Easter Devotional: As Jesus did
Read Luke 23:46 & Psalm 31:1-5
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus’ last words before He died were “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” These words Jesus spoke could be taken as his final declaration before giving up His spirit to God. While this is what happened, there’s more to Jesus’ words than we may think.
If you didn’t know, Jesus’ last words are actually from Psalm 31:5. And this isn’t the first time He references the Psalms during the crucifixion. In the other Gospels, Jesus is seen to be saying (or possibly even singing) different Psalms. When Jesus speaks in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34, He takes a verse straight out of Psalm 22:1. It seems that Jesus was singing a psalm, this psalm in particular:
In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.
2 Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.
3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
4 Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;
deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.
This psalm was written by David, expressing how he was putting his trust in God to save him. He writes of taking refuge in God because He is a strong fortress; he asks God to never let him be shamed; he asks God to save him.
And so, we see that when Jesus quotes Psalm 31:5, He was mimicking David’s sentiments. He was taking refuge in God; He was asking God to deliver him from His situation; He was putting his complete trust in God. And there’s a huge take away here for us, especially when we’re going through any kind of suffering.
In the midst of immense suffering, Jesus never lost faith in God. At the brink of death and suffering from physical, emotional and spiritual anguish, Jesus remained obedient to and reliant on God. Instead of cursing at God and asking why He was in that situation, Jesus was submitting to God and depending on Him to get through His suffering.
We need to be like Jesus and praise God for who He is. We need to completely offer our sufferings to God by depending on Him, as Jesus did.
Dear Lord,
Thank you for making the sacrifice on the cross for us so many years ago, that You could overcome sin and we could be reunited with God again. Thank you for your example of faithful trust. May I imitate you in my daily life.
In Jesus’ mighty name I pray,
Amen