Guest Notes

Speaker Annette Battle

Resurrection Day "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” Luke 23:46

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Focus Scripture: Luke 23:46 “Then Jesus,
calling out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into
your hands I commit my spirit” And having said
this he breathes his last”

As were many of His words, the last words of Jesus were a quote from the Old Testament. Often when Jesus quoted the Old Testament,
He did so in order to give us a fuller understanding of the original words.
Jesus freely gave Himself into the hands of His executioners. He is now committing Himself into the hands of His Father. In life
He had always submitted to His Father’s will, and now in death it would be no different. The forsaken feeling He’d experienced
shortly before no longer remained.

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He knew God would answer His expectation, so, gasping His last breath, Jesus uttered His last words—words of complete faith.
Exactly as predetermined, of course, three days later God brought Him back to life.

Questions to ponder-
Are you living right so that you can die
right? Can we, likewise, put ourselves in God’s hands, not only when we die but, like Christ, in every day that we live?
Old Testament Scripture reference: Psalm 31:
1-5
(To the chief Musician, A Psalm of
David.) 1 In thee, O LORD, do I put
my trust; let me never be ashamed:
deliver me in thy righteousness. 2 Bow
down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for
an house of defence to save me.

3 For thou art my rock and my
fortress; therefore for thy name
sake lead me, and guide me

4Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my
strength.
5Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O LORD God
of truth. These last words of Christ reveal much to
us about His Person Position – Reference John 17:4 I have
glorified thee on the earth; I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. Jesus was fully obedient to the will of God. Clearly Jesus spoke words of compassion, seeking forgiveness for those who had wronged him. He had promised the thief that he would enjoy
paradise that very day. There were words of anguish as well. Jesus had
cried, My God, My God Why hast Thou forsaken Me? For those who looked on mocking, it may have appeared that Jesus had been abandoned, forced to die alone upon the cross. Jesus revealshis position and relationship that he continued to share
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Power – Reference John 10:17-18 –
Therefore doth my Father love me,
because I lay down my life, that I might
take it again. No man taketh it from me,
but I lay it down of myself. I have power
to lay it down and I have power to take it
again. This commandment I received of
my Father.” Matt. 27:50 – “Jesus, when
he had cried again with a loud voice,
yielded up the ghost. The word yielded
literally means “to send away; yield up;

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to permit or allow” Jesus was not at the
mercy of the cross and the death it
would bring. While He hung there,
death was the subject to His
command and power!
This should bring joy to your hearts. If
Jesus was in control of the exact
moment He would die, (and he was) -
He has the power and wisdom to handle
the issues we face. He is God of all
things, death included.
He was crucified upon the cross
because he had no other choice.
Things had spiraled out of control
resulting in His crucifixion and death.
Jesus was not killed or murdered. HE
WILLING GAVE HIS LIFE! He chose
the moment when He would yield up the
ghost. Even in death, Jesus was in
complete control. They didn’t have to
break his legs. You see in order to

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breathe adequately, the crucified victim
periodically had to push himself up using
his legs. Breaking the legs prevented
him from doing that, thus hastening his
death. He would suffocate.
The people asked Pilate to break the
legs of Jesus and the two thieves
crucified with him so that they would die
quickly, allowing their bodies to be taken
down from the crosses before the
Sabbath (which began at sunset).
Otherwise, apparently, the spectacle
would have been viewed as a
desecration of the holy day. At Pilate’s
command, then, the soldiers broke the
legs of the thieves, but not of Jesus
because they discovered that He was
already dead.
Just to make sure, however, one soldier
(according to tradition, named Longinus)

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thrust his lance into Jesus’ side (See
John 19:33–34)
 Provision.
As Jesus commended His spirit to God,
and yielded up the ghost, he provided
for our redemption. This was the way it
had to be. There were no other options,
no other choice.
Had Christ not carried the events of the
cross ALL the WAY TO DEATH, we
would have no salvation. We would yet
be in our sins and without hope and of
eternal life. The cross is central to the
gospel. JESUS HAD TO DIE, SO WE
MIGHT LIVE.
Scripture text: Hebrews 9:22 ”and
almost all things are by the law purged
with blood; and without shedding of
blood is no remission.”

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A. Jesus Died Praying to God – we
need to pray every day, pray without
ceasing. Have an attitude of prayer.
B. Jesus Died Trusting God – Jesus
died committing his spirit to God. His
confidence and trust in God the Father
had not wavered.
C. Jesus Died Submitted to God – if
Jesus was willing to submit to suffering
and death, bearing our sins in His body,
Surely we can submit to live for the
Lord and serve Him. Is it too much to
ask to live for Jesus after all He has
done for us and continues to do?
D. Jesus Died Honoring God – fully
submitted to God’s will
Jesus prays, “Father, into your hands I
commit my spirit,” because it is only in the
Father’s hands that our spirits are safe.
In speaking of the security of believers,
Jesus had taught, “My Father, who has

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given them to me, is greater than all; no
one can snatch them out of my Father’s
hand” (John 10:29).
It’s time church for a spiritual rehab. We
commit our spirits to Him in our service to
Him – We commit our spirits to Him in our
daily decisions – We commit our spirits to
Him in all our joys and sorrows.
We must say, Father, into thy hands I
commit my ………
Wayward children, my problems, my health
issues, my finances….
Come on and try saying it…. Father into thy
hands I commit my….Whatever it is that
you are facing…… place it in His hands.

Yet even at our final moment, we can turn one
last time to him and, like Jesus, make our last
words like his: ‘Father into your hands I
commend my Spirit’.

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At that moment, all that we ever had will be
left behind. At that moment, we will be
stripped of everything except our ability to
repeat those words and entrust ourselves one
final time to the God who awaits us.
When the time of our death comes, when
we are just about to take our final breath,
we follow Jesus’ example and say yet
again, “Father, into your hands I commit my
spirit.”
Questions to ponder in closing
Are you living right so that you can die
right?
Can we, likewise, put ourselves in God’s
hands, not only when we die but, like
Christ, in every day that we live?
Hallelujah!!!!!! Hallelujah!!!! Hallelujah!!!! He is Risen!!!

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