Today Daily Devotional

He . . . shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

— Hebrews 2:14-15

In the beginning, when the first human beings brought sin into the world (Genesis 3), we became enslaved by the power of death—and that put us under the tyranny of the devil.

But that is not the end of the story. Ever since that time, God also promised to redeem us. In other words, God would somehow pay our debt of sin and free us to live as he intended. And one day Jesus, God’s Son, accomplished that for us. As the apostle John put it, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8). Jesus willingly laid down his life, giving himself over to death because death was the payment for sin. As Romans 6:23 puts it, “The wages of sin is death.” What’s more, Satan held us captive by the power of death because we had fallen for his temptation. And by falling into sin, we became subject to the curse of death.

Jesus, however, did not fall for Satan’s lies. Jesus remained sinless. So when he gave his own life to pay for our sin, the devil could not hold Jesus in his grasp. Jesus broke through the power of death with new life. He conquered death. He annulled the binding contract that subjected us to Satan’s power. He gave the devil his due—a perfect human life, and that ransom payment set us free, bringing us back to enjoy life with God the Father forever.

Jesus, thank you for redeeming us from the power of Satan. Help us to live for you. Amen.

Just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.

— Romans 5:18

Hell is not an easy subject to discuss when we are talking about faith in Jesus. It’s much more pleasant to focus on the love of God through Jesus that saves us from death and hell. Nevertheless, the subject of hell is mentioned in Scripture, and it is probably best described as condemnation or complete separation from God.

Romans 5 helps us understand that “sin entered the world through one man”—that is, Adam (see Genesis 3)—and that death, or condemnation, “came to all people” because of that. But Jesus, the Son of God, who became human, came to turn that problem around. Jesus never sinned when he was tempted, so through his obedience all who believe in him are “made righteous.” God’s “abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness” are made possible “though the one man, Jesus Christ!”

Sadly, all of us sin, so it is fair to say that we all deserve condemnation. Romans 6:23, for example, says that “the wages of sin is death”—and then it adds, “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”!

All who have been rescued by Jesus have no need to fear. We will not be condemned. Jesus took on himself all of the sins that condemned us. So instead of being condemned to hell, we are promised new life forever with Jesus in the new heaven and new earth.

Jesus, thank you for rescuing us from sin, death, and hell. Help us to share this good news with everyone! Amen.

“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”

— John 3:14-15

In John 3, Jesus teaches that the strange story about a bronze snake in Numbers 21 points to him and his work of healing. Jesus saves us from sin and death. The book of Numbers includes many stories about the Israelites’ complaining to God as they trekked through the wilderness. In Numbers 21 they complain again about the food. And in this case God punishes them for their rebellion and disobedience. Like many Bible stories, this one continues with a plea for forgiveness, and God provides a merciful response. But the response is very unusual. God says, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole. Then whoever looks at it can live.”

The bronze snake that Moses made represented a sort of antidote to the venom of the snakes that were biting people. Looking to the bronze snake that was lifted up spared the people from death. Jesus brought up this old story while he was teaching about the work he had come to do. Jesus came to save us from the death we brought on ourselves by sinning and rebelling against God. Lifted up on a cross for our sake, Jesus died to pay the price of our sin. And when we look up to Jesus in faith, believing in the power of his sacrifice to save, “we may have eternal life in him. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus, thank you that we can look to you in faith and be saved. Amen.

“It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body.

— John 2:20-22

Did you know that the tabernacle in the Old Testament (Exodus 36-40), and the temple afterward (1 Kings 6-8), were made from heavenly blueprints? Hebrews 8 helps us to see this. All the features and furnishings were meant to show that the temple on earth was just a copy of the sanctuary in heaven.

When Jesus came to live among us, he brought the temple with him—in his person. The temple was the place where God met his people. It was where the Israelites presented themselves and their sacrifices before God.

When the Son of God became human, God and humankind were united as never before. God himself lived among us and was one of us. In fact, the original Greek text of John 1:14 tells us that Jesus “tabernacled” (“made his dwelling”) among us. Since God himself is present with us through Jesus, why would we need to meet with God anywhere else? The temple building in Jerusalem became obsolete after Jesus came, because God was present on earth in Jesus himself. And now a perfect human, Jesus, is present in heaven with God.

The book of Revelation adds that in the new heaven and earth God himself will dwell among us, and there won’t be a temple structure because “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb [Jesus] are its temple” (21:3, 22). And we will live there forever with God!

O God, we long to be with you. Bring us into the holy place you have prepared for us. Amen.

Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.

— Hebrews 7:26

Priests had a very important role in ancient Israel. They served as mediators between the people and God. They stood between the holy God and his sinful people, enabling these people to approach the Lord.

But the priests themselves were also sinners. So even the best of them, the High Priest, had to purify himself before making sacrifices for the people.

Jesus, however, was pure and sinless, the Son of God who took on human flesh and came to live among us. He came to perform the role of the ideal High Priest for us all. Whereas the Old Testament (Old Covenant) priests were sinful and mortal, Jesus is pure and immortal. Jesus therefore serves as the perfect High Priest forever for our sake.

Now ascended and ruling in heaven, Jesus serves as our ultimate High Priest in the holiest place. He is the mediator at the right hand of God the Father in heaven, interceding for us. When God sees us now, he sees pure and blameless children of the new covenant mediated by the perfect High Priest, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Jesus, you are pure and blameless. You alone can be the mediator between us and God. Thank you for taking this role and for continuing to exercise it as you intercede for us in heaven. Amen.

We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

— Hebrews 10:10

The book of Hebrews looks at Jesus’ life from the perspective of the Old Testament system of sacrifices. Today we will reflect on Jesus as the one and only sacrifice for sin.

In ancient Israel, God commanded that sacrifices be made to cover the sins of the people. These sacrifices were symbolic, representing the sinner. By making a sacrifice, the sinner was saying, “I have done wrong and deserve punishment, but please accept this offering in my place.” The Israelites were required to make sacrifices for many things. If they touched a dead animal—make a sacrifice. If they harmed their neighbor—make a sacrifice. If they accidentally hurt someone—make a sacrifice. Making sacrifices was a part of everyday life. Why were there so many sacrifices? Because there were so many sins, and each sacrifice only (symbolically) covered one sin.When Jesus came, however, he gave up his life as a sacrifice. Though he was pure and perfect, he gave up his body in place of all our bodies. And his sacrifice did not symbolize just one man dying for his sin; Jesus, the perfect Son of God, offered himself as a sacrifice for all human sin. And because he committed no sin, Jesus’ sacrifice covered all the sins of all people, including you and me.

Thank you, Jesus, for putting an end to the Old Testament system of sacrifices. We could never offer an acceptable sacrifice. But your perfect sacrifice makes us acceptable to God forever. Amen.

Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

— Matthew 4:1

Since the beginning, human beings have failed God’s test. In Eden, Satan asked, “Did God say . . . ?” and then misquoted God’s words. Adam and Eve responded by questioning the word of God and then doing what seemed right in their own eyes. So do we. Jesus, the Son of God, came to live among us as a human being. And, in his case, the Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted. There Satan made some suggestions that sounded rather reasonable—“have something to eat; show your power; fall into the arms of God.” Jesus responded to each temptation with a quote from the Scriptures. Rather than twisting God’s words, he said, in effect, “No, I live by the Word of God.” This is still our challenge as well. Will we live by God’s Word, or will we do what seems right in our own eyes? Like Adam and Eve, we are experts at twisting God’s words to suit our own purposes. We lie, we lust, we get angry, we are greedy, we gossip—and so on. Rarely does a day pass in which we don’t yield to some temptation.

We need to rely on the only one who passed the test. Jesus was “tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15). What’s more, Jesus also laid down his life to pay the price for our sin—so that we can live forever with God. What a Savior!

Father, forgive us, for Jesus’ sake, when we fail to live your way when we are tempted. Lord Jesus, thank you for living faithfully and giving your life for our sake. Amen.

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”

— Mark 8:34

Following Jesus means more than listening to him and agreeing with his teachings. Jesus says that whoever wants to be his disciple “must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow” him.

Notice that Jesus says we must deny our selves, not that we must deny ourselves something—like chocolate or a new car. We are to deny our own self-interest, self-absorption, and pride. The misguided self must be replaced with a new self that is being shaped to be like Jesus. And, like Jesus, this new self is not here to be served, but to serve, and to give its life for others (Mark 10:45).

What does it mean to take up our cross? It means being willing to sacrifice our own desires and to give of ourselves so that others may come to know Jesus and want to follow him. That’s what he did for us, and he calls us to follow his example, even to the point of suffering and giving up our own life, if necessary.

Jesus took up his cross and let himself be crucified, once for all, so that our old selves could be crucified, set free from sin, and made new through him (Romans 6:6-7; Galatians 5:24). And by the power of the Holy Spirit, who gives us new life in Christ, we are called to take on the self-sacrificial life of Christ. Jesus explains: “Whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.”

Jesus, help us to follow you. Fill us with your Spirit so that we may deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow you. Amen.

No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame. . . .

— Psalm 25:3

Shame is different from guilt. If you are guilty, you did something wrong, and you realize you are responsible for it. You can feel shame from being guilty, but feelings of shame are not always tied to guilt. Shame has more to do with a lack of self-worth, and that can come from not measuring up to a standard, from feeling insecure, from being bullied or abused in various ways, from public disgrace, ridicule, and more. When you are ashamed, you may or may not have done something wrong, but when others see you, you feel exposed, dirty, unworthy of respect.

When Adam and Eve fell into sin, they realized they had done wrong. They saw that they were naked. They were exposed and felt shame. They tried to cover up and hide. But they couldn’t hide from God—and that was a good thing, because God loved them and valued them, despite what they had done wrong. God loves us all too, despite any bad we have done.

Jesus came to take away the guilt and shame of our sin. And he did that by taking on the most shameful death possible: crucifixion on a Roman cross. He hung there naked, in public disgrace, exposed to the abuse of the jeering crowd. And yet he was innocent. “He endured the cross, scorning its shame” (Hebrews 12:2), so that we can be freed from all shame and live fully with him. Now, because of Jesus, we are forever clean.

Lord Jesus, thank you for taking on the shame of all the world to free us from shame forever. In your name, Amen.

He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

— Isaiah 53:5

Never was someone treated so unjustly as Jesus was. Absolute good was attacked by absolute evil. And that evil was our evil, shared by all humanity. Our sins, along with those of the whole world, were like the nails that pinned him to the cross.

Sometimes in our churches we skip over the excruciating suffering that Jesus endured for us on the cross. When he took our place to pay the price of our sin, Jesus was pierced and crushed and afflicted, “led like a lamb to the slaughter.” He was mocked and ridiculed. He was forsaken by God. Yet Jesus chose to take on that suffering for us. Even the thought of the agony he would experience caused him to sweat drops like blood (Luke 22:44).

Our salvation was made possible through Jesus’ agonizing physical pain. Our salvation is a very physical event. God did not just “save souls”; he saved whole human beings. In the new heaven and earth we will have perfected and restored bodies (1 Corinthians 15). We will live in a renewed, physical creation.

Christ’s salvation for us was a gruesome, physical affair. Thank God that our bodies and our physical world are saved through Jesus, who not only died for our sins but also suffered for them.

Jesus, you suffered excruciating agony for us. You did so because of the joy it brought you to welcome us back into fellowship with our Father. Thank you for bearing our pain. Amen.