April 11, 2021
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Sharing from the congregation: David Petty
Then he said, “Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” —Luke 23:42-43
We don’t know for certain everything that Jesus said while on the cross. The gospel writers have given us seven utterances, referred to as the Seven Last Words, that they felt were important. But they never denied that he said other things, and they disagreed over which were worth noting. The seven utterances are worth studying individually, but it also may be worthwhile to look at each gospel writer’s choices, for that might indicate something that they were trying tell us.
Luke reports three “Last Words.” The first two, given in adjacent passages, deal with forgiveness; in the first he asks for forgiveness of a crowd that does not know what they are doing, and in the second he reassures a man who appears quite aware of what he has done. There is another difference, though, between the two utterances, and it has to do with authority. In the first case Jesus asks his father to forgive. In the second he speaks on his own authority.
The question of the father’s authority vs. the son’s is a recurring one in the gospels. In Luke 5:16-26, the story of the man let down through the roof, Jesus affirms his authority, and in John 17:2 he speaks In prayer of having been given it all. But in Luke 18:19 he says that no one is good but God alone, and in Luke 20:1-8 he toys with the priests and others who ask about his authority.
The third utterance is, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” So you see that Luke is highlighting the elements of the trinity: father, son, and spirit. This is by no means a theological explanation of the doctrine. The trinity is a complicated matter; I certainly don’t understand it, and I’m not convinced that the experts do either. Luke is simply reminding us of it. The concept has its beginning in the Old Testament but was coming into prominence at about the time the Gospels were written (see Matthew 28:19, for example.)
Maybe you, like I, don’t really understand all this; but there can still be great comfort in realizing that the one who created us and redeemed us continues to walk beside us and guide us every day.
Gracefully submitted,
David Petty