March 23, 2008 Easter Sunday

 "Father, Into Your Hands I Commit My Spirit"

Luke 23: 44- 46, Psalm 31: 1- 8; 1 Corinthians 15:20- 24; 1 Thessalonians 4: 13- 18

At 112, Japan's Tomoji Tanabe is world's oldest man. Tanabe credits his long life to abstaining from alcohol and smoking and drinking a glass of milk every day. He also says that lived so long, because, in his words, "I don't want to die."

I doubt that there many who would disagree with that statement.  We, too, don't want to die.  God made us all with a desire to live.  Yet, each of us knows that someday we will die.  How are you facing that inevitable prospect?

The Bucket List is a recent film about two terminally ill men, played by Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.   Faced with death, these men take a road trip to do the things they always wanted to do before they "kicked the bucket." In anticipation of the film's release, Parade magazine interviewed Nicholson. Reflecting both on the theme of the film and his personal life, Nicholson said:

    "I used to live so freely. The mantra for my generation was ‘Be your own man!' I always said, ‘Hey, you can have whatever rules you want. I'm going to have mine. I'll accept the guilt. I'll pay the check. I'll do the time.' I chose my own way. That was my philosophical position well into my 50s. As I've gotten older, I've had to adjust.

Later in the interview, Nicholson added,"

    "We all want to go on forever, don't we? We fear the unknown. Everybody goes to that wall, yet nobody knows what's on the other side. That's why we fear death."

Now, I would like to be able to say that as Christians we have a better idea than this actor about what's on "the other side."   But our understanding is not much clearer. The reason is that the Bible is pretty vague about what happens right after death. Because of that, even we as Christians, we have been fascinated by books written by and about people who have claimed to have died and come back again. 

A recent book, 90 Minutes in Heaven, is becoming very popular among Christian readers. Maybe some of you have read it. It's about the experience of Don Piper, who was involved in a serious auto accident in 1989. Paramedics declared him clinically dead.  Piper claims to have been in heaven until the Lord heard the prayer of Pastor Richard Onerecker and returned him to life.  Some time ago my mother read it and asked me what I thought about the book.  I didn't what to say.  I usually compare such claims to what the Bible says.  I couldn't do that in this case.  That is because the Bible doesn't say much.

But, even though the Lord doesn't tell us much in his Word that satisfies our curiosities and fears about what happens after we die, he does give us comfort and guidance, so that we need not fear death.  And one of the places where we find such comfort and guidance is in the words that Jesus spoke before he died,

Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

It is true that Jesus was addressing God the Father, asking him to receive his spirit.   But, he also prayed these words for our benefit.  For as Luke points out he said them loudly for those around to hear. And the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to record them in his gospel. 

So what is that message?  Last Sunday we saw that Jesus words, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" were a direct quote from Psalm 22.  These words are also a quote from the Psalms-- Psalm 31: 5.

Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.

Many of those around the cross probably knew that Psalm by heart.  By referring to it, Jesus wanted to use the words of the Psalm to teach them about how he faced physical death. And the Holy Spirit seeks to teach us, who continue to live in a world of death, that same message this morning.

To understand what Jesus was teaching, it's important that we see his words in the context of the Psalm.  Please turn with me to that Psalm 31.  We will read verses 1- 8.

In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness.  Turn your ear to me; come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.   Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.  Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge.  Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.  I hate those who cling to worthless idols; I trust in the LORD.   I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.   You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place. 

Just as he did earlier when he used Psalm 22, Jesus uses this Psalm to declare that God, his Father, was in control, not his enemies.  What had happened on Good Friday was not determined by the Jewish leaders, by Pilate, or the Romans, or by the devil.  It was determined by God.  And just as God determined all things that happened on that day, so he determined that his Son Jesus who became a man would die as a man. Ecclesiastes 12: 7 says that when a child of God dies, "the dust (of our bodies) returns to the earth, as it was, and the spirit to God who gave it."    And that's what would happen to Jesus.

Death is the final enemy that all human being must face.  Only two were spared.  Can any of you children here tell me who they were?  Yes, Enoch and Elijah. If your Bibles are still open to the Psalm, you'll notice that the Psalmist is praying to God that he will redeem him from his enemies.  By committing his Spirit to God, Jesus is relying on his Father to redeem him from this final enemy. 

The scripture we read from Luke 23 refers to the veil of the temple being torn in two.  This symbolized that Jesus had successfully paid for our sins and that now we who believe can directly enter into the presence of God.  Remember that Jesus had declared, "It is finished."  He endured the final suffering for sin.  Nothing more was required.  He and his Father have been reunited.  So, now he trust his Father to save him from his final enemy.

As one who fully trusted that his Father was in control, Jesus knew that going through death was part his Father's plan.  In fact, before they went to Jerusalem he had plainly told his disciples exactly what the plan was,

We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. ³²He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. ³³On the third day he will rise again."

By entrusting his spirit to his Father, Jesus was merely calling on his Father to carry out his plan.  A plan that would end with the event we are celebrating this morning: his arising from the dead.

But why if our sin was already paid in full die did he need to submit to the indignity of death and the grave?  Why was that part of the plan?  Only in this way could he arise on Easter. Only this way could he show that death and the grave could not keep him.   Only this way could he prove that he had defeated our final enemy. 

But, more than that, Jesus was blazing a path for us to follow.  How many of you children here this morning learned about Daniel Boone in your history class in school?  Why is he a significant character in our history?  You might recall that he discovered a path through the Appalachian Mountains that other settlers followed.   In fact, he led other settlers down that path.  That's why he is referred to as a trailblazer.  That's a good picture of what Jesus did for us. 

And what trail did Jesus lead us down.  That's where 1 Corinthians 15 comes in.  Please turn to that scripture now.  We will read verses 20- 24.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.  For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.

Paul used a little different picture, but his message is the same.  The first fruits were the first crops of the harvest.  They were the sign that other crops were to follow.  Jesus' resurrection was the sign that all who believe in his would also rise from the dead.  We will follow the same path Jesus did.

How and when will that take place?   Please turn to 1 Thessalonians 4, beginning with verse 13.

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. ¹⁴We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. ¹⁵According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.

When we die our bodies go to the ground, but our Father in heaven will receive our spirits, just as he did the spirit of his Son.  At the end of time when Jesus comes back, he will take our spirits back with him.  Then he will raise our bodies from the dead and reunite them with our spirits.  And we will arise as Jesus did and then we will live for ever with him in the new heaven and earth.  The path Jesus, our trail blazer traveled is the same one we will travel.

Of course, that message brings real comfort to all who face death or to those of us who have lost loved ones.  We know that at the end of time our bodies will be raised and we will live body and soul with our Lord and we will be reunited with those we love.

This, however, is not just a message of future promise.  It is a message that should comfort all who are struggling today.  There are some among us, who, because of the stresses or tragedies in their lives, fear life almost more that they fear death.  Indeed, there are some who even contemplated the unthinkable, ending their own life.  Others, while not going that far certainly face their years ahead with depression and fear.  If that's where you or a friend of yours is right now, the Lord also has something to say to you this morning.

Psalm 31 to which Jesus referred is not really so much a Psalm about dying as it is a Psalm about trusting in the Lord while living in a world of enemies.  The Psalmist later goes on to say in verses 14- 15,

                But I trust in you, O LORD;

            I say, "You are my God."

                My times are in your hands;

            deliver me from my enemies

The same God who will take care of your soul after you die is the same one who takes care of you, body and soul, today.  When our daughters were little we taught them to say this prayer before they went to bed,

"Now I lay me down to sleep I pray you Lord my soul to keep.  Lord God, guide me through the night and wake me with the morning light."

Hebrew parents also taught their children a bedtime prayer, one that was based Psalm 31.  It went something like this,

"Into your hands I commit my spirit, O Lord, the God of truth.  I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.  You have not handed me over to the enemy, but have set my feet in a spacious place."

The same God who will awaken you at the end of time is the same God who wakes you up every morning.  And he's same God who will care for you after you wake up.  And the same Shepherd who will guide you through the valley of the shadow of death is the same shepherd who guides you to green pastures.  The same Lord who will be your trailblazer from your death to your resurrection is the same one who has promised to guide you by his Word and Sprit today.

Many years ago the Apostle Paul, writing from a prison cell, wavered between a desire to live and continue his fruitful ministry or to die and be with his Lord.  He could not choose between the two, because, as he put it,

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1: 21)

He knew that the same Lord, who would be there to receive his soul, was the same one who was guarding his life in this world.

When I was living in New Mexico, it was my privilege to come to know a dear Christian man by the name of Bert Benally.  He was the Navajo pastor our church.  Through much of his life Bert suffered from the terrible disease tuberculosis, which eventually took his life.  Yet, Sunday after Sunday he faithfully preached with gentleness and grace the wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ.  It must have really been hard for him, yet week after week, with a smile on his face and joy in his heart, he did what Jesus called him to do.  

How was that possible?  I think the reason was given by another pastor who suffered from the same disease. His name was Henry Francis Lyte,  He served churches in Ireland and Great Britain during the early 19^th century.  On the evening before Lyte preached his last sermon, he gave his family the words of a prayer that had sustained him throughout his ministry. The prayer went like this,

Abide with me fast falls the even tide

The darkness deepens, Lord with me abide

When other helpers fail and comforts flee

Help of the helpless, Oh, abide with me.

Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes

Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies

Heaven's morning breaks and earth's vain shadow flee.

In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

People of God,  Christ has indeed been raise from the dead.  May the Lord of Life abide with you now and always.  AMEN!