Heavenly Father, this evening we remember the ultimate sacrifice you made in sending your only Son, your beloved Son,
as the sacrificial offering to die for sinners, for our sins, so we might believe in Him and live.
We pray that this truth would not be too familiar to some of us, but that the wonder of it would strike us anew this evening and capture our hearts and our imaginations,
so that we are strengthened in our faith, so that we grow in our love for You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
I will be speaking from John chapter 19 today, so if you don't have a Bible, there's a Blue Pew Bible you can grab there on that table,
and in that Bible it's page 905.
John chapter 19, verses 16 to 42.
Let me read.
So they took Jesus, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which in Aramaic is called Gogotha.
There they crucified Him, and with Him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.
Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross.
It read,
Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.
Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek.
So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate,
Do not write the King of the Jews, but rather, this man said, I am King of the Jews.
Pilate answered,
What I have written, I have written.
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took His garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each other, each soldier.
Also his tunic.
But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.
So they said to one another,
Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to see whose it shall be.
This was to fulfill the scripture which says,
They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
So the soldiers did these things.
But standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother and His mother's sister,
Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.
When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby,
He said to His mother,
Woman, behold your son.
Then He said to the disciple,
Behold your mother.
And from that hour the disciple took her to His own home.
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished,
said to fulfill the scripture,
I thirst.
A jar full of sour wine stood there.
So they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to His mouth.
When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said,
It is finished.
And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
Since it was the day of preparation,
and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath,
for that Sabbath was a high day,
the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken,
that they might be taken away.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with Him.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead,
they did not break His legs.
But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear,
and at once there came out blood and water.
He who saw it has borne witness.
His testimony is true,
and He knows that He is telling the truth,
that you also may believe.
For these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled.
Not one of His bones will be broken.
And again, another scripture says,
They will look on Him whom they have pierced.
After these things,
Joseph of Arimathea,
who was a disciple of Jesus,
but secretly for fear of the Jews,
asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus.
And Pilate gave Him permission.
So he came and took away his body.
Nicodemus also,
who earlier had come to Jesus by night,
came,
bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes,
about 75 pounds in weight.
So they took the body of Jesus
and bound it in linen cloths with the spices,
as is the burial custom of the Jews.
Now, in the place where He was crucified,
there was a garden,
and in the garden,
a new tomb,
in which no one had yet been laid.
So because of the Jewish day of preparation,
since the tomb was close at hand,
He laid Jesus there.
The word of the Lord.
Dr. Michael Brown is one of the foremost apologists,
defender of the Christian faith among Jews.
So he's a Messianic Jew.
And he writes in one of his testimonies
about how he came to faith.
And he was reading,
he was a drug addict,
and he was living a very messed up lifestyle.
And there was a reading of Isaiah 53,
of course,
which many Christians know as a prophecy about Jesus,
which said,
Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows,
yet we esteemed Him not,
stricken and smitten by God and afflicted.
But He was pierced for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities.
Upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with His wounds we are healed.
When he heard this passage
and saw that this pointed to Jesus,
he was compelled by the power of it
and came to faith.
And in this passage in John,
it mentions several of the prophecies
or mentions of Jesus in Old Testament
that were fulfilled.
And John tells us this
in order that we might believe in Him,
believe that He was the Messiah
that was to be fulfilled.
And the main point that he wants to persuade us of
is that Jesus died on the cross
as the atoning sacrifice
for the sins of His people.
And we're going to examine that claim
in this passage.
And John tells us that first,
that Jesus is the new David,
and secondly,
that He is the new Passover lamb,
and that thirdly,
He brings about,
He creates a new people
by His act on the cross
in dying for His sins.
So read verses 16 to 17 with me.
It says,
So they took Jesus,
and He went out,
bearing His own cross,
the place called the place of a skull,
which in Aramaic is called Golgotha.
So when the Bible gives us a name of a place,
and especially the meaning of the place
in extension,
it probably is significant.
And so Golgotha is an English transliteration
of the Greek,
which is itself a transliteration
of the Aramaic.
And you may have heard the word Calvary,
which is just a Latin form of it,
which comes from the Latin word for skull,
Calvaria.
And some scholars suggest
that the name is derived
from the rock formation of the tomb,
the way it looked like a skull,
or that they think that a lot of people
were buried there.
But that's just speculation,
because there's nothing explaining that to us
in Scripture.
And it seems odd to us,
if that's the case,
why He names the place,
the place called the place of a skull.
And there are a lot of people buried there,
why isn't it called the place of the bones,
or why is it called the place of the skulls?
But it says a singular,
the place of the skull.
And this is the case
in all the Gospel writers' writing.
And it's also,
it's translated in the ESV
as the place of a skull,
which we read,
but in the other translation,
it has the place of the skull,
which is the more accurate way
to translate that syntax.
And if that's the case,
then whose skull is it referring to?
If it's the place of the skull,
a singular,
and that's,
there's a couple options
for explaining that.
And the first,
and I'm going to tell you both,
and the first is that
the church fathers
wrote about origin,
John Chrysostom,
that there was a Jewish tradition
that's held
that Adam's skull
was buried
on the site of Golgotha.
And the tradition says
that Noah preserved
Adam's bones
and divided among his sons
to be preserved,
and one of them took
the skull,
Shem took the skull
and took it to Jerusalem.
And this tradition,
if it's true,
of course,
would convey a powerful truth,
a biblical truth,
which,
because Romans 5, 12, 17 says,
therefore,
as sin came into the world
through one man
and death through sin,
and so death spread
to all men
because all men sinned.
Sin indeed was in the world
before the law was given,
but sin is not counted
where there is no law.
Yet death reigned
from Adam to Moses,
even over those whose sins
were not like
the transgression of Adam,
who was a type of the one
who was to come.
But the free gift
is not like the trespass,
for if many die
through one man's trespass,
much more have the grace of God
and the free gift
in the grace of that
one man,
Jesus Christ,
abounded for many.
So he's talking about
how Adam,
through his sin,
sin came into all of humanity,
and now Jesus,
and he was a type of Jesus,
pointing to Jesus,
and Jesus is the new Adam
through whose perfect sacrifice,
whose perfect life,
now life comes to humanity.
And that's why,
if you've seen some of the
kind of orthodox drawings
of Jesus' crucifixion,
sometimes you see a skull
at the base of it
that's depicting that Adam's skull.
So that's an attractive solution,
but we can't be certain of that
because, once again,
it's not preserved in scripture,
and we don't find documentation
of it in Jewish writings,
only in Christian writings.
But a second solution
that I think is probably
even more likely
is based on etymology
and not based on tradition.
And it's because
the word Golgotha,
even though it's explained
as meaning the skull,
it's actually,
it doesn't mean skull,
the word in Aramaic,
well, it does mean skull,
but it's actually
a very unusual
mangled spelling of the word.
So you're like,
why would you,
if that's what you're trying
to spell, skull,
why would you spell it
that way, you wonder.
And it makes you think,
if you think about
how it sounds,
Golgotha,
think of a connection
to a certain man
named Goliath of Gath.
That's how he's described
in the Bible.
In 1 Samuel 17, 4,
he's named Goliath of Gath.
And Goliath,
as many of you know
this from the story
of David and Goliath,
was a Philistine warrior,
the champion
for the Philistine camp.
And he engaged
in the battle
of the champions
with the Israelites.
And so not fighting
an all-out war,
but having one representative
from each camp fight
for victory.
And Goliath mocked
Israel's army,
Israel's God,
and only one person
had enough faith in God
to oppose him,
and that was David
who would eventually
become king of Israel.
And once you think
about that,
it's really interesting
because the Bible
notes specifically
in 1 Samuel 17, 54,
that David took
the head
of the Philistine
and brought it
to Jerusalem.
And so that's,
if you're thinking
about that,
that could be
an interesting
corroboration
of this hypothesis,
that maybe
it's Goliath of Gath,
his skull
that's buried there,
and hence,
to name it skull,
they said,
Golgotha,
and spelled it
in an unusual way
to convey that.
And of course,
Jesus,
David was also
a type of Jesus.
He pointed to Jesus.
Jesus is the new David,
the ultimate David,
the ultimate king
over God's kingdom.
And he is engaging
then on this hill,
on the cross,
his own battle
against sin
and death
and the devil.
And he's the champion
to represent his people
as David was a champion
to represent Israel.
And he is victorious
again here.
And like that's
the first prophecy
of the gospel
in Genesis 3.15,
which said
that the devil
would bruise
his head,
but that he would bruise,
and the devil
would bruise his heel,
but that he would bruise
the devil's head.
Again,
this here on Calvary,
on Golgotha,
is where the devil's head
is bruised
once and for all.
And so,
if that's what it means,
and that's why
there's a connection
also probably
to the fact
that he's the king,
which is repeatedly
emphasized in this passage.
And Pilate writes
that he's the king
of the Jews,
and this is written
for the whole world
to see.
So in three languages,
in Aramaic for the Jews,
in Latin for the Roman army,
and in Greek
for the rest
of the Gentile world,
the Greek world.
And it's because
David was a type
of Jesus,
a prefigurement
of Jesus,
Apostle John
applies a Psalm
of David
to Jesus
in verses 23
to 24.
And you guys,
we're all familiar
with this,
because if you look at,
watch movies
or read books,
a lot of literature
has Christ types,
right?
Types of Christ.
And then,
and so they're
intentionally alluding to,
alluding back to Jesus
and his example
of sacrifice.
So in the same way,
the Old Testament
points forward
to Christ.
And so that's why
these figures,
all the major institutions
in the Old Testament,
the temple,
the high priest,
the king,
they all point
to Jesus.
They're a type
of Christ.
So verses 23
to 24,
read it with me.
It says,
When the soldiers
had crucified Jesus,
they took his garments
and divided them
into four parts,
one part for each soldier,
also his tunic.
But the tunic
was seamless,
woven in one piece
from top to bottom.
So they said
to one another,
Let us not tear it,
but cast lots for it
to see whose it shall be.
This was to fulfill
the scripture which says,
They divided my garments
among them,
and for my clothing
they cast lots.
This quote is taken
from Psalm 22,
verses 16 to 18,
where David is lamenting
his own plight
as an innocent sufferer.
And Christ,
who is the ultimate
innocent sufferer,
therefore fulfills this
in a fuller way
than David even did.
And the verses
in Psalm 22
reads this way,
For dogs encompass me,
a company of evildoers
encircles me.
They have pierced
my hands and feet.
I can count all my bones.
They stare and gloat over me.
They divide my garments
among them,
and for my clothing
they cast lots.
I mean,
the details are astounding,
fulfilled to the minute detail
that he was pierced
in his hands and feet,
that he can count
all of his bones,
that none of his bones
were broken,
that people were gloating
over him and mocking him,
that they divide
his clothing among them,
and even cast lots
for his clothing.
So the parallel
with David continues
in verses 28 to 30.
After this,
Jesus,
knowing that all
was not finished,
said to fulfill
the scripture,
I thirst.
A jar full of sour wine
stood there,
so they put a sponge
full of the sour wine
on a hyssop branch
and held it to his mouth.
When Jesus had received
the sour wine,
he said,
It is finished,
and he bowed his head
and gave up his spirit.
So,
on the cross
in the Middle Eastern heat,
Jesus is parched
from losing so much water
from the beating
and the labor,
carrying the cross,
and then Jesus asks
for a drink
and says,
I thirst.
But even this,
he says,
to fulfill the scripture
because
Psalm 69,
21 says,
For my thirst,
they gave me sour wine
to drink.
That's again,
a Psalm of David,
which is applied to Jesus.
And to fulfill that scripture,
Jesus says,
I thirst,
and the soldiers
predictably grab
the sour wine
using a sponge
and hand it to Jesus.
So,
Jesus is the new David.
He's the champion
that represents his people
to win victory
over sin and death
and the devil.
But he's also
the new Passover lamb,
sacrificed for the atonement
of God's people.
And we see this
in verses 16 to 17.
So,
they took Jesus
and he went out
bearing his own cross.
The reason why
they have to go out
is that the Old Testament
stipulated that
executions must take place
outside the camp
in order not
to defile the land.
And on the day
of atonement
to Yom Kippur,
which we know of,
which happened once a year,
the high priest
was commanded
to make an atonement
for all of God's people
by sacrificing
a bull and a goat
as an offering for sin
and then sprinkling
their blood on the altar.
And then,
the Old Testament
Leviticus 16, 27
said this,
The bull for the sin offering
and the goat
for the sin offering
whose blood
was brought in
to make atonement
in the holy place
had to be carried forth
outside the camp.
Their skin
and their flesh
and their dung
shall be burned
with fire.
So again,
Jesus fulfills
the institution
of the sacrifice,
Old Testament sacrifice,
the day of atonement
in being carried out,
going out of the city
to die there
for his people.
And that's why
the author of Hebrews
in chapter 13
writes,
makes that connection,
For the bodies
of those animals
whose blood
is brought into
the holy places
by the high priest
as a sacrifice for sin
are burned
outside the camp.
So Jesus also suffered
outside the gate
in order to sanctify
the people
through his own blood.
And there are
several more allusions
specific to the Passover
in verses 31 to 37.
Read it out loud with me.
Follow the 31 to 37.
Since it was the day
of preparation
and so that the bodies
would not remain
on the cross
on the Sabbath
for that Sabbath
was a high day,
the Jews asked Pilate
that their legs
might be broken
and that they might
be taken away.
So the soldiers
came and broke
the legs of the first
and of the other
who had been crucified
with him.
But when they came
to Jesus and saw
that he was already dead,
they did not break
his legs.
But one of the soldiers
pierced his side
with a spear
and at once
there came out
blood and water.
He who saw it
has borne witness,
his testimony is true
and he knows
that he is telling
the truth
that you also
may believe.
For these things
took place
that the scripture
might be fulfilled.
Not one of his bones
will be broken.
And again,
another scripture
says they will
look on him
whom they have
pierced.
The crucifixion
was a long
excruciating process.
I mean,
excruciating,
the word comes
from that,
right?
And the victims
would slump
because of their weight
because of gravity
and that would
constrict the chest,
the cavity
and prevent them
from breathing.
So what they would
have to do
is push themselves
up using their
pierced legs
and hands
in order to
free up the chest
cavity to breathe.
So that was,
the victims
died from
asphyxiation
basically,
from suffocation.
And usually
the Roman practice
was to leave
the crucified victim
on there
for as long
as necessary
to die
and then
to let the
vultures
devour them.
But especially
the criminal
sedition
which Jesus was
because he claimed
to be the king
of the Jews.
However,
on this day
because of Jews'
request,
they're requesting
that because of
Sabbath,
their holiday
especially during
the festival
of the Passover
is coming up,
they don't want
victims lying there
on the cross
just to defile
the land
like they were
afraid of.
And they don't
want to have
to deal with them
and deal with Jesus
especially
on their Sabbath
during the Passover.
So they ask
them to
expedite the process
by breaking
their legs.
And by breaking
the legs,
they don't have
to strengthen
their legs
to push
themselves up
so therefore
they would die
by suffocation
sooner.
So that was
the idea.
But when they
came to Jesus
to break his legs,
they note that
he's already dead
probably from
the enormous
loss of blood
from the double
flogging he
already received.
He died sooner
than a normal
victim.
And so
when Jesus
dies in that
way,
we noted
already Psalm
22,
17,
which said
I can count
all my bones.
He fulfills
that scripture
which said
no bone
was to be
broken.
But not only
that,
he fulfills
the type
of the Passover
lamb
because the Passover
lamb,
when they were
eaten,
so the Passover
feast where
Israelites celebrate
because they
were in
captivity in
Egypt,
but God
sent his
angel of death
to judge
those who
oppose him
in Egypt
to kill
the first
borns
of all
families.
But to
those who
obeyed him
and listened
to him
and killed
the Passover
lamb instead
and daubed
its blood
on the
doorposts
were spared.
And so
the Passover
lamb,
however,
when they
eat it,
they were
not to
break any
of its
bones.
So in
that,
Jesus
fulfills
that.
He is
the ultimate
Passover
lamb.
His bone
is not
broken as
he dies.
And it
is his
blood that
becomes the
atonement for
our sins
so that we
can be spared
from God's
righteous
and just
judgment
of sinners.
And those
who die
on a tree
or hang
on a tree,
which happened
to those
who are
executed,
and these
Israelites
typically
executed
victims
and then
hung them
on a
tree
to display.
And because
of that,
the Bible
said that
those who
die in
that manner
is cursed.
And then
Jesus then
takes on
our curse
on the
cross
by dying
on the
tree.
He's
hanged
on a
tree.
And the
author of
Galatians
3.13
notes this,
Christ redeemed
us from
the curse
of the
law by
becoming
a curse
for us.
For it
is written,
cursed is
everyone
who is
hanged
on a
tree.
So Jesus
is the
new Passover
lamb,
and so
because he's
already dead,
the soldiers
instead of
breaking his
legs,
they just
pierce him
to make
sure that
he is
good and
dead.
And when
they do,
it says,
at once
there came
out blood
and water,
which medical
experts disagree
on what exactly
was pierced,
but they agree
that that could
happen in
multiple ways.
They make it
possible that
they pierced
the heart,
so the blood
was from the
heart and the
water was from
the sack that
surrounds the
heart.
Either way,
these are
soldiers who are
trained to
kill,
and when they
pierce,
to make sure
that they're
dead,
this person
is dead,
and so
Jesus,
he's there
to show
that Jesus
was clearly
dead.
And John's
point about
water and
blood coming
out is not
really,
you know,
medical,
it's not a
medical interest,
it's a theological
interest for him,
because he had
noted that it's
the blood of
Jesus that
poured out,
that cleanses
us from sin,
as he writes
in another place
in 1 John 1
to 7.
And then again,
earlier in John
chapter 7,
he said,
whoever believes
in me,
as the scripture
has said,
out of his
heart will
flow rivers
of living
water.
Now this he
said about
the spirit
whom those
who believe
in him
were to
receive,
for as yet
the spirit
had not been
given,
because Jesus
was not yet
glorified.
So the image
of water
throughout the
Bible often
refers to the
spirit of God,
and so here
the water being
poured out
with water
is a symbol,
is a visual
representation
of the Holy
Spirit really
coming out
of his heart,
of the water
pouring out
of his heart,
so they
can be
living water
to those
who would
believe in
him.
And then
finally,
they will
look on
him whom
they have
pierced.
Again,
that's
fulfillment
of Zechariah
12,
10,
which said
that,
and then
later in
that same
passage,
it says,
on that
day there
shall be
a fountain
open for
the house
of David
and the
inhabitants
of Jerusalem
to cleanse
them from
sin and
uncleanness.
So again,
with the
water and
blood pouring
out of
Jesus'
heart,
that's the
fountain
opened up
for his
people,
those who
would believe
in him
for the
cleansing of
our sin
by the
blood and
the water.
So Jesus
fulfills
scripture as
the new
David and
as the new
Passover lamb,
but he does
this in order
to create a
new people.
John writes
in verse 35,
he who saw
it has
borne witness,
his testimony
is true,
and he knows
that he is
telling the truth
that you
also may
believe.
This is the
goal of
John's
writing.
He's not
just writing
it just to
remember for
the sake of
memory,
but he is
bearing witness
so that those
who read
this,
those who
encounter
Jesus through
his writing
might believe
in him.
That's his
goal,
and in doing
so become
born into
the family
of God.
And we see
a glimpse of
this new
family in
verses 25 to
26,
where Jesus,
even as he's
dying on the
cross,
takes care of
his mother,
he says,
and he says
to his
disciple whom
he loved
standing nearby,
and he said
to his
mother,
woman,
behold your
son.
Then he
said to the
disciple,
behold your
mother,
and from
that hour
the disciple
took her
to his
own home.
And this
is interesting
because Jesus
has other
siblings,
even though
they're half
siblings,
of course,
because Jesus
was born
of Mary
when she
was a
virgin.
But she
has children
after Jesus,
right,
and so he
has at least
half brothers,
siblings,
but instead
of entrusting
his biological
mother to
his biological
brothers,
he entrusts
her to
his spiritual
family,
his spiritual
brother,
the new
family of
God that
has come
up through
his work.
And he
says,
this is your
mother,
this is your
son.
And not
only that,
we see this
new family
in verses
38 to 42.
New people
come and
join this
family.
It says,
after these
things,
Joseph of
Arimathea
was a
disciple of
Jesus,
but secretly
for fear
of the
Jews,
asked Pilate
that he
might take
away the
body of
Jesus.
And Pilate
gave him
permission.
So he
came and
took away
his body.
Joseph of
Arimathea
was a
member of
the Sanhedrin,
and Sanhedrin
is the
highest ruling
body among
the Jews
that condemned
Jesus,
and took
him to
the cross.
And so
here we
see him
leaving that
family,
that structure,
that Sanhedrin
is no longer
the focus
of the
focus of
God's
people,
but the
new family
of God
now is
built around
Jesus,
and he
comes to
grab Jesus
so that he
could give
him a
proper burial.
We see
this also
in Nicodemus.
It says,
that passage
continues,
Nicodemus
also,
who earlier
had come
to Jesus
by night,
came bringing
a mixture
of myrrh
and aloes,
about 75
pounds in
weight.
So they
took the
body of
Jesus and
bound it in
linen cloths
with the
spices,
as is the
burial custom
of the
Jews.
John uses
the metaphor,
the motif of
light and
darkness to
great effect
throughout his
gospel.
So when he
notes here that
Nicodemus had
formally come to
Jesus at
night,
he's noting that
he was at
that time in
a place of
darkness,
a place of
unbelief,
a place of
not knowing who
Jesus was.
But now here
he comes to
bury Jesus
and to
anoint him.
He has come
out of the
darkness into
light,
the light that
is Jesus,
the light of
the world.
And in
sharing this,
John is
inviting all
of us to
step out of
darkness into
light, to
believe in
Jesus and to
be born again
into that new
family of
God.
As the new
David and the
new Passover
lamb, Jesus
died on the
cross as the
atoning sacrifice
for the sins
of his
people.
And of
course that's
not the end
of the story.
There's Easter
and I hope you
guys come back
for Easter to
hear the rest
of the story
because apart
from the
resurrection,
this would be
meaningless.
Because the
resurrection is
the proof that
his sacrifice is
accepted by the
Father.
But if you're
here this
evening, you're
not here by
mistake.
God summons
you, he
calls you to
believe because
John wrote this
that we also
may believe.
And as much
as we'd like to
tell ourselves
that we're
pretty good
people, that
we live in a
pretty good
world, this
world is full
of darkness
and the evil,
the darkness
in our hearts,
it's kind of
like, you
know, puss
that's just
barely covered
over by skin.
A little bit
of pressure, a
little bit of
scraping, and it
just spews out
of us, the evil,
the darkness in
our hearts.
A little bit of
stress and our
anger spews out.
A little bit of
disagreement and
our egos and our
selfishness spew out.
A little bit of
scarcity and our
greed spews out.
A little bit of
pleasure and our
gluttony, lechery,
and all kinds of
perversions spew
out of us.
A little bit of
uncertainty and our
fears and insecurities
spew out.
We need a
redeemer.
We need a
savior.
And that's why
God the Father
sends his son,
Jesus Christ,
to die on the
cross as the
atoning sacrifice
for our sins.
And Jesus is
unique among
history's religious
leaders in that
he does not
merely teach a
way of life,
but offers life,
eternal life
itself.
He accomplishes
this for us.
He doesn't leave
it up to us to
strive and earn
and attain
enlightenment or
salvation for
ourselves, but he
himself takes the
initiative to make
a way for us to
come and save us.
He doesn't merely
teach us to live a
good life.
He proclaims to
us the good news
that he made a
way for us already,
that he accomplished
it.
That we must only
believe in it.
And that's why he
says decisively at
verse 30, it is
finished.
He gave up his
spirit.
And this is
powerful.
Because the word
gave up is the
same word that's
translated as
delivered up or
handed over.
And over and over
again throughout the
gospel of John,
over a dozen times,
it refers to Jesus'
betrayal.
They handed him
over.
They delivered him
over to be
crucified.
They handed him
over to Pilate.
But even though all
these forces of this
world are conspiring
against him, at the
end of the day, it's
not other people who
hand Jesus over, but
it's Jesus who
himself who hands
over his spirit.
He gives up his
spirit.
He is the master of
his own faith.
That's why it says
also late earlier that
he bore his own
cross.
He wanted to do
this.
This was of his own
will.
He wanted to die
for our sins.
And once he has
done it, he said,
all is fulfilled.
It is finished.
It doesn't mean that,
okay, now my life is
over.
I'm about to die.
That's not what it
means.
The word finished
has a sense of
accomplishing.
It's the same word
that Jesus used
earlier in 17,
chapter 70,
verse 4 to say,
I glorified you on
earth having
accomplished the
work that you
gave me to do.
Jesus is saying,
it is finished.
It is accomplished.
I have done it.
The work of
redemption is done
and there is no
more for us to do
but to believe in
him and take hold
of the work that
he has completed
by faith.
A simple poem
by S.W.
Gaty conveys the
deep irony of it
all.
It says,
he held in hell
laid low,
made sin,
his sin
overthrew,
bowed to the
grave,
destroyed his
soul,
and death
by dying
slew.
Tonight,
I invite you guys
to not dwell on
your own
accomplishments,
to not dwell on
your good works,
but dwell instead
on the good news
of what Jesus
has done for us
and let that be
your salvation
and when you
cling to him
and come to
Jesus,
you will hear
those words
pronounced over you,
it is finished,
it is accomplished
and the joy of
salvation will be
yours.
Let's pray together.
God, we thank you.
There's so,
there's only so much
we can say
to thank you,
to marvel
at what you have
done and to
praise you for
all that you have
done for us,
for what you
have done
in saving us
on that cross,
you alone deserve
all praise
and honor
and glory.
Grant us
the gift of faith
so that we may
cling to you
and hear those
words pronounced
over us.
It is finished.
In Jesus' name
we pray.
Amen.