As we continue to look at the red letters of Jesus, particularly the words He spoke from the cross, we are going to pick up where we left off last week. Last week, after hours of being denied sleep, food, and water, after being physically beaten, tortured, and then nailed to a cross, Jesus was physically dehydrated. As a man, He was in the process of dying and said, I thirst. While Jesus was physically thirsty, there was also a spiritual battle taking place. Jesus had taken on the sin of the world and that sin separated Him from His father, so He not only thirsts for water but as the Psalmist says, He thirsts for God.
What we often don’t see on the cross is this spiritual battle. In his book, Basic Christianity, John Stott talks about the battle this way. [Jesus] was bearing our sins. And God who is “of purer eyes than to behold evil” and “cannot look on wrong” turned away his face. Our sins came between the Father and the Son. The Lord Jesus Christ, who was eternally with the Father, who enjoyed unbroken communion with him through his life on earth, was thus momentarily abandoned. Our sins sent Christ to hell. He tasted the torment of a soul estranged from God. Bearing our sin, he died our death. He endured instead of us the penalty of separation from God which our sins deserve. Then at once, he emerged from that outer darkness, he cried in triumph, “It is finished.”
The sins of the world were borne. Reconciliation to God was available to all who would trust this Savior for themselves and receive him as their own.
This is the spiritual battle we don’t see. Jesus is taking on all our sin and redeeming the world. He is paying the price for our sin, which is separation from God, so that we don’t have to, and these three words tell us that the battle is over. It is finished.
Actually, it is just one word in Greek, tetelestai, which was most often used on business documents. When a bill had been paid in full, tetelestai would be written across it. Nothing more was needed. Everything had been paid for. So the debt of sin had been paid for. Jesus had done everything needed for forgiveness and redemption; nothing more was needed. The world was redeemed and all people had to do was trust Jesus as their savior. All we have to do is trust Jesus as our Savior.
But why did Jesus say these words only after the hyssop branch with sour wine had been offered to Him? John 19:30. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Was there something special or important about Jesus receiving the wine? Did that need to take place before all things were finished?
Jesus' death and resurrection had always been God’s plan of salvation and the details of that plan had been spoken of by the prophets hundreds of years before Jesus. There are literally dozens of prophecies that Jesus fulfilled during his life, but He also fulfilled many of them in His death. Each prophetic word fulfilled helped people then, and now, see that Jesus truly is the Messiah, the Son of God. Let’s look at some of these prophecies.
Psalm 41:9 - Even my close friend, someone I trusted, one who shared my bread, has turned against me.
Zechariah 13:7 - Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.
Isaiah 53:3 - He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Isaiah 50:6 - I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.
Isaiah 53:12 - because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Isaiah 53:5 - But 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.
Psalm 22:7-8 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads. “He trusts in the Lord,” they say, “let the Lord rescue him.”
Psalm 22:16 - A pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet.
Psalm 22:18 - They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.
Psalm 22:1 - My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Psalm 34:20 - He protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.
Psalm 69:21 - They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.
While I’m sure Jesus wasn’t counting off all the prophecies that needed to be fulfilled, was there something in Him that just knew this was the final one. Not only had all sin been redeemed but God’s plan in making it happen had now been fulfilled. Every detail had now been accomplished and all prophecy had been fulfilled. Nothing more was needed for salvation, nothing more is needed for salvation. All we have to do is accept it. All we have to do is trust Jesus as our savior. His work is done, but our work is not yet finished.
Let me be clear, there is no work needed on our part of salvation! The Apostle Paul makes that clear when he says, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
But he then goes on and makes it clear that our work is not yet finished. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. Ephesians 2:10
And in his letter to the Philippians, Paul again reminds us that our work is not yet done. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6
Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14
Our unfinished business is not just to experience more of the freedom and power that comes through God’s grace, but to live our lives with more purpose. Are we doing all that God has called us to do? Am I sharing the love of God in the unique setting God has placed me? Am I committed to the work of God and pressing on to that goal? Before you answer that question, let me ask, do you know the work God has for you?
A few weeks ago David talked about our own unique calling and how God has filled us with passion and gifts that need to come together so that we are doing what God has called us alone to do. We need to be clear on what the work is so that we can commit ourselves to it. Knowing God’s work for us isn’t a once and done exercise, it is an ongoing process of asking God, what do you have for me now? And now? And now? The work God has for us in our teens might be very different from the work God has for us when we retire. At each stage of life, with each triumph and tragedy, we need to ask God, what do you have for me now?
Paul talked about pressing on toward the goal, and completing the work God had for him while he was in prison. His circumstances had changed dramatically since he started in ministry, but his commitment to serving God and preaching the gospel never changed. Are we committed to the work God has for us?
Commitment to God’s work is the first step, the second step to take the next step. Take the next step, and then the next step, and then the next step… Last week I mentioned hiking out of the woods after I had hit the wall. I had nothing left so literally just walked to the next tree, then the next tree, then the next tree, until I was out of the woods. I have to think there was a moment like this for Jesus on this red letter day.
Jesus had been beaten, whipped, and spit upon. A crown of thorns had been pressed onto His head, and a cross placed on His shoulders. Jesus was forced to walk to the place of His crucifixion, and at times He stumbled and cried out to those who lined the streets. I imagine Jesus simply moving forward one step at a time, literally focusing on the next step. What is the next step God is asking you to take?
If God is calling you to experience the freedom that comes when you get out of addiction, or get out of debt, what is the next step you need to take? If God is calling you to improve your marriage. or become a more faithful parent, what is the next step you need to take? If God is calling you to learn more about Jesus and the salvation that He achieved for us on the cross, what is the next step? If the work God is calling you to is sharing your faith with others, what is the next step? All God asks us to do is take the next step - not every step. Just the next step.
Psalm 119:105. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. God doesn’t show us the entire path, He shows us what we need for the next step. That’s probably a good thing because if we knew the entire journey, we might not want to take it, but if we just have to take the next step, and trust God for this moment and the next, we might find ourselves doing more than we ever thought was possible.
The work of Jesus is finished. Tetelestai. The debt is paid. Sin is forgiven and we are redeemed. There is nothing more needed, but our work is not yet done, so we press on. We commit to following God each new day, and we trust Him for all we need to take the next faithful step.
Next Steps
Red Letter Day - It Is Finished
Read John 19:28-30. What work was Jesus doing on the cross? What spiritual battle is taking place that we don’t see?
What was finished when Jesus said, tetelestai?
The prophets told us many of the details of Jesus' final day. How does the fulfillment of these prophecies help us believe in Jesus as the Savior? How might they have helped people in Jesus’ day?
How were all these prophecies fulfilled in Jesus' final day?
● Zechariah 13:7
● Isaiah 50:6
● Isaiah 52:14
● Isaiah 53:3, 5, 14
● Psalm 22:1, 16, 18
● Psalm 22:7-8
● Psalm 34:20
● Psalm 41:9
● Psalm 69:21
Jesus' work is finished, ours is not.
What work do you need to “commit” to in your:
● Life - so you look more like Jesus and experience more of His grace and power?
● Faith - so you are growing deeper in your knowledge and relationship with God?
● Service - so you are putting your gifts and passions to work in the church and world?
What “next step” do you need to take in each of the areas above?
