Go to:
Home Page
Worship
Nurture
Outreach
Colombia Project,
Sermons
Calendar
Committees
Links
Photo Albums,
What's New?
Questions/Comments
Last updated on
March 28, 2005
The Commitment of Christ
Delivered March 20, 2005
by Pastor Werner De Jong
Text: Luke 23:44-46
Main Idea: Jesus' final word from the cross reveals the depth of his trust and commitment to his Father. As his followers we are called to the same life of radical trust and commitment.
Purpose: To encourage the listeners that God loves them and is absolutely trustworthy and dependable. To challenge the listeners therefore to commit their lives fully to Jesus Christ.
Introduction: The Final Word from the Cross:
What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? There is no better time to ask that question than during Holy Week, as we consider the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord. Today, of course, we are considering the cross. The gospel of Luke records the final words which Jesus spoke from the cross before he died: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" (23:46). It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of this short but beautiful prayer. For it reveals the depth of our Lord's trust and commitment to his Father. If we are serious about following Jesus in life, we could hardly do better than to study this prayer. For it encapsulates so much of his relationship to his Father. It reveals in a warm, tender way, the secret of Jesus' life–his childlike trust in the loving care of his Father. It seems terribly strange and out of place to speak about warm and tender words falling from the mouth of someone unjustly hanging on a cold, cruel cross. We would expect to hear cursing instead. But that only makes Jesus' precious prayer of commitment all the more remarkable: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." In the midst of excruciating physical pain Jesus did not forget his Father. He talked to him constantly in life, and in death he continued to depend on his goodness and love. What does it mean to follow this Jesus?
The final prayer Jesus prayed from the cross is actually a quotation of Psalm 31:5.The beautiful thing about it is that Jewish mothers taught their children to pray this prayer every night before they fell asleep. Before the threatening dark descended upon them, they would say, "Into your hands I commit my Spirit." Jesus added to this prayer one word, the word "Father." What a wonderful addition, speaking of the intimacy we can have with God. We can lay down and sleep at night knowing that our good heavenly Father is in charge of all things. William Barclay put it so well when he wrote that "even on a cross Jesus died like a child falling asleep in his Father's arms." There cannot be a greater expression of trust than that. To trust God when all goes well is one thing, but Jesus trusted God in his tortured state, as his very life-blood drained out of him. What does it mean to follow this Jesus?
This prayer not only reveals the spirit of humility which lived in our Lord, that he would completely and absolutely commit himself to the Father. It also reveals his remarkable love for us. We see this most clearly when we consider the content of his prayer. We might expect him to pray for a miraculous escape, or for a divine Aspirin to numb the pain. But Jesus' prayer from the cross was not for personal relief. Rather, he simply entrusted his spirit to God, and recommitted himself to his Father's will, for in love he accepted that he had to die in order that we might live. To his dying breath our Lord wanted nothing more than to commit himself without reservation into his Father's hands, as an obedient Son, and for our sake. In this way he died in the same way in which he lived, trusting his Father, and intent to honour him always and in all things by obeying his will. From our vantage point we now know the glorious truth that his death means life for us and all who believe in him. What does it mean to follow this Jesus?
Following Jesus' Example: There is no greater need in the church today than for believers who can sincerely pray Jesus' final prayer with him. "Father, into your hands, we place our lives, just like our loving Lord did. Whether in life or in death we are yours. We trust you and are fully committed to your will, and ask that you use our lives as you see fit. Please, gracious God, help us to be like Jesus." To follow Jesus means we want to be like him. Our world is a terribly hurting place, filled with wars and diseases and hatred and broken relationships and loneliness and insecurity. God is looking for people who are willing to reach beyond themselves to offer others healing and hope in the name of Jesus Christ. Do we want to be used by God to bring life to others? Then we must be willing to follow the example of Jesus. His example teaches us that life for others comes through death. Sometimes it may be a literal, physical death. But at all times the followers of Jesus are called to die to everything in them that does not give God first place. Jesus' teaching backs up the point. On one occasion he taught his disciples, saying, "Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, I bear much fruit. Those who love their life will lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life" (John 12:24-25). This is what it means to follow Jesus.
The secret of victorious Christian living is to follow the example of our Lord in the way he lived and died. If we want to be used by God to bring life to others, then we need to trust God fully and give ourselves to him completely, even if it means we must suffer in doing so. Jesus lived this way, and he suffered terribly, but his execution was transformed into an eternal victory–because of his humble spirit of obedience, because of his unswerving dedication to his Father, because as a Son he trusted his Father completely. Those who want to follow Jesus must be willing to suffer with him. In Canada most Christians do not face the prospect of suffering physically for their faith. But all of us are called to die inwardly to our selfish natures–and that cannot be done without inner suffering. To die to self and live for Christ means learning to obey him even when we don't feel like it. This can sometimes feel like a death inside. For example, Jesus teaches us to love our enemies and to forgive those who hurt us. That is not easy, and being obedient to that command can certainly feel like a death inside, for it means humbling ourselves and allowing our spirit of pride to die. The instinctual reaction of fallen human beings is to give voice to their pride, but Jesus calls us to die to it. Forgiving those who hurt us is but one example, there are an endless number of other ones we could give. But the principle is this: to live for Christ means committing ourselves to do his will, and not our own, even when it hurts. And there are times when it will hurt, that is part of the process of dying to self. When we come to Jesus, he forgives us our sins, but our sinful natures don't immediately disappear. The great challenge of the Christian life is to put our old selves to death, to die to everything within us that is opposed to God's rule in our lives, and to commit ourselves enthusiastically and wholeheartedly to obey the will of our heavenly Father. Just like Jesus did when he prayed his final prayer.
There is no other way to live the Christian life. By very definition to live as a Christian means to live the way Christ lived. There are many who call themselves Christians today who gladly accept the gift of life Jesus offers us, but there are far fewer who then go on to commit their lives wholeheartedly to him. But if the love of Jesus means anything to us, if the cross of Christ has melted through our cold hearts and revealed to us how deeply God loves us, and if we have received God's love for us in Christ, and know something about how precious we are to God, then the faith-filled believer will naturally want to follow Jesus, and will ask, "What can I give back to you Lord?" Jesus answers us in a very simple but demanding way: he asks us to follow his example. He calls each of us to carry our own cross. "If any want to become my followers," he said, "let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it" (Luke 9:23-24). This is what it means to follow Jesus. This challenge is not reserved for some supposed group of spiritually elite Christians. Every single believer in Jesus is called to a radical life of commitment and trust. We must all take up our cross daily and pray regularly, saying, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. I place my very life in your hands. I recommit myself to seek nothing but your honour and glory." May our generation be the one to recover the recognition that such commitment is central to the Christian life. Insofar as we are able to do that, we are wonderfully supported by the final prayer of our Lord. Jesus calls all of us to join him in this prayer. It was our Lord's prayer in life, and it was our Lord's prayer in death.
The Hands of God: But how can we meet such a great challenge? How can we pray our Lord's prayer with confidence especially in the face of potential suffering? The best way to answer that is with another question: How was Jesus able to commit his spirit to God in the midst of his darkest night? In the bleakest of all possible circumstances, how could he pray with such simple trust and confidence? The answer is this: the confidence of his prayer was based entirely on the character of the One to whom he was praying. He knew him so well that he knew he could entrust anything into his hands for safekeeping, even his own life. As the Son of God he didn't hesitate to entrust his very own being into his Father's hands.
When our children were smaller they used to enjoy collecting rocks and seashells when we went to the seashore. Inevitably they would come to me with their precious treasures and say, "Dad, can you keep these safe for me, I want to go collect some more." Then I would stretch out my hands and gather the shells and stones while they scampered happily away, secure in the knowledge that their priceless collectibles were safe in my hands! It is that quality of child-like trust which Jesus had in his Father. He knew that he could place his spirit in God's hands for safekeeping, even in the face of imminent death, for he knew his Father intimately. They had been one from all eternity. And even though his Father had to withdraw his presence from his Son while he hung on the cross, Jesus knew him well enough to know that he could nonetheless be trusted in all things.
To follow Jesus means to be in relationship with God. Trust always comes down to the matter of relationship. Jesus knew the goodness of his Father, he knew how his very nature was love. And he knew the greatness of his Father, how he created all things. He knew there was no greater power in heaven or on earth. Ultimately he knew that his Father's power was stronger even than death itself. Therefore when Jesus surrendered his life into his Father's hands he did not do so despondently; rather, he committed his very spirit into his Father's hands with the triumphant awareness that he was placing his life in the hands of the Father of Life who would resurrect him. And so we read that when Jesus spoke his final prayer, he did not mumble it in a spirit of resignation, but he summoned every last ounce of strength he had and spoke it in a loud voice, with the heart of a lion, giving his final testimony to the Father of Life. And only then did he breathe his last.
There is a great lesson here for us. The only way in which we can develop the trust so that we can be prepared to suffer for God's sake, the only way we can echo the prayer of our Lord with confidence, and commit our spirits to God for safekeeping, and be willing to take whatever risks he asks us to take, the only way we can arrive at such a place is if we are in an intimate relationship with God. That is only possible by accepting Christ into our lives, and by communicating with him constantly, and seeking always to obey his voice. Jesus' own prayer from the cross as he offered up his life, which represents the ultimate prayer of commitment, was not the first prayer he ever prayed; rather, it marked the culmination of a lifetime of prayer. Jesus could willingly die and commit his spirit to God because he had practised depending on God all along. He was prepared for death through a lifetime of obedience and prayer. To follow Jesus means to trust our Father's loving hands like Jesus did.
God is great and God is good. The hands of God are strong and secure. They are warm and loving. They are able to supply all of our needs, and they are able to bring life from death. There is therefore nothing which we should be afraid to place in God's hands, including our very lives. At all times we can with joyful confidence commit our all to God's sacred care. To follow Jesus means having the joyful confidence that we serve the God of Resurrection.
Conclusion: The glorious truth is that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Jesus humbled himself to the point of death in order that we might have life. Let us therefore commit our very lives to the one who committed his life for us. Amen.