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April 9, 2014

Father, Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit

Preacher: Rev. Jack Meehan Series: Lenten Midweek 2014: CrossWords Category: Biblical Scripture: Luke 23:44–23:46

Midweek Lenten Worship
April 9, 2014
Luke 23:44-46

Crosswords: “Father, Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit”

Tonight is the final midweek Lenten worship service, and our series for these services, “CrossWords,” comes to an end. Over these weeks, we have reflected upon the words spoken by Jesus as he hung dying upon the cross – his CrossWords. He interceded for those who tormented him, praying: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). To his mother, he said, “Woman, behold your son,” and to his disciple he said, “Behold, your mother” (John 19:26). To the repentant thief he promised, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). To God the Father he cried out, “My God, my God! Why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). In anguish, he exclaimed, “I thirst!” (John 19:28). And now this evening, as Jesus closes his eyes in death, he prays: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). It is this final prayer of Jesus that we focus on this evening. May the Lord’s rich and abundant blessing rest upon the preaching, the hearing, and the living of his Word for Jesus’ sake.

Do you remember bedtime prayers as a child? For many of us, this is one of our first faith memories – how mom or dad ended the day with prayers before going to sleep, maybe kneeling at our bedside, or sitting together on the bed, or maybe all tucked in. We can pray in all of these ways. And what we ourselves received as children from our own parents, we then pass on to our children as well: that sacred time of prayer as we get ready to fall asleep. Many of us know and love that bedtime prayer, “Now I lay me down to sleep…” That is the one we know best. But Luther’s evening prayer is also very good, and if you are unfamiliar with what this is, you can find it in the back of the pew Bibles on page 1333 under Prayer at the Close of the Day. In his evening prayer, Luther invites us to pray: “Into your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things…” If that sounds familiar, that’s because Luther’s words echo Jesus’ words on the cross, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” And in praying these words, Jesus himself quotes from one of the most familiar bedtime prayers of the Jewish people, from the Psalms: “Into your hand I commit my spirit” (Psalm 31:5).

As familiar as “Now I lay me down to sleep…” is for us, “Into your hand I commit my spirit” was equally as familiar to God’s people at the time of Jesus. It was the common nightly prayer which parents taught their children. And this gives us insight into this final prayer of Jesus upon the cross. Jesus’ last words before he closes his eyes in death are a bedtime prayer. As one Biblical commentator has put it: “Even on a cross Jesus died like a child falling asleep in his father’s arms” (William Barclay, The Daily Bible Series: The Gospel of Luke. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1975, p. 288). This final prayer of Jesus tells us much about his death, but can also speak to us about our own death when we die in him.

Jesus adds “Father” to those words from Psalm 31: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” There is affection and trust here, even as Jesus entrusts himself to the Father after having been abandoned by him. The judgment is complete. Jesus’ mission is accomplished. Our sin has been atoned for. All is now finished, and with his final breath Jesus places himself into the Father’s hands. Because of what Jesus has done for us upon the cross, by giving his life freely for us and for our salvation, we also may address God not just as Almighty Lord of heaven and earth, but as “Father.” Through what Jesus has done for us, we are restored to a right relationship with our heavenly Father, and we, too, may fall asleep peacefully in him.

You’re familiar with the slogan from Allstate Insurance: “You’re in good hands with Allstate” (and no, this is not an endorsement of Allstate). The slogan conveys the message that by signing on with Allstate you will be protected and cared for in times of need. But there are even better hands into which we can place ourselves: the hands of our loving Father. His are the best hands that support and care not only in life, but also in death. These are the very hands into which Jesus placed himself, and these are the hands that we place ourselves in as well. Our Father invites us to place all of our cares and concerns, all of the problems we are facing – broken relationships, poor health, financial hardships, temptations to sin – into his loving hands. And like Jesus himself, at the end of life, you can place yourself into those secure and everlasting hands. They will not fail you.

Peter Marshall tells the story of a young child he knew who died with such assurance of being in his heavenly Father’s arms. Marshall writes:

"In a home of which I know, a little boy—the only son—was ill with an incurable disease. Month after month the mother had tenderly nursed him, read to him, and played with him, hoping to keep him from realizing the dreadful reality of the doctor’s diagnosis. But as the weeks went on and he grew no better, the little fellow gradually began to understand that he would never be like the other boys he saw playing outside his window and, small as he was, he began to understand the meaning of the term death and he, too, knew that he was to die. One day . . . [he] asked the question that had been weighing on his childish heart: “Mother, what is it like to die? Mother, does it hurt?” Quick tears sprang to her eyes . . . and [she] breathed a hurried prayer that the Lord would keep her from breaking down before the boy, and would tell her how to answer him . . . Immediately she knew how to explain it to him. “Kenneth,” she said . . . “you remember when you were a tiny boy how you used to play so hard all day that when night came you would be too tired even to undress, and you would tumble into mother’s bed and fall asleep? That was not your bed . . . it was not where you belonged. And you would only stay there a little while. In the morning, much to your surprise, you would wake up and find yourself in your own bed in your own room. You were there because someone had loved you and taken care of you. Your father had come—with big strong arms—and carried you away. Kenneth, death is just like that. We just wake up some morning to find ourselves in the other room—our own room where we belong—because the Lord Jesus loved us.” The lad’s shining, trusting face looking up into hers told her that the point had gone home and that there would be no more fear . . . only love and trust in his little heart as he went to meet the Father in Heaven. He never questioned again. And several weeks later he fell asleep as she had said" (Peter Marshall, from his sermon entitled “Go Down, Death,” found in A Man Called Peter: The Story of Peter Marshall, by Catherine Marshall (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1951), 272â€'273).

Tonight, as you close your eyes in sleep, this prayer may be on your lips: “If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” It is a child’s prayer at bedtime. At the moment of his death Jesus prayed: “Father into your hands I commit my spirit!” So also we pray to God, at this time and at the hour of our death, when we lay upon our deathbed, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” Amen.

other sermons in this series

Apr 18

2014

It Is Finished!

Preacher: Rev. Jack Meehan Scripture: John 18:1–19:42 Series: Lenten Midweek 2014: CrossWords

Apr 2

2014

I Thirst

Preacher: Pastor Braun Campbell Scripture: John 19:28–19:29 Series: Lenten Midweek 2014: CrossWords

Mar 26

2014

My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

Preacher: Rev. Jack Meehan Scripture: Matthew 27:45–27:49 Series: Lenten Midweek 2014: CrossWords