The word in this last saying of Jesus that intrigues me, is the word, "commit."

In our language, we usually associate this word with a pledge or promise which we vow to keep. If a young man hesitates to enter into marriage, we say "He's afraid of commitment." Or when someone acts in a way that causes family members to question his or her mental stability to the extent that it is feared that the person will do damage to them self or others, they "commit" their relative to what we used to call an insane asylum - a psychiatric hospital.

The other way we use this word, "commit," is when we're saying that someone has done something wrong; they "committed adultery." So, as with many of our English words, this word has a variety of uses and applications.

In the days of the Bible, the Greek word "paratithemi" had three principle meanings which can be summed up with these key words, prison, provision, and protection.

Prison

An example of being "committed" to prison is found in the story of the Old Testament Prophet, Jeremiah. He had said some things which were displeasing to King Zedekiah who ". . . gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed (committed - Hebrew "paw-kad" = "deliver to keep") in the courtyard of the guard and given bread from the street of the bakers each day until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard." (Jeremiah 37:21)

The idea is that Jeremiah would be placed and kept in a safe place - in prison.

Provision

In the frequently repeated story of Jesus feeding the multitudes, this word is found in the description of what happened after Jesus took ". . . the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all." (Mark 6:41) This is perhaps the most common use of this word in ancient times. When we invite someone to our house for a meal, we "set before" our guests the food; we "commit" the meal to them.

Another Biblical example is when the Philippian jailer took the miraculously freed Paul and Silas into his home and fed them. (Acts 16:34)

An extension of this meaning is when teaching is "set before" a group of people. Speaking of Paul's ministry, the NIV of Acts 17:3 puts it this way, he was ". . . explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead." (The KJV says, "opening and alleging".) This suggests the idea that teaching is to be nourishment for the soul. Perhaps that's what the early Apostles had in mind when they tackled the problem of the widows in the church who were being neglected. They said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables . . . [we] will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word." (Acts 6:2-4)

Later when Paul gave his last instructions to Pastor Timothy, "The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others." (II Timothy 2:2)

Protection

For the third use of this word, we've chosen the keyword "protection" - it has to do with placing a deposit with a trustee. It means to "entrust something or someone to the care or protection of someone."

We learn that in Jewish, Greek and Roman societies, the word was used (much like our word "deposit") to represent ". . . a legal device whereby an object can be entrusted to another's keeping for a specific period. The object was to be kept free, unused and undamaged until restoration." Anyone who has bought or sold property understands this - when an offer to purchase is made, a deposit is given, and held "in escrow" until the deal is finalized.

This is the meaning behind several occasions where this word is found in the New Testament. For example, when Paul and Barnabas set up their churches, they ". . . appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust." (Acts 14:23) Notice, that while we do believe that the members of these congregations had some say in the selection of their elders, the Apostles apparently took the lead. However, they clearly understood the importance of "prayer and fasting," believing that the Lord, by His Spirit, would lead and guide these new elders.

That story took place at the beginning of Paul's ministry in Asia Minor. Near the end of his ministry, when he spoke with the elders of the Ephesian churches, Paul used the same language when he said, "Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified." (Acts 20:32)

Peter had the same idea when he wrote to the people in his churches who had been undergoing persecution: "Those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good." (I Peter 4:19)

Now let's go back to what Jesus cried from the cross, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." We've said that the word "paratithemi" is related to the three ideas, "prison," "provision," and "protection". How do each of these relate to Jesus?

We know that when Jesus died on the cross, it was as though He submitted Himself to the prison of death.

When Peter vainly boasted about his loyalty to Jesus, he claimed, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death." (Lu 22:33) However, for Jesus, death was prison. However, we now know that the prison term for Jesus was only three days.

Yes, as Peter explains, Jesus, by the Spirit, "went and preached to the spirits in prison." (I Peter 3:9)

What gives us great hope is what Jesus said to John during his incarceration on the island of Patmos: "I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." (Revelation 1:18) Jesus allowed Himself to be committed to prison so that He could capture the keys and set the captives free.

Jesus is also set before us as food, or provision.

Earlier we mentioned the feeding of the multitudes when the disciples set food before the people. In John's version of this miraculous feeding, Jesus uses the occasion to proclaim, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty." (John 6:35) Before He finished this discourse, Jesus added, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (John 6:51)

This of course reminds us of the opening section of John's Gospel when he taught, "The Word became flesh." (John 1:14) Jesus committed Himself to His Father so that we would have this provision for our spiritual well-being.

Finally, Jesus entrusted His life to His Father, much like a deposit.

He placed His life in the hands of the Trustee for protection, for safe keeping, thoroughly believing that His life was safe with His Father, that it would be kept until the time came for restoration in what we know as the resurrection.

Now then, what does all this have to do with us? Very often we have heard it said, and even said it ourselves, "I want to be like Jesus."

Really? Then are we willing to do what Jesus asked of His first disciples, "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" (Mark 10:38) They said they were willing, perhaps not fully realizing what that meant - the cup symbolized suffering, and baptism, death.

This is what Paul was referring to when He wrote, ". . . don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection." (Romans 6:3-5)

So to be committed like Jesus is to go to prison, meaning that we are no longer free to do what we please. Another helpful image is that of the "love slave," or "bond servant."

Secondly, if commitment has to do with provision, we are reminded that in almost every pagan ritual throughout the world, worshippers bring food to give to the gods. In Christianity, we ourselves, like Jesus, become the food that is offered. That's why Paul calls it "living sacrifice."

And furthermore, we have full trust in God for our protection; with Paul we affirm, "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." (II Timothy 1:12)

One last thing; when Jesus died, He said that what He committed to His Father was His spirit. The text of Luke 23:46 tells us that, "When he had said this, he breathed his last." It's as though He exhaled the spirit that gave life to His body.

The message is that we, in following Jesus, would commit our spirits - the innermost part, the core, the heart, the drive, aspirations.

Can I trust God with my spirit? Can I turn over to Him my thoughts, emotions, and decisions? Too many people seem to believe that if they can control their behavior, that's all that is needed to be holy. To the contrary, when we commit our spirits to God, we are offering up the unseen elements.

The Bible tells us that while man looks on the outward, God looks at the heart (I Samuel 16:7). With God there are no secrets. It's not enough to be holy in our words and actions; we are called to be holy in our thoughts, our desires, our imaginations, our fantasies, our judgments and especially our conscience.

That's why Jesus said, it's not enough to refrain from murder - hate in the heart is just as sinful.

It's not good enough to refrain from adultery - emotional affairs are just as sinful.

That's why Jesus said it's not good enough to love those who love you; you must also love your enemy.

And Paul was on the same track when he reported, "The Lord loves a cheerful giver" - the attitude of the heart is more important than the size of the gift.

That's why Jesus became angry with the religious people of His day, publicly denouncing them as "whited sepulchers" - squeaky clean on the outside, but slimy rotten on the inside. He was echoing the prophet who cried, "They honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me."

And that's why Paul complained about those who "have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof."

Whatever else we derive from this review of our understanding of "commitment," Jesus committed His spirit to God, and we will do the same.

1. What are the seven sentences Jesus spoke from the cross?

2. What do the sayings, "into your hands I commit my spirit" and "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" have in common?

3. What three key words (all beginning with the letter "p") help us understand the meaning of the word "commit"?

4. Who was the Old Testament Prophet jailed by King Zedekiah?

5. What is the relationship between the Biblical word "commit" and entertainment?

6. Why is teaching much like serving food?

7. How do we use "deposits" in our dealings, and how is this related to "protection"?

8. According to our understanding of Acts 14:23, what three entities are involved in church leadership selection?

9. In what way, when He died, did Jesus go into prison?

10. How do we today obey the command of Jesus to "eat my flesh"?

11. What major quality did Jesus possess in His relationship with His Father that allowed Him to "deposit" His spirit with His Father?

12. How do these ideas related to commitment ("prison," "provision," and "protection") relate to the Christian Life?

13. If man is tri-part, that is, having three parts, what part is the "spirit" of man, and what are some of its main ingredients?

14. What are some of the ways both Jesus and Paul championed the internal over the external? (Matthew 6:21-22; 27-28; 43-44; II Corinthians 9:7; Mathew 23:27; II Timothy 3:5)