The Word Of Contentment Series

THE WORD OF CONTENTMENT

"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 his spirit."

Luke 23:46

These words set before us the last words of the Saviour before He died. It is words of contentment, of faith, and of confidence.

"Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit." This was the last utterance of the Savior before He died. While he hung upon the cross, seven times his lips moved in speech. Seven is the number of completeness or perfection. Seven is also the number of rest in a finished work: in six days God made heaven and earth and in the seventh day He rested, contemplating with satisfaction that which he had pronounced "very good". So here with Christ: a work had been given him to do, and that work was now done. Just as the sixth day brought the work of creation to a completion, so the sixth utterance of the Saviour was "It is finished." And just as the seventh day was the day of rest and satisfaction, so the seventh utterance of the Saviour brings him to the place of rest - the Father’s hands.

I. I find in these last words His priority

As the Lord Jesus Christ hangs on that old rugged cross, He makes great use of the Scriptures. The scriptures were a priority in His life.

See Psalm 31:1-5. Psalm 31 formed a part of the evening devotions of pious Jews. It brought comfort to them before they closed their eyes in sleep. There is nothing like the words of the Bible to give comfort and confidence in the time of

There is no language like the language of the Bible, whether in life or . There are many good books in the world but they are irrelevant in the hour of . The Lord knew exactly where to go for words when He was about to pass over.

A. He’s Pondered The Scriptures!

The Scriptures were a great source of strength and satisfaction to the Son of God. He made continual reference to them in his life as well as his . The Word of God was food to him. The Word of God was weapon against the Devil. The eternal Son of God lived and died pondering the written Word of God. His speech was floured with the Word of God. He spent time pondering the Scriptures.

“I thrist” was said after He recognized that Psalm 69:21 was not fulfilled. The written word formed His thoughts, filled His heart, and fixed His ways.

The incarnate Word lived and died pondering the inspired Word of God. It was His constant practice to refer to the Scriptures. “Have ye not read” came from His lips so often why he walked upon this earth.

B. He’s Proved The Scriptures!

Do you know a book that you are willing to put under your head for a pillow when you are dying? That is the same book you want to study when you are living. There is only one such book in the world.

Jesus is proving the scriptures are worthy of our mediation even when comes

C. He’s Preached The Scriptures!

He is testifying to the truth and power of the Scriptures. What Jesus is doing here on that old rugged cross even at the moment of is upholding the Bible’s infallibility. He is in effect saying, listen, listen; the Bible is God’s infallible Word, the only rule of faith and practice.

Those who make the Word of God their strength and stay in life will find it so in .

Quote Psalm 1.

II. I find in these last words His singularity

There is none like Jesus. The Lord Jesus died as none other ever did. His life was not taken from him; he laid it down of himself. This was his claim: "Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again" (John 10:17, 18).

The most convincing evidence of this was seen in the committal of His spirit into the hands of the Father. The Lord Jesus himself said, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit," but the Holy Spirit, in describing the actual laying down of his life, describes it differently in Matthew.

In Matthew 27:50 we read, "Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up his spirit." Jesus literally dismissed or sent away his spirit. This expression is very appropriate for Matthew, the kingly gospel, who presented our Lord as “The Son of David; the King of the Jews". For the Lord to yield, dismiss, or send away his spirit is beautifully suited in Matthew’s royal gospel, for the Lord’s dismissing and sending away denotes one of authority, as of a king dismissing a servant.