April 19th: Surrender to the Father
Luke 23:46. “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit!”
This is the moment of our Lord’s death.
For the past three hours there was no sun. Complete darkness reigned as this perfect, sinless man, our Lord Jesus, bore the massive weight and indescribable pain of all humanity’s sin. His sacrifice complete, the veil in the Temple splits from top to bottom, showing the direct access we now have to our Father.
Jesus prays Psalm 31:5 as He commits His spirit into His Father’s hands. “Commit” was a common word then, used for making a deposit of something treasured, implying the idea of trust. Jesus has complete trust and faith in His Father. Knowing He’s safe in His Father’s hands, He surrenders Himself to His Father’s loving care. He dies just as He lived – in total dependence on and in submission to His Father’s will.
With this prayer, Jesus also declares victory over sin, just as He predicted in John 10:17-18. No one took his life; He willingly lays it down. He alone has the authority to end His life. He has finished the work of salvation according to His Father’s plan.
In the midst of this very dark, death-filled day, Jesus shows us how to live in a dependent relationship with the Father. Jesus fully trusts His Father through the most horrific experience of His life and so, we can too, no matter what life brings.
In deep relationship with His Father, Jesus prayed. Prayer is the language of dependence. Through prayer we submit our will to God’s will and trust His plans. Jesus also lived in dependence on and in obedience to Scripture. His mind was so saturated with Scripture that it oozed out of Him, even on the cross. When we are immersed in God’s Word, it becomes how and what we pray. We cannot pray better or more effectively than when we pray Scripture.
So, like Jesus, we surrender, we trust, we pray, we know His Word and we follow Him as we commit our spirit to our Father, which brings deep and lasting peace both in this life and for eternity. We know we are safe in our Father’s hands.
This is the moment of our Lord’s death.
For the past three hours there was no sun. Complete darkness reigned as this perfect, sinless man, our Lord Jesus, bore the massive weight and indescribable pain of all humanity’s sin. His sacrifice complete, the veil in the Temple splits from top to bottom, showing the direct access we now have to our Father.
Jesus prays Psalm 31:5 as He commits His spirit into His Father’s hands. “Commit” was a common word then, used for making a deposit of something treasured, implying the idea of trust. Jesus has complete trust and faith in His Father. Knowing He’s safe in His Father’s hands, He surrenders Himself to His Father’s loving care. He dies just as He lived – in total dependence on and in submission to His Father’s will.
With this prayer, Jesus also declares victory over sin, just as He predicted in John 10:17-18. No one took his life; He willingly lays it down. He alone has the authority to end His life. He has finished the work of salvation according to His Father’s plan.
In the midst of this very dark, death-filled day, Jesus shows us how to live in a dependent relationship with the Father. Jesus fully trusts His Father through the most horrific experience of His life and so, we can too, no matter what life brings.
In deep relationship with His Father, Jesus prayed. Prayer is the language of dependence. Through prayer we submit our will to God’s will and trust His plans. Jesus also lived in dependence on and in obedience to Scripture. His mind was so saturated with Scripture that it oozed out of Him, even on the cross. When we are immersed in God’s Word, it becomes how and what we pray. We cannot pray better or more effectively than when we pray Scripture.
So, like Jesus, we surrender, we trust, we pray, we know His Word and we follow Him as we commit our spirit to our Father, which brings deep and lasting peace both in this life and for eternity. We know we are safe in our Father’s hands.
REFLECTION
Have you trusted God with your eternity? If so, does it show in your everyday life? Do you lean on the promises of God’s Word and pray Scripture? Is His Word so close to you that it oozes out of you during times of stress and trials? Is prayer your first or last resort?
PRAY
Father, thank you for your indescribable sacrifice for us so that we could have access to You. Help us to commit every moment of our days to You. Help us to saturate ourselves with your Word and enjoy a deep relationship with You in prayer. Help us to live in desperate dependence on You, trusting you with our plans, our family, our heartaches, our joys, our work, our needs.