Gracious God our Father: I ask in Jesus’ Name that You order my steps in Your Word; that You temper my temperament as I teach the Text; and that You pace my passion as I pull and project powerful principles from the Preaching Passage. So let it be done. So let it be done.
I do recognize these distinguished Pulpitarians, who are by calling ‘Paramedics of the Paranormal.’ I certainly acknowledge the presence and presentations of this ‘Holy Host of Heaven,’ whom I trust are cognizant of the premise that You are to be “A Principled People Powered By Purpose.” And lastly, I want to verbalize my gratitude to President Smith who with love Supplicated, Screened and Submitted my name to address this body.
We have converged on this corner to celebrate with admiration, awe and allelujahs the finished work of Christ our Lord on the Cross of Calvary. So, WE NEED TO TALK!
My assigned task is to treat with exegetical integrity and hermeneutical honesty the Seventh and Final Saying of the Savior from the Cross. That Word is penned by Luke in the Twenty-Third Chapter of His Gospel Narrative: Luke 23:46. In the KJV it reads:
"And when Jesus had cried with a Loud voice, He said, Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit: and having said thus, He gave up the ghost.”
Permit me to juxtapose my translation of the Greek Text along side the KJV:
“And after Jesus had cried out with a loud articulate voice, He said, Father, I Myself am committing My breath to the care of Your Keeping Hands. And having said this, He breathed out His breath.”
I want to use this ‘Preaching Moment to highlite this headline:
“WAITING TO EXHALE”
Perhaps no other subject fascinates us more than Death. The reason being, we have yet to die. Intuitively we know that death is an inevitable experience for all of us. And that fact is only altered by the condition of the Eschatological Return of Christ in mid-air to take His Church out before we die.
For various reasons the words of a dying man are always sacred. The Last Words of those whom we love seem to linger in our minds with infinite tenderness. We cherish their memory and treasure their influence, because they help to recall the face and form of the one who has gone.
No doubt, a few of us have had the life-changing experience of being at the bedside of a loved one or friend as he/she breathed out his/her last breath. And I’m persuaded that, if not consciously then subconsciously, we have pondered ‘What was really Going On Mentally, Emotionally, Physically and Spiritually Underneath The Skin of the Dying One? Their Last Words provoked us to think about such issues as:
What did they feel before death?
What thoughts did they think?
How severe was the pain, or if they were in any pain?
Were evil spirits active taunting, teasing or tempting them before death?
What did they see before their eyes were closed to this world?
Did their life really flash before their eyes?
What did they hear?
Now I don’t want to mislead you into thinking this message shall answer any of those questions. Because factually I don’t know and you don’t actually know what went on underneath their skin in those final moments before they died. But, on the other hand, there is some insight, some enlightenment into the veil of secrecy that drapes over the death-experience. Because right here in our Text is revealed in a measure What Went On Underneath The Skin of the Representative of Mankind in the Person of the Suffering Savior Before He Breathed Out His Last Breath. And if we would hush our hearts and still our suspicions for a few minutes, perhaps the Holy Spirit just might answer some of our questions.
For we do know that Before Jesus Voiced-Out His Last Saying and Breathed-Out His Last Breath that HE EXHALED HIS LAST CRY. So then, we can safely conclude that Before the Savior SPOKE OUT and BREATHED OUT, HE CRIED OUT! So, I submit to us that:
I. Firstly, While Waiting To Exhale, JESUS CRIED OUT!!!
Now, in and of itself, TO CRY-OUT in Death is Not Extremely Unusual. Because MANY FOLK HAVE CRIED OUT IN DEATH. Millions have Cried-Out as a result of Unbearable Pain. “The Pains of Death got hold” of them as a Boa-Constrictor slowly and methodically squeezes the life out of its helpless victim. The more they struggle against its death-grip, the more intensified becomes the pressure until they Cried-Out In Pain! Countless millions have Cried-Out in Regret. Looking back retrospectively over a wasted life, they have bemoaned the unalterable fact that so many opportunities were missed for Service, Sacrifice, Success, Salvific Sharing and a Servant’s Stance. And so, They Cried-Out in Regret! And still millions more have Cried-Out in Misery for Mercy. The Misery of a Christ-less Past, a Help-less Present and a Hope-less Future provokes the Cry for Mercy in their Misery! So, in and of itself, To Cry-Out in Death is Not Extremely Unusual because Many Folk Have Cried Out in Death.
So then, we must ask: ‘What distinguishes this Cry of the Christ of God from the rest of the sons of men?’ I believe you will see the Unusualness of it when you view it in the light of the Archeological Announcement. Isaiah 42:2 contains the Ancient Announcement that seems to be in tension and conflict with the Actual Assertion. For that Isaiahan passage fore-announced that: “He shall Not Cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be Heard in the street.” But juxtaposed to that announcement Luke says: “And when He Had Cried with a Loud Voice….” So then, the Archeological Announcement and the Actual Assertion seem to suggest that there is Something Extremely Unusual about This Cry of Jesus.
Jesus had cried previously with a loud voice saying, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” That statement also seems to contradict the Archeological Announcement of Isaiah 42:2. So then, Jesus Cried Out with a Loud Voice, not Once, but Twice from the Cross. At Three o’clock, the Cry of Desolation-”My God, My God, Why…?” had rung thru the darkness and had invoked the great God of heaven. But “Eli, Eli” had never been used by Jesus before. It was a thought He could not bring Himself to say, for in life He only said “Abba, Father.”
In that darkness which symbolized the alienation and separation of sin from the presence of God, Jesus had lost the comfort of His Father’s Presence. And so, feeling sin’s alienation, “My God, My God, Why?” was the Cry of Separation, Desolation and Pain. David wrote in one place: “Thou hidest Thy face; they are troubled.” The Son of Man had felt as though the sin of the world had shut Him off from access to God, and that feeling had grown until the loss of His Father’s Presence was more than He could bear. So in the darkness of that Ninth Hour Jesus Cried Out: “My God, My God, Why hast Thou forsaken Me?”
But the hours of darkness finally passed and the storm of sorrow had spent its force. And in that Ninth Hour of Darkness Jesus was conscious of the returning assurance of the love and favor of God as He knew that His work was finished. And so, He Cries-Out Yet Again. But this Cry is the CRY OF VICTORY. JESUS SHOUTS FOR JOY! HE CRIES OUT IN CELEBRATION! The writer of the Book of Hebrews picked up on this and he wrote: “Who for the Joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame …”
So, in the streets of Jerusalem, this Cry of Joy, this Shout of Victory rung out in that Ninth Hour of Darkness. IN DEATH OUR LORD SHOUTED FOR JOY. IN DEATH OUR LORD CRIED OUT IN VICTORY! WHILE WAITING TO EXHALE, JESUS SHOUTED!
And I think I need to tell you that after He Cried Out, Luke says that While Waiting To Exhale:
II. The Second Thing Jesus Did Was HE SPOKE OUT!
Jesus said: “FATHER, INTO THY HANDS I COMMEND MY SPIRIT.”
While Waiting to Exhale Jesus said, “Father.” It was just as fitting He Who would not use the word Mother in addressing Mary should use the word Father in His final address to God. This last saying before He died is marked by the same strong tacit contrast which was part of the first recorded utterance of His childhood: “Did ye not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” It proves that His ruling motive in life was His master passion in death: He had always sought to orientate all His thoughts in obedience to His Father, and His final thoughts had found their focus in the Father’s tender mercy.
He had come forth from the Father’s presence into a world that was cold and hostile. But the world had never dulled the certainty of His fellowship with the Father. The voice of God had, on two occasions, confirmed His true status by saying: “Thou art My Beloved Son; In Thee I am well pleased.” It was therefore perfectly natural for Him to turn to God as His Father; and it was right that He should die, as He had lived, with That Name on His Lips.
Father lit up His approach to the valley of the shadow of death.
Father restored the consciousness of the favor and love of God.
Father spoke of the tie that bound their hearts together in eternal oneness.
Father breathed a sense of peace which would transform the hour of death.
“Into Thy Hands.” The Hands of God suggest the idea of Perfect Safety. Jesus knew the Hands of Men to be Cruel and Wicked. Said Jesus: “The Son of Man shall be betrayed into the Hands of Men and they shall kill Him.” Said Jesus: “Behold, the Hand of Him that betrayeth Me is with Me on the table.” Said Jesus: “Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is betrayed into the Hands of Sinners.” This was fulfilled when they came “and laid Hands on Jesus, and took Him.”
Jesus was in the Hands of Implacable Humanity from the moment of His arrest until He bowed His head to die. Peter summed it up in his Pentecostal Sermon when he said: “Him … ye have taken, and by Wicked Hands have crucified and slain.” CRUEL HANDS:
Staked the Savior, Crossed the Christ, Nailed the Nazarene, Pierced the Passover, Lacerated the Lamb, Strung-Up the Substitute.
CRUEL HANDS:
Raised the Righteous, Lifted the Liberator, Displayed the Deliverer, Manifested the Master.
CRUEL HANDS:
Penalized the Perfect, Punished the Pure, Damned the Dearest, Cursed the Cure, Executed the Elect, Axed the Advocate, Killed the King, Slew the Sovereign, Crucified the Christ!
Those hands had done their worst. They could do no more now that His work was finished. Therefore, as He had then surrendered His body into the Hands of Men, so he would now deliver His Spirit INTO THE HANDS OF GOD.
Jesus had now come to the point of death as a result of His will to atone for sin and to redeem sinners. The last item in that account had to be paid and this meant that He had to yield Himself to death. But He would not die as men die when they anticipate the darkness and despair of the unknown. He knew that in dying He would vanquish the power of death and would open the gates of the kingdom for the people of God. It was only thru death that He could destroy him that had the power of death, and could release those, who thru fear of death, had been subject to a life-long bondage.
This was why the light of victory was in His eyes and the shout of certainty on His lips at that supreme moment of His conflict with pain and death. Therefore His Last Word would be to Commit Himself into the Hands of God as an Almighty Guardian. Those Hands would be held out, as it were, to receive His soon passing spirit, even as the tender hands of loving parents may be held out to catch a child who is about to fall.
I submit that Jesus knew the Hands of God were a Place of Perfect Safety. For He had often taught that concept. He had likened Himself to the Shepherd who goes in search of the lost sheep; and when He finds it, he gathers it up in His Arms and lays it on His shoulder, and carries it home rejoicing. He had declared that He would lay down His life for the sheep and that they would never perish. Said Jesus: “My Father which gave them Me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s Hand.” No man could snatch the least of those sheep out of His Father’s Keeping, and He would place Himself in that Keeping with a sense of Perfect Security.
The Hands of Men were Rough and Cruel, but they could no longer lay hold on Him. He would resign Himself with the trust of a child into the Hands of God, for He knew that they were both Tried and Strong.
God had spoken of His Hands often when He had promised Safety to His people. He promised he would lay them in the Hollow of His Hand. He said He would Hide them in the Shadow of His Hand. He said His Hand was not shortened that it could not save. He promised to send His Hand from heaven to help in times of need.
So Jesus knew that those Hands were Safe yet Gentle. He knew those Hands were Soft yet Mighty. And He knew that He could trust Those Hands to bear Him up when the world of sense and time trembled and failed. And so, He said: “INTO THY HANDS.”
And looking at the Perfect Safety and Security of Those Awesome Hands, Jesus decided it was time for Him to Make His Final Deposit. For He had already left His peace with His people when He said: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you … let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” He had committed His Posse into the Keeping Hands of His Father when he prayed: “And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I am come to Thee. Holy Father, Keep thru Thine Own Name those whom Thou hast given Me … While I was with them … I kept them in Thy Name: those that Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost .. And now I come to Thee … that Thou shouldest Keep them from the evil.”
He had made arrangements for His Peace and His Posse. Then He took care of His Clothes; for His Raiment would fall to the care of the Roman soldiers, for underneath the Cross they gambled for His clothes. Then He made arrangements for His Mother; for He left her in the care of his favorite disciple. His Body would go to Joseph of Arimathaea. His Soul He would carry into Hades. So the only other item left was HIS SPIRIT, HIS BREATH. Therefore, Before he Exhaled His Last Breath, JESUS COMMITTED HIS BREATH to the Care of the Keeping Hands of His Father.
His words: “I Commend My Spirit,” were a sovereign assertion of His Power of Control. Other men sink into the clasp of death and their spirit returns to the God who gave it. But He did not die as other men, and life did not leave Him for just the same reason that it leaves them. It is true in a broad sense that no man dies until his hour has come. But the Son of Man could claim a Power of Control which was unique. One of the great reasons the Father loved Him was the fact that He would lay down His life in the sure and certain hope that He would take it again. Said Jesus: “No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself: I have power to lay it down, I have power to take it again.” Life could not fail until He gave His own deliberate consent. Death could not act until He willed that He should die. And so, when He got ready to die, HE Died!! JESUS FINALLY EXHALED!!
And so I submit to you that for 33 years, JESUS WAITED TO EXHALE. For after He had said that, He Gave up the Ghost; He Yielded up the Spirit; He Breathed Out His Last Breath; He Exhaled His Last Breath of Air!
Even though the Eternal Word was in the beginning with God and is God, yet that Word became flesh and dwelt among us as a Babe in Bethlehem when he took His first breath as Man on His way toward the place called Calvary in the dark hours of a December night 33 years prior to His arrival. From a manger thru the Jordan Trail via the Dolorosa, Jesus arrived there 33 years later one Thursday morning around 9 o’clock.
He had to pass thru many trying experiences and many satisfying encounters - BUT HE KEPT BREATHING! His life was threatened, His character was maligned, His work belittled - BUT HE KEPT BREATHING! He had been falsely accused, wrongfully arrested and brutalized by police - BUT HE KEPT BREATHING! He was unjustly tried, immorally condemned, badly beaten - BUT YONDER HE HANGS STILL BREATHING!
Spectators were looking, scoffers were railing, women were weeping, hecklers were mocking, soldiers were harassing, Simon of Africa was helping, the disciples were hiding, Satan was rejoicing, angels were wondering, and the Father had turned His face - BUT HE KEPT BREATHING! And when He got ready to die, JESUS EXHALED!
Jesus (Demonstrate Exhale) Breathed Out.
Something Happened when the Son of God Exhaled. When Life Itself Breathed Out His Last Breath, when Breathe Itself Breathed Its Last Breath, it caused a Phenomenon in Nature.
His Last Breath on its way to His Father’s hand caused the Light of the Sun to Go Out: the Sun was Darkened.
His Last Breath caused the Earth to go into Convulsions: the Rocks were torn apart; the Hill called Calvary Shook.
His Last Breath tore the Veil of the Temple!
Jesus Just Exhaled! (Demonstrate Slow Breathing.)
While Waiting To Exhale My Last Breath, I know what I am resolved to do. I’m gonna CRY OUT AND SPEAK OUT!
Since I have Inhaled God’s Goodness, I’ll Exhale His Glory.
I’ve Inhaled His Grace, I’ll Exhale My Gratitude.
I’ve Inhaled His Spirit, I’ll Exhale His Sovereignty.
I’ve Inhaled His Love, I’ll Exhale His Loving-Kindness.
I’ve Inhaled His Power, I’ll Exhale His Praise.
I’ve Inhaled His Holiness, I’ll Exhale His Hallelujah.
LET’S EXHALE!!! LET EVERYTHING THAT HAS BREATH, PRAISE THE LORD!
If You THINK, then You’ll THANK!!
If You INHALE, You’ll EXHALE!!!
