Father, Into Thy Hands

Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden (held) of it.

Men did what they could do to Jesus; they hung Him on the cross. Satan did what he could do to Jesus, but God raised Him from the dead. Regardless of what man or Satan have planned against us, God has a greater plan! God has said His plans are for good and not for evil! The Bible is filled with stories about people who found themselves in impossible situations. We have not been swallowed by a whale, wandered in the desert for forty years, or faced the Red Sea while being pursued by the enemy. If God brought deliverance in those seemingly impossible situations, He can bring the same in our lives. None of our problems can compare to Jesus being delivered out of the midst of Satan's domain. In what appeared to be an impossible situation, God raised Jesus from the dead. He was resurrected into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of the Father.

II. The Number Seven

The number seven is not only the number for completion; it is also the number for rest. There are seven names for the Lord in the Old Testament, seven days in the creation, seven days in a week, and while Jesus hung on the cross, He spoke forth seven phrases. The seventh saying uttered by Jesus from the cross was his last and in it we can find tremendous rest. The last thing Jesus spoke from the cross was, "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit."

III. Father, Into Your Hands

And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

The word "ghost" is the same word translated "spirit" in the middle of the verse. Jesus gave up His own spirit into the hands of the Father. The word "commend" means "to commit, deposit, or dismiss for safekeeping." In other words, Jesus deposited, committed, or dismissed His spirit into the hands of God the Father for safekeeping. In His final moments before death, Jesus addressed God as His Father. Previous to this, during the darkness of the hours between noon and three o'clock, Jesus had cried out,"My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" and yet, in His final breath, He cried out in a loud voice, acknowledging God as His Father.

When Jesus died on the cross, the plan of redemption was not yet complete. For three days and three nights, Jesus' body would be in the heart of the earth in the depths of Satan's realm accomplishing the plan of redemption on our behalf.

IV. With a Loud Voice

It is important to note Jesus cried out with a "loud voice". Jesus did not need to cry out loud so God could hear Him. God can hear a whisper from our mouth. He can hear the cry of our heart. Jesus did not cry out for God to hear Him; He cried out because men needed to hear Him.

Sometimes when we hear another person pray in faith, it causes us to pray in faith. The people lifted their voices to the Lord in one accord and cried to the Lord with one voice (Acts 4:24). Throughout the Word of God,"they lifted up their voice" is a common phrase. This not only means lifting their voice on high to God, it also means they could be heard when they prayed. They did not speak loud because God needed to hear them; it was because man needed to hear.

Jesus wanted men to know they had done all they could to His body. They had done all they could to His soul. He was now turning the care of His spirit over to God, letting man know they could not touch His inward spirit man, the part that belongs to God. Jesus was in essence saying, "I am about to die and at that moment, you have done all you can to me. From this point on, you can't touch Me. I have commended My spirit to God's care. In His last cry, Jesus was letting man know it was not over. They may have killed Him, but God would raise Him from the dead!

For forty days after Jesus was raised from the dead, He walked the earth and was seen of multitudes. In addition, 120 were raised from the dead in the upper room, and later that day, 3,000 were raised from spiritual death! Ephesians 3:10 says the reason God did this was to show Satan and all the principalities and powers of heaven, His manifold wisdom through the Church.

V. The Cry of Faith

When Jesus turned the keeping of Himself over to God, His Father, Jesus wanted men to know though they had crucified and tortured His body, the next three days and three nights were left in the hands of God. This was a cry of faith. Even though Jesus had been on the cross, the worst was yet to come. Jesus understood He had not yet suffered the worst, yet He also knew according to the Word of God, He would be raised from the dead.

And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men:

And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry.

The phrase "into the hands of men" simply means they could do whatever they wanted to do. When Jesus said, "Father, into your hands I commend (dismiss) my spirit," He was saying, "Father, You can do whatever You want to do." Jesus knew what men would do because it was prophesied they would betray and crucify Him. But it was also prophesied what God the Father would do. When Jesus committed Himself into the hands of men, prophecy came to pass. But when He committed Himself into the hands of God, an even more sure word of prophecy came to pass! Men would crucify Him, but God would raise Him from the dead!

VI. Prophecy Fulfilled

Jesus fulfilled a prophecy made in Psalm 22, verse 1 when He cried out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" There were many scriptures in the Old Testament prophesying of Jesus' death on the cross. It was prophesied He would make intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53 prophesies of all Jesus would accomplish on the cross. Psalm 31 also contains prophetic scriptures.

In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.

Bow down thine ear to me; deliver me speedily: be thou my strong rock, for an house of defence to save me.

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

Pull me out of the net that they had laid privily for me: for thou art my strength.

Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.

VII. God Keeps His Word

In this passage of scripture, Jesus puts Himself into the hands of God. He calls God, "God of truth". We can replace the word "truth" with the word, "Word". Jesus was calling God, "the God of His Word".

God had forsaken Jesus on the cross. The Holy Spirit had forsaken Jesus on the cross. Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" And yet, the last statement Jesus made from the cross was, "Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit." Why did Jesus say this? He knew God was a God of His Word. What God promises in His Word will come to pass. God said He would raise Jesus from the dead and Jesus trusted in that Word even as He was taking His last breath on the cross--even knowing He was facing the worst during the next three days and nights. But Jesus knew at the end of those three days and nights, He would be raised from the dead. If the Word of God gave Jesus confidence while He hung on the cross that He would be raised from the dead, it can raise us from any situation we may be facing in our lives! The same Word that delivered Jesus from death, hell, and the grave is the same Word that will deliver us!

VIII. That It Might Be Fulfilled

Repeatedly, in speaking of Jesus' life, the phrase, "...that it might be fulfilled" is used. Jesus fulfilled prophecy found in the Scriptures. Every Scripture has been given to us. The same power that brought Jesus through the cross and three days and nights in the heart of the earth, is available to us. God will bring us out of financial trouble. He will bring us out of family trouble. He will bring us out of depression. There is not a pit Satan or man can create, that God cannot raise us and deliver us from.

Again, Jesus knew man would crucify Him. He knew God would raise Him from the dead. In verse Psalm 31:5 David speaks prophetically of Jesus saying, "Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth." He is speaking to God the Father and commends Him that His Word will come to pass.

IX. Of My Own Self, I Can Do Nothing

Even in Jesus' own life and ministry, He knew it was not His own power that delivered Him. Jesus was God and He was God from the time He was born into this earth. Jesus was God when He was in Mary's womb. Jesus was still God when He was five years old, ten years old, and twenty years old, yet He never performed a miracle during those years. It was not until the Holy Spirit came on Him that He performed His first miracle at the age of thirty.

Jesus was deity, but He never depended upon His deity. Jesus was also humanity and He depended upon the anointing of the Holy Spirit to perform miracles so He could be an example for us to follow. Just like Jesus, we are human and need to depend upon the Holy Spirit to do God's will in the earth.

I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just, because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.

After Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit at the Jordan River, He was in the synagogue in Nazareth, reading the Bible as was His custom. Previous to this time, He amazed the religious leaders with His knowledge of the Word. But on this particular day, Jesus opened to Isaiah 61 and read, as quoted in Luke 4:18-19, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because He hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord."

Jesus had read the Scriptures in the synagogue many times but this time was different. Verses 20 and 21 say, "And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears."

Jesus was telling those present in the synagogue, "From this day forward, the power of the Holy Spirit has come upon my humanity and as a human, I am going to begin to perform miracles by the power of God."

In His humanity, Jesus knew healings were not from Him but through Him from God and by the Holy Spirit. Jesus had no power to raise Himself from the dead. God raised Him from the dead.

Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

As a human on the cross, Jesus knew He could not raise Himself from the dead but He thrust Himself into the hands of God. Jesus could obey God's Word, but the miracles came from God Himself. In His umanity, He is no different from you or me.

X. When We Do Our Part, God Does His

It seems that often, we lay hands on someone for healing and when the healing does not manifest immediately, we think, "I must have done something wrong." But our part is simply to obey the Word of God, which says to lay hands on the sick, and God's part is "they shall recover". The greatest cry of our lips should be, "Of ourselves we can do nothing, but the works that God has sent me to do He will perform through me. The same Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead works through me. The same God and Father that raised up Jesus from the dead, works through me."

Proverbs 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths." Our part is to trust in the Lord with all our heart. Our part is to not lean on our own understanding. Our part is to acknowledge God in all our ways and His part is to direct our steps. Once we have done our part, we need to leave the rest in God's hands.

XI. Healing Is Not Always Instantaneous

There is a story told about Smith Wiggelsworth involving a girl who was demon possessed. The girl's mother invited Smith Wiggelsworth to her home. The mother had invited Catholic priests and exorcists to cast the demon out of her daughter, but nothing had worked.

Smith simply walked into the girl's bedroom and slammed the door behind him. He found the girl on her bed, but then she jumped up on the vanity. The girl glared at him and as Smith looked at her he said, "Satan, come out!" He then turned around and walked out the door. Thirty minutes later they called him saying, "Smith, it didn't work. The girl still has a demon." His response was, "I said the demon had to go and it will go." He hung up the phone, and an hour later she was delivered.

Smith had no power to cast out that devil. It was the power of God that caused the demon to leave. The power of God causes demons to leave, sickness to go, and people to recover. The Word does not say, "They will lay hands on the sick and they will be instantly healed."

Even in Jesus' own ministry, not everyone was instantly healed. When Jesus ministered healing to the ten lepers, the Bible says, "As they went they were healed." When Jesus spoke to the centurion's servant, he was not healed instantly. The Bible says, "in that selfsame hour" they were healed. Our part is to simply obey the Word and leave the results in God's hands.

XII. We Are the Children of God

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Men are always caught up in titles, but the greatest title that could ever be bestowed upon us is to be called "sons of God". We are called "brethren" and "saints". What greater title could be given than to be called a brother or sister of Jesus, a son, daughter, or saint of God. What a wonderful privilege we share with Jesus to be able to call God, "Father".

XIII. Death is the Doorway Into Another Life

Luke 23:46 says, "...and he gave up the ghost." Jesus died. Death is merely a doorway into another life--into a brand new beginning called eternity. The Bible says it is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment. Paul said, "To live is Christ but to die is gain." If we were to die today, it would be gain for us. We do not need to fear death because there is something so much better waiting for us beyond the grave--the Lord Jesus Christ and being in the very presence of God Himself.

XIV. Commit Your Life Into the Father's Hands

When Jesus said, "Father, into thy hands," He knew He was in safe keeping because He was in His Father's hands. He knew God would never drop Him and He was safe and secure. Jesus speaking of us said, no man would be able to pluck us out of the hands of God. Paul said the same thing in 2 Timothy 1:12.

For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

When we commit ourselves into the hands of God, no one can pluck us out of His hands. In addition, God has an unending covenant with us to keep us in His hands. Jesus understood the same thing when He said,"Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit, and I know something. You are able to keep that which I have committed unto You against that day." Three days later Jesus was raised from the dead! We do not need to fear. We are in the hands of God.

I. Man Cannot Stop God's Plan