealing how we can best live our lives for eternity.
FATHER
The first word of Jesus prayer is “Father” and I believe it is probably the most important word of this prayer. Consider this;
Before Jesus came, God was only known as the Lord God almighty, but not as God the
Father.
Before Jesus came, God was known as the Lord God who commanded obedience to the law, but not as God the Father.
Before Jesus came, God was only known as the almighty and all-knowing God of might and wrath, but not as the loving and forgiving God that Jesus called Father.
All of that changed when Jesus came.
When Jesus came, He showed the true picture of God as God the Father, a God of great love and compassion and mercy.
When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He told them begin their prayer by saying, “Our Father…”
From the parables, Jesus painted a picture of God as a loving Father who was desperately searching for His own.
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus described God as our Father in heaven who knew and understood our needs.
More than fifty times in the book of John, Jesus spoke of God as Father.
And now in His final moments, and with His final words, Jesus gave the world a perfect picture of the vast greatness of God’s love and that picture is the cross.
When you see the cross of Christ, you are looking at God’s show and tell picture of how much He loves you, and that is exactly why Jesus called Him Father.
This entire sermon series comes down to this one single profound truth. If this one single profound truth is the only thing you learn from this series, then this series would have been worth my every effort in preaching it.
It is vital to your future of how you live your life to understand what this means for us when Jesus called God, “Father” at this moment.
Picture if you can, all that is happening here. These are His final last words, and after all that He has endured, He raises His head one last time, and He looks into the eternity of heaven; He sees the holy throne room, and with a quiet still voice that thunders throughout heaven and cuts into the very heart of God, Jesus says, “Father.”
Please listen carefully and capture what is happening here.
I want you to see that…
It wasn’t the Roman solders who crucified Jesus although they had their part.
It wasn’t Pilate who crucified Jesus, although he had his part.
It wasn’t the religious leaders who crucified Jesus, although they had their part.
It wasn’t the crowd who crucified Jesus, although they had their part
None of these were fully responsible for what happened to Jesus although we would love to lay the blame on all of them.
They all had a part in Jesus crucifixion, but they were not the ones who were ultimately and fully responsible for what Jesus endured.
The real culprit of who crucified Jesus was God the Father
It was God the Father who sent Jesus to the cross
It was God the Father who personally placed the sins of the world upon His Son
Pilate could not have done that
The religious leaders could not have done that
The crowd could not have done that
But God could and that is exactly what He did.
As God the Father, He placed upon His only Son, the sins of the world and then He poured out upon Jesus, the full volume of His wrath that was meant for us.
And yet, knowing all of that, knowing exactly what God the Father did to Him, knowing the pain and suffering that God had caused Him to suffer, Jesus stills says "Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit,' "
Here’s the message that we must never forget.
It is impossible for us to fathom the depths of what Jesus endured and encountered at the cross, and yet from the cross, when Jesus said “Father,” He was telling us that God is worthy of our trust no matter how dark the situation appears to be.
In what appeared to be the worst moment that could ever be known, instead of cursing God, instead of blaming God, Jesus so trusted in what God the Father was doing, that in faith and in trust, He said, "Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit,' "
That’s the powerful, and profound message that we must never lose sight of; that God is worthy of our trust.
Jesus is saying here at this moment from the cross that no matter how fearful and dark it looks, God our Father is worthy of our trust and of our faith to believe.
Perhaps you have endured some very dark days, Jesus says God is worthy of your trust
Perhaps you face through suffering and loneliness, Jesus says God is worthy of your trust
Regardless of what you face, Jesus says to you, God is worthy of your trust, not just in the little things, but in everything that you face.
We live in a world filled with uncertainties that we cannot explain or understand. We live in a world filled danger and death and sufferings, but Jesus says to us from the cross, that above all things, God is worthy of our trust.
Let’s look at two powerful thoughts here.
First, there is Proverbs 3:5-7.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. NKJV
Jesus final words from the cross is all about trust and specifically about placing our full trust in God. When we look at the world and the evil that the world is experiencing, we wonder how can we trust God and then we look at the cross and we hear Jesus final words, “Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit,'
From the cross, Jesus demonstrated what it meant to trust in the Lord with all of your heart.
Trusting God with your life and with your future is the most profound truth that will ever learn and it is living by that truth that you will be able to greatly impact eternity and bring great glory to God.
Second, for those who would have the courage to trust in Him, for those who would believe in Him, God our Father has a way of taking the bad and bringing eternal good from it.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. NKJV
The cross of Christ is a perfect example of this.
From what seemed impossible at the cross God brought eternal salvation and turned what looked like an impossible disaster into great glory for His Name and kingdom.
This is why Jesus teaches us from the cross that we can trust God because He always knows what He is doing.
Nothing ever catches God by surprise. Nothing…
He sees every possibility and He is fully able to take all that happens to us and turn what looks impossible into great glory for His name and kingdom.
The key to seeing God take those terrible and dark moments of our lives and turn them into great glory for His kingdom involves two things;
First, this promise from Romans 8 is reserved only for those who love God and
Second, this promise is for reserved for those who are living their lives for the purpose and glory of God. Those two things are a must.
So in this powerful truth, Jesus tells us that regardless of all that we face and endure, we can trust God who is our Father in heaven.
YOUR HANDS
Next, Jesus said, “Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit,'
See the words, “Your hands.”
From the time of Jesus arrest in the garden to this moment on the cross, Jesus has been
in the hands of wicked and evil men.
By the hands of men, Jesus was beaten and whipped.
By the hands of men Jesus was forced to wear a crown of thorns.
By the hands of men, Jesus was nailed to the cross.
And yet, in this final moment, after all that God has allowed to happen to Him, Jesus still chooses to place His full trust in God the Father and prays, “Into your hands, I commit my Spirit.”
How important is it that to be in the hands of God?
Listen to how the Bible describes the hand of God.
In Joshua 24, we see the hand of God as a hand of great might and power.
In Psalm 19:1 we see that the heavens declare the glory of God’s handiwork.
In Isaiah 41:13, we see that God is one who holds our hand and helps us.
The one I really like comes from John 10:29 which says;
John 10:29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. NKJV
The point is this; Jesus is saying to us from the cross that if you are going to put your life, your future, your hopes and your dreams into the hands of anyone, place them in the hands of God the Father, because He is worthy of your trust.
I COMMIT
Jesus said, “Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit,'
The words, “I commit” means to deposit or to commit something for safe keeping that you hold in high value.
And in these words, we find another powerfully profound truth that guides us so that we can make our lives count for eternity.
You will always hold in high value what you are most fully committed to.
Jesus said, where your treasures are, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21)
Whatever it is that you value most in this life, that is what you will be most committed to. The question for you is, what or who holds the treasure key to my heart? What am I the most committed to with my life?
Throughout His life, Jesus was always fully committed to the will of the Father.
It was the will of God that drove Jesus to the cross, and Jesus fully obeyed God’s will because He held God’s will in high value and was fully committed to it.
So if you really want to impact eternity, then let today be the day that you begin trusting God and fully commit yourself to knowing and doing the purpose and will of God.
MY SPIRIT
Next, in His prayer, Jesus said, “Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit,'
He said, “My Spirit.”
Jesus did not say, “into your hands I commit my body.”
He did not say, “into your hands I commit my mind and understanding.”
Jesus said, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit,'
Again, we discover another very powerful truth here and that truth says, we are going to live and exist forever.
Our bodies will die, but there is within us a spirit that will endure forever somewhere and God’s word tells us very clearly there are only two destinations. The Bible tells us there is a real heaven and a real hell and what you do with your life in Jesus Christ will ultimately determine which of these two places you will spend eternity.
You will either spend eternity with Jesus Christ in His glorious kingdom of love and beauty, or you will spend eternity in a place called hell.
IN CLOSING
In closing, I ask that you consider these final thoughts regarding Jesus last moments on the cross.
I believe Jesus final moments and His final words on the cross can give us great insight as to how we can live our lives to impact eternity and bring great glory to God and His kingdom.
First, Jesus died in the same way that He lived, He died praying. If you desire for your life to impact eternity, then learn to live a life of prayer.
Second, Jesus died fully trusting in what God was doing.
He had endured the sufferings of the cross. He had endured the terrible darkness of being forsaken by God. And through it all, He continued to trust in God.
If you want to impact eternity, you must begin today to trust God and to know that God knows what He is doing and that He is worthy to be trusted.
Third, just as Jesus submitted Himself fully to the will of God, even so, we must also have a hunger and thirst in our souls to fulfill the divine will and purpose of God.
Again, if you want to impact eternity, then you must discover the will of God in your life and then you must trust that God knows what He is doing and that He will bring it to pass.
Fourth, if you desire to see the glory of Christ’s eternal Kingdom, you must first submit your Spirit to Him.
What that means is, you must fully and completely give Him your heart and all that is in your life. When Jesus prayed, Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit,' He was literally saying, I am giving to you all that I am and all that I have. And if Jesus did this from the cross, how much more so is it important for us to fully give our hearts and
future to the Lord?
The most important thing you have in your life is your spirit, and that’s what God wants from you and that is what Satan wants also.
You will give your heart and spirit to something. And you have to choose which one you are willing to give your heart too.
Today, you can pray with Jesus, “Father, into your hands, I commit to you my life, my future, my hopes and my dreams. I choose to fully trust in what you are doing in my life. I desire and hunger for your will and purpose to be fulfilled in my life. Father, allow my life to be used for your glory and kingdom so that I may have an impact on eternity that will honor you.”
