Gospel of John
We are now at Golgotha, the place of the skulls, the hill upon which Jesus was crucified. Consistent with His ministry and instructions, Jesus’ final words were words revealing the word of redemption, and of comfort and instruction and faith. Jesus final words have ranged from separation from His Father, to physical suffering, to the resolve of forgiveness of his enemies care for his family and disciples, and the redemption of one who believed on the cross next to him, and finally the dramatic and finished work of redemption, in his final minutes of his life.
“It is finished.“
Reference: John 19:28
What it means: God the Father gave Jesus His Son a job to do, and that was to die on the cross.
“He’s the only man ever born to die,” Billy Graham said. “That was why He came. We wonder why He didn’t feed everybody and heal everybody. He could have done it. That would have healed some bodies and fed some people that were hungry. And he did that out of compassion. But His real work was the cross and that’s why the cross is so important because there you’re dealing with eternity.”Why it matters: Every single person has a decision to make regarding Jesus. “You see, the body is going to go to the grave, but your soul, your spirit—that part of you that lives forever—is going to live on and on and on and on and on,” “Where is it and you going to spend eternity? Heaven or Hell? It will be decided by the cross, what you do about the cross. From the cross He’s asking you to repent of sin and receive Him as Lord and Savior”
From the predictions in the garden of Eden, through the lineage of Abraham and David, to the manger, the years in Palestine, the instructions to the disciples and the crowds, railroaded through the injustice of trial, beatings, and the cross, and now, as angels gathered around the cross, and the heavens soon will part, Jesus, the author of all that we see around us, the beginning and the end, One who in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, who by him all things were made, who was the light shining in the darkness (John 1), one who is the heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe, the radiance of God’s glory, ready to finish making purification for sins, offering salvation to the thief on the cross and to all who will believe in Him, the radiance of God’s glory, and soon to sit down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven (Hebrews 1) – this redemptive work is now complete, finished, perfectly.
How can we be anything but grateful, or do other than follow Him during our brief time on earth?
