“Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit.”
It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
Luke 23:44-46
There was darkness from the sixth through the ninth hour, and the sun was also setting. Who knows if the crowd was still as vigorous as they were in the morning, in their mocking and jeering? Who knows if the other crucified thieves were still alive – or were they finally done in when the soldiers broke their legs, to hasten their passing? And who knows if the scribes and the rulers were still around, waiting for a last minute supernatural response to their taunts to Jesus to save Himself?
We may not know those specifics (or I could be holding off on looking for those details in the rest of Scripture), but one thing was for sure: Someone was in the temple at the time, and he saw that the curtain of the temple – the one we’re told was the curtain that separated the entire inner space of the temple from the Holy of Holies – was torn in two.
Pastors of sermons past would love to indicate that it was torn from top to bottom. And I certainly agree with something else they’re fond of saying when we discuss this interior design disaster – that there was no longer any barrier between the Holy of Holies and the rest of the world, and that meant that there was no longer anything between the presence of God, and man.
However, while it seems that a lot of these same pastors would then say that through Christ, we can now go into the presence of God, I say that the other side of the coin is true – Now, God’s presence can invade this reality!
And I couldn’t help but quote from the chorus of a song by Philips, Craig and Dean: ‘Mercy came running, like a prisoner set free!’
With the veil torn, there was apparently nothing left to happen, and nothing left to do… Moments earlier, the crucified Christ said, ‘It is finished’; And we can know for a fact that what He did was truly finished, because the One who, in the darkness, cried, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?’ – He calls out to Him one last time, only now, as in back in the first Word, He calls Him ‘Father‘, once again.
“Father,’ He says, “into Your hands I commit my spirit!’
In my recent scrolling through social media I saw a post asking nobody in particular, ‘What’s something people say is in the Bible but isn’t in the Bible?’; I contributed to what other people apparently shared when I said one such quote was ‘God will never allow you to go through something you couldn’t handle’ – and to this I respond, in my Dwight Schrute voice, false. We cast our burdens upon Him, especially those things we couldn’t handle.
But another quote I mentioned was ‘Do your best, and God will do the rest’; IN light of the seventh and final Last Word, I say that it was Christ not only did His best but gave His all (confirmed with ‘Father’), and then rested in His Father (‘into Your hands I commit my spirit’).
It’s not ‘Do your best, and God will do the rest’ – No, Christ did His best, and gave His all, so now we could rest.
Let us pray.
Father, we thank You for Jesus, who not only did His best, but gave His all. We acknowledge that only He could do what needed to be done for our salvation and reconciliation, and we believe He finished it. Now, through Him, in Him, and because of Him, the veil is torn – We can go to You, and You can come to us. Thank You, Jesus, for guaranteeing all of this, through all You have done! In Your Name we pray, Amen.
Epilogue
Without taking the time to go through the 7 Last Words of Jesus Christ, I would have just gone through the motions of Holy Week, doing what other people expect us to do.
I had other projects to work on through this time, and I certainly didn’t want to add another project onto my list, much less one that involved a lot of typing. I admit that there were other things I wanted to say, but instead of crying over (un)spilled milk, I submit to the Holy Spirit, who I believe guides us into what to emphasize, and what to omit.
Also, I am aware – I started strong with the first couple of Last Words, but I feel I sort of breezed through the rest of them, for lack of time as dictated by a self-imposed deadline. I do feel like going back to all of them – but not to add, but maybe to shave off any unnecessary side ‘quests’ or comments.
What have we accomplished? What have we learned? Well, we see so much more detail to what we mean, when we talk about the finished work of Christ, particularly at the cross.
We learned of how the Son of God explicitly asked for the forgiveness of those who persecute Him, and even for all who were present – for Him, against Him, or indifferent – because none of them (nor us) knew what they were doing.
We saw a simpler, and therefore more revelatory perspective of what it really means to repent (as seen in the words of the criminal on the cross), and what it really means to be saved (as Christ responded).
We learned of another aspect to the grace of God, as seen through Christ placing Mary in John’s care, saying that John is Mary’s son, and Mary is John’s mother. I believe this was to indicate that the path Christ was taking was one only He could take, and a task only He would finish, for the sake of all mankind, including John and Mary.
We saw the ultimate wage of sin – separation from God, leading to death and darkness, inhuman anxiety and overwhelming pain.
We learned of how, after apparently draining the cup down to its dregs, Christ drank old, sour wine, symbolizing how He became sin and took sin.. and only after He did this, did He say, truly, ‘It is finished’.
Finally – with all sin dealt with, and full forgiveness and salvation offered for all who believe – the crucified Christ calls out, to His Father, entrusting Him with His Spirit.
I don’t think I had any other intentions in getting this done, more than getting it done. As a Minister I wanted to experience going through Christ’s Seven Last Words, on my own. If anything it’s left me with more reason to give thanks to God… and it’s my prayer, that after you go through this, you have more cause to praise and thank Him as well.
God bless you. God keep you. God make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you. God lift His countenance upon you, and give you peace.
In Jesus’ Name, amen.
101725/365000
#7LastWords #Bible #BibleStudy #Repentance #Salvation #Gospel #Grace #HolyWeek #JesusChrist #Presence #Reflections #Revelations #FinishedWork #Christianity
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
Leave a comment