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It is Finished – (3 things)
- 1st – Darkness covered the earth (3 points)… vs. 33-36
- 1st – From 12pm-3pm – darkness (of night) covered the whole Earth…
- There has been much speculation on what caused the darkness – heavy clouds/eclipse
- But it was not clouds or an eclipse of the sun – it was the death of light of the world…
- John 8:12 – “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, ‘I am the light of the world.’”
- In the darkest hour in history – the Light of the World was extinguished…
- Ironically, it was darkest – just before God gave us all the light of salvation
- Times are often the most difficult in life – just before God does the most amazing work
- I fear too often we give up – wear out – just before God does something incredible!
- It is good to remember – it is always the darkest – just before the dawn…
- 2nd – In that dark hour Jesus cried – ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani’ (Aramaic)…
- Palms 22:1 – “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
- First time in Eternity – the Father and the Son were separated – broken fellowship…
- Jesus – who had never sinned – now bore every sin of ever person who ever lived…
- The Father placed on Jesus – all the guilt – shame – and condemnation of the world…
- The Father ‘forsook’ the Son – because He carried the sin of the whole world!
- Sin separates – our sin separated the Son from the Father – because…
- I John 1:5 – “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”
- When we choose to sin – we are choosing to separate ourselves from God…
- If a child does something wrong – something Dad or Mom told them not to…
- They are not excited to see their parents – instead they avoid them – fearing judgment…
- We do the same thing with God – rather than being excited to see Him – we hide…
- Anything that has to do with God – reminds us of our sin – so we avoid them as well…
- Sin keeps us from wanting to read our Bible – go to church – fellowship with believers…
- Sin will keep us from fellowship/growing in the lord – but the Lord keeps us from sin!
- 3rd – Calling for Elijah…
- Some thought that Jesus was crying out for Elijah to save Him
- Mistaking the “Eli” as a shortened version of Elijah – rather than the Aramaic for “God”
- One had compassion on Jesus’ suffering – gave him some wine on a sponge…
- The rest objected – they wanted to see if Elijah would come and help…
- But Jesus was not trusting in a religion or a man – He was trusting in God…
- We all have the tendency to look to men – and men’s ideas for the answers to life…
- It is easier to trust in someone I can see and hear – than trust in God by faith…
- That why there are lots of religions – and lots of ideas about how to get to heaven…
- But there is only one who can save – only one who can take away sin!
- There is only one way to Heaven – by faith receive the free gift of salvation in Jesus!
- Make no mistake about it – people are watching us to see if God is real…
- We may not realize it – they may even be making fun of us – but they are watching…
- Everyone is looking for the answer to life – and wonder if Jesus is that answer…
- When we follow Jesus – praise God – when everything is going well – no biggie…
- When we follow Jesus – praise God – in the difficulties – people take notice!
- 1st – From 12pm-3pm – darkness (of night) covered the whole Earth…
- 2nd – The Death of Jesus… (5 points) vs. 37
- 1st – About 3pm – Jesus said, ‘I thirst’ – John 19:28
- Jesus thirst was a result of His physical condition…
- Jesus’ scourging/crucifixion put Him into (hypo-volemic) shock – massive loss of blood
- Leading up to Jesus’ death – the progression of this would have been:
- 1st – About 3pm – Jesus said, ‘I thirst’ – John 19:28
- His heart would race to pump blood that was not there…
- He would collapse/faint – Matthew 27:31 – due to low blood pressure…
- His kidneys would shut down to preserve body fluids…
- Experiencing extreme thirst as the body desired to replenish lost fluids…
- Rapid heartbeat causes fluid to gather in sack around the heart (pericardial effusion)
- The eventual effect was heart failure – Jesus died of a broken heart…
- 2nd – Jesus knowing that all things were accomplished said – John 19:30
- ‘It is finished!’ – Tetelestai – Perfect/Passive/Indicative!
- Jesus hadn’t come to heal people / make men rich / or tell us how to have better lives…
- Jesus came to die – He came because we all destined for hell – because of our sin…
- Through the cross – His work was done – sin was defeated – death had been overcome
- * I Corinthians 15:55, 57 – “O death, where is your victory? How we thank God, who gives us victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
- So often we want to add to the finished work of the cross – believe in Jesus and…
- Go to church / tithe / be good / baptism/ obey God’s commands / ect…
- Yet the work of salvation was completed a the cross – nothing else needed to be done…
- When Jesus said – it is finished – He meant it!
- All we have to do is believe in the ‘finished’ work of Jesus – and we are saved!
- 3rd – Jesus bowed His head – and sent away His spirit – Matthew 27:50
- Romans and Jews did not kill Jesus – He gave up His life – He willingly laid it down…
- John 10:18 – “No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.”
- And He had the power to take it back – and 3 days later He would…
- 4th – Broken legs – John 19:31-33
- The Sabbath started at sundown (Unleavened Bread) they wanted to end the crucifixion
- They ordered all the legs of the victims to be broken – swift death by asphyxiation…
- The two robbers had their legs broken – but Jesus was already dead…
- So not one bone in His body was broken… fulfilling Psalm 22:17
- 5th – Blood and Water – John 19:34-35
- To verify Jesus was dead – a soldier pierced His side with a spear – blood and water…
- Moses had sealed the Old Covenant with blood and water – Hebrews 9:19
- Jesus now sealed the New Covenant – Grace – with His blood and water!
- Jesus came as a man – lived as man – yet lived a perfect sinless life…
- Jesus did what no one else could– fulfilled the righteous requirement of God’s Law…
- Jesus – the only perfect man – paid the price for our sin – Death – Romans 6:23…
- In that moment Jesus condemned sin – defeated the death once and for all!
- Then came one of the great mysteries of the ages – God gave us Jesus’ righteousness!
- * II Corinthians 5:21 – “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”
- If we took a test in school – got an (F) – but the best student in the class – got an (A)
- That student came to us and offered to change grades – take our (F) – give us an (A)
- We failed the test of life – we got an (F) – Jesus got it all right – He got an (A)
- He took our sin (F) and gave us His righteousness (A)
- Now when God looks down on us – He does not see our sinful mistakes/flaws…
- He instead sees the perfect life of His Son Jesus – He sees us as perfect/flawless…
- The Covenant of Grace – where God takes our sin – and gives us His righteousness
- Fulfilling the words of the Prophet – Zachariah 12:10
- The Jews had missed Jesus – they rejected the savior of the world…
- But one day – they would look on the “one whom they pierced” and believe!
- If you have family/friends who have not accepted Jesus as their savior…
- Keep praying – one day by Jesus Grace – they will also look to Jesus and believe!
- 3rd – Results of the death of Jesus… (3 points) vs. 38-41
- 1st – A Great Earthquake – Matthew 27:51-53
- The Veil of the Temple was torn in two…
- Temple was divided into 4 parts – Outer Court/Inner Court/Holiest/Holiest of All
- The Outer court was for the Gentiles – those who did not believe – look from afar
- The Inner court was where the alter of sacrifice was – closer to God – but still far
- The Holiest was the 1st room inside the Temple – only the priest were allowed
- The Holiest of all was the inner room – Ark of the Covenant – presence of God
- The Veil separated the Holiest – from the Holiest of All
- Only the High priest could enter there – only once a year – the Day of Atonement
- Bells on his robe / rope on his feet – if he made any mistake – he was dead
- God did this to show that the way into God’s presence was closed – Hebrews 9:8
- The Veil was no small piece of cloth – 60’ x 30’ x 4” – weighed an incredible 4 tons!
- Yet with a great earth quake the veil was ripped open…
- God (top to bottom) – not man – tore open the veil that separated man from God!
- No longer is the way to God closed – it was opened up through the Cross!
- Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
- A stranger does not have complete access to a parent – but a child does…
- The Holiest of all – is now our family room – where we can boldly enter…
- Coming to our Father for mercy and Grace whenever we need it!
- The Jews later ‘repaired’ the veil…
- Not long after – the Jewish leaders sewed the veil back up…
- God had opened up the way – men wanted to close it again…
- They would rather have religion – than a true relationship with God!
- Men love religion because it puts salvation in their hands – not God’s…
- Men love religion because it feeds their pride – self-righteousness…
- But Religion cannot get you into heaven – on the contrary – it keep you from God…
- It is like putting the Veil that Jesus tore down – back up again
- Temple was divided into 4 parts – Outer Court/Inner Court/Holiest/Holiest of All
- The graves were opened…
- Many of the saints (believers) who had died – were raised after Jesus’ crucifixion!
- They walked around Jerusalem – appearing to many…
- This is a bit of an odd verse – the idea is King David / Jeremiah / godly men of old…
- Were raised from the dead – and walked around the city after Jesus’ resurrection!
- Before Jesus died – no one went to heaven – Hebrews 11:39
- Those who died having faith in the Lord – went to Abraham’s bosom…
- When Jesus died He went and set them free – Isaiah 61:1
- He now has the Keys to Hell and Death – Revelation 1:18
- Jesus opened up the door to Eternal Life – the resurrection of the dead…
- We are all one day going to die – these bodies wear out – (older people say Amen)
- But we do not sorrow or weep like those who have no hope – death is not the end…
- We have the hope – because of Jesus – that we will one day get new bodies!
- * II Corinthians 5:1 – “For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down—when we die and leave these bodies—we will have a home in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.”
- Many of the saints (believers) who had died – were raised after Jesus’ crucifixion!
- The Veil of the Temple was torn in two…
- 2nd – Truly this was the Son of God…
- A centurion who stood at the foot of the cross – said truly this was the ‘a Son of a God’…
- The centurion was moved by seeing Jesus on the cross…
- But he did not necessarily believe that Jesus was God – died for his sins…
- We stand with that centurion at the foot of the cross…
- Do we believe in Jesus’ ‘finished’ work – do we receive His (A) for our (F)…
- Do we now have complete access to the Holiest of All – our ‘family room’…
- So we have the hope that we will one day life forever with Jesus – resurrection
- Or are we moved my the message of the cross – but still do not believe…
- Are we still caught up in religion – the list of things we must do to be righteous…
- Do we still have that Veil up in our heart – keeping us from seeing God
- 3rd – Following from afar… many of the women who had followed Jesus…
- Mary the mother of Jesus (was there to see her son die – John 19:25)
- Mary Magdalene (Jesus case 7 demons out of her – Luke 8:2)
- Mary the mother of James and Jose (perhaps the sister of Mary – John 19:25)
- Salome – mother of James & John (Sons of Thunder – Mark 15:40)
- The Apostle John was also there – John 19:26
- Those who stand with Jesus – like those listed here – will find their names written…
- In the Lambs book of life – Revelation 21:27 – they will get to go to heaven!
- 1st – A Great Earthquake – Matthew 27:51-53
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