Good morning.  With this being Easter our leadership met and decided, “You know, we want to get a really special speaker for this year.  Why don’t we call the best preacher in the world and ask him to speak.”  They did, and he said “No.”

So they said, “Well if we can’t have the best speaker in the world, at least we can get the smartest one.”  So they called him and he said “No.”

And then they said, “Well, if we can’t get the best or the smartest, at least we can get the best looking.”  And they called him and he said “No.”

Finally one of them said, “Well, we can always ask Josh to preach.”  And so they asked me to preach this morning.  And what could I say, I had already told them “No” 3 times.

Well, all kidding aside, today we are celebrating Easter.  The day that Jesus defeated death itself and rose from the dead.  If you haven’t been with us the past few weeks, we have been looking at the last saying of Christ as He hung on the cross.  These were Jesus’ final heart cry for us to listen to.  These 7 sayings sum up Jesus’ entire life and teaching.  Let’s review them all one last time before we look at them this morning.  Here is what Jesus had to say from the cross:

Luke 23:34 – forgiveness – “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

John 19:26-27 – family – ““Dear woman, here is your son, and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.””

John 19:28 – fragileness of life – “I am thirsty.”

Matthew 27:46 – forsakenness and unjust suffering – “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Luke 23:43 – future hope of Heaven – “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

John 19:30 – finality and the significance of the cross – “It is finished.”

Luke 23:46 – the faith that Jesus displays – “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

Now, so far we have covered the first 5 of these sayings, and today, we are going to take a look at Jesus final 2 sayings as He hung on the cross.  Today, we will examine a saying that pointed to finality when Jesus said, “It is finished.” And then we will look at the statement that shows us faithfulness even in the very end when Jesus says, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

Before we do that though, let’s begin our time with a word of prayer.  Let’s Pray!

Go ahead and turn with me to John 19:28-30.  Here in this passage we are reading about the death of Jesus.  Listen to what it has to say.  John 19:28-30 says, “1”

So, “It is finished.”  The original wording behind that phrase had 9 common uses in the first century, and each one relates to Christ’s death.  One, A Task Was Accomplished.  In John 4:34 it says, ““My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.””

Finish His work.  What work was it that Jesus came to finish?  He came so that the work of redemption would be complete.  Christ came, and He died on the cross as a sacrifice for us.  The reason was to redeem us so that we could come to a relationship with God.  So He came to accomplish a task.

Two, A Dangerous Feat Was Performed.  In John 10:17-18 Jesus says, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life, only to take it up again.  No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord…”

The dangerous feat that Jesus performed was that He laid down His own life.  Notice that it pointed out that He gave up His life.  Now one took it from Him.  No one was able to kill Jesus.  He gave His life, and that made Him our savior.  So He performed a dangerous feat.

Three, A Plan Was Put Into Effect.  The plan that Jesus put into effect was the plan of salvation.  As you read through the Bible you will find various passages that show you the plan of salvation.  It is simple, Hear the word, believe that word, confess, repent, and be baptized.  Jesus came, so that this plan could be put into effect for us to follow.

Four, Someone’s Will Was Being Carried Out.  Matthew 26:39 Jesus says, “…My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.  Yet not as I will, but as you will.”  You see, it was God’s will that was being carried out that day on Calvary.  God planned for His Son to die on the cross so that we might be forgiven.  If God would have come up with another way to do this, Jesus would have been totally for it.  However, He realized that it was not what He wanted that mattered, rather it was what God wanted.  And so, Jesus carried out the Father’s will.

Five, A Promise Was Fulfilled.  Back in Genesis there was a promise made about Satan being defeated and Christ only getting a bruised heel.  The crushed head as it talks about is Satan’s fatal blow.  However, the bruised heel is not fatal, and a few days later Jesus would rise from the dead.  So as we look at the event of the crucifixion, we see that a promise was fulfilled.

Six, An Oath Was Made Effective.  In Romans 6:23 it says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  So what was this oath that was made effective?  Well, here we find that the wages of sin is death, but that the gift that God gives us through Jesus is eternal life.  The oath that was being established on that day that Jesus was crucified was that we could enter into a relationship with Him, and instead of getting death for our sins, we might get life through Jesus.  So an oath was made effective with the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Seven, A Given Time Period Came To An End.  The old ended, and the new began.  The old covenant of following the rules ended, and a new covenant that involved being in a relationship with God began.  Under the old, you had to follow the laws that Moses established in order to have eternal life in Heaven.  However, when Jesus died, that old covenant was fulfilled, and a new covenant began.  Under the new covenant, in order to be in a relationship with the Father, we must follow that plan of salvation that we have already looked at.  So, a given time period ended, and a new one began.

Eight, A Debt Was Paid.  Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us that it is by grace through faith that we have been saved.  There needed to be an offering in order to forgive us of our debt to sin, and Jesus was that offering.  He came, He died, and He rose from the dead to pay the penalty for our sins.  In I Peter 1:18-19 it says, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that your were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to your from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

We were bought by the blood of Christ.  He paid the penalty for our sins.  So a debt was paid in full on our behalf.

And Finally, A Sickness Reached Its End.  Death is the ultimate sickness.  Everyone is born, and destined to die.  Christ came, and He defeated death.  He freed us from that eternal death that we should all be facing.

And instead of death, He made it possible for us to have life.  And we need to take encouragement that He came and He paved the way for us to follow.

Max Lucado, in his book, “Six Hours One Friday,” tells the story of a missionary in Brazil who discovered a tribe of Indians in a remote part of the jungle.  They lived near a large river.  The tribe was badly in need of medical attention.  A contagious disease was spreading across the village, and people were dying daily.  The interesting thins is that there was a hospital not too far away, but it was across the river.  The problem was that the Indians would not cross it because they believed the river was inhabited by evil spirits.  And to enter its water would mean certain death.

The missionary explained how he had crossed the river and was unharmed.  But they were not impressed.  He then took them to the bank and placed his hand in the water.  They still wouldn’t go in.  He walked into the water up to his waist and splashed water on his face.  It didn’t matter.  They were still afraid to enter the river.

Finally, he dove into the river, swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side.  He raised a triumphant fist into the air.  He had entered the water and escaped.  It was then that the Indians broke into a cheer and followed him across.

Well guess what, Christ has dove into death, and He has come out on the other side and has raised His fist in the air to say that He was able to defeat death.  All we need to do is follow Him.  So, that was a look at Jesus’ statement, “It is finished.”

Now let’s make a transition into Jesus final statement.  Jesus showed us a great example of faith when He concluded things and said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

Turn with me to Luke 23:44-49 and let’s read that account.  It is in this passage that we see Jesus breath His last and die on the cross.  Here is what it has to say, Luke 23:44-49, “2”

Jesus’ last statement from the cross was one of faith in God.  The word “commit” describes trust such as putting a deposit in a bank.  It carries the implication that we put ourselves “on deposit with God while trusting that He will care for us.”  Jesus committed His spirit into the hands of God.  This was one last attempt to show us the importance of having faith in God.

In Psalm 31:5 is a prayer that a small Jewish boy would have learned possible as a bed time prayer.  Listen to this.  Psalm 31:5 says, “Into your hands I commit my spirit.”  Once again, we see Jesus relying on scripture and prayer to get Him through, and He shows us that it is all reliable and trustworthy.  So the question for us this morning is, will we commit our lives into the hands of God?

The Bible teaches us that we don’t know when this life will be over.  The best advice that a person could give is to do it today.  Commit your life to God today.  As we begin to wrap things up this morning, let me share and email presentation that I received.  Take a look at this.

(DO THE TRAIN PRESENTATION!)

As you know, the ride that we are on has its ups and downs, and we never know when we will arrive at the final stop, all we can do is be ready.  Jesus showed us that there is power over death if we will follow Him, and that we need to remain faithful in all that we do.  He defeated death and rose again, so that we could be forgiven.

It’s interesting how Jesus starts with, “Father, forgive them…” and He ends by saying, “Father, into your hands…”  I think the key here is Father!  The Father is in control.  He loves us, He cares about us, and if we will commit our lives to Him, He will save us.  Don’t let this Easter celebration slip through your fingers; decide to commit your life to the one and only risen Savior today!

Let’s Pray