Death of the Lamb of God

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,

John 19 · chapter mention

and in that Bible it's page 905.

John chapter 19, verses 16 to 42.

John 19:16–42

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,

Psalms 22:16–18

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

John 7 · chapter mention

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.