Today we have come to the end of our series, final words, eternal Impact, and it’s here in this ending of the Seven Words of Jesus from the cross that we find the final words of freedom. Truly a capstone statement that brings an end to death and defeat and springs forth an entire new world. Now there often comes time in every journey when a single statement encapsulates the entire story. Just really gets to the point. Movies are, are kind of famous for this. For instance, if I shared the quote with you, may the force be with you, you would know I was referring to Star Trek, right? Don’t worry, the eight o’clock service didn’t get that one either. In full disclosure, I’ve never actually seen Star Wars, but I do know that’s what that movie quote comes from. But for Jesus, this, this moment, this statement comes at a time when he is suspended between heaven and Earth, and with his final breath, he speaks these words. Father, and to your hands, I commit my spirit. This is not an utterance of defeat. No. This is a declaration of triumph, the culmination of a divine rescue mission that had been planned since before the foundation of the world. And these words from Jesus were not made up on the spot, but they echo back to an ancient psalm. One that David had written some a thousand years probably before Christ. Yet when Jesus speaks them, he transforms their meaning forever because in this statement, we find our own story of redemption, liberation, and new life. I invite you to join me as we venture into the 23rd chapter of Luke, beginning with verse 44. It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon for the sun stopped shining, and the curtain of the temple was torn into Jesus. Caught out with a loud voice. Father, into your hands. I commit my spirit when he had said this, he breathed his last. This is the gospel of our Lord. Praise Christ. Let us pray. Holy Father, as we come together in what we celebrate today is Palm Sunday and we remember the shouts of Hosanna, Hosanna save us. We too are often like those people gathered around Jesus that day, and we miss the significance of that statement. And Father, as we venture into these last words of Jesus this morning, I encourage us all to hear the truth behind these words, to find comfort in the words of salvation as we too. Because Jesus has committed His spirit into your hands. We too reside safely there as well. Father, open our ears and our hearts and our minds this time together. Speak through the Holy Spirit in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. So we want to begin this morning by looking at the language of trust. And I wanna understand what into your hands really means.

For Jesus takes these words from Psalm 31, 5 into your hand. I commit my spirit. You have redeemed me. Oh Lord, faithful God. Now as Pastor Susan did a wonderful job on Wednesday night explaining, and if you miss that, go back and watch it. She, she does an excellent job talking about this, but this psalm would’ve been something that every Jewish child would’ve learned from an early age. Parents would’ve taught them this as a bedtime prayer, much like we teach our children today. Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray my soul, the Lord, to keep. Jewish parents would’ve taught their children to say into your hand, I commit my spirit, oh Lord. And of course, with everything that Jesus did, this is not a coincidental timing or just words he pulled out of memory. This is intentional because even in his agony, even as Jesus hangs there in a moment between death and eternal life and probably what seemed like an eternity for many, Jesus is teaching us something. He’s teaching us a path forward, a way to understand the truth of the moment. So what does it mean to commit one spirit into the hands of God? This original language of the word commit helps us kind of drill down on this a little bit more. This word comes from a Hebrew word, paqua. And if you happen to know Hebrew, and I said that incorrectly, please forgive me, but that’s my best attempt. But this word means. To entrust something valuable to another’s care and custody. It’s a language of complete surrender, not of defeat, but of trust. A giving of oneself over trusting that the one you’re handing the item or yourself over to will take complete control and care of. Literally, Jesus is placing his life into God’s hands in the moment of death. As a redemption for you and me trusting that God is true to his word and will bring Jesus outta that tomb three days later. This statement in itself is filled with so much security and comfort. It’s a image of eternal security, and I want us for a moment to consider what it means to place our spirit into the hands of someone else. If we think about for a moment, the importance of what hands do in our lives, hands build. Just this week we got to witness hands of construction workers building this wonderful, beautiful cross that we now have in our sanctuary. I’ve seen doctors as as spending time in the hospital as a chaplain. I’ve gotta witness firsthand doctors using their hands to save the lives of people hands. Bring about healing. A mother will use her hands to secure her child and rescue them from certain danger. So when Jesus commits his spirit into his father’s hands, he’s demonstrating an absolute confidence in God’s care, protection and purpose.

And remember, as Luke recorded darkness was prevailing, but yet in this darkness, Jesus knew that death would not have a final word. And so for us today, this act of trust speaks profoundly to our journey because every day we’re faced with uncertainty. Every day we’re attacked with the uncertain next step of where life will take us. We don’t know what will happen when we exit these doors today. We hope for certain things. We pray for certain things, but we’re uncertain of what exactly might happen. What might happen in the morning when we leave our. Homes to head out the door. What might happen when we get that unfortunate phone call from the doctor’s office that he needs to see us for a follow up? What challenges might we face at work or even in retirement? And for some of us, and myself included, there’s been times in my life where I wondered, where is my next meal coming from? And then we all face this question, where will I go when I die? There is often so much uncertainty in our lives. Yet we find here in this statement of Jesus, a solid foundation where we never have to doubt a place, not only to run to in times of uncertainty in life, but to understand that Christ at the height of his journey. Gives us the example and the action of handing his spirit over to God’s hands for our eternal security for it is there that we are safe no matter what happens For our God is faithful and loving, even as we live today in these uncertain times and we face circumstances beyond our control, this truth remains that in Christ. You have been redeemed to new life. To dig a little deeper into this, I want to examine Psalm 31 as prophecy. You see the words that you have redeemed me come from a Psalm that, as I said earlier, David would’ve written of some thousand years before Christ. Yet they find fulfillment as Jesus hung on the cross. Redemption in a word, was not something that was taken lightly in Hebrew circles. See, this was a, a concrete thought process, something that was literal about their lives, something that Hebrew culture would’ve seen as very real to redeem something meant to buy it back, to pay a price necessary for its liberation. In Ancient Israel at the time, David would’ve written these words. There was a thing called a kinsman redeemer. Slavery, yes, was real at this time, but a family member could go and purchase the freedom of a slave of a loved one who was in slavery and fully redeem them, pull them from slavery, where they would never have to work another day in their life or what land had been lost. They could go in and buy this and redeem it. This was a very real concept for David. So when he writes, you have redeemed me, he was acknowledging God’s rescue in his own life. But for us, the Holy Spirit points us to something greater, something more than a temporary momentary lifestyle choice, but to a greater redemption yet to come. So I’m gonna share with you something that Peter wrote in First Peter chapter one. As he talks about the importance of the prophets in their writing, he says, concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesized about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully inquiring about what person or time the spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.

It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you in the things that have been announced to you through those who preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. These things, which the angels long to look Peter’s verses here, reveal an astonishing truth that the prophets of old were speaking about realities that they could only glimpse. That they couldn’t really fully see. You see, they were writing about something that wasn’t for their generation, but for ours, the spirit of Christ was at work in them pointing them towards a cross in an empty tomb, but yet they weren’t visually there. They could only see parts of it, even the angels. Peter says, strain. Don’t understand the magnitude of what God accomplishes through Christ. Basically what I’m saying to you this morning is what David experienced partially when he said, I commit my spirit over to you. We now know fully because Jesus committed his spirit over to God, what he glimpsed, deem dimly. We see clearly the redemption that David would’ve sang about in so many Psalms. It was just a futuristic view for him, but yet we experience daily in the life and person of Jesus Christ who has redeemed us to this new life. So what does it mean to be redeemed? What does it mean to say I am redeemed? There’s probably a, a, a many of you here this morning that when you turn on the car radio and you go to like K Love or something, you probably hear this Christian worship song called I Am Redeemed. Right? I won’t embarrass myself by singing it to you, but this tune always gets stuck in my head when I see the phrase I am redeemed. Because it’s so much more than just a phrase this, this three words sentence reverberates every dimension of our existence because redemption means that we’ve been liberated from bondage just as God had delivered Israel from Egypt. Christ has now delivered you from a life of slavery to sin, to a life of freedom. Paul writes about this in Galatians chapter five, where he says, for freedom, Christ has set us free, stand formed, stand firm. Therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. You see the chains that once bound us are broken. The power of sin to dominate your life shattered the things that Satan tries to use you to control you and influence you, has no pull on you in Christ, and certainly has no effect on who God sees you as. And more. We’re no longer motivated by guilt or force to perform for a God that we cannot see or cannot know. We do not have to navigate our lives under the weight of what we believe God wants us to do. We’re no longer in the business of trying to please God in order to receive our salvation for God is completely and entirely pleased in the person of Jesus Christ. And because of that, you are set free. Luther famously said that the Christian is Lord of all subject to no one Yet, because of this freedom, we are a slave to all As we live out the grace and mercy we have received in Christ.

Second, our redemption means that the restoration of a relationship has happened. The wall of separation between God and man, between us and God. There is no wall there anymore. There’s a Christ size hole with the picture of a cross and a man hanging on it right in the middle for us to walk boldly through because there is no separation between you and God. Paul writes in Romans five for if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son. How much more now that we are reconciled shall we be saved by his life? You see. We do not stand at a distance from God any longer for we have been brought near by the blood of Christ. I don’t know about you guys, but there’s times in my life when I struggled to still see this. This is oftentimes in my own life when I’ve had difficult seasons where there was a death of a loved one, maybe a significant life change or. The harsh realization that life has not gone the way I planned. And in those moments, it’s tempting to feel as if we are no longer connected to God. But Christ’s death has brought us to a place where that separation no longer exists because Christ has placed his hands in his spirit in God’s hands full of trust. For our redemption. We too can place our life into God’s hands. Even in those moments when we’re fearful and we cannot be sure what thing is going to happen next, we are connected to God through Christ. Third, our redemption means that we have been transformed. Our identity is no longer what it was before. We’re no longer defined by our failures. By our wounds or even our achievements. Paul writes this in Second Corinthians. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come. You who are in Christ, bear a new name, a new purpose, a new destiny. No longer are you defined by the sins of your past or even those sins that we still struggle against today. God does not look down upon you and call you whatever happened before. If there are those among us who sat here today and wonder about this, you’re no longer called liar or chief swindler, sin steep, whatever it was. You’re no longer defined by the disease that is affecting your body. You’re not a, a diabetic or or a cancer survivor. You are a child of God. You are a daughter of God. You’re a son of God in Christ. You have been made a completely new creation, and this life is only temporary. And now that we are freed, we get to live with Grateful hearts. Confidently trusting his word with eternal hope, living with a renewed purpose. I know there’s stories here this morning that sound probably something like this. After a major life issue, I discovered that God has not done with me and I found a renewed purpose for my life to bring glory to Christ through living it out and sharing these wonderful stories. And this is a beautiful thing. And it it is absolutely a hundred percent true.

But we don’t have to wait on a major life issue to do this. The major life issue is the moment you believe and you have faith in Christ. Now you have a new purpose in your life and a new direction, and a new destiny is no longer whatever you are headed to before. It is the plan that God has set before you. Which brings me to my fourth point this morning, and that is. That our redemption means participation in God’s kingdom. You see, you haven’t merely been rescued from something, you have been rescued for something. Peter also writes this in one Peter sec, uh uh, chapter two, verse nine. He says, you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own possession. That you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Oh, the scope of this redemption is breathtaking. It addresses our past guilt, our present struggles, and our future. Hope. It speaks to our individual journey Sure. But also to the collective good. And the overall calling is God’s people. You are God’s people. You are priest of a holy nation. So how then shall we live as those who have been redeemed? Because if these truths remain just intellectual concepts, then we’ve missed the transformative power of what happened when Christ placed his spirit into the hands of God for the life is lived in response to what Christ has accomplished. This ongoing story is our place in redemptive history. I wanna return back to one Peter for just a moment. As he talked about those prophets who have prophesized about things that they hadn’t seen yet, but only that God was telling them through the spirit, and we make a remarkable discovery. You occupy a privileged place in redemptive history. You didn’t come to church this morning just for the sake of being at church on a Sunday morning. You’re part of God’s plan, A plan that goes all the way back for the foundation of the world and will last until the end. The prophets search diligently to understand what you now experience the angels. Peter says, long to look into what you inhabit. We’re not just beneficiaries of Christ’s redemptive work. We’re participants in it for Through us, through you, through me, through your neighbor, through your sons and daughters, your brothers and sisters, your mothers and fathers. God continues to unfold his redemptive purposes for this world. Our lives become beautiful. Canvases in which he paints pictures of his grace for others to see. Being redeemed to new life means something yes to you, but it also matters for your neighbor, for those of us around us, for those people around others who will receive the grace and love of Jesus Christ through your testimony for when we declare I am redeemed. We’re not just making a personal statement. We’re bearing witness to God’s faithfulness across thousands and thousands of generations. We’re adding our voices to the choirs that stretch out from David to Jesus to those who wave palm branches. That’s that day as Jesus reentered Jerusalem to the early church and Paul and Silas and Luke.

To the early reformers and yes, even all those Christian people that we don’t like. Well that’s a, that’s my personal thing against the Catholic church. That’s nothing against you guys, but all the way through the church that you set in today and the church that God has called us to plant here in the East Valley and all the people around us, God is intricately working this plan together. Because he is faithful to his promises, and I promise you guys, in a world that is right now hungrier for authenticity more than anything else in the world, nothing is more powerful than the story of a life transformed by the grace of Jesus Christ. When others see in us a peace that transcends circumstances, a joy that persists through all trials. And a love that reaches across divides of the aisles of politics and churches and loved ones and relationships. Those people glimpse the reality of redemption. We are redeemed because Jesus committed his life into the hands of God, and now in faith, we receive and have been redeemed to a new life. Let us pray. Oh, father, you are our faithful redeemer. We stand amazed at what you have accomplished through Christ’s death and resurrection. We thank you for the freedom, for the restoration, for the transformation, and for the purpose that are ours because Jesus committed his spirit into your hands. Help us to live as the redeemed people of God. Trusting in you with every dimension of our lives, and may our testimony of redemption draw others to the liberation truth of your gospel. Father, now carry us in the power of the Holy Spirit into the uncertainty of today, knowing for certain that you have saved us. In Jesus’ name, amen. Amen.