It Is Finished

On the cross, Jesus should father into your hands I commit my spirit. Nobody took his spirit from him. He delivered it into the hands of his father.

This one who had a just experience the fullness of foresight in this once the punishment was over, the son entrusted is so to the father "was a terrifying instrument of torture and execution decided, with most of all who saw it with different Christians.

The cross is a sign of hope, a symbol of what Jesus did for us is where he bore our sins in his body on this good for the addition of Renewing Your Mind, Dr. RC Sproul preaches from the Gospel of John chapter 19 verse 25 begins with the words. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus. Stop right there you would expect that the rest of the sentence would say something like Peter, Andrew, James Matthew Nathaniel Thomas and say that they were there they were watching from afar off, cowering in fear ashamed to be identified with this spectacle of their leader being slain before the but notice who it was who stood by the cross of Jesus, his mother Mary who we are told in the infancy narratives of Jesus that when the angel announced to her that she would become the mother of this child whose name would be Jesus because he would say his people from their sins and heard the prophecies and was in utter astonishment. We are told, almost as a postscript at the end that Mary, having heard these things, along with the prophecy in the temple that a sword would pierce her heart. She didn't understand the weightiness of these predictions. But the Scripture said that Mary These things. That is to say she didn't just let these announcements go in one ear and out the other. She held onto them tenaciously see Them as she kept the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh and then the Bible said, and she pondered them in her heart. I have often wonder how many times during her lifetime, and when she saw her son finally leave their home and began his public ministry that she returned to ponder these things and wonder what it meant that a sort would pierce her own soul. That afternoon when she stood by the cross.

She felt the piercing of her soul as she washed her son be crucified but she stood by him until his last moments with her was Mary sister, Mary the wife of Clovis and another Mary Mary Magdalene. Jesus is on the cross and he looks down from his place on the tree, and his eyes meet the eyes of his mother and while Jesus is feeling the crushing curse of his heavenly father upon him in this atoning death he can see the agony of his own mother, and as a godly son. He was concerned, not for himself but for her what mother wouldn't want to step up and take her son's place on that tree. Mary would've done it in a heartbeat.

And Jesus knew that Majeed also learned a deeper understanding of the identity of her son, and of his destiny and Mary remembered obviously the words that she had uttered to the angel Gabriel.

Even so, let it be unto me according to your work, so their eyes meet and Jesus when he looked at his mother didn't just say his mother but he also saw standing by one who is described here is the disciple whom he loved the tradition of the church identifies this unnamed disciple is the author of this book. The apostle John the youngest of the apostles and so Jesus spoke to his mother by saying woman, behold, your son. What did he mean he wasn't saying mother look at me in my humiliation mother, behold me and my shame mother observed my disgrace.

Jesus was not asking Mary to look at him when he said woman, behold thy son, he turns his gaze from his mother to John and he speaks to John saying, behold your mother and from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.

When Jesus died, and breathe his last. John went home and he took with him Mary the mother of Jesus, because in his dying breaths. Jesus had turned to John and entrusted the care of his mother to him. He sister Mary Mary behold your son John.

John behold your mother and so now John becomes the substitute son of Mary and Mary. The substitute mother of Joe from that hour that disciple took her to his own home now after this, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled.

Said I thirst in a vessel full of Sarwan were sitting there in the field responds with the Sarwan put on a discipline a lengthy read and lifted it up and put it to his mouth and Jesus received that Sarwan and so people have speculated again for centuries. Why did Jesus speak this short word from the cross, when he knew that everything had been completed.

He says I thirst. I'm thirsty. And again, the speculation goes something like this that the reason why Jesus cried out about his thirst was because part of the agony of crucifixion was that the rigors of this form of death because the one suffering it to experienced severe dehydration and clearly when Jesus spoke of being thirsty he was at the same time revealing the fullness of his humanity the divine nature is never hungry. The divine nature is never thirsty, but that human nature that is identified with us no stronger knows weariness, and on this occasion. Most thirst and so some say that this is simply a normal reaction to having had the fluid of his body dissipated, leaving him with an excruciating no pun intended, thirst.

But the Bible says something little more about this notice how John puts it, he said. After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished in order that the purpose of Scripture may be fulfilled. In other words, the clause that we have here is what's called a purpose clause and that clause explains to us why Jesus said I thirst and it wasn't simply because he was thirsty, though. Indeed, he had an unquenchable thirst from a human perspective, but he said it that the Scripture might be fulfilled. Jesus every step of his ministry was acutely conscious of the Old Testament inspired prophecy of the destiny of the Messiah of what would happen to the suffering servant of Israel, and he knew that he could not change the sovereign will of God that God had appointed from the foundation of the world and he knew that all things that God had decreed must needs come to pass only hours before. In the depths of his passion, sweating beads, not of perspiration but the blood from his four head dared to ask the father to change all that father if it be that with let this cup pass from me father is there some other way than what your words has decreed. Nevertheless, not my will but yours be done. All things being equal. Father, I don't not want to drink this cup, but more then I do not want to drink this cup, I do want to do what is pleasing to you. So if you really want me to drink this cup, I will drink it to its bitter drinks. After they try to quench his thirst with the sour wine he said it is finished and he bowed his head and he gave up the ghost. He gave up his spirit.

Nobody took his spirit from him. He seeded it. He delivered it into the hands of his father. This one who had a just experience the fullness of forsaken. This what is just gone through with the father turning his back on him.

Once the punishment was over, the sun entrusted his soul to the father. You know the first pain that we experience in this world would begin the curse God and trust in no more. But after the Savior takes the full brunt of the father's wrath upon him, and when it's finished when it's over, knowing that it was the father who bruise him that it was a father who was pleased to have him suffer for iniquity, the father who turned his back on and the father who abandoned him. Now when it's over. He says father into your hand's I commit myself.

John doesn't include that word here. He ends the record with Jesus simply say it is finished where we to make of that. There different aspects to that statement that Jesus makes here on the cross. If we look at it in the context where he says, knowing that all things had now been accomplished. He speaking of the completion of his mission that's over all father it's done. I have pasted the last drop of the cup of your wrath and now my atoning work is complete, students of the language.

Also see in these words it is finished.

A phrase that is borrowed from the commercial language of that time when people borrowed to buy something and pay back their debts on installment plans when the final payment is made and the stamp comes on the bill paid in full.

The word was to tell us glass payment is made in this is the very word the cheeses honors from the cross. When we read in the New Testament about our predicaments before a holy God. It is this that we are compared by way of the biblical metaphor to people who are debtors who aren't able to pay their debts. If the bank came to me tomorrow and said are sitting.

You owe us $10,000 euro 24 hours to come up with $10,000 because you always at $10,000 and let you come up with that $10,000 were to take your house tell you something I am absolutely confident that I could put my hands on $10,000 in the next 24 hours.

If I had not that difficult of a burden. But what the bank came to me and said the RC you owe us $10 billion and you got 24 hours to pay it like an where my going to get my hands on $10 billion in the next 24 hours I would find myself in a situation where I had a debt that I had no way of paying but my little illustration here collapses by its own weight because the data I actually had before a holy God cannot be measured in dollars and cents. The data I/O God for my sin and my rebellion against the sovereign creator of the universe, the one who owns my very soul is a debt that is infant if I could amass all of the money in this finite work. It wouldn't be enough to pay the that's what Jesus said. That's how he described you. That's how he describes me that weird not only debtors but we are debtors who cannot possibly pay our debts, you know, the Muslim idea is that if a person's good works outnumber their bad works and in the balance. Good is more than evil. They go to paradise because their idea of God is a God who negotiates his own righteousness, a God who grades on a curve God.

It was only kidding when he said be holy even as I am holy. You know, we hear the cliché. Everybody's entitled to one mistake, the ultimate entitlements program. Whoever gave you a title to one sent that God save you, but you perfect except just one salad to have one facility set but suppose he did. How long ago would you have used yours up, be holy even as I am holy now if what you owe to God's perfection. And if you have one blemish on your soul. What would you have to do for the rest of your life to achieve perfection.

Once the blemishes there perfection now becomes not only a presence but a future impossibility yellow debt that you can't pay this with the drama of the cross is all about Jesus Escamilla were the invoices that is there attached to your soul what you will.

My father give me the bills.

Given the debts and I'll pay them for you so that a certificate of completion. The paying of our debts to the last penny is nailed to the trade. See that's why Black Friday is Good Friday bad for Jesus. Good for us because the Lord laid upon him the iniquity for us and when he pay the very last sent of your that he grown from the tree say it's finished the tell us the there's nothing left over to be paid, cheeses is the hymn writer says paid it, standing before Pilate, Jesus declared that he is a king, and that he is the truth. What great teaching from a familiar story today here on Renewing Your Mind, Dr. RC Sproul is been taking us through the arrest and trial of Jesus over the past couple days every time we hear the story.

The details are familiar, but the lessons we learn are pointed in particular is really the joy of studying God's word is that we learn new lessons every time we open it using Dr. scroll series from the Gospel of John is a springboard. We have considered the importance of this Easter holiday and we would like to help you in your own study of the Gospel of John. You give a donation of any about today to later ministries we will send you the hardbound edition of RC's expositional commentary.

He introduces John's Gospel and his accessible conversational style.

Each chapter is packed with insights and expectations to draws closer to the light, and light of our Savior by colleagues in our home today on this good Friday so we will not be answering the phones, but you can request Dr. scroll's commentary online.

When you go to Renewing Your Mind.a work and let me thank you in advance for your generous donation as we anticipate resurrection day this coming Sunday.

I hope that you're able to stop and contemplate what it means in the application and has on our lives. I hope you have a blessed Easter and I hope you'll join us again Monday for Renewing Your Mind