1: It is Finished

My world changed on the weekend of June 12, 1993 when I tricked the most beautiful woman in the world into saying “I do”. One minute she was my fiancé, and the next she was my wife! That was the weekend that changed my world and I haven’t been the same since.

So too, THIS is the week that we look back to the Weekend that Changed the World - the weekend when Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for us, when Jesus breathed His last with these words...

It Is Finished.

But, what was finished? We’ll talk about that in a few brief moments. But before we do, let’s back up in the story. The Gospel documents open as people were coming to be baptized by John to be 1) cleansed from sin and 2) prepare for the coming of the Messiah.

And then someone special appeared on the horizon. You’ll remember that before Jesus gave His first teaching or performed His first miracle, he came to the water to be baptized by John. But John thought Jesus should baptize him instead. Jesus told John to allow it “to fulfill all righteousness”, and he did (Mt 3:15).

Matthew 3:16–17 (CSB)

When Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for Him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. And a Voice from heaven said, “This is My beloved Son, with Whom I am well-pleased.”

After baptizing the Son of God, hearing the voice of God the Father, and being allowed to see God the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus, John knew something incredible was going on. And what happened that day, in that river in Israel, pointed to the Weekend that would change the world.

But what is so significant on the Earth that the Son of God would step out of heaven to come live among us?

Jesus, the Son of God, had come for a special purpose. And the baptism of Jesus pointed to that purpose.

Jesus wasn’t baptized because He needed to be cleansed of sin nor to prepare for the coming of the Messiah…He WAS the sinless Messiah!

Baptism was imagery for what awaited Him - death, burial, and resurrection.

In fact, not long after baptizing Jesus, John pointed his own disciples to leave him and follow Jesus, saying...

John 1:29b (CSB)...“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

John recognized that Jesus had come like a lamb, to be the sacrifice who takes away the sin of the world.

John calls Jesus the lamb of God, a phrase that the Baptist’s Jewish disciples would have been familiar with.

These lambs were young male sheep that were used for daily sacrifices as well as other special sacrifices throughout the year.

But how could a man become a sacrifice for the sin of men/women? What John says next will help answer that question.

John 1:29b–30 (CSB)...“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I told you about: ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me, because He existed before me.’”

John said Jesus ranks ahead of him because He existed before me. And that’s weird, because we know that Jesus was born about 6 months AFTER John (Lk 1:56-57).

There’s only 1 way that Jesus could have existed before John. The baptizer recognized was that Jesus was fully man, but Jesus was more than man. Jesus is God in skin (see John 1:14-18), who came to be the final, perfect sacrifice who takes away the sin of the world.

But long before Jesus turns toward the cross, the weekend that changed the world was foreshadowed hundreds of years earlier.

For example:

GOD PROVIDES THE SACRIFICE

About 2000 years before Jesus sheds His blood, Abraham took his son up on a mountain to obey what God commanded. When Isaac asked where the sacrificial lamb was, Abraham replied, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.” (Gen. 22:8 CSB)

But then it got weird, as Abraham put his own son on the altar and prepared to plunge a knife is his chest. The angel of Yahweh spoke to him and said,

Genesis 22:12 (CSB) “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from Me.”

Genesis 22:13–14 (CSB) Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. And Abraham named that place (Yahweh) The LORD Will Provide, so today it is said, “It will be provided on the LORD’s mountain.”

And sure enough, God provided a mature male sheep (ram) as a substitute sacrifice for his Abraham’s son. Because of the substitute sacrifice, Isaac would be spared from death.

This happened on what many believe to be Mount Moriah - that will become important in a moment.

PASSOVER

Fast forward roughly 500 years later, came the first Passover, when the Jewish slaves in Egypt were told to sacrifice unblemished, 1-year old, male sheep or goats and spread the blood of the animals on their doorposts. God would send an angel to bring death to the firstborn to all the homes in Egypt…

EXEPT to those who had applied the blood of the unblemished animals to their doorposts. The angel would “pass over” those homes (Ex. 12:1–36). And those who obeyed God were 1) protected from His wrath and 2) released from their bondage.

THE SUFFERING SERVANT

Jumping forward another 700 years we read one of the most powerful prophetical passages in all the Scriptures, as Isaiah writes about One who would be despised and rejected by men, one who would be struck down by God - not for HIS sins, but for ours.

Isaiah 53:5–6 (CSB) But he was pierced because of our rebellion, crushed because of our iniquities; punishment for our peace was on him, and we are healed by his wounds. We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; and the Lord [YAHWEH] has punished him for the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:7 (CSB) He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep silent before her shearers, he did not open his mouth.

Isaiah 53:8b (CSB) For he was cut off from the land of the living; he was struck because of my people’s rebellion.

Isaiah 53:12b (CSB) he bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels.

And about 700 years this was fulfilled…by ONE PERSON.

JESUS = THE UNBLEMISHED SUBSTITUTE SACRIFICE

So...

Combining all these Old Testament images we have Yahweh providing an unblemished sacrificial sacrifice - a MAN who be rejected and abused, despite being sinless.

He would be pierced and punished as a substitute for the sin of others - the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world to 1) keep them from God’s wrath that must be poured out on sinful people AND 2) set them FREE from the bondage of sin.

And to top it off, all this happened during Passover, and on what many believe to be Mount Moriah, the same place where Yahweh provided the substitute sacrifice for Isaac.

This is the time (Passover) and the place (Mt Moriah) where the Lord Jesus is beaten, spit on, made fun of, scourged...and crucified like a criminal between 2 criminals.

This was the Weekend that Changed the World

John 19:28–30 (CSB) After this, when Jesus knew that everything was now finished that the Scripture might be fulfilled, he said, “I’m thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was sitting there; so they fixed a sponge full of sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it up to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.

What is it that was now finished?

Jesus had lived His whole life on Earth without sinning, not even once.

Jesus kept the Old Testament laws perfectly.

Jesus fulfilled all that the Old Testament prophets said about the coming Messiah - the miracles, the parables, the purity, and now…the death.

Jesus was about to complete the reason He had come to Earth - to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This was no simple action as Jesus wrestled with the reality of what was about to happen.

The night before you might remember just before Jesus was arrested, how He fell facedown and praying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Mt 26:39) There was no other way, Jesus - the perfect man - had to drink from God’s cup of wrath instead of US…you and me (language of God’s punishment for sin - Job 21:20; Ps 75:8; Is 51:17; 63:6; Jer 49:12; Rev 14:10).

And in this final moment of His life, Jesus is taking the final sip from the cup the Father’s wrath....for us!

Knowing that it was almost over, Jesus says, “I’m thirsty”, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, referring to the Messiah’s thirst at His death (Ps 22:15 “My strength is dried up like baked clay; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You put me into the dust of death.”; Ps 69:21 “Instead, they gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”)

A soldier lifts a hyssop branch with a sponge full of sour wine intended to keep the dehydrated victim alive longer. But there is incredible imagery here because, just as the hyssop branch was used to spread the blood of the lamb on the doorposts during Passover (Ex 12:22), here we see the hyssop branch lifted toward the final Passover Lamb Who has shed His blood on the cross.

And then, at last, Jesus - according to Matthew’s account - “cried out with a loud voice” (Mt 27:50), and John notes what Jesus cries out with that loud voice. - “It is finished!”, and then gave up His spirit. The Ultimate Sacrifice, the One that the thousands of other sacrifices were pointing to…has finished the task. The Lamb of God has taken away the sins of the world. It’s OVER! The price has been PAID, never needing to be offered again!

Of course, if you KNOW the story, then you know this isn’t the END of the story. As we celebrate next Sunday…as Christians should celebrate EVERY DAY - Jesus rose from the dead! Forty days later (Acts 1:3) Jesus ascended to heaven where He rules and reigns as King over everyone and everything (Acts 1:9). And still, that is NOT the end of the story.

The writer of Hebrews wraps this up into a concise and powerful package in this last words.

Hebrews 9:26a–28a (CSB) But now He has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment—so also Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many,

will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

So too, Jesus will bring judgment on those who are NOT waiting for Him.

So, as we head into this holy week - as we remember the week that led to the Weekend that Changed the World, may we take time to ask this question:

BIG QUESTION: What does “It is Finished” mean for me?

Are you a follower of Jesus, basking in the beauty of what He’s done for you?

Are you claiming Christ, yet living for sin that Jesus died to pay for? Is His death for your sin insignificant? Turn away from your sin and turn back to King. Trust Him!

Or maybe you’ve never claimed to follow Jesus so that question has never meant anything to you. Are you willing to consider the claims of Jesus and His 1st followers? Do you have an answer as to why you sometimes feel so GUILTY and how that can change? Maybe you have some other questions and need some answers.

Call us or another Christian who lives their faith.

STAFF

or

DEACONS/wives

And just in case you think you’ve already gone too far for God’s grace.

The thief who hung beside him on the cross. “Remember me.” Jesus said, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” You haven’t gone too far for God’s grace.

You don’t have enough good works to make you right with God nor enough sinful works to keep you from being made right with Him.

Just approach God in agreement with the language from the old hymn - Rock of Ages,

Nothing in my hand I bring, Simply to the cross I cling.

3 Feet to Faith Challenges:

Open the Scriptures and gather together at Four Freedoms Park @ Noon - Monday through Friday.

Scriptures:

Palm Sunday Matthew 21:1–11, Mark 11:1–11, Luke 19:28–44, John 12:9–19

Monday Matthew 21:12–22, Mark 11:12–19, Luke 19:45–48

Tuesday Matthew 21:23–26:5, Mark 11:27–14:2, Luke 20:1–22:2, John 12:37–50

Wednesday Matthew 26:6–16, Mark 14:3–11, Luke 22:3–6

Thursday Matthew 26:17–75, Mark 14:12–72, Luke 22:7–71, John 13:1–18:27

Good Friday Matthew 27:1–61, Mark 15:1–47, Luke 23:1–56, John 18:28–19:42

Saturday - The Forgotten Day Matthew 27:62–66

Resurrection Sunday Matthew 28:1–20, Mark 16:1–8, Luke 24:1–53, John 20:1–21:25

2. Join us for Good Friday 5:30-7:30pm

3. Invite an unchurched friend with you on Resurrection Sunday.

PRAY (Band comes up)

discussionquestions Take some time to discuss these questions with your family, friends, or group.

What challenged or encouraged you most from today’s teaching? Explain your answer.

Read Matthew 3:16-17. How do you know that Jesus wasn’t baptized to be cleansed from sin or to prepare for the coming of the Messiah? What is the most likely reason that Jesus was baptized? How did his baptism impact John and who he believed Jesus to be?

After reading about the substitute sacrifice (Gen 22:12-14), remembering the sacrifice of unblemished Passover lambs, and reading about the suffering servant (Isaiah 53), spend some time talking about the specific prophecies that Jesus fulfilled by His death.

Read John 19:28-30. What does “It is Finished” mean for your life? Are you struggling with trusting you are forgiven? Do you need to share with a trusted same-sex believer about a sin habit you need to turn from? Minister to one another based on your answers.

Share prayer needs and pray for one another. Continue to pray for our Supreme Court decision on Roe v Wade. Pray for Christians in Ukraine and Russia to carry the message of Jesus with them wherever they go. Also, PRAY that God will greatly use us during this Easter season, to impact people who need to follow Jesus.