INTRODUCTION
Our text tonight is found in John’s Gospel – John 19:30. It is a simple text but profound. Its implications are far reaching and enduring. This text tells us that Jesus had a task to fulfil.
My sincere prayer is that this sermon will be a real reminder of what the death of Jesus on the cross accomplished for us. That through appreciation it will drew us into a deeper relationship with Him.
John 19:30 says, “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head and [voluntarily] He gave up His spirit. (Amp) The barbaric execution that Jesus suffered is summed up in these three words.
I wantto draw a word picture for you using reading an extraction I found online byJim Bishopfrom his Book “The Day Christ Died, toconvey the horror of His execution. He writes: “The executioner laid the crossbeam behind Jesus and brought Him to the ground quickly by grasping His arm and pulling Him backward. As soon as Jesus fell, the beam was fitted under the back of His neck and, on each side, soldiers quickly knelt on the inside of the elbows…The thorns pressed against His torn scalp…With his right hand, the executioner probed the wrist of Jesus to find the little hollow spot. When he found it, he took one of the square-cut iron nails…raised the hammer over the nail head and brought it down with force…Two soldiers grabbed each side of the crossbeam and lifted. As they pulled up, they dragged Jesus by the wrists. With every breath, He groaned. When the soldiers reached the upright, the four of them began to list the crossbeam higher until the feet of Jesus were off the ground. The body must have writhed with pain…When the crossbeam was set firmly, the executioner…knelt before the cross. Two soldiers hurried to help, and each one took hold of a leg at the calf. The ritual was to nail the right foot over the left, and this was probably the most difficult part of the work. If the feet were pulled downward, and nailed close to the foot of the cross, the prisoner always died quickly. Over the years, the Romans learned to push the feet upward on the cross, so that the condemned man could lean on the nails and stretch himself upward [to breathe].
Chuck Swindoll, adds, “Excruciating pain accompanied every upward push for breath and every downward release from fatigue. Each movement cut deeper into bone and tendons and raw muscle. Fever inevitably set in, inflaming the wounds and creating an insatiable thirst. Waves of hallucinations drifted the victim in and out of consciousness. And in time, flies and other insects found their way to the open wounds. At this point, Jesus knew He had accomplished everything the Father had sent Him to do. To fulfil one last Scripture, He said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop, and brought it up to His mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head, and gave up His spirit” (Jn.19:28b-30).
Those three words, “It is finished” come from one Greek word tetelestai.
“The word tetelestai is unfamiliar to us, but it was used by various people in everyday life in those days. A servant would use it when reporting to his or her master, “I have completed the work assigned to me” (see John 17:4). When a priest examined an animal sacrifice and found it faultless, this word would apply.”
The word means, “It is finished, it stands finished, and it always will be finished!”
“These words specify not the end of Jesus’ life, but the completion of His task. The verb tense is perfect. “It is finished!” The purpose of His hour has been completed, and the consequences of His work are enduring.”
Max Lucado writes, “The history-long plan of redeeming man was finished. The message of God to man was finished. The works done by Jesus as a man on earth were finished. The task of selecting and training ambassadors was finished. The job was finished. The song had been sung. The blood had been poured. The sacrifice had been made. The sting of death had been removed. It was over.”
“Perhaps the most meaningful meaning of tetelestai was that used by the merchants: “The debt is paid in full!”You see Justice demanded a price to be paid, a sacrifice, Jesus gave Himself on the cross, Jesus fully met the righteous demands of a holy law; He paid our debt in full.
What then do we learn about the completion of our redemption?
What do we learn about the salvation that Jude says “was once and for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3)?
Jesus’ words “It is finished” provide for us 4 glorious benefits.
Atonement for Sin
“None of the Old Testament sacrifices could take away sins; their blood only covered sin. It was only a temporal (for a period / 1 YEAR) But the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ shed His blood, and that blood can take away the sins of the world (John 1:29; Heb. 9:24–28).”As far as the east is from the west. Not the blood of goats and sheep. Not with corruptible things …
Jesus’ Death Conquered Sin and Death
He “purged our sins” (Heb.1:1-3)
1 John 1:7 but if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
“Cleanse” “to declare clean, make clean, purify”
Purged = to rid (someone) of an unwanted feeling, memory or condition, to physically remove something completely. Jesus has purged our sin, guilt and shame; we are free in Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Heb.9:14how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
Heb. 9:22 “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin”
Rev.1:4-5 – 4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood.
Eph.1:7 – 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
Access to the Holy of Holies
Because of Christ’s Death We Have Access to God
“No one was allowed access to the holy of holies but the High Priest on the Day of Atonement which occurred once a year.”
The Day of Atonement was to serve “as a reminder that the daily, weekly and monthly sacrifices made at the altar of burnt offering were not sufficient to atone for sin.
Hebrews 10:11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
“On this one day in the year, atoning blood was brought into the holy of holies, the divine throne-room, by the high priest as the representative of the people.”
Because of the blood of Jesus Christ and our acceptance of Him as our Lord we now have access to God.
“Christ’s sacrifice is effective because it removes sin, which the other covenant could never do. The New Covenant went from daily sacrifice to one sacrifice, from ineffective sacrifices to the one perfectly effective sacrifice.
III. Acceptance By God
Through Christ’s Death We Are Accepted to God
“Accepted”defined “to grace, i.e. in due with special honour:–make accepted, be highly favoured.”
“Because believers are accepted in Him, then they, like Him, are beloved of God.
through Christ’s Death There is No More Enmity
We / those who accepted Him at Lord and Saviour He have given the right to be called children of God. His name is Jesus, the Prince of peace.
Assurance of Salvation
Jesus’ Death Provides Full Assurance of Salvation
Because His sacrifice was perfect it never needs to be repeated.
Hebrews 10:14 – 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
Salvation can only come through Jesus Christ. John 14:6 “I am the way the truth and the life…” 1 John 1:9 “ If we confess our sin He is faith and just to forgive us…”
“The death of Jesus Christ removes sin forever for those who belong to Him. We are totally secure in our Saviour. We need cleansing when we fall into sin, but we need never fear God’s judgment on us because of our sin. As far as Christ’s sacrifice is concerned, we have already been sanctified and perfected—which is why He had to sacrifice Himself only once.
CONCLUSION
What does Jesus’ death mean? No more sacrifices, no more sin bearing, no more curse for the chosen of God! His cross is a Symbol of hope, peace, salvation and victory over sin and death.
“It is finished!” “The entire work of redemption has been brought to completion.”
It provides:
Atonement for Sin
Access to the Holy of Holies
Acceptance by God
Assurance of Salvation
