Word@Work Luke347 - Luke 23:44-46
Published: Mon, 05/02/11
Word@Work from BeaconLight
JESUS SURRENDERED HIS SPIRIT
Luke 23:44-46 It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. (NIV)
Human minds love to ask 'how?' That question, when answered, helps us to understand the mechanism of an event and makes us feel that everything is under control. When Jesus died on the cross, Luke, the physician, does not try to unpack how everything happened. He simply describes the eye witness accounts factually and briefly.
After only three hours on the cross (Mark 15:25), the sun stopped shining. It was dark from noon until 3.00pm. At that time the heavy curtain separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place in the temple was ripped from top to bottom (Mark 15:38), exposing the place where God promised to presence Himself. Then Jesus voluntarily surrendered His spirit to Father God. His breathing stopped because He was dead.
The drama was clear. The darkness symbolised the sin of the world which Jesus had chosen to bear for all of us. The temple curtain was no longer necessary because the sacrifice of Jesus enables free access to God for all who believe in Jesus as their mediator. His loud cry simply announced that His life was not taken from Him but He laid it down of His own accord (John 10:18). No breathing meant He was dead.
There is no need for us to ask 'how?' This was no scientific experiment to be understood and replicated. The death of Jesus Christ was unique and unrepeatable. A better question is 'why?' The answer is in Hebrews 9:28: "Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." Those who embrace His sacrifice, as being personally responsible for their own sins, will live in eager expectation of His return. On that day He will personally welcome them, completing the work of salvation as they are finally removed from the gravity of a sinful nature and orbiting temptations. All others have no such assurance. So if you are trusting in His death for you - live like you mean it! And tell your friends and colleagues while there is time.
Prayer: Almighty God, my Heavenly Father. Thank You that Jesus Christ died for me, to take away all my sins and to set me on track for heaven. Help me to grasp this truth even more strongly, and live in such a way that His return will be a joy to me and to Him. In the meantime, please help me to share these truths with those I live among and work alongside. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
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You can read the verses around this Bible passage from the Internet Bible: - in English, and many other languages
Human minds love to ask 'how?' That question, when answered, helps us to understand the mechanism of an event and makes us feel that everything is under control. When Jesus died on the cross, Luke, the physician, does not try to unpack how everything happened. He simply describes the eye witness accounts factually and briefly.
After only three hours on the cross (Mark 15:25), the sun stopped shining. It was dark from noon until 3.00pm. At that time the heavy curtain separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place in the temple was ripped from top to bottom (Mark 15:38), exposing the place where God promised to presence Himself. Then Jesus voluntarily surrendered His spirit to Father God. His breathing stopped because He was dead.
The drama was clear. The darkness symbolised the sin of the world which Jesus had chosen to bear for all of us. The temple curtain was no longer necessary because the sacrifice of Jesus enables free access to God for all who believe in Jesus as their mediator. His loud cry simply announced that His life was not taken from Him but He laid it down of His own accord (John 10:18). No breathing meant He was dead.
There is no need for us to ask 'how?' This was no scientific experiment to be understood and replicated. The death of Jesus Christ was unique and unrepeatable. A better question is 'why?' The answer is in Hebrews 9:28: "Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." Those who embrace His sacrifice, as being personally responsible for their own sins, will live in eager expectation of His return. On that day He will personally welcome them, completing the work of salvation as they are finally removed from the gravity of a sinful nature and orbiting temptations. All others have no such assurance. So if you are trusting in His death for you - live like you mean it! And tell your friends and colleagues while there is time.
Prayer: Almighty God, my Heavenly Father. Thank You that Jesus Christ died for me, to take away all my sins and to set me on track for heaven. Help me to grasp this truth even more strongly, and live in such a way that His return will be a joy to me and to Him. In the meantime, please help me to share these truths with those I live among and work alongside. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
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