JESUS’ FINAL WORDS
Opening Prayer
As I wait for the joy of tomorrow, Father, bring to my memory words that Jesus spoke throughout his life—spoken long ago, but also spoken for me for today.
Read LUKE 23:44–56
The Death of Jesus
44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”[a] When he had said this, he breathed his last.
47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” 48 When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. 49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
The Burial of Jesus
50 Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. 54 It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
55 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 56 Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.
Footnotes
- Luke 23:46 Psalm 31:5
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How easy do you find it to submit to God’s will for your life?Yesterday we read the words Jesus uttered on the final leg of his journey to death. We read of how he gave dignity and forgiveness to those around him. Today we read of the very last words he spoke before ‘he breathed his last’ (v. 46). We are often intrigued to know people’s last words before they die. We hope they can somehow comfort us in grief as well as give an insight into the individual. This is certainly the case in the final words of Jesus.
These eight words of Jesus sum up his attitude to the mission given to him by God; a mission that began in the simplicity of a stable: ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit’ (v. 46). In words that echo another eight-word prayer he prayed only a few hours earlier in the garden of Gethsemane (‘yet not my will, but yours be done,’ Luke 22:42), Jesus submitted to the plans God had for his life and ministry even while experiencing exhaustion, humiliation, and agony.
Today, as we sit between the pain of Good Friday and the joy of Easter Sunday, we are confronted again with the humbling fact that it is Jesus’ submission that brought us freedom; his humility that brought us new life with God the Father.
Apply
Are there areas where you need to be more committed to the gospel message—living it and sharing it?
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, I thank you afresh for your submission to the will and mission of your Father. Help me in turn to live in joyful submission to your will for my life.
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