Luke 23:46 Good Friday 2012 Dear children of God, brothers and sisters in Christ, and guests, the anniversary of the passing away of someone who was very dear to you tends to be a deeply emotional event. A photo, a tomb-stone, some symbol of their existence, like a tree planted in a garden, will remind us of a loved one and especially on the anniversary, we pay attention to it. Last words are recalled. We reflect on what the person who is no longer with us meant and means to us. Because this is the way we experience the anniversary of someone s death, we Christians may attempt to do the same sort of thing on Good Friday. Good Friday is a quiet day, a somber day. We turn to Scripture to bring to mind what happened now some 2000 years ago. Songs have us articulate our knowledge and experience of the death of our Saviour. We gather in worship to commemorate Christ s death. We need to be careful though. Our emotions should be of the right sort. One cannot simply translate the emotions associated with the death of a loved one to the death of Christ. For our emotions regarding the death of a loved find their source in the fact that we miss them; there s a sense of loss. But that s not true of the Christ. We live, not only after Good Friday, but also after Easter Sunday. Our Saviour is very much alive and with us, until the end of the age. Rather, our emotions regarding the death of the Christ should have their source in what made this death necessary; we caused it by our sins. But for the rest, there s no need to be gloomy and despondent. It s not without reason, boys and girls, that today is known as Good Friday. It is good, because on that day some 2000 years ago, God punished the Lord Jesus instead of us, and we could receive eternal life. Now it didn t seem a good day on the day it happened, but even then there were clues that this black day in the history of mankind was also a good day. We listen to God s Gospel of Salvation with this theme: The Christ s death seemed a defeat but was a victory. We ll pay attention to the two parts found in the theme: (1) The Christ s death seemed a defeat; and (2) The Christ s death was a victory. 1) The Christ s death seemed a defeat. A person dies, passes away. Bodily death. What is that? Death is more than not living. To be dead is, more accurately, to be cut off from the source of life. In the Bible, dead means no longer having the power of life within you. As such, the dying process itself is part of death. The whole path to being cut off from the Fountain of Life, being separated from God, is part of being dead. For not only the dead miss the power of life, also those who are dying may miss that power. By way of illustration, compare it to a toddler on a swing in a play-ground. Toddlers don t know how to swing yet, they haven t figured out how they can use internal energy to make themselves go to and fro. A parent has to push them. The toddler swings when Mom is pushing. Then there s the moment Mom stops pushing. The swing still goes, forward, backward, forward, backward. But each time the distance the swing moves through is shorter. Until Mom, the swing doesn t work anymore. Dying is like a swing slowly coming to a stop. Death already begins when there s no energy input anymore. If God is not bestowing His grace unto life, death is victorious and life comes draws to an end. Now, by their fallen nature, all people are in and of themselves dead. Dead in their sins (Ephesians 2:1-3). When our Saviour proclaimed the Kingdom of God in Israel, He was preaching to the dead (John 5:25), even though
the people were still breathing. They were dying, the swing slowing until it would stop. And if people do not hear, if they have no regard for the Gospel of God, then the full effect of death sets in. Godabandonment. Cut off from the source of life. Hell. The swing slowing to a stop. A description of this process is found in Ecclesiastes 12:1-7. Slowly but surely the body breaks down until, finally, man goes to his eternal home. That final moment is described as follows: The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. To die is for body and spirit to return to their original state. The body decomposes in the grave, the spirit returns to God. Death is the decomposition of tangible existence. The spirit returns to God. We find such an expression in our text as well. On the cross, our Saviour committed His spirit to His Father. What is this spirit? Two explanations recommend themselves. A first sees spirit as a synonym for soul. This would define spirit as the personality of an individual, that which makes them the unique person they are. A second sees spirit as a parallel to the term body, considering body to be all that which is tangible, touchable, mass, and spirit that which is not tangible, the power of life, energy. Professionals such as theologians, psychologists, and doctors are not decided on this matter. Hence I personally wouldn t want to make a choice. Moreover, it doesn t really seem necessary, as both approaches understand the term spirit to include that which makes individual life possible. Using the illustration of the toddler on the swing: an individual person is the toddler on the swing, God is the parent pushing the swing, and the push itself is that which makes life possible, transferring energy to the individual. It is this energy which is the spirit of man. When the swing is no longer pushed, there comes a moment when the swing comes to a halt. There is no energy anymore. Likewise, when a person has died, the spirit has left the body. This process of dying has been part of man s existence ever since the Fall into Sin. The wages of sin is death, Scripture tells us (Romans 6:23). It lines up completely with what God had said in Paradise: When you eat [of the fruit] you will surely die. (Genesis 2: 17). Sinning is taking leave off God, is being cut off from God, from the Source of Life. Hence, too, there was no access to the Tree of Life after the Fall into Sin. The curse of God took the form of dying. Pain at birth, the moment when bodily independent life begins. Tiring labour during the course of life, in order to sustain life. But in the end the body would break down, and man returns to the ground from which he was taken. The first death, it begins with sin and unbelief and ends with the inability to gain life again. Has it ever struck you, brothers and sisters, that God punishes sin with what sin seeks to achieve? Sin is the act of man disconnecting himself from God. And death is the act of God abandoning man to an existence in separation from God. There is that time between beginning to die and death during which one can yet gain access to life. There is that period between conception and the parting of body and soul during which one can receive eternal life. But if it does not happen, one will pass from the first death into the second death. That s the death of hellish pain and agony. That s experiencing death in its most ultimate form: it s existing but not living. It s a state of eternal abandonment, of everlasting loneliness. It s mind-boggling when you contemplate it. Hellish anguish, pain, terror, and agony, eternal. There are no words for this, our Catechism uses the expression unspeakable here. To exist without life. Death, the wages of sin. And our Saviour died, He gave up His spirit (Matthew 27:50). Our text informs us that after having committed His spirit into the hands of His Father, our Saviour breathed His last. Very literally
translated, we actually read He breathed out. It was His life that He breathed out. He breathed His last breath. At this point we should take note of who is writing this. It is the Evangelist Luke. Boys and girls, do you know what Luke did for work? What his job was? He was a doctor. A doctor. When it comes to Luke s Gospel, we always find very precise descriptions of somatic situations, of body things. Luke s descriptions of illnesses are very precise for his time. Same when it comes to Christ s death. Our Saviour gave a deep sigh, and that was His last breath. A deep sigh, for death by crucifixion means dying of collapsed lungs. There s no further breathing, for there s nowhere for the air to go. One could ask a dogmatic question here. Prior to breathing His last, our Saviour said It is finished. That happened at the end of three hours of darkness. Three hours that are understood to be the struggle with evil, with the devil and hell. Three hours of God-abandonment. At the end of those three hours, the Christ emerged victorious. It is finished. Man has access to life, to eternal life. The power of sin is broken, the rule of the devil has ended. The curse placed on the shoulders of man has been carried by the Christ of God. All who have faith in the Christ will not see death but live forever (John 3:36). One would think, well that s it then. And yet: He breathed His last. Why? Jesus the Christ died. Was that still necessary? The second death, hell, has been conquered. So why then still this final moment in the first death? The power of the devil has been broken. So why did Jesus descend into the realm of the dead yet? Was the It is finished a little too early? Was it a victory of a battle but not the war? The centurion sees Him die. People beat their breasts and grieve: this is it, life is gone. The Jews want to be sure of His death: His side is pierced. Pilate is surprised by the speed with which death came. A burial followed. All involved, friend and foe, sympathizer and enemy, were convinced: Jesus of Nazareth is dead. Defeated. Jesus was defeated. Satan won. That s what it looked like. Yes, the head of the snake has been crushed. The second death has been conquered. But the bite in the heel seemed to have been deadly too. It seemed that the devil dragged Jesus along in his downfall. 2) It seemed a defeat. But brothers and sisters, the truth is, Christ s death was a victory. Let s see this in the second place. Already at Golgotha people had good reasons to think that this was not a defeat but a victory. We should not be surprised by the meaningful words spoken by the centurion regarding the Christ. For the moment of Jesus death is remarkable, to say the least. That s true, not only for the events that accompanied his death: the darkness lifting, the earth quake, the graves opening, the temple-curtain that tore down the middle. There are some remarkable things in relation to Jesus person already in His moment of dying. Doctor Luke reports this remarkable fact. Jesus called out with a loud voice. That s not normal. Those who are dying do not speak with a loud voice. They whisper, they have a hoarse voice. They croak. That s why, in slang English, to croak can mean to die. But most people, when they die, are indeed like a swing coming to a halt. The swing moves slower and slower, forward, backward, forward, backward, until it hangs still. Not the Christ. He called out with a loud voice. That would have been a shock to all those standing there. His swing suddenly comes to halt. The first death does not conquer the
Christ when the Christ has conquered the second death. Rather, it is more like the Christ choosing to die the first death after having conquered the second death. He chose to die, that first death. At the moment of death He called with a loud voice, and that loud voice said I live. Now, it s true that some people do shout loudly when they die. But when that happens, the cry is not clear, it is a shout that cannot be understood. The difference with the Christ is, when He died, He called out coherent words with a loud voice. The coherent words spoken by our Saviour begin with the address Father. In relation to the second death, Christ s address was My God. My God, why have You forsaken Me? A rhetorical question. For the answer is known: God had forsaken Him on account of our sins. But man shrugs it off. Let s see if God will save Him. Would Elijah be sent to save Him from the cross? People understand that God had indeed forsaken this man on a cross. But, while God may have abandoned the last Adam, this Man does not abandon God. The Christ clings to His God. And thus the last words spoken by our Saviour on the cross, words spoken in relation to the first death, these words begin with that tender term, Father. Here it is no longer man under the pressure of sin, appealing to His God. Here it is the Son seeking the attention of His heavenly Father. This should have struck people as odd. Especially those who had been with the Lord Jesus for many years. It would have made more sense, more human sense, for Jesus to take leave of God. As Job s wife had once suggested: Curse God and die. But no, the Christ perseveres in faith. He calls for His Father. There s more yet. Listen also to what the Christ then said. Into Your hands I commit My spirit. This was really odd. Let me attempt to have you experience, not just know but feel what the Israelites were hearing. It s as if Jesus, as He was hanging there on the cross said this: Time has come for me to sleep And I thank Thee for Thy keep. Watch this night well over me Teach me Lord to trust in Thee. Yes, brothers and sisters. The last thing Jesus said before dying was the Jewish evening prayer for children. Psalm 31. The Christ s parting words are a bed-time prayer. It s not a farewell, a final goodbye. It s a Good-night. Sleep tight. See you in the morning. When you re asleep, you re not fully conscious of your surroundings. You can t really take care of yourself. And so, boys and girls, you pray for the Lord s care as you sleep. The Lord Jesus, now that He is about to die, passes on the care for His life to His Father, knowing that soon He will be awake again. Into Your hands I commit my spirit. Maybe some of those standing by caught on to this. No doubt the closest disciples of Jesus would have pondered the words spoken. The whole of the prayer, Psalm 31. Also these words. In You, LORD, I have taken refuge; let Me never be put to shame. You are My rock and My fortress. Into Your hands I commit My spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth. You have not handed Me over to the enemy, but have set My feet in a spacious place. The whole psalm speaks of conquest, of victory. People standing by the cross, take note! Take note! You are not seeing the death of the defeated. The One nailed to the cross is conqueror! His last breath is not a gasp but a loud and clear cry. Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit. Luke added, And He breathed out. In the Greek original, there s something worth noting here. The verbal form used by Luke is special. It indicates a sudden halt. Jesus last breath was not a sigh, like a tire
slowly going flat. No. It all happened very decisively. Jesus breathed His last breath and died. Death did not take the Christ, but the Christ gave Himself to death. Just as He had said before: The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. this command I received from My Father. (John 10:17-18). The Gospel is clear, the Christ is not a victim of death. Indeed, His moment of death proves that He has won. Because hell has been conquered and can no longer terrify, so the first death cannot terrify any longer. The bite in the heel hurt, but death has lost its sting. For the head of the serpent has been crushed. Satan has lost. Sin is conquered. Hell is vanquished. The moment of death is no more than a gateway, a portal, to eternal life. The death of Christ also proves for all mankind that the guilt incurred by sin has indeed been paid for. Imagine for a moment Jesus had not died. If, after His struggle with hell, He had simply gone straight to heaven, like Enosh and Elijah. Then we would have doubts regarding the first death. For, boys and girls, if the Lord Jesus had not died, He could not have arisen from the dead either. Now, we fear the second death as something horrible, but also as something unknown. We have no words to describe the second death. Unspeakable anguish, pain, terror and agony. But the first death, we know it all too well. And humans are afraid of it. People fear death. One of our hymns (68) refers to the moment of death as our darkest hour. Hence it s so important for us to see proof of the defeat of death. And so we see our Saviour, our Leader, die. We see the Good Shepherd put His life on the line, yes, die, for us. This will give us confidence. Not only in His willingness to be there for us. But, once arisen from the dead, His ability to have us too, rise from the dead. The Christ lived on, even though He died. To Him, death was no more than falling asleep. He prayed an evening prayer, just as every child does before going to bed. Keep me safe till morning light. The night of Good Friday would be followed by the morning of Easter Sunday. We may rejoice, already on Good Friday, and call out (Hymn 68:7) See how Satan s might is quelled, how the pow r of death lies broken. Where, O death, is now your sting? Christ has conquered! He is King! It seemed a defeat, brothers and sisters. The death of the Christ seemed a defeat. But it was not. It was a victory. The Son called for the Father, called out with a loud voice, though dying. He prays an evening prayer, knowing the morning will come. He blew out His last breath, no sigh, no gasp, but a voluntary entry into death. He had completed His task, and went to Paradise until it would be time for Him to return to His work on earth, three days later. Today we commemorate the death of Christ. It s Good Friday. Yes, boys and girls, it s a good Friday. How should you feel this day? Sad and dejected, because we have the anniversary of someone who died? No. The emotion that we should feel today is one of shock and surprise. Shock, because we learn that the wrath of God demanded. The death of His own Son, the second death, the first death. Surprise, for look how willing the Son is to die. He died, that we might live. Good Friday is a day on which we may be glad. Glad, for God has given us a Saviour who can truly set us free from death. Good Friday. The death of Christ makes it possible for us to live our lives, once again, to God s glory. Amen.