Good morning. It’s Monday, April 6th.

🥳 Congratulations on starting today with God, and thank you for letting us be a part of it.

📖 Verse Of The Day

— Luke 23:46

🧠 Devotional

Last week we focused on the crucifixion in our Easter devotional plan, but what Jesus said at the very end deserves its own devotional.

And here are Jesus’ last words:

Luke 23:46 (NIV)

“Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last.”

And what you probably didn’t know about this is Jesus is directly quoting scripture.

Psalm 31:5 (NIV)

“Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.”

That verse was originally said by David while he was in distress, dealing with enemies and pressure, and what he was going through actually lines up really closely with what Jesus is going through on the cross.

Back then, people didn’t quote whole passages like we do now. They would say the first line, and it pointed back to the entire Psalm. So when Jesus says this, He’s not just saying one sentence, He’s pointing back to all of Psalm 31.

And Psalm 31 starts with distress, enemies, and pressure, but it ends with trust in God and confidence that God will come through. So even in this moment, Jesus isn’t just speaking about what’s happening right now, He’s pointing to what comes after.

It also says He called out with a loud voice, meaning this wasn’t weak or unintelligible like most last words are. He said it clearly and on purpose so people could hear it.

And then later, in Acts, we see Stephen quote something very similar as he’s dying:

Acts 7:59 (NIV)

“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

Stephen is being killed for his faith, surrounded by a crowd and being stoned, and right before he dies, he looks up and sees Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

So Jesus’ last words teach us this: trust God with your life, knowing that even after death, there is life.