Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "He Gave up His Spirit" for Wednesday, April 11, 2018
John 19:30 - When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished," and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.***
"As I looked out my window last night, I saw the moon shining in the heavens, and I thought about it shining on my husband's grave. For a moment I was lonesome. But then I thought, no, my husband isn't there.
The next day my six-year-old boy came home from school. He fairly burst into the house, excited because of what he had to tell me. He said, 'Mother, just think! Daddy has seen Jesus now!'
I thought to myself, yes, son, how true! And he has seen Peter and Paul and Martin Luther and John. But, most importantly, he has seen Jesus."
So that a widow might be comforted in the knowledge that her husband is not in a lonely cemetery grave or in an eternal fiery punishment, that is why Jesus died.
So that a child might be comforted by the knowledge that his father had gone ahead of him and was seeing the Savior, that is why Jesus died.
Scripture says Jesus gave up His Spirit. It is important to note that Jesus' life wasn't taken from Him. Blood loss from His whipping and beatings didn't slowly take their toll until His heart could no longer keep going. Most certainly the nails didn't bleed Him to death. The Roman spear didn't snuff out the last bit of life.
Jesus gave up His Spirit.
He, Himself, had said it would be so. In John 10, He told His disciples, "For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father."
Jesus voluntarily sacrificed Himself so that you would never have to die. He gave the most precious gift of all -- His life -- so that when death pays a visit, we may be sure that death has lost its sting, and the grave no longer will be triumphant with those who leave this life with faith in the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Of course, Jesus' death would be meaningless without the resurrection which took place three days later. If Jesus had just pronounced "It is finished" and breathed His last, that would have made Him one of us. After all, all of us will die.
That which makes Jesus different is the resurrection. Because Jesus was able to take up His life again, He proves His uniqueness. He gives evidence that His work has been accepted, and He offers assurance that his faith-filled followers will also rise to be with Him forever.
Those Scriptural realities are the Lord's assurance for those who are leaving this sinful world of sorrow, and they are the Lord's comfort for those who are left behind.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, nobody has ever done for me what You did. You took the punishment that I, by my sins, deserved. For this, I thank You. Now, help me share this Good News with others. In Your Name I ask it. Amen.
In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: Joshua 16-18; Luke 11:1-28
Joshua 16:1
The border of the territory chosen by lot for the descendants of Yosef began from the Yarden at Yericho, at the spring of Yericho on the east, went up from Yericho through the hills and desert to Beit-El, 2 went out from Beit-El to Luz, passed on to the border with the Arki to ‘Atarot, 3 went down westward to the border with the Yafleti, to the border of Lower Beit-Horon, on to Gezer and ending at the sea. 4 So the descendants of Yosef, M’nasheh and Efrayim took the inheritance.
5 The border of the descendants of Efrayim according to their families was as follows: the eastern border of their inheritance began at ‘Atrot-Adar and went to Upper Beit-Horon; 6 then the border extended westward, with Mikhm’tat on the north; next the border turned eastward to Ta’anat-Shiloh and passed by it to the east of Yanochah; 7 then it went down from Yanochah to ‘Atarot, went to Na‘arah, extended to Yericho and ended at the Yarden. 8 From Tapuach the border went westward to Vadi Kanah and ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Efrayim according to their families, 9 together with the cities set aside for the descendants of Efrayim inside the territory to be inherited by the descendants of M’nasheh, all the cities with their villages. 10 They did not drive out the Kena‘ani living in Gezer, so the Kena‘ani live together with Efrayim to this day, having become slaves to do the heavy work.
17:1 This was the territory chosen by lot for the tribe of M’nasheh, for he was the firstborn of Yosef. As for Makhir the firstborn of M’nasheh, the father of Gil‘ad, because he was a warrior he got Gil‘ad and Bashan. 2 So the lot was drawn for the other descendants of M’nasheh according to their families — for the descendants of Avi‘ezer, Helek, Asri’el, Sh’khem, Hefer and Sh’mida; these were the male descendants of M’nasheh according to their families.
3 But Tz’lof’chad the son of Hefer, the son of Gil‘ad, the son of Makhir, the son of M’nasheh, had no sons, only daughters; these are the names of his daughters: Machlah, No‘ah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirtzah. 4 They approached El‘azar the cohen, Y’hoshua the son of Nun and the leaders and said, “Adonai ordered Moshe to give us an inheritance together with our kinsmen.” Therefore, in keeping with Adonai’s order, he gave them an inheritance together with the kinsmen of their father. 5 Thus ten parts fell to M’nasheh, in addition to the land of Gil‘ad and Bashan beyond the Yarden, 6 because the daughters of M’nasheh had an inheritance along with his descendants; but the land of Gil‘ad belonged to the rest of the descendants of M’nasheh.
7 The border of M’nasheh began at Asher and went to Mikhm’tat, which is across from Sh’khem; next the border went along to the right, to the people of ‘Ein-Tapuach. 8 The land of Tapuach belonged to M’nasheh, but Tapuach on the border of M’nasheh belonged to the descendants of Efrayim. 9 The border descended to Vadi Kanah, south of the vadi, by cities which belonged to Efrayim among the cities of M’nasheh; but the border with M’nasheh was on the north side of the vadi, and it ended at the sea. 10 Southward it was Efrayim’s, northward it was M’nasheh’s, and the sea was its border; while to the north they extended to Asher, and on the east to Yissakhar.
11 In Asher and Yissakhar, M’nasheh had Beit-Sh’an and its villages; Yivle‘am and its villages; and the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, of ‘Ein-Dor and its villages, of Ta‘anakh and its villages, and of Megiddo and its villages — three districts in all. 12 But the descendants of M’nasheh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; the Kena‘ani wanted to stay in that land. 13 After the people of Isra’el had become strong, they made the Kena‘ani do heavy labor but didn’t completely drive them out.
14 Then the descendants of Yosef spoke to Y’hoshua; they said, “Why have you given me only one lot and only one portion to inherit? After all, I am a great people, since Adonai has blessed me so.” 15 Y’hoshua answered them, “If you are a great people, go up to the forest, and clear land for yourself there in the territory of the P’rizi and the Refa’im — since the hills of Efrayim don’t give you enough space.” 16 The descendants of Yosef replied, “The hills won’t be enough for us; and all the Kena‘ani living in the valleys have iron chariots — both those in Beit-Sh’an and its villages and those in the Yizre‘el Valley.” 17 Then Y’hoshua said to the house of Yosef, to both Efrayim and M’nasheh, “You are a great people with much power; you will not have only one lot, 18 but the hills too will be yours. Although it is a forest, you will clear it, and the resulting open land will be yours. You will drive out the Kena‘ani, even though they have iron chariots and are strong.”
18:1 The entire community of the people of Isra’el assembled themselves together at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there, after the land had been subdued before them. 2 There still remained among the people of Isra’el seven tribes that had not yet received their inheritance. 3 Y’hoshua said to the people of Isra’el, “How long will you delay going in to take possession of the land which Adonai the God of your ancestors has given you? 4 Appoint three men for each tribe; I will commission them; and they are to set out, go through the land and describe it according to their inheritance; then they are to come back to me. 5 They are to divide it into seven portions, with Y’hudah remaining in its territory to the south and the house of Yosef in their territory to the north. 6 You will describe seven portions of land and bring the descriptions here to me; then I will cast lots for you here before Adonai our God. 7 But the L’vi’im have no share with you, because the office of cohen to Adonai is their inheritance; and Gad and Re’uven and the half-tribe of M’nasheh have received their inheritance beyond the Yarden to the east, which Moshe the servant of Adonai gave them.”
8 So the men got up and went. Y’hoshua gave them this commission as they left to describe the land: “Go; walk through the land; and describe it; then come back to me, and I will cast lots for you here before Adonai in Shiloh.” 9 The men went and passed through the land, surveying it by cities, dividing it into seven regions and writing the results on a scroll. Then they came to Y’hoshua in the camp at Shiloh. 10 Y’hoshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before Adonai, and there Y’hoshua divided the land among the people of Isra’el according to their regions.
11 The lot for the tribe of the descendants of Binyamin came up according to their families. The border of their territory chosen by lot was between the descendants of Y’hudah and the descendants of Yosef.
12 On the north side, their border began at the Yarden, went up alongside Yericho on the north, continued up through the hills westward and arrived at the Beit-Aven Desert. 13 From there the border passed on to Luz, to the south side of Luz (that is, Beit-El); then the border went down to ‘Atrot-Adar, by the hill on the south side of Lower Beit-Horon.
14 The border was delineated as turning at the western corner and heading southward, from the hill located in front of Beit-Horon on the south; and it ended at Kiryat-Ba‘al (that is, Kiryat-Ye‘arim), a city belonging to the descendants of Y’hudah; this was the west side.
15 On the south the border extended westward from the most distant part of Kiryat-Ye‘arim, going out to the source of the Neftoach Spring. 16 Then the border went down to the farthest part of the hill located in front of the Ben-Hinnom Valley, north of the Refa’im Valley, south of the Y’vusi; and continued down to ‘Ein-Rogel, 17 where it was drawn to the north; then it went on to ‘Ein-Shemesh; continued to G’lilot, which is across from Ma‘alei-Adumim; went down to the Stone of Bohan the son of Re’uven; 18 passed alongside the ‘Aravah, heading north; and went down to the ‘Aravah. 19 Then the border passed alongside Beit-Hoglah, heading north; and the border ended at the north bay of the Dead Sea, at the south end of the Yarden; this was the south border.
20 The Yarden was to be its border on the east side.
This was the inheritance of the descendants of Binyamin, defined by its surrounding borders, according to their families.
21 The cities of the tribe of the descendants of Binyamin according to their families were: Yericho, Beit-Hoglah, ‘Emek-K’tzitz, 22 Beit-‘Aravah, Tz’marayim, Beit-El, 23 ‘Avim, Parah, ‘Ofrah, 24 K’far-Ha‘amonah, ‘Ofni and Geva — twelve cities, together with their villages. 25 Giv‘on, Ramah, Be’erot, 26 Mitzpeh, K’firah, Motzah, 27 Rekem, Yirpe’el, Tar’alah, 28 Tzela, Elef, Y’vusi (that is, Yerushalayim), Giv‘at and Kiryat — fourteen cities, together with their villages.
This is the inheritance of the descendants of Binyamin according to their families.
Luke 11:1 One time Yeshua was in a certain place praying. As he finished, one of the talmidim said to him, “Sir, teach us to pray, just as Yochanan taught his talmidim.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
‘Father,
May your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come.
3 Give us each day the food we need.
4 Forgive us our sins, for we too forgive everyone who has wronged us.
And do not lead us to hard testing.’”
5 He also said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend; and you go to him in the middle of the night and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine who has been travelling has just arrived at my house, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 Now the one inside may answer, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already shut, my children are with me in bed — I can’t get up to give you anything!’ 8 But I tell you, even if he won’t get up because the man is his friend, yet because of the man’s hutzpah he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9 “Moreover, I myself say to you: keep asking, and it will be given to you; keep seeking, and you will find; keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who goes on asking receives; and he who goes on seeking finds; and to him who continues knocking, the door will be opened.
11 “Is there any father here who, if his son asked him for a fish, would instead of a fish give him a snake? 12 or if he asked for an egg would give him a scorpion? 13 So if you, even though you are bad, know how to give your children gifts that are good, how much more will the Father keep giving the Ruach HaKodesh from heaven to those who keep asking him!”
14 He was expelling a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the man who had been mute spoke; and the people were astounded. 15 But some of them said, “It is by Ba‘al-Zibbul” — the ruler of the demons — “that he expels the demons.” 16 And others, trying to trap him, demanded from him a sign from Heaven. 17 But he, knowing what they were thinking, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, with one house collapsing on another. 18 So if the Adversary too is divided against himself, how can his kingdom survive? I’m asking because you claim it is by Ba‘al-Zibbul that I drive out the demons. 19 If I drive out demons by Ba‘al-Zibbul, by whom do your people drive them out? So, they will be your judges! 20 But if I drive out demons by the finger of God,[
Luke 11:20 Exodus 31:18
] then the Kingdom of God has come upon you!
21 “When a strong man who is fully equipped for battle guards his own house, his possessions are secure. 22 But when someone stronger attacks and defeats him, he carries off all the armor and weaponry on which the man was depending, and divides up the spoils. 23 Those who are not with me are against me, and those who do not gather with me are scattering.
24 “When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it travels through dry country seeking rest. On finding none, it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ 25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. 26 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they come and live there — so that in the end the person is worse off than he was before.”
27 As Yeshua was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice to call out, “How blessed is the mother that gave birth to you and nursed you from her breast!” 28 But he said, “Far more blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it!” (Complete Jesus Bible).
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CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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