SPEAKER_01 0:11

John chapter 19 verses 28 through 30 records the final moments of Jesus' suffering on the cross. John writes, 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. Now these words are not the words of a helpless victim of a senseless crime. Jesus knows exactly what he is doing, and John tells us that Jesus knew all was now finished. Even his cry, I thirst, is part of the fulfillment of Scripture. To the very end, Jesus consciously obeys the Father and completes the work that he came to do. So when we read this together with the seven sayings of Jesus from the cross, uh the meaning of his death becomes even clearer. Jesus prays, Father forgive them. Luke chapter 23, verse 34. He tells the repentant thief, Today you will be with me in paradise. Luke chapter 23, verse 43. He entrusts his mother to the beloved disciple, John chapter 19, verses 26 through 27. He cries, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Matthew 27 46. Then he says, I thirst, John 19 28. And then he c declares, it is finished, John 19 30. And finally he says, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Luke chapter 23, verse 46. Taken together, these sayings show us what the cross accomplishes. Jesus brings forgiveness to sinners, he opens paradise to the undeserving, he bears judgment in our place. He fully drinks the cup the Father gave him. And then he announces the that the work is complete, the debt is paid, and redemption has been accomplished. So Jesus dies with full awareness and full purpose. He knows that all is now finished, and that means the cross is not a tragic interruption of his mission. The cross is the mission that Jesus came for this hour, that he came to bear sin, satisfy the justice of God and redeem his people. And this is why the words it is finished matter so deeply. Jesus does not say that his work wa has merely begun. He does not say that salvation is now made available if we can somehow complete the uh the rest. No, he says it is finished. The payment is made, the debt of sin has been paid in full. The seven sayings from the cross help us to see the finished work. Father, forgive them. Shows that the cross is the place where forgiveness flows. Today you will be with me in paradise, shows that even a dying sinner who has nothing to offer can be saved by grace alone. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Shows that Jesus bore the darkness of judgment so that his people would never be finally forsaken. I thirst reminds us that his suffering was real, that he did not save us from a distance, rather, he entered fully into our misery and curse. And when he says it is finished, he gives peace to every sinner who knows that he cannot save himself, that the debt must be paid for by somebody else, and that debt is paid for by Christ and Christ alone. So even though I understand the gospel and believe Jesus, I must admit that I often find myself still acting as though something remains unpaid. That is when I live outside of God's will, that it is proper. It is right that I should feel guilty and therefore repent. However, sometimes I do find myself carrying the guilt as though my repentance is a way to earn God's favor, earn righteousness. And so I sometimes forget that I I can only repent because Christ has already borne my guilt for me on the cross. Being obedient to God is one thing and that I should. However, when I try to prove myself to God as though God would save me because I'm worthy, I make the same mistake the Pharisees had made. So today the cross of Calvary calls us to stop looking at ourselves as the answer, or even a partial answer. It calls us to look at Jesus as the complete answer, the full solution to our mess, our mess of a life. He is the one who paid the debt, he is the one who finished the work of salvation, he is the one who brings forgiveness, redemption, and peace with God. The cross does not make it possible for sinners to be saved, it actually saves. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for the finished work of Jesus. Thank you that our debt has been paid, our forgiveness has been purchased, and our redemption has been secured through the death of Jesus Christ. Help us not to boast in ourselves, but to rejoice in Christ alone. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 6:56

When I survey a wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest came, I count but lost and pour contempt on all my pride, forbid it, Lord, that I should boast in the death of Christ my God. All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood. So rich a crown were the whole realm of nature that were present for too small so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my heart demands my soul, my life.