The past few weeks have been very busy for me, so I am delighted to have a few moments to blog on the reveleation of God in my life. I pray that these words, with the Holy Spirit's moving, will challenge you to see things with clarity and radically follow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
Last week was an incredible week! Never before have I been able to see the Easter season in so many angles. Let me explain. On Thursday Night, I attended at Passover Seder Service at Heritage Baptist in Montgomery. Wow! Wow! Wow! Although I knew the background of such an event, the experience was very powerful in light of our Lord was celebrating this same event on the night of his betrayal. It was awesome to see the correlation of the Passover meal with the ordinance of the Lord's Supper! That's a separate blog altogether! On Friday Night, I got the great privilege of preaching in a "7 Sayings on the Cross" Service at Bridgeview Baptist in Montgomery, where my good friend David Braden is pastor. What an incredible perspective to the work of the atonement! Saturday and Sunday found us celebrating with our family, friends, and church of our Risen Lord! I look back at last week and it was fuel on the fire in my life.
I'd like to take a moment to share with you my portion of last Friday Night's Service on the "7 Sayings on the Cross". I hope that this will challenge you and encourage you to live out your faith!
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 ESV)
In the seven words that followed Jesus’ address to the Father, we see a numerical picture of perfection and completion. 7 words in what historically has been known as the seventh saying conveys wholeness of this monstrous act of atonement. In what should have been the brightest part of the day, the darkness of the moment covered the land. At once, the temple curtain separating the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place was torn, a symbolic picture that the Old Covenant priesthood was also dead. The “holy priesthood” of believers (1 Peter 2:5) was now allowed direct access to the active presence of God! The totality of the work of the cross is incomprehensionable!
This saying is an exact reference to the words of David in Psalm 31:5. It is amazing that our Lord looked back to God's Word and His family line in His last words. It is a beautiful picture of the perfect correlation of Scripture. Theologically this saying is a declaration of Jesus joining His Father in heaven. There are two quick aspects that I’d like to point out about this short and simple statement of Christ.
(1) Notice the intimacy and trust of Jesus toward the Father. The rending of the temple veil demonstrates this intimacy picture. Jesus’ is completely at one with the Father in this moment. “Into thy hands” describes Jesus’ full assurance that that God’s hands are strong enough to secure power over death and darkness. Our hands are a symbol of intimacy. For this reason we hold our wife's hand, our husband's hand, our children's hand. We also shake hands a sign of friendship. Pertaining to this intimacy and trusty, one author eloquently says, “Trust is nurtured by intimacy and intimacy is nurtured by trust." Intimacy is a deep, abiding relationship that sacrifices the will of self for the pleasure of the other. It is nurtured by submission and surrender. Although the Deity is not divided, Jesus’ last words give honor to the Father and the Father’s good, pleasing, and perfect will (Romans 12:2).
(2) Secondly, notice the unconditional, submissive nature of Jesus. “I commit my spirit” is a declaration of submission before God. We see this same level of commitment and submission to God’s authority in the Garden just hours before when Jesus says, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.” (Matthew 22:42) Jesus’ prayer of agony that literally became so exhausting that his sweat drops became as blood echoed His ultimate commitment to the will of the Father. He underwent incredible sorrow, agony, and pain as a response to this submissiveness to the loving and gracious plan of God. Read Philippians 2:5-11 as a response of Jesus’ submission to the Father’s Will.
Practically speaking, these words demand a response of both intimacy and submissiveness of all believers! Direct access to the Father was made because of Christ’s willingness to go through the pain of Calvary!
If our Lord Jesus could be surrender Himself to the will of the Father in the Garden and on the Cross, why should His followers struggle to submit themselves to the Lordship of Jesus and the perfect will of the Father?
It is important to remember that radical obedience to the Will of the Father comes at a deep price! John Piper, perhaps one of the greatest theologian's of our day, suggested that it is a great perversion of the Gospel to witness our Lord's intimacy and submission to the Father on the Cross and fail to do so in our own lives! The Gospel never preaches health, wealth, and prosperity. It teaches sorrow, pain, surrender, and sacrifice! Any "gospel" that doesn't include this element is a false gospel and Biblically corrupt!