DR 5
December 5
Luke 23:46. The last words of Christ.
When we hear that a saint has left this world we wish to know what were his last words. How precious are the dying accents of a brother—a child—or a parent! We treasure them up in our hearts, and perhaps remember them as long as we live. At this moment some of us may recollect the last words of a friend we loved and lost. But whose words can be so precious as those of our Savior, our nearest and dearest friend? There are seven sentences recorded as spoken by him while on the cross. Three were uttered before the darkness overspread the land, and four near its conclusion. The first three concerned others, not himself. One was a prayer for his enemies, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do;" the next was a promise to a penitent, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, today shall you be with me in paradise;" and the third implied a request to a beloved mother and disciple, "Behold your mother," "Behold your son."
The last four concerned himself. One expressed the anguish of his soul, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"—another the anguish of his body, "I thirst;"—the next told of sufferings ended, "It is finished;"—the last of joys begun, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." These are the words of David in the thirty-first psalm. In all the scenes of our Savior's life his heavenly perfections were displayed; but in his dying hours they shone forth with the greatest splendor. His forgiving love was seen in his prayer for his enemies—his compassion in his promise to the penitent—his faithfulness in his charge to John—his patience in his expiring cries—and his unshaken confidence in his God in his last words, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." As soon as he was nailed to the cross he called upon his Father, and when just expiring, he again said, "Father." In the moment of his greatest anguish he cried, "My God." Thus he fulfilled the prophecy in Ps. 89:26. "He shall cry unto me, You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation."
Though Jesus was God, yet he was man also, and he felt as a man. Though without sin, he was tempted in all points like as we are. He endured the pangs of death. His soul was separated from his body. The moment of separation is called "death." Every human being feels it to be a dreadful moment. There is only one thought which can sustain us then; it is the assurance that God is our Father. He who has doubts on this subject, feels like a traveler who is going to tread an unknown path—to tread it in darkness, and to tread it— alone. But how can we know that God is our Father? The Scriptures answer that question—"You are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." (Gal. 3:26.) "To as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe in his name." (John 1:12.) When we apply to Jesus for the pardon of our sins, then we are adopted into the family of God; then the Holy Spirit is shed abroad in our hearts; then we feel that God is our Father, because he is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; and then we cry, Abba, that is, "Father." (Rom. 8:15.) We cannot trust strangers, but a child can trust his father. We have heard of the boy who was not afraid in the storm, and who said, "My Father's at the helm." Jesus trusted in God. Even his enemies said, when they scoffed at him, "'He trusted in God." Worldly people cannot trust him, for they do not know him.
To them he is a stranger. They often say they trust him; they often think they trust him; but they trust him with nothing that they care about. They cannot trust him to choose their lot in life; therefore they are always forming schemes of their own—nor to provide for them in old age; therefore they are often terrified by fears of poverty and desolation. They cannot trust him to guide them one step which they do not see, nor to give them one blessing which they do not already hold in their hands. This is not to trust him. But the children of God can trust him while they live with their earthly concerns, and, when they come to die, with their immortal spirits. O that they trusted Him more! Martin Luther, the holy reformer, was remarkable for his trust in God. Three hours a day he set apart for calling upon his Father, and he received the most wonderful answers to his prayers. When he was dying, he was often heard to say, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." These were almost his last words. He added, "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish."