To Your Spirit I entrust My life

Luke 23:44-24:12 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the entire land until the ninth hour, ⁴⁵ because the sun stopped shining; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶ And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I entrust My spirit.” And having said this, He died. ⁴⁷ Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “This man was in fact innocent.” ⁴⁸ And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, after watching what had happened, began to return home, beating their chests. ⁴⁹ And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these things.

⁵⁰ And a man named Joseph, who was a member of the Council, a good and righteous man ⁵¹ (he had not consented to their plan and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was waiting for the kingdom of God— ⁵² this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁵³ And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain. ⁵⁴ It was a preparation day, and a Sabbath was about to begin. ⁵⁵ Now the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how His body was laid. ⁵⁶ And then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes.

And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

24 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. ² And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in gleaming clothing; ⁵ and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why are you seeking the living One among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, ⁷ saying that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise from the dead.” ⁸ And they remembered His words, ⁹ and returned from the tomb and reported all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest. ¹⁰ Now these women were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James; also the other women with them were telling these things to the apostles. ¹¹ But these words appeared to them as nonsense, and they would not believe the women. ¹² Nevertheless, Peter got up and ran to the tomb; and when he stooped and looked in, he saw the linen wrappings only; and he went away to his home, marveling at what had happened.

In today’s text it says: It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the entire land until the ninth hour, because the sun stopped shining; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I entrust My spirit.” And having said this, He died. Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God, saying, “This man was in fact innocent.” And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, after watching what had happened, began to return home, beating their chests. And all His acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, seeing these things.  It seems as though words can not fully describe the magnitude and intensity of what took place, that those who watched, those who came together to witness the spectacle of Jesus crucifixion, were convinced of who Jesus is. It says that darkness came over the land because the sun stopped shining, but in truth it was because the Son, the Light of the world was being taken out of the world. It was a darkness that could not only be seen, but could also be felt.

The veil of the temple, which separated sinful man from the presence of God, was torn in two. In John 19:30 it says that Jesus last words on the cross were: “It is finished!” He paid the price to reconcile fallen man to the Holy Father. There no longer needed to be a separation between man and God. You could say that the veil being torn was evidence of the answer to the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray. Because of the finished work of the cross, God’s kingdom, the kingdom of heaven could be on earth. God’s will could be done, on earth as it is in heaven. In John 14:12-24 Jesus says: “Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it. If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. After a little while, the world no longer is going to see Me, but you are going to see Me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I in you. The one who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him. If anyone loves Me, he will follow My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him. The one who does not love Me does not follow My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.”

In the text Jesus said: “Father, into Your hands I entrust My spirit.” We must entrust our lives to His Spirit. More than that there is no longer a veil of separation between us and God, God the Father, Jesus His Son and the Holy Spirit dwell with us and in us. In Acts 1:8 Jesus says: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth.”Many people seek the power of the Holy Spirit for many reasons, but it is given so that we can be witnesses of Christ. We can do the works that Jesus did because He will do them through us. In John 3:30, John the Baptist said of his ministry and Jesus: He must increase, but I must decrease. That needs to be true of us as well. People need to see and hear less of us and more of Christ in us.  In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus says: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

May the prayer of Jesus on the night He was betrayed be answered in and through your life today.“…I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but to keep them away from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. Just as You sent Me into the world, I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. I am not asking on behalf of these alone, but also for those who believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one; just as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world...”  Amen.