I Commit My Spirit

 

Words from the Cross – “I Commit My Spirit.”

PALM SUNDAY, April 10, 2022

 

Luke 19:28-40

 

After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

 

Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.  As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”

 

They replied, “The Lord needs it.”

 

They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.  As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.

 

When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

 

“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” 

 

“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

 

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

 

“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

 

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it.

 

 

Luke 23:44-46

 

It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

 

Psalm 31:5 - Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.

 

Friends, today is Palm Sunday. And while we’re concluding a sermon series based on Jesus’ last words from the cross, I didn’t want to miss the significance of this day. Jesus came into Jerusalem, hailed as a King, but not even one day had passed before those cheers turned to jeers. 

 

So, this morning, I invite you to come with me on a journey - a journey from the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane and ultimately to the Cross. 

 

It was a dry, spring day when Jesus left Caesarea Philippi to make His yearly trek to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. For the Jewish people, Passover was morethan a religious observance; it was a season of freedom. It was the time of year when Jews celebrated liberation from Egyptian bondage. During the time of Jesus, they also used this opportunity to express their longing for political freedom from Rome. In fact, Jews claiming be “messiahs” had so often caused riots during Passover, the Romans brought in extra troops to Jerusalem during the Passover season. And those soldiers did not hesitate to shed blood to keep the peace. 

 

On His journey, Jesus passed through the same Judean wilderness where He was tempted. It was barren, rocky, dusty. I wonder what He was thinking as He walked through that desert place where He was tested. Did He remember how He relied on God’s strength to resist temptation? Did He remember how Scripture flowed from His heart to His mouth to counteract the Evil One? Or, knowing what was coming in the days ahead, did He wonder, “Is there no other way?” 

 

Again, He pressed on in His mission. He passed through Bethany, where His best friends - Mary, Martha, and Lazarus - lived. It had only been days since He raised Lazarus from the dead! And then, He emerged from the wilderness on the eastern side of the Mount of Olives, just as the prophecy said the Messiah would come. 

 

Jesus, the King, fulfilling this prophecy foretold by Zechariah, rode into town on a borrowed donkey, knowing by the end of the week He would lay in a borrowed grave. The people threw their cloaks down on the road before Him and praised God for all the miracles He had done. The crowd shouted, “Hosanna, Hosanna” - a slogan of the ultra-nationalistic Zealots, which meant, “Please, save us! Give us freedom! We’re sick of these Romans!”

 

Surely the Jews were wondering, “Is this the One who will deliver us?” Almost like a parade, the people clamored to see Him as they waved their palm branches. And these palm branches weren’t just a symbol of peace and love; they were a symbol of Jewish nationalism, an expression of the people’s desire for political freedom; a symbol once imprinted on Jewish coins when the Jewish nation was free.

 

Their excitement grew, and their voices rose to such a level that the Pharisees asked Jesus to hush up the people. They feared this Jesus, who questioned their integrity and undermined their authority. They feared the emotion and love the people had for Jesus. And they feared the Romans’ reaction. 

But Jesus, with all the wit He could muster, said to them, 
“I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”  

Then Jesus approached the city of Jerusalem. It was a breathtaking sight of beauty - lush gardens, watch towers surrounded by stone walls, and Jerusalem’s crown - the temple - gleaming like a jewel. But to Jesus, all He saw was a panorama of pain. 

 

Jesus, at last, had come to reveal himself as King, but He was not the kind of King they were looking for. He came as a servant King, the Lamb of God, who was willing to give His life to usher in His kingdom.

 

According to Exodus 12, the Sunday before Passover was traditionally the day the people began the celebration of Passover. And so, the city was already crowded, for this day was “lamb selection day” - the day when each Jewish family picked the lamb that was to die on the following Friday. This was the day when the people would choose a perfect, unblemished lamb for the Passover. 

 

On this day, though, Jesus, the Lamb of God, the sinless Messiah, who would die on humankind’s behalf, appeared on the very day that people chose their Passover lambs. It's almost as if God said to the world, “Here’s my Lamb. Will you choose Him?” But instead of turning to Jesus as the Lamb of God, the crowds misunderstood the proclamation that He was their Messiah. The people were looking for a messiah who offered political deliverance and a political kingdom. Yet they would have nothing to do with the Messiah who offered forgiveness and deliverance from sin. The cheers had already begun to turn to jeers.

 

In response, fully human, fully divine Jesus… wept. The Greek word for weeping, used in Luke chapter 19, means, He “cried aloud, in convulsive sobs.” Jesus didn’t weep for Himself, nor the pain and the curses and the cross He would bear in the days ahead. No, the tears Jesus shed as the people cried out their political “Hosannas” were tears of grief for the hearts of His people. He heard their cries. He saw their future. He knew the people, His people, were seeking peace in the wrong way. He wept for Jerusalem; He wept for you and for me. 

 

There on that donkey, riding down the steep hill from the Mount of Olives and into the Kidron valley, can you imagine Jesus, with tears flowing, looking toward the city walls? He saw beyond the noise and movement to what was ahead of Him: an agonizing journey of betrayal, torture, crucifixion, and death. His unfocused eyes saw what nobody around Him could see. There was melancholy, but also peaceful acceptance. There was insight into the fickleness of the human heart, but also immense compassion. There was a deep awareness of an unspeakable pain to be suffered, but also a strong determination to do God’s will. Above all, there was love - an endless, deep, far-reaching love, born from an unbreakable intimacy with God. 

 

As He moved through the week, the last week of His earthly life, Jesus continuously drew strength from that resilient intimacy with God. He battled every day - in the Temple, in the streets, with His disciples, in the Upper Room, and in the Garden of Gethsemane. 

 

It was in the Garden that His spirit was so overwhelmed with sorrow and grief, He begged God to find another way. He cried out to God so intensely, His brow began to sweat drops of blood. And then, there in Gethsemane, victory was won when Jesus said to His Father, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” He trusted His Father. He yielded His control to His Father. He was confident in putting His life into His Father’s hands. 

 

Again, He pressed on in His mission, until the end of the week, where He found Himself nailed to the cross. At the very end of Jesus’ life, the sun darkened, and the veil curtain of the temple tore down the middle. Then Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into Your hands, I commit my spirit.’ When He had said this, He breathed his last.

 

Think about that. As Jesus hung on the Cross, humiliated and in excruciating pain, He gave us a glorious example of surrender. Being perfect in every way, He didn’t turn in on Himself and wallow in self-pity, anger, or regret. The cruelty He had received from so many did not deter Him from the continual surrender of His life to the Father and to His holy will. 

 

Instead, Jesus chose this most miserable, persecuted state to profess His unending union with His Father. Despite the pain, despite the mocking, despite the agony, despite the sense of horrible aloneness He felt, He dedicated His life. Jesus entrusted His spirit -- His life -- and all that had given it meaning -- to God, in faith. Even at the point of His own abandonment, when the good seemed so very far away, Jesus proclaimed His trust in God, and the darkness could not overcome it. "Father, into Your hands, I commit My spirit." 

 

How often in our own lives, when difficulties come our way, do we begin to lose trust and hope in the Father? We carefully examine our own wounds and ponder the injustices we’ve suffered. We allow hurt and sorrow to turn our eyes from God, and instead, we gaze at ourselves.

 

But this prayer, spoken by our Lord, was spoken, in part, as a lesson to each one of us. It was prayed because it was the perfect expression of who Jesus was. And it was spoken for us to imitate. And that’s where I was convicted this week. How do I, how do we imitate this prayer? How do I, how do we surrender our lives and place them in the hands of our Father? “Into Thy Hands, I commend My Spirit.” 

The Greek word for “commend” means to place with someone, to entrust, to commit. Jesus was not helplessly watching His life slip away, but He consciously placed it in the care of; entrusted it to; committed it to the tender, caring hands of His Father. Theologian Matthew Henry says our souls were forfeited, and His soul must go to redeem the forfeiture. The price must be paid into the hands of God, the party offended by sin. It’s just as if you owed someone a debt. When you went to satisfy that debt, it would only be proper and fitting to place the money into the hands of the one to whom it is owed. While paying the price for our redemption, Jesus placed the purchase price - His life - into the hands of His Father.

 

In the midst of the pain and agony, Jesus dedicated Himself into the hands of God. Not only was He depositing His life into His Father's hands, but He was dedicating it and entrusting it into His Father's meticulous, assiduous, tender-loving care. And He dedicated His spirit, His life, to God prior to the victory of the Resurrection. Most of us don’t have a problem dedicating ourselves to God while enjoying victory. But can we be dedicated in the face of what looks like defeat? Can we be dedicated while we’re still being attacked? Can we be dedicated when others are gossiping about us, laughing at us? Can we be dedicated before God delivers on His promises? Can we be dedicated in the midst of pain and agony? 

 

In the midst of pain and agony, Jesus prayed this prayer, and once again He quoted Scripture. Psalm 31:5, to be exact: “Into Your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.”

 

In everything Jesus did and said, He fulfilled the will of God and the Word of God. Even in the throes of death, our Lord was sensible of His mission and pointed those around Him to the fulfillment of prophecy. Christ died with Scripture in His mouth. The Scripture assisted Him, as He made this dedication of His own spirit to the Father. The Scripture assisted Him in relinquishing control to the Father: 

·      “Not thy will, but Yours be done.” 

·      “Into Your hands I commit my spirit.” 

When we pray, we ought to include the Word - Scripture - in our prayers. We give our prayers power when we use the Scripture to agree with the Lord’s covenant promises for our lives. 

 

In the midst of the pain and agony, Jesus also let go, allowing God to take care of the outcome. Perhaps there’s someone here who understands the despair that comes from trying to manipulate and control everything and everyone around you. Yes, I’m a self-professed control-freak, and I often ask God if He needs my help! I’ve seen how jumbled things get, and I often offer my help to control my outcome. But Jesus is teaching us how to let go. This text is tailored to teach us control freaks how to avoid ultimate frustration by learning how to let go and trust God. When the situation isn’t working out the way you want — Let go! When you’ve done your best, and your best is still misunderstood — Let go! When people seem intent on bringing you down — let go! Jesus let go. 

 

 

Finally, in the midst of pain and agony, Jesus placed His spirit into the hands of God. For some time now, He had been in the hands of men:

·      The hands of His friend Judas betrayed Him. 

·      And the hands of Peter emphatically denied Him. 

·      It was men’s hands that arrested Jesus and dragged Him before Caiaphas, the high priest. 

·      It was the Council’s hands that voted Jesus guilty. 

·      The soldier’s hands beat Jesus and held the whips that scourged Him. 

·      Their hands placed the crown of thorns upon His head and pressed it into His flesh. 

·      The mob used their hands to plead the release of Barabbas. 

·      They clenched their hands into fists, demanding that Jesus be crucified. 

·      Their hands had dragged Him to Golgotha and nailed Him to the cross.

·      Their hands had lifted His cross into the air. 

·      Their hands threw the dice to see who would get His cloak. 

 

Jesus had been at the mercy of hands that had no mercy. 

 

But now, He prays this final prayer, "Father, into THY hands, I commend my spirit." 

 

A perfect life lived. A terrible death died. All for the sake of bringing you and me into the near presence of that same Father, now and forever. Friends, things change when we commend our spirits to God. Things change when we yield our trust to our Father. Things change when we pray words of Scripture and place everything into God’s hands. 

 

How deep is your surrender to the Father in Heaven? How often do you pray this prayer – Father, into Your hands, I commit my spirit? And when you pray it, how completely does this prayer become an action in your life? To surrender is to act. It’s more than a decision; it’s a continual act of our will that deepens our surrender until it is complete and total.

 

Reflect, today, upon this perfect prayer of our Lord. “Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit.” Pray it over and over. Make these words your own. If you can, get on your knees or lie prostrate before our Lord (like ERIK! ). Utter it from the depth of your heart. Offer your life continually, and join with Jesus in this perfect and final offering to the Father. 

 

And maybe that is something you’d like to start today. There is always opportunity for you to be in prayer. Enjoy time there in your seat. Perhaps come to the altar kneelers here at the front of our sanctuary. We have leaders from the prayer ministry team, who would love to pray with you, if you’d like. But I will invite you now to center your hearts, and pray these words with me: 

 

Jesus, I want to make my own life a perfect offering to the Father. 

Help me to learn from Your prayers and example, to hold nothing back. 

I commend my life into Your hands. I surrender all to You so that my life may be offered to the Father, in union with Your perfect sacrifice. 

Take me, dear Lord, receive me and do with me as You will. Amen.