The Final Word

Great honor for me to be with you and uh send messages to of greetings to those of you watching online, uh the various campuses.

It's just a great honor.

I love your pastor.

I love this church, and uh thank you for letting me uh come up the road from San Antonio.

If you're ever in San Antonio, come to the Oak Hills Church and and uh we'll try to return this great favor of hospitality.

I've got a new joke.

I don't know if you're gonna like it or not, uh, but I'll find out, right?

And so this uh mechanic had a dog named Mace.

Mace had a bad habit of eating grass, and so the mechanic kept mace indoors.

While Mace was indoors, however, the grass in the backyard grew up, and that's where the mechanic liked to do some of his work.

And one day he dropped a wrench and he couldn't find it because the grass was so tall.

And so he opened the door and let mace out, and mace ate the grass and he found the wrench.

And when he found the wrench, he looked up to heaven, the mechanic did, and he said, Thank you, Lord.

A grazing mace.

How sweet the hound that saved a wrench for me.

You like it or not.

Thumbs up, thumbs down.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for letting us have this time together.

We ask that you would please forgive our speaker.

You know his sins are many.

Help us to see Christ, just Christ.

Through Christ we pray.

Amen.

But that's the numeric answer given to the question: how many words does the average person speak in a lifetime?

That tabulation was tackled by a British actor and self-professed Scrabble fanatic by the name of Giles Brandrith.

And he was so certain of his tabulation that he uses the number as the subtitle to a book entitled The Joy of Lex: How to Have Fun with 860,341,500 words.

That's roughly the equivalent of speaking the entire King James Version of the Bible 1,150 times.

It's all some of you can do to resist the temptation to think about that person who skews the average upward for the rest of us.

But I'm not going to go there.

But I would like for you to think about this question.

Of your 860 million spoken words, which are the most important?

Of all the words in your lifetime, which ones matter most?

Quite possibly the first time you said I love you qualifies?

No doubt the yes that some of you said when asked the question, do you take this person in marriage would make the list.

The words, I'm pregnant, can be, depending on the circumstance, wonderful or woeful.

Not all the words we speak have equal weight, do they?

Some of our words, most of our words, the vast majority of our words are just pedestrian.

They're semantic, chit-chat and banter.

There are a few, however, that qualify as hope diamonds.

The same is true with the words of Christ.

It's estimated that he spoke, as recorded in Scripture, about 30,000 words, depending upon the translation and the language.

Anywhere between a third to a half of the New Testament is comprised with a collection of the spoken words of Jesus.

Might it be possible to assimilate a list of his most important words?

What would make your list if you were to make one?

If Lazarus were asked the question, no doubt he would include the phrase, Lazarus, come out.

Matthew, were he compiling a list, would say his life forever changed the day he heard Jesus speak the words, follow me.

And then there was an enfeebled lady who heard a question from Christ.

Upon reaching through the crowd and touching the hem of his garment.

She heard him say, Who touched me?

And yet, of all the words that Christ spoke, there is one word that rises like an Everest above the rest.

And were you somehow able to remove this word from the Jesus narrative, the gospel archway would crumble.

As if you'd removed the keystone.

This word is without a doubt the most important word that Christ ever spoke.

It embodies the very gospel of Christ.

And without this word, the teachings of Christ are not the revelations of a redeemer.

They're simply the ramblings of a rabbi.

This word stands at the end of the story of Christ like an oasis at the end of a Saharan trail.

This word reveals the magnum opus of the miracles of Jesus.

The word is found in John chapter 19, verses 28 through 30.

John 19:28–30

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it and put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant and lifted it to Jesus' lips.

And when he had received the drink, Jesus said, It is finished.

And with that he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Three words in English, one word in Greek.

The most important word, the final word on the miracle of redemption.

This miracle of redemption is indeed the miracle of miracles.

The miracles of Christ sugar the whole story of his ministry.

But this miracle?

Here on the cross, Jesus didn't turn water into wine, but he did turn sinners into saints.

And he didn't give sight to one blind man, but he gave sight to a generation.

And he didn't enable a crippled beggar to walk, but he invited all of us to dance.

With one word, with one word, he he silenced more than a storm and fed more than a multitude.

His command at Bethany was enough to get Lazarus out of the grave, but this command on Calvary is enough to save you and me from eternal death.

Would you allow me to talk to you for just a moment about the word and the work of redemption?

Look at this.

The word of redemption.

One word in Greek, to telesti.

Tetelesti.

Three words in English, it is finished.

The painter looks at the canvas and he steps back, seeing if there is any additional stroke required.

And realizing there is none, he lowers his palette and his brush and he says, It is finished.

The poet reads over the sonnet one final time.

And seeing that it requires no additional word or correction, he lowers his pencil and says, It is finished.

The farmer looks out over the just harvested field, removes his hat, mops his brow, and says, Oh God, it is finished.

And here Jesus, suspended by two nails, feet appears with a Roman spike, reflects back over all the work that needs to be done and realizing it is complete.

He allows oxygen to escape his burning lungs, and before he lowers his head, it's a telescide, he says, it is finished.

The work he came to do is done.

Do you remember when it began?

Jesus was twelve years of age when he disappeared.

A story that strikes fear in the heart of every parent.

Three days he was missing in the city of Jerusalem.

Folks, can you imagine not knowing where your child is for three days?

My parents would have cherished that opportunity.

Finally, Mary and Joseph found Jesus, you recall, in the temple with the rabbis.

And upon seeing Joseph and Mary, Jesus said, Why did you seek me?

Did you not know I must be about my father's what?

Business.

What an interesting word.

Early on, Jesus had a sense as to the family business.

The Holy Spirit, the Father, the Son working together in this cooperative business of redemption.

Redemption.

And now Christ, before he dies, in some of his final words, says it is finished.

To telescide.

It carries with it a it has overtones of business.

The literal transaction is a final, I'm sorry, literal translation is a final transaction has occurred.

It's the same word that appears in ancient Greek manuscripts to describe the final payment or purchase.

As if somebody had taken out a loan to purchase a house and they come in with the bag of money, their last payment, and they place it on someone's desk and they announce to telestine.

It is paid.

In the moments prior to this great word, the soldiers soaked a sponge in a jar of wine vinegar, and they put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and they lifted it to Jesus' lips.

And when he had received the drink, Jesus said, It is finished.

Wine vinegar and sponge and hyssop.

Do these props of the drama serve to teach us anything?

I think they do.

Matthew remembers this wine as wine mixed with gall.

Mark recalls it as wine mixed with myrrh.

Both gall and myrrh have sedative properties.

And this wine was offered to Christ, if you'll recall, prior to the crucifixion, but he refused it.

But now moments before his final breath, he receives it.

Why?

Because it is finished.

Wine vinegar, John calls it.

Just the sound of it tastes bitter, doesn't it?

Just as our sins are bitter to the taste, so the wine vinegar would have been bitter to the lips.

And the sponge was soaked in it.

Just as the sponge was soaked in the bitter wine, so this is the moment in which the Son of God was soaked in the sinfulness of mankind.

He absorbed within himself the bitter sin of humanity.

And it was handed to him on the stalk of a hyssop branch.

Bible trivia buffs might recall another occasion that the hyssop branch appears in Scripture in another great act of redemption, indeed, the other great act of redemption, when the children of Israel were delivered from Egyptian captivity, and they were given the command take a branch of the hyssop plant and dip it into the bowl filled with blood, and then wipe the blood on the sides and tops of the door frames.

Blood on the doorframe promised protection from the destroyer, and the blood of Christ over the door or the heart of the disciple promises protection from the destroyer as well.

And once Jesus had received this taste of bitter wine with the sponge that was suspended on the hyset branch, the apostle John writes, then he said, It is finished.

I might have suspected John would say, then he declared, then he pronounced, then he proclaimed.

But John, always given to understatement, allows the word to telesti to carry the work.

This statement of completion calls to my mind a moment from my teenage years that is a part of Locato family lore.

We came to laugh about it, but boy, it was not funny on that Saturday morning when my father said it.

The family was seated around the breakfast table.

The moment was somber.

Because the night before, my brother had gotten into trouble.

He was a high school senior.

I was a high school sophomore.

Both my brother and I became too chummy with the likes of Buddy Budweiser, Mickey Mikkelobe, and Adolph Coors.

We were heavy drinkers.

My brother, however, seemed to get in trouble more than his younger brother did.

And that's what had happened the night before.

My dad got a call at midnight.

I grew up in a small West Texas town where everybody knows everybody, and the county sheriff knew my father very well, which my father was not pleased with.

And so my father was talking to the county sheriff and said, All right, I'll come down and get him.

And we knew my mother, I, my dad, we knew Dee was in trouble again.

My mom cried out from the bedroom, Jack, what's wrong?

Oh, Dee's in trouble again.

I'll go get him.

The door opened and closed.

And I did what any good baby brother would do.

I went back to sleep.

I awoke the next morning.

To be honest, I'd forgotten about the incident, but then I was reminded of it as I stumbled into the kitchen to eat breakfast, and there they sat.

All three of them stony faced and silent.

Dad stirred his coffee.

Mom pestered Dad.

Tell me what happened, Jack.

And Dee, my big brother, oh boy, he knew not to say a word.

His eyes were as big as the pancakes he couldn't swallow.

I do not know to this day why my father didn't want to unpack the events of the night before.

But he didn't.

He simply said, Thelma, isn't that a great name?

Thelma?

I handled it.

I don't want to talk about it.

I handled it.

I came to learn that that phrase, I handled it, involved a conversation with the highway patrolman, a promise to repair a bent fender, fix a flat tire, and a curfew for my brother that began that day and continued for the rest of his earthly life.

This much was clear.

D had gotten into trouble, and my father handled it.

I wonder if that's a picture of the gospel in miniature.

Humanity gets into trouble.

And our father handles it.

The message of the word here is helpful to telescope it comes to us in a perfect.

Tense, which means a past act with continuing present force.

You might think Big Bang, a moment in history that changed history, and we're still feeling the vibrations from it all these many years later.

The word is in the passive voice, which means a matter has been brought to completion, its conclusion, even its perfection.

The Hebrew Bible translates this word not to telesti, obviously, but the Hebrew term nichlam, which is the descendant of the wonderful Hebrew phrase shalom.

A literal translation could be peace has been made.

The Latin Bible carries the feel of a completed test, consumatum est.

It is consumed, it is completed.

I wonder if the writer of Hebrews was thinking of this word to telesti when he wrote the verse: for by one offering Christ has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

Christ has perfected for one time all those who are being sanctified.

The family at my church, every time I see this blessed lady, I say, How are you doing?

She says, I'm perfect.

Thanks to Jesus Christ.

She's speaking truth.

She has been perfected thanks to Jesus Christ.

No more work needs to be done.

Whatever needed to be completed has been completed.

The Father has handled it.

Even the nonverbal message makes the declaration.

And bowing his head, Jesus gave up his spirit.

His head did not fall forward in a slump.

This is not the act of a dying man who's swooning on the cross.

Even in the final moments, he determines when his head goes forward.

He controls his posture.

He lowered his head.

Lowers his head as if to say he has done what he came to do and he presents the finished work to the triune God.

And he gave up his spirit.

He gave up his spirit.

In his commentary on this particular passage, Arthur Pink wrote, No one else ever did this or died thus.

The man on center cross commands center stage, sovereign until the final breath, controlling the movement of his head and the position of his spirit.

He gave up his spirit.

He told us he would do this, did he not?

The reason my father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again.

No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.

I have authority to lay it down.

Authority to take it up again.

This command I received from my father.

So no one took his life.

No power bent his head, nothing interrupted his work.

The business to which he referred as a 12-year-old boy in the temple, just a short few miles away, is now completed some 21 years later on the hill of Calvary.

But still we must dig deeper.

We must be clear.

This is the one topic upon which Christians can have absolutely no confusion.

What was finished?

What was complete?

What needs no further work?

What caused Christ to declare, to telesti, and then lower his head and give up his spirit?

What was finished?

Was the teaching of Christ finished?

No, he teaches to this day.

Was the healing of Christ finished?

Absolutely not.

In companionship with the compassion of the Father and the work of the Holy Spirit, he heals us, does he not?

Day by day.

The leading of Christ, was it complete?

Of course not.

He leads his church to this very moment.

Then what was finished?

What was completed?

Now, having seen the word of redemption, let's be clear we understand the work, the work of redemption.

The redemption of mankind is complete.

It's done.

He did it.

The act of atonement is performed.

This price, this unspeakably high price of purchasing your soul and mine has been paid.

He has brought the final payment and placed it on the desk and declared to telesti.

It is paid.

Nishlam, consumatum est.

I handled it.

It is finished.

The apostle Paul said, for our sake, God made him speaking of Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin, so that in him we could become the righteousness of God.

Behold, the blessed transfer, the double transfer of our sin to Christ and His righteousness to us.

Our sin to Christ and His righteousness to us.

God's sinless Son received in him our sin to the point that it would cause him to cry out, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Receiving upon himself the just punishment for our sins.

And then imparting to us his perfect state.

As if when God looks upon you, dear child of God, he sees the perfection of his Son Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote in the prior verse, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their sins against them.

God does not count our sins against us.

This is a, this is a this is an accounting term.

It says that somewhere in the heavens there's a ledger.

And the ledger has a list of all of your sins.

But then when you look at the top, you see that somebody marked out your name and wrote the name of Jesus Christ.

And then you look at the ledger and find the one column that has no mark at all, and it's the mark of Jesus Christ, and somebody's marked out his name and written your name.

Will you receive that deep in your heart today, dear church?

That's the great miracle, the final and complete miracle.

That passage we referred to earlier from Hebrews 10, 14.

For by one offering, he has perfected forever.

For by one offering, no other offering is needed, he has what?

Perfected, completed.

For how long?

Ever.

Those who are being sanctified.

The event has happened, but the Big Bang continues.

We are saved, but we are being developed, sanctified, and changed.

In the prior scripture, the writer says, After Jesus had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, he sat down at the right hand of God.

That's the picture of somebody who's finished their work.

They come in and they sit down.

It's done.

All that needs to be done, all that needs to be paid, has been done and paid.

Hear me.

The devil has no access to your salvation.

The devil has no access to your salvation.

This is a finished, complete work done by Christ on the cross, and he cannot touch it.

And hear this you cannot add to it.

You cannot.

Your greatest works of charity and kindness, your greatest moments of sacrificial love have not increased your salvation one iota.

And hear me.

Your darkest moments, your most shameful deeds, the times that you have stumbled and fumbled, have not deducted from your salvation one fraction.

You cannot add to it, you cannot take from it.

Why?

Because it is not your work.

It is not your work.

This is the great declaration of grace.

And that is, without a single merit of our own, Christ has given to us what we could not do.

Every other religion in the world and in history says, do this, and maybe God will save you.

Only Christianity dares to point to the finished work of Christ and say, He did this.

God has received you.

That is the gospel.

You can live in gratitude for it.

You can ponder the mystery of it.

You can declare the wonder of it.

You can walk in compassion, in companionship with it, but you cannot contribute to it.

It needs no enhancement.

Christ did not declare from the cross, it is begun.

He did not say, I'm off to a good start.

He did not say, I got about 99% of it done now, you guys finish the rest.

He handled it.

This is why he is called a savior.

This is the miracle of the cross.

Can I close the message by urging you to be open to this miracle?

Would you please?

Would you yet, for the first time or the thousandth time, embrace this great work of God for you?

He paid for you.

I heard that phrase just recently, a few weeks back, in of all places, a Starbucks.

I was in my car driving through the drive-thru line.

There were probably half a dozen cars ahead of me.

I placed my order and I waited for one car after another to pay and move on, and finally it was my turn, and I pulled up to the window and I lowered the car window and I handed the attendant my money and she waved it away.

She pointed at a car that was driving off and she said, Those people covered your coffee.

They said they recognized you from the church.

And they wanted to pay for your coffee.

I do not know who those people, I did not know who those people were, or still don't, I don't know who those people are, but I do know they are Christians of the highest caliber.

And they left an example that you can follow at any time if you would like.

She said, Well, it looks like there's going to be some left over.

And so I did what any good preacher would do.

I looked in the rear view mirror and I told the attendant, I'll order something to eat.

What I did not do is refuse the gift.

What I did not do is puff out my chest and say, I can pay my own way.

Thank you very much.

What I did not do is say, oh, that gift is probably counterfeit.

I wouldn't trust it.

What I did is accept the gift.

I oh so hope that you will accept the gift.

The great gift of God's grace.

Why wouldn't you?

For heaven's sake.

Why wouldn't you?

Well, Max, my mistakes are too many.

That's the point.

That's the point.

Our stumbles and fumbles are far too many.

Our conscience tells us that.

And imagine what it must look like from the perspective of the perfect heaven.

And even we sinful people know we have sinned too often.

Say, well, well, Max, I'm just not worthy to receive such a gift.

You weren't consulted.

You weren't.

Your view of yourself is not a part of this decision.

God has declared you're worthy of salvation.

For whatever reason, there's something about you and there's something about me that he wants to have in his eternal kingdom.

Do you understand the business of heaven?

The business of heaven is creating for God a redeemed people with whom and through whom he can serve for eternity.

He is right now populating heaven.

He is capturing, he is redeeming, he is harvesting for himself a redeemed people with whom and through whom he can serve for eternity.

And the calculation of heaven is simply this: it is a perfect place made of perfect people.

And we are anything but perfect.

For that reason, Christ through the cross has perfected forever those who are being made holy.

Why would you refuse a gift like that?

Oh, I encourage you.

Be open to this miracle.

Be open to the great work of Christ on the cross for you.

Five hundred years ago, the leaders of the church in Germany decided to create what we might call a church curriculum.

It came to be known as the Heidelberg Catechism.

52 declarations, one for each week the churches could study.

When it came to this topic, they wrote this paragraph.

God grants me the benefits of the perfect expiation of Christ, imputing to me his righteousness and holiness as if I had never committed a single sin or had ever been sinful, and as if I had fulfilled myself all the obedience which Christ has carried out for me, if only I accept such a favor with a trusting heart.

Have you?

Have you accepted such a favor with a trusting heart?

If you have not, please do so.

I close by saying, just be a part of this miracle.

Now is the time.

Today is the day.

You now know the most important word Christ ever spoke, but that word avails you nothing unless it is accompanied by a yes from your spirit.

Have you received with a trusting heart this great act of grace?

May your answer be yes.

Heavenly Father, we bless you for this great gift of grace.

Let our hearts today be buoyed, be lifted by this love that you have for us and by this great accomplishment of Christ on the cross.

Through Jesus we pray.