Commitment of Faith

SUNDAY MORNING, September 3

Title: The Commitment of Faith

Text: “Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!’ And having said this he breathed his last” ( RSV).

Scripture Reading:

Luke 23:44–49 NRSV

44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 while the sun’s light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last. 47 When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent.” 48 And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts. 49 But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Introduction

We are to focus our eyes on Jesus as the “author and finisher” of our faith (). It was by faith that Jesus came on a redemptive mission to earth. It was by a commitment of faith to his redemptive ministry that he submitted to the baptism of John the Baptist. It was because of faith that Jesus rejected Satan’s suggestions concerning how he should accomplish his redemptive purpose. We can assume that it was because of faith in God’s purpose that Jesus persisted in his redemptive mission when he was misunderstood by his family and rejected not only by the citizens of his own town but also by the religious leaders of the nation. It was as the pioneer and perfector of our faith that Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem, and “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame” ( RSV).

Hebrews 12:2 NRSV

2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

I. Faith in the Father led to prayer—“Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!”

In his lowest moment of agony, feeling smitten by God, Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” In this moment of extreme agony, he was suffering as if he were a sinner. Having accomplished all things essential for the salvation of a lost humanity, we hear him giving voice to his faith in the Father. His faith led him to talk to God in his time of need. One indication of genuine faith is a continuing dialogue with God. At times in Jesus’ life, his Father spoke to him as clearly and as forcefully as he talked to his Father.

Jesus’ faith led him to talk to the Father as he came to the end of his earthly pilgrimage. His prayer was no desperate plea of a frightened soul. It was a calm, confident expression of genuine faith.

II. Jesus’ faith was nourished by the Scriptures.

Jesus regularly attended the synagogue where the Scriptures were taught and studied ().

Luke 4:16 NRSV

16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read,

Jesus used Scripture to conquer Satan’s temptations ().

Luke 4:1–12 NRSV

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ” 5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’ ” 9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ 11 and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ” 12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

Several of Jesus’ statements from the cross were quotations from Scripture. Paul tells us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (). If we want to grow a great faith and face life’s crises and responsibilities sustained by faith, we need to make much of the Holy Scriptures in our daily devotional life.

Romans 10:17 NRSV

17 So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.

III. Jesus’ faith focused on the need of the moment.

Many of us are very general in our prayer efforts, leaving out specifics. We need to come to the point of our need when we pray, and we need to pray in faith.

Jesus was at the end of his incarnation experience. He had finished his redemptive mission by dying for a guilty humanity, and he was now ready to return to the Father. Now he was not praying for the sick or for his disciples; he was praying for his own spirit. Jesus had been committed to God and to humanity from the beginning and had never failed in his commitment, so it was only natural that he commit his spirit into his Father’s hands.

IV. Jesus’ faith gave him a positive view toward death.

Jesus tasted death for us (). He came to earth to deliver us from the tyranny of sin and death. He came to make us victors rather than victims of death. Jesus visualized the experience that we call death as a departure to be with the Father. He speaks of the destiny of the redeemed as entering into the Father’s many mansions ().

Jesus teaches us that death is not the end of our existence.

Jesus wants us to know that God has something better for us than this life has to offer.

Jesus came and clothed himself in human flesh and lived his redemptive life, ultimately dying on the cross for our sin, that we might receive forgiveness of sin and eternal life. Jesus lived a life of faith and faithfulness. He faced death and eternity with faith in the Father God. He offers himself to you as the object of your faith that you might receive the forgiveness of sin and the gift of a life that exists on both sides of the experience that people call death. Jesus conquered death and the grave and came forth as a living Savior. In Spirit he has walked through the corridors of time to this hour, offering himself to you as the one whom God has appointed to be your Savior and Lord.

Conclusion

In the same manner in which Jesus faced life with its opportunities, responsibilities, and its crises, you are encouraged to face it with faith in this wonderful Savior. As he committed his Spirit into the hands of God, commit your life—past, present, and future—into the hands of the Father God.