The Last Words of Jesus Week 3- Only Jesus

Big Idea: Jesus did what no one else could.

Primary Scripture: John 19:28-30, Romans 8:1

Supporting Scripture: John 1:29b; Psalm 69:21; Matthew 16:21-22; John 3:16-17; Ephesians 2:8-9

CAPTURE (Why should students pay attention to and care about your message?)

Albert Einstein was one of the world’s most famous physicists and mathematicians, but he also was known to have an amazing ability to share complex thoughts in simple ways. 

Most of his interviews focused on questions about life, religion, and philosophy instead of mathematics or physics.

Here are just a few of the things he’s known to have said:

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

“Creativity is intelligence having fun.”

“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.”

“You never fail until you stop trying.”

When someone is so obviously brilliant, it makes sense that we would pay extra attention to the last words they spoke before their death, and Einstein is no exception.

Yet for Einstein, things didn’t quite work out the way you’d expect.

Albert Einstein died from heart complications on April 18, 1955, at the age of 76, in a hospital in Princeton, New Jersey. 

Just before his passing, he called for a nurse, but when she arrived to check on her patient, she had no idea that she would hear the last thing that Einstein ever said. 

Unfortunately, the roughly 10-15 words that he spoke were in his native language of German, but the nurse only spoke English. 

We’ll never know whether or not his last words were brilliant or if there was one last piece of wisdom that he wanted to share with the world. 

For the past few weeks, we’ve been looking at The Last Words of Jesus, the final things He said as He was crucified and died. 

Today we’re looking at the actual last three words Jesus said before He died on the cross, because, in Jesus’ case, we know exactly what He said.

SCRIPTURE (What does God’s Word say?)

In John 19, Jesus is on the cross, dying an excruciating death. 

Most of His followers had scattered in fear that they might also be arrested.

Standing nearby were: Mary, the mother of Jesus; Mary, the sister of Jesus’ mother; and Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus’ most faithful followers. 

John was the only one of Jesus’ twelve disciples who was brave enough to also attend the crucifixion. 

The passage we’re about to read comes from John’s gospel, which means that this is his eyewitness account of Jesus’ final moments.

28 Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” (John 19:28 – NLT)

John describes Jesus as knowing that His mission was now finished.

This is a call back to the opening of John’s Gospel when John the Baptist (a different person named John) announced Jesus’ mission. 

29b Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29b – NLT)

Jesus’ mission was to take away our sins and provide a way of salvation for all of God’s children, including you and me. 

The moment this mission would be accomplished had finally arrived, and Jesus was incredibly aware of its weight. 

John sees Jesus’ request for something to drink as a parallel to an ancient Psalm of David, a Psalm in which David paints a beautiful picture of a righteous person bringing all their suffering to God:

21 But instead, they give me poison for food; they offer me sour wine for my thirst. (Psalm 69:21 – NLT)

What may initially seem like a small detail to us would have been incredibly significant to those watching. 

29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. (John 19:29 – NLT)

In response to Jesus saying that He was thirsty, just like David describes in the Psalm, the soldiers offered Jesus what was known as “sour wine.” 

As best we can tell, “sour wine” was basically wine that had sat stagnant for too long to still be considered good enough for the higher classes of society. Chances are good that it had become bitter and most likely tasted like vinegar. 

It wouldn’t have been pleasant for Jesus to drink, but “sour wine” was a common drink for Roman soldiers who couldn’t afford anything better. 

While it is possible that the Roman soldiers only offered it to Jesus as a way to further insult Him, it’s also interesting to me that they offered Him a drink that was meant for themselves.

Fulfilling prophecy by tasting this sour wine would be the last thing Jesus did before saying His last words:

30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:30 – NLT)

In a moment, in what must have felt like overwhelming loss, Jesus accomplished what no one else could. 

The Son of God made the ultimate sacrifice and paid the price for your sin and mine, which is something we could have never done on our own.

Jesus’ dying word “is a victory cry, the victory it heralds is that of obediently fulfilling the Father’s will” The work of revelation and salvation given to the Son by the Father has been fulfilled (or better, filled-full). The word was not a sigh of defeat but the cry of one who had fulfilled the work he was assigned. “It is the announcement of the victory of the victim. In this moment of suffering and despair, God in the person of Jesus Christ declares victory over the forces of sin and death—a victory secured not in spite of but by means of the cross”

-Edward Klink

INSIGHTS (What might this Scripture mean?)

1. Jesus was in control.

There was never a moment in Jesus’ earthly life where He was not in control and on mission. 

His death on the cross was the mission. It was always the mission.

Jesus told the disciples on several occasions that he would be killed and then rise from the dead, but at the time, they just didn’t understand what He meant until it happened. 

21 From then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. (Matthew 16:21 – NLT)

The disciples just didn’t understand and even got upset. 

22 But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!” (Matthew 16:22 – NLT)

Jesus knew what He was here to do and He wasn’t going to let anyone or anything stop Him.

One of the most brutal things about crucifixion is that it ultimately killed people by suffocating them. 

As they grew exhausted, they would sag down, causing their arms to bend in such a way that made it difficult to breathe. 

At this point, they would have to use all of their strength to push up again just so they could take another breath. 

Accomplishing His mission to save each of us was so important to Jesus that He used the very last ounce of His strength to push Himself up, take one last breath, and declare with authority, “It is finished!” 

Even though the crowd demanded His execution, Pilate approved it, and the Roman soldiers nailed Him to the cross, Jesus was in control the entire time.

2. Jesus paid our debt in full.

Jesus’ last words, “It is finished!” are three words in English, it was actually just one word in Greek:

τετέλεσται (tetelestai)

We usually translate this word to mean “It is finished,” 

Some scholars would argue that this doesn’t quite capture the full meaning of the word. 

The word also communicates the accomplishment of a task. It means that someone did what they set out to do.

Some scholars have suggested that it was also a word that people would write on a bill after it had been paid as a way to indicate that the bill had been “paid in full.” 

When Jesus said His final word, “Tetelestai,” He proclaimed that we were no longer responsible for paying the debt that we owed as a result of our sin. 

1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1 – NLT)

There is NO condemnation. There is no longer a bill to settle. There is nothing left for us to owe. 

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we are free from the guilt we each carried. 

3. Jesus offers us eternal hope.

The only thing anyone has to do to receive the hope that Jesus offers is to simply accept it. 

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:16-17 – NLT)

Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we have the opportunity to experience eternity with Him. 

The best part is that we also don’t have to wait for eternity! 

When we accept the free gift that Jesus offers, we get to experience life in a whole new way, as part of something that is much bigger and more meaningful than anything we could have imagined.

In addition to an eternity with Him, Jesus invites each of us to also live for Him today. 

In response to His sacrifice, we are given an opportunity to live a life of purpose, impacting the world in ways that simply wouldn’t be possible without Him.

ACTION (How could we live this out?)

Normally, there would be two or three different things that you could do this week based on what we’ve learned, but this week, there’s only one.

In response to what Jesus has done, the challenge is to do…

1. Nothing.

When we realize Jesus has done for us on the cross, we often want to do something meaningful in response or something meaningful in return.

There’s nothing we can do to earn Jesus’ sacrifice, and there’s nothing we can do to repay Him. 

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (Ephesians 2:8-9 – NLT)

Jesus didn’t give Himself as a sacrifice for me so that I could do something for Him in return. He gave Himself as a sacrifice for me because He loves me. And He gave Himself as a sacrifice for you because He loves you.

We should worship Him and choose to follow Him and try to be like Him because we love Him, not because we are trying to repay Him.

If you have any questions about what Jesus has done for us, or if you think you might be ready to take the big step of following Him with your life, we’d love to talk with you.

*Prayer*