Jesus said, "it is finished", and He bowed His head and gave up His spirit." (John 19:30).
something horrible happened between the Father and the Son hanging on the cross during those 3 terrible hours when darkness fell and "the sun refused to shine".
the Father poured out upon His own beloved Son the full extent of His wrath, judgment and righteous anger upon my sins, your sins and the sins of the whole world.
Jesus experienced the fullness of that punishment for our sake--the torment of eternal separation from God, the infernal lake of fire, the outer darkness, the burning unquenchable thirst of the rich man in the parable who longed for lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool His tongue, all of what the bible calls "hell".
in our text today, Jesus, right before He gives up His Spirit, said with His last dying breath, "it is finished".
what exactly was finished when Christ uttered these words and breathed His last?
the salvation of His people from first to last.
--the fulfillment of the old testament prophecy concerning His life and His death was accomplished; every old testament type of prophecy was completed, abolished and explained in the death of Christ--"it is finished".
--all obedience to the law of God was fully realized and summed up in Jesus's death--"it is finished".
--the power of satan and sin was defeated in Christ's death--"it is finished".
--all the divine justice of God was satisfied on behalf of God's people when Christ died--"it is finished".
when you trust in Jesus by faith, the justice and judgment of God no longer hang over you. you are no longer counted guilty in God’s sight when you trust the Lord Jesus Christ, for He said, “It is finished.”
all possible punishment for your sin is gone. it has been fully paid for by Christ on the Cross. "It is finished!”
everything needed for your salvation has already been done by Christ on the Cross.
as charles spurgeon once said: "poor sinner, wilt thou have Christ or [not]? “ah,” says one, “i am willing enough, but i am not worthy.” He does not want your worthiness
for the whole work of your salvation is complete.
Friday, March 28, 2008
The Immortal Dies
Thursday, March 27, 2008
How great is our God
I'm sorry for not writing the blog on today's reading, but I thought I share what I learned from our small group last night.
We watched a video of Pastor Louie Giglio's sermon about the universe and how every particle in the universe has been created by God's breath alone. He went into extensive detail on how small earth is compare to some of the stars that are out there. He went onto saying that the earth is only a very tiny particle compared to all the things that God created and we are only very tiny part of earth. In conclusion, he said that God cares deeply about every one of us and we are created in God's image, fearfully and wonderfully made. We are very special in God's eyes despite our lack of knowledge of God's scale or no matter how strongly we believe God doesn't care or how insurmountable our problem may seem God is holding us together and is helping us every second, every step of the way.
We watched a video of Pastor Louie Giglio's sermon about the universe and how every particle in the universe has been created by God's breath alone. He went into extensive detail on how small earth is compare to some of the stars that are out there. He went onto saying that the earth is only a very tiny particle compared to all the things that God created and we are only very tiny part of earth. In conclusion, he said that God cares deeply about every one of us and we are created in God's image, fearfully and wonderfully made. We are very special in God's eyes despite our lack of knowledge of God's scale or no matter how strongly we believe God doesn't care or how insurmountable our problem may seem God is holding us together and is helping us every second, every step of the way.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
His Cry of Dereliction
From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ..."My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:45-46
Most people know the last words spoken by Jesus on the cross but in today's reflection, Stott's emphasis on the silence of Jesus really stood out for me.
As I sit and try to imagine the silence of Jesus on the cross for the three LONG hours and the unexplainable darkness that fell over the land, I shudder at the magnitude of Christ's suffering, the abandonment he felt, the significance of the crime that had been committed and the sacrifice that had been made.
Words cannot properly express this incredible act of love and sacrifice as he undeservedly bore our sins in silence.
I think about how I claim to "love" my family, friends, church family, and neighbors but its so hard to sacrifice myself for someone that I claim to love...much less bear it in silence. But I suppose that is how we should be.
Jesus not only saved us from our sins that day on Calvary but in his death he teaches us not only to love (from P. James' reflection yesterday) but also how to sacrifice for one another as well.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
The Third Words of Jesus on the Cross
Jesus said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son" and to his disciple (John), "here is your mother."
We are all familiar (or at least should be familiar) with the 7 words of Christ on the cross. Each of these words of Jesus indicates something very important about the nature of his death. Here, the third words of Christ is teaching us that his death now bring about a new relationship among believer in him. Jesus was more than just saying to John, 'take care of my mother since I won't be around.' Rather he was telling his mother and telling John (and we can include ourselves as well) that his death will change their relationship to each other. Isn't that wonderful! Believers in Christ, are brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters to one another. The blood that was shed by Jesus now binds us together as a spiritual family. It doesn't break the tie of relationship we have with our human physical family although sometimes we will be forced to do that. This Christ-centered family is now more important than any earthly family.
The implications for this is so staggering! We all value our earthly family. Most of us see that as our "real" family. But what does the life of Christ teach us? What does the lives of the apostles teach us? It teaches us that the relationship we have with one another in Christ is more important and even more primary. Why do I say that? Because, some people, in fact, many people in the world are forced to choose betwen following Christ and joining the church, or choosing to reject Christ for fear of family rejection. I remember, Steve Cohen, a Jewish believer in Christ. He lost his entire family, father, mother, uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters. No one in his family would accept his conversion from Judaism to Christianity. He lost his earthly family but gain an eternal family in Christ. I hope that in our church, we can think more like this and experience a deeper spiritual bond with one another. Let's all pray for that!
Posted by Pastor James
We are all familiar (or at least should be familiar) with the 7 words of Christ on the cross. Each of these words of Jesus indicates something very important about the nature of his death. Here, the third words of Christ is teaching us that his death now bring about a new relationship among believer in him. Jesus was more than just saying to John, 'take care of my mother since I won't be around.' Rather he was telling his mother and telling John (and we can include ourselves as well) that his death will change their relationship to each other. Isn't that wonderful! Believers in Christ, are brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters to one another. The blood that was shed by Jesus now binds us together as a spiritual family. It doesn't break the tie of relationship we have with our human physical family although sometimes we will be forced to do that. This Christ-centered family is now more important than any earthly family.
The implications for this is so staggering! We all value our earthly family. Most of us see that as our "real" family. But what does the life of Christ teach us? What does the lives of the apostles teach us? It teaches us that the relationship we have with one another in Christ is more important and even more primary. Why do I say that? Because, some people, in fact, many people in the world are forced to choose betwen following Christ and joining the church, or choosing to reject Christ for fear of family rejection. I remember, Steve Cohen, a Jewish believer in Christ. He lost his entire family, father, mother, uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters. No one in his family would accept his conversion from Judaism to Christianity. He lost his earthly family but gain an eternal family in Christ. I hope that in our church, we can think more like this and experience a deeper spiritual bond with one another. Let's all pray for that!
Posted by Pastor James