The Lord Jesus was, humanly speaking, not in a place of security: under the charge of the soldiers of the Roman Empire; mocked by a hostile crowd; nailed to a cross; and facing death.
And yet, this seventh saying of Christ on the cross is one that expresses a sense of security as to the future. Faced with certain death, as we all are, do you have such serenity?
Christ’s security stemmed from relationship: ‘’Father’’. In his Gospel, John records of Jesus, “The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father’’ (John 1:18), an expression of unique relationship and affection. Although men had rejected Him, the Son knew the Father would not.
John tells us that we too can have a relationship with the Father: “as many as received Him [Jesus], to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name’’ (John 1:12). Later, John wrote to those who had believed, of their future, “Beloved, now we are children of God . . . we know that when He [Jesus] is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:2). Do you have the security of being in God’s family?
Christ’s security further came from His position: “into Your hands’’. He was confident in the Father’s protection. Earlier, Jesus had told those who were His followers that they were in both His hand and His Father’s, and that “no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand’’ (John 10:29). The Father’s hand is seen as the place of ultimate strength and security.
Finally, although men could do horrific things to His body, they had no control over His spirit. The body may die, but He would live on. “Into your hands, I commit [entrust / deposit for safe keeping] My spirit’’. He was sure the Father would accept the deposit because He was righteous. Can we have the same certainty of acceptance by God in death? Yes, but only because of Christ’s sacrifice for sin: “For He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him’’ (2 Corinthians 5:21).
The past twelve months ought to have brought home the uncertainty of life. Because of Christ, you can know certainty in the face of death.