Paid In Full

John 19:30 KJV 1900

When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

Introduction

Romans 5:12 teaches us that Adam’s sin in the beginning impacted the whole of humanity by imputing the penalty of sin upon all mankind. This one act of disobedience had the effect of condemning every person born, to the judgement and accountability of death by sin.

Isaiah 1:5-6 tells us that the human condition was completely and totally affected by the onset of sin. Isaiah says that,

“the whole head is sick, and the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; But wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.”

As result, if mankind was to ever regain his place of fellowship with God, a necessary price had to be paid to atone, or compensate for the totality of the impact of sin.

The price was so great, that no one born of a human nature could afford to post payment because the transaction had to be made by someone who was perfect, and who did not know sin.

This disqualified Abraham because even though he was the father of many nations, he was also prone to lying to other people about his wife.

This disqualified Moses, because even though he was the deliverer of God’s people, he was also murderer with blood on his hands.

This disqualified David, because even though he was a man after God’s own heart, he was also an adulterer who planned the death of his side piece’s husband.

But there was One, who met the divine requirements of paying the price for sin, and that One was Jesus, who stepped in as our kinsman redeemer, to purchase us back from the shackles sin and death.

And our text tells us exactly how He did it.

Pursued Our Punishment

v. 30a - “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar…”

Here we see Jesus, hanging on a cross like a common criminal having been wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities, with the chastisement of our peace on His shoulders, blood streaming down from the lacerations of a crown of thorns, and from the open wounds of the stripes that we should have been given.

The verse says that He received the vinegar, which is symbolic of the willing acceptance of the bitterness of sin. The word “received” is lambano in the Greek, and it means to go after and take hold of. Even though the bitterness of sin was sour to the taste of the Son of God, He still received our vinegar.

In other words, Jesus hunted down and pursued the bitter sins that so easily beset us, so that He could take them upon Himself, bare the weight on His shoulders, and receive the bitter consequences that we deserved.

He went looking for the sinner and the sin, and there must be at least one witness in here tonight who can testify and say, He found me!

I was running numbers to the bookies, but He found me.

I was hustling crime on the streets, but He found me.

I was selling dope in the hood, but He found me.

I was gang banging with my 9mm, but He found me.

I was a prostitute on the corner, but He found me.

I was a liar and thief, but He found me.

I was strung out on drugs, but He found me.

I was a alcoholic wife beater, but he found me.

Howard E. Smith (1865) - Love Lifted me - “I was sinking deep in sin…”

Paid Our Price

v. 30b - “he said, It is finished…”

The word “finished” in this verse is teleo in the Greek, and it literally means, to discharge a debt, and to pay in full. The debt for sin was transacted by the divine currency of the blood of Jesus Christ, and it had to be the blood, because Hebrews 9:22 says, “… without shedding of blood is no remission.”

As Jesus hang on the cross, the blood from His wounds spilled out and over the sins of the entire world, and this means, that other than blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which is an outright rejection of God and His Son, there is no sin that is not covered by the blood.

This means…

There is nothing you have to pay to be restored in you fellowship with God.

There is nothing you have to pay to have peace that passes all understanding.

There is nothing you have to pay to be more than a conqueror through Him who loved us.

In fact, the only thing God wants from you, is for you to willingly receive the free Gift of His Son. David said it like this in Psalm 116:12–13 “What shall I render unto the Lord For all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, And call upon the name of the Lord.”

The only thing you need to do is take it!

When Jesus said, “it is finished”, He was showing the entire world His receipt of purchase with words, “Paid in Full” written with the RED ink of His own blood from Calvary’s Cross!

Paid in full! Is the message of Isaiah 55:1, where we are offered the opportunity to quench our thirst from the fountain of God’s grace, without money and without price.

Paid in full! Is the message of Romans 3:24, where Paul reminds us that we are justified of our sins through the redemption of the blood of Jesus Christ.

Paid in full! Is the message of Revelation 22:17, where John echoes God’s divine offer to the world to come and drink from the well of salvation for free!

Paid in full! is why I have a right to tree of life.

Paid in full! is why I am the head and not the tail.

Paid in full! is why no weapon formed against me shall prosper.

Paid in full! is why I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Paid in full! is why I am more than a conqueror.

Paid in full! is why nothing shall separate me from the love God.

Paid in full! is why in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, I’m going to rise up to be with… Jesus!