By Christian Noubi
Let’s turn to the book of Luke 23:46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. As we go in depth with todays; the last words of our savior, I would like everyone to ponder these two questions; Where do you find comfort when life constantly deals you a bad hand? What does it mean to you to surrender?
Surrender is the act of submitting or yielding power to an authority or a tough situation, this tends to occur after a defeat. However, one form of surrender that is seen as a victory even recounted today is the submission of Jesus and his life into the hands of the father at the cross.
Throughout Jesus’ Ministry, we’ve read the many miracles and works he performed to show the father’s love for us and the way we are to walk. But Jesus came with a mission to rescue us from sin, and he himself knew what awaited him at the dreaded cross. The 1st act of surrender is witnessed in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed three times for a way to avoid the suffering he knew he would experience. This would be a precedent he would set as he came to terms and submitted to the father’s will, saying “Yet not as I will but as you will … may your will be done.”. Humanity would witness one of the greatest events in history.
This past Sunday in his message called “The witness to the Truth” Pastor Kang described the horrors of the cross stating “the cross was the most brutal form of execution it was considered so inhumane that the Romans did not use crucifixion against Roman citizens, they reserved it only for non-Romans.” As Christ drew his final breaths in Luke 23:46 our savior states “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” This single verse highlights the power of a prayer, a final curtain call by a son completing his mission and relinquishing everything into the hands of his father. During all this suffering, he also fulfilled the psalmist prayer in Psalm 31:5 “Into your hand I commit my spirit; you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.”
The son knew what he had to do to fulfill his father’s wishes for him, and he did so willingly by bearing our shame and being a sacrifice for our sin. Jesus’s heartfelt cry was a cry to the father knowing it was done and where else could comfort be found other than in the hands of the father. In Isaiah 55:11 “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it”. We cannot forget the same hands that brought Israel out of Egypt, the same hands that performed the miracles of healing, the same hands stretched and pierced for our transgressions and the same hands that patiently knocks on our hearts calling us to repentance and surrender. Finally, these are the same hands we can give everything to so his will may be done for us.
What can we learn from all this?
- Jesus has shown us how we are to act in all aspects of life, especially in the most painful moments of our lives. In our own prayer, we can use these last words as we submit everything to our father in heaven. Trusting him to heal, guide, and protect us. Surrendering his spirit to the Father is an act of unquestionable trust in him. We are called in the same manner to wholeheartedly trust God with whatever we commit to him will be kept safe.
- We must seek God in prayer and submit ourselves, so his will may be accomplished in our lives and those around us. Many of us have given our lives to the father as an act of submission. For those who have not, see the work of Christ on the cross as a reminder of his love for you. Come and humble yourself and entrust yourself into the father’s hands. The word of God reminds us to love the Lord with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our strength. A command to put the father first in all we do.
- Death is not the end for us Christians, though our physical bodies may fail our spirit is in God’s hands. Jesus is the master of my life and yours, so why not surrender all to him. We may not even come close to bearing such a punishment as crucifixion, however one far worse is separation from God. We must commit our lives to the father, the sustainer of life. I leave you with these lyrics by Jeremy Camp in his song Healing Hand of God “I have seen The healing hand of God Reaching out and mending broken hearts Taste and see the fullness of His peace And hold on to what’s being held out The healing hand of God.”