March 29 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Luke 23:44–47

Devotional

When Christ commends His spirit into the hands of His Father, He dies in full consciousness. He knows that death will now come. He dies a lonely death for there is no one to wipe His forehead. There is none to help Him because God’s justice demands that He die on the cursed cross. He is obedient even to the death of the cross.

In His last moments on the cross, Jesus utters a final word. He commends His spirit into the hands of His Father. “Into thy hands I commend my spirit.” It is spoken in His humiliation, but it preludes His glorification. In His death, triumph is accomplished and death is overcome. This final saying on the cross is actually the crown on His work as Surety. He has accomplished His work as Savior of sinners. Now His cross has actually become His throne; He will still have to die, but death has been conquered.

In obedience He died for the sins of the disobedient. The Son of God is ready to go home. And the Father is ready to receive Him. He says, “Father, the Child is ready to come home. The Child that never wanted anything more than to be the Child of the Father is ready to come home. The Child who never was disobedient, but who accomplished all things in His passive and active obedience is ready to come home.” The Son of God may say “Father” because God has again become His Father and the Father is ready to receive Him.

“Into thy hands I commend my Spirit.” The word “commend” indicates giving up something into the protection of another. It is like giving something precious and expensive to some trusted person to keep for you. Christ gives His soul to His Father to keep and to protect. That is something Adam never could do. But the second Adam commends His spirit into the hands of God. Only there is His soul well kept. “Into thy hands I commend my spirit. There my soul shall be safe. Man was created for Thee and is restless until he rests in Thee. I am not coming alone, oh My Father, but I am taking all those along whom Thou hast given Me. I am taking them along as High Priest. I commend My spirit to Thee, and yet also their spirits as well, so they may live with Me forever.”

Behold what a deep significance we find in this saying from the cross. If you are still a stranger to Christ, is it not time to consider everything but dung in comparison to the excellency of Christ? Would it not be time, unconverted sinner, instead of going to sleep tonight, to go to bed with the weight of death upon you? You must die and meet God. To die without God is to perish forever. Let us not meet an angry God who will say, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.” Then the hands of friends will not be able to help you. Will you die outside Christ or in Christ? This Surety still delights to give Himself freely to those who deserve to die.

 

From The Everlasting Word by Frans Bakker, compiled and translated by Gerald R. Procee. Reformation Heritage Books and Free Reformed Publications, 2007. Used by permission. For further information, click here.