← Back to sermon library

Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to John 19. John 19. coincides with our studies in 
Matthew's Gospel. This morning I mentioned that 
on the cross, the sixth saying of the Savior is recorded for 
us in John 19 at verse 30. The Savior says, it is finished. And I thought it would be a helpful 
meditation for us tonight in preparation for the supper to 
consider those blessed words. But I do want to begin reading 
in John 19 at verse 17. And He, bearing His cross, went 
out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in 
Hebrew Golgotha, where they crucified Him and two others with Him, 
one on either side and Jesus in the center. Now Pilate wrote 
a title and put it on the cross, and the writing was, Jesus of 
Nazareth, the King of the Jews. And many of the Jews read this 
title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, 
and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Therefore the 
chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, do not write the king 
of the Jews, but he said, I am the king of the Jews. Pilate 
answered, what I have written, I have written. Then the soldiers, 
when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four 
parts, to each soldier a part and also the tunic. Now the tunic 
was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said, 
therefore, among themselves, let us not tear it, but cast 
lots for it, whose it shall be, that the scripture might be fulfilled, 
which says, they divided my garments among them, and for my clothing 
they cast lots. Therefore, the soldiers did these 
things. Now there stood by the cross 
of Jesus' mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas 
and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his 
mother and the disciple whom he loved standing by, he said 
to his mother, woman, behold your son. Then he said to the 
disciple, behold your mother. And from that hour, that disciple 
took her to his own home. After this, Jesus, knowing that 
all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, 
said, I thirst. Now a vessel full of sour wine 
was sitting there, and they filled the sponge with sour wine, put 
it on his hip, and put it to his mouth. So when Jesus had 
received the sour wine, he said, it is finished. And bowing his 
head, he gave up his spirit. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
we thank You for Your Word, we thank You for the redemptive 
work of the Lord Jesus Christ, we thank You for the life and 
the death and the resurrection, and we do thank You for the current 
session at the right hand of the Father on high. We look forward 
to that day when He comes again in glory to judge the living 
and the dead, We look forward to that day when He consummates 
the age, when He brings His Beloved Bride into the presence of Almighty 
God, wherein righteousness will dwell and peace and communion 
and joy and eternal bliss. God, may You encourage our hearts 
at the prospect of heaven, may You encourage our hearts at the 
prospect of the age to come, and may this indeed cause us 
to pursue those things that are pleasing in Your sight, As John 
says, everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself even 
as he is pure. Continue with us now, we pray, 
and we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, 
as I've said, there are seven sayings of the Savior on the 
cross. They're not all recorded in one 
gospel. We compare all four gospels and 
we see those particular sayings. The first is found in Luke's 
gospel, Luke 23, verse 34, when Jesus says, Father, forgive them, 
for they know not what they do. The second is also found in Luke's 
gospel when he says to the robber, today you will be with me in 
paradise. The third is found here in John 
19. Woman, behold your son. And he says to the disciple, 
behold your mother. The fourth saying is, my God, 
my God, why hast thou forsaken me? We have seen that in Matthew 
chapter 27. The fifth is found here in John 
as well, verse 28, where Jesus says, I thirst. The sixth is, 
it is finished, here in John 19, 30. And then the final one 
is in Luke 23, verse 46, Father, into your hand I commit my spirit. So the seven sayings of the Savior 
from the cross, and our focus tonight is on that sixth one. 
If you notice, they're in verse 30. So when Jesus had received 
the sour wine, he said, it is finished. And bowing his head, 
he gave up his spirit." Now, the text does not sort of amplify 
that. It does not explain it. It doesn't 
draw out a whole host of implications. It doesn't give us a whole host 
of applications in terms of what Jesus meant by this saying, it 
is finished. So I want to investigate two 
particulars tonight. First, the explanation of the 
text, and then secondly, we'll look to the application of the 
text. Notice in the first place, with 
reference to the saying, the timing is appropriate. The Lord Jesus has received the 
sour wine, he says it's finished, and then he bows his head, and 
at that point, most likely, is when he says, Father, into your 
hands I commit my spirit. So he has finished the task that 
has been given unto him. Matthew Henry said, he had said, 
when he entered upon his sufferings, Father, thy will be done, and 
now he saith with pleasure, it is done. Now the particular word 
that Christ uses here, it is finished, is defined this way. 
It is to complete an activity or process, to bring to an end, 
to finish, or to complete. The same verb is used in verse 
28, there it is translated as accomplished. And as well, D.A. Carson highlights that in religious 
contexts, this particular term bears the overtone of fulfilling 
one's religious obligation. And I think that's the way we 
ought to appreciate this particular text. Christ has fulfilled his 
particular religious obligation. And I think there are several 
particulars involved in this situation. In the first place, 
he has fulfilled the Scripture. He has fulfilled all that was 
written of Him in the Old Testament concerning the particular task 
that was given unto Him. Genesis 3.15 starts a long line 
of messianic promises that would indeed point to the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Genesis 3.15, the Lord God Most 
High says that He will put enmity between the woman and between 
the serpent. The seed of the woman would crush 
the head of the serpent. As we move through redemptive 
history, we see many other promises built upon that foundation. We see, for instance, Genesis 
chapter 22, where Abraham is told to take Isaac to Mount Moriah 
and to offer his son, his only son, the son whom he loves, And 
so Isaac asks the particular question, we have the wood, we 
have the fire, but where is the sacrifice, Abraham? Well, probably 
called him father. And then Abraham says, the Lord 
will provide. As Abraham is about to take that 
knife and bury it into his son, his only son, the son whom he 
loves. The text is conspicuous with that language in Genesis 
22. You need to hear that with a 
John 3.16 mindset. God sent His only begotten Son, 
His one and only Son, the Son whom He loved, He sent Him into 
this world, sinners, to save. Well, Abraham is told to take 
Isaac up, and as he's going to bring that knife to bear upon 
him, the angel of Yahweh stops him. And just after that, they 
look and they see a ram caught in a thicket, and that becomes 
the sacrifice. We have the sacrificial system 
in the Old Testament. All of those bulls, all of that 
blood, all of those lambs, all of those offerings, all of those 
sacrifices pointed forward to the Lamb of God who would take 
away the sin of the world. We have the prophecy of Isaiah 
concerning the suffering servant where Isaiah 53 in particular 
points out and highlights the nature of this one who was a 
man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. We have the prophet 
Daniel who speaks concerning the 70 weeks and he speaks about 
what Messiah would do in Daniel chapter 9 verses 24 and following. We have, of course, the Psalms, 
where David so often points beyond David, and he points to his greater 
Son, even the Lord Jesus Christ. So when Christ says, it is finished, 
the Old Testament prophecies concerning the mission of the 
Messiah are here fulfilled. Ritterbaugh says this whole scene, 
what we find in John 19, typifies his death as a final act of self-offering 
done after he had finished the work that God had given him to 
do. It is also to this act that the all of verse 28 refers. So when it says that all things 
were now accomplished, that's not only with reference to the 
I thirst and the fulfillment of those particular scriptures 
in Psalm 22 and Psalm 69. but it's all the work that has 
been given unto Him. It's all the particulars that 
He undertook as our surety, as our covenant head. A second observation 
is the fulfillment of the Old Testament types and shadows. 
In other words, I mentioned that sacrificial system, all the bulls, 
all the blood, all the lamb, all the all of the various animals 
utilized in that sacrificial system. They were typical. They 
were types and shadows. They prefigured Messiah. They 
pointed forward. So when Christ says, it is finished, 
as we continue in the study in the Gospel of Matthew, we will 
see that the veil in the temple is rent in two, from the top 
to the bottom. What is indicated by this is 
the end of the Old Covenant ceremonial law. Not the moral law. The moral 
law binds all men in all ages. But that ceremonial law that 
was peculiar to Old Covenant Israel, these types, these shadows, 
these prefigurements that pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ, it 
is finished. You might have noticed there's 
a great deal of difference between Old Covenant worship and New 
Covenant worship, and this is the hinge upon which that turns. We are not told to engage in 
the sorts of things that Old Covenant saints engaged in, much 
of which pointed forward to the Lord Jesus Christ, the sacrifices, 
the incense, the instrumentation, the various means by which Israel 
approached God in the Old Covenant. That form of worship ended. Jesus 
Christ did abrogate that ceremonial law by His doing and His dying. Those laws were for a time. They were positive. They pointed 
forward to our blessed Lord. Our confession of faith says, 
besides this law, commonly called moral, Now, when our confession 
refers to the moral law, it's the Ten Commandments delivered 
at Sinai by the hand of Moses. But that's not the first giving 
of the law. The law was given in toto by 
God at creation. Adam received it. What we find 
at Sinai is a codification or a summary. It's the same law 
that was given to Adam in the garden. As Lightfoot says, Adam 
had the same law that Israel had at Sinai, yet without the 
thunderings and the lightnings and as many words. So our confession says, besides 
this law commonly called moral, God was pleased to give to the 
people of Israel ceremonial laws containing several typical ordinances, 
partly of worship, prefiguring Christ, His graces, actions, 
sufferings, and benefits, and partly holding forth diverse 
instructions of moral duties. all which ceremonial laws being 
appointed only to the time of Reformation are by Jesus Christ, 
the true Messiah and only lawgiver, who was furnished with power 
from the Father for that end, abrogated and taken away." Turn 
back to John 1, just to see that the New Testament authors, the 
New Testament participants understood this reality, that those types 
and shadows of the old covenant are now being realized in the 
arrival of the Lord Jesus. Notice in John 1.29, the next 
day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Behold the Lamb 
of God who takes away the sin of the world. Now John knew precisely 
what he was saying and no doubt his hearers understood precisely 
what he was saying. He is the Lamb of God who takes 
away the sin of the world. Those bulls, those bullocks, 
those lambs, those rams, those birds in the old covenant could 
never atone for sin, but rather they pointed forward to the one 
who could atone for sin. So when Christ says, it is finished, 
He not only fulfills Scripture, but He fulfills the Old Testament 
types and shadows. You can turn to Hebrews chapter 
9, Hebrews chapter 9, the actual place that our confession gets 
much of what I just read. Notice in Hebrews 9.6, now when 
these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into 
the first part of the tabernacle performing the services. But 
into the second part, the high priest went alone once a year, 
not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's 
sins committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit indicating this, 
that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest 
while the first tabernacle was still standing. It was symbolic 
for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are 
offered, which cannot make him who performed the service perfect 
in regard to the conscience, concerned only with foods and 
drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until 
the time of reformation. So that old covenant approach 
to God via types, via shadows, in the tabernacle, in the holy 
place, and in the holy of holies, was temporary. And when Christ 
comes, that temporary passes away, and that's the emphasis 
of the apostle herein. Notice in verse 11, but Christ 
came as high priest of the good things to come, with the greater 
and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands. That is not 
of this creation. not with the blood of goats and 
calves, but with His own blood He entered the most holy place, 
once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the 
blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling 
the unclean sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much 
more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit 
offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience 
from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason 
he is the mediator of the new covenant by means of death for 
the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant that 
those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. You see, the typical element 
of The law, the old covenant ceremonies, the ceremonial aspects 
are done away with. They are finished because they 
are realized. They are fulfilled in the person 
and the work of the Lord Jesus. Now, by way of an aside, there 
is a theological system called dispensationalism that sees in 
our future a rebuilt temple and a reinstituted system of animal 
sacrifice. If you read the book of Hebrews 
correctly, you will see that that is a backward movement in 
redemptive history. Why? In light of the once-for-all 
sacrifice of Christ, where he cries, it is finished, would 
the people of God ever conceive of rebuilding a temple in order 
to reinstitute animal sacrifice, to reinstitute Jewish worship? It makes absolutely, positively 
no sense whatever. The tabernacle and the temple 
existed to point us to Christ. When Christ comes, he doesn't 
point us back to tabernacle and temple. Christ is the temple. He is the reason for the temple's 
existence. And now that he is here, he is 
that blessed dwelling place between God and men. We are not to go 
backwards in redemptive history. The idea that we want a rebuilt 
temple in Jerusalem to reinstitute animal sacrifices has no foundation 
in the Word of God. It is a theological misstep of 
gargantuan proportions, and the people of God have been duped. 
And we need to guard our hearts against that, and we need to 
be faithful. Christ is what the temple pointed 
to. Now that we have Christ, we don't 
go backwards to the types and to the shadows. I've used this 
illustration before. I think this is what Paul is 
doing in Colossians chapter 2. Now that you have the sum and 
substance of redemptive history, now that you have Christ, don't 
be led astray to go to the types and the shadows. I'll notice 
these occasions where my kids will come over and they'll bring 
the grandkids. And the grandkids, in all their beauty and glory 
and majesty and excellence and wonder, are right there at my 
feet. My kids say, look at this video of the grandkid. Why would 
I want to look at the video of the grandkid? I've got the grandkid 
right here! I get to pinch his or her cheeks. I get to hug them. 
I get to kiss them on the top of the head. I get to try to 
make little Molly smile. Now, I want videos of little 
Molly smiling, to be sure, but not when little Molly's in my 
lap. You see, that's what the church 
is doing. We have the psalm and the substance. We have Christ, but we want the 
types and the shadows and the animal sacrifices in the reconstituted 
temple instead. It makes absolutely, positively 
no sense. It is finished, meant the scriptures 
are fulfilled. The types are fulfilled in our 
Lord Jesus. Thirdly, I believe that it is 
finished meant the fulfillment of the Father's plan. The fulfillment 
of the Father's plan. You see, when Christ says it 
is finished on the cross, remember we noticed this morning. But 
he cried with a loud voice. My brother, who has witnessed 
several people die, says that that's not how they die. They 
don't typically have a loud voice. They don't typically have a great 
deal of energy to express their parting thoughts. But Christ 
cries with a loud voice. It is finished. This is triumph. This is victory. This is crown 
coming. This is glory. It's not a feeble 
and a weak. It is finished. but rather it 
is a triumphant cry from the Savior, He has indeed fulfilled 
the Father's plan. And it's been His desire all 
along, specifically in John's gospel, to do the Father's plan. Go back to John 4. John chapter 
4, specifically at verse 34. Well, just go back to verse 31. 
In the meantime, His disciples urged Him, saying, Rabbi, eat. 
This is Christ dealing with the Samaritan woman. The Samaritan 
woman goes and His disciples come along and they say, eat. 
But He said to them, I have food to eat of which you do not know. 
I wonder how often that's true of us. How often is that true 
of us? I have food to eat of which you 
do not know. They should have known. They should have been 
about proclaiming the kingdom of God. They should have been 
out proclaiming the messianic office of the Lord Jesus, the 
identity of this one. Jesus says, I have food to eat 
that you don't know anything about. In other words, my mission 
is to do the will of Him who sent me. That's how He describes 
it in verse 34. My food is to do the will of 
Him who sent me and to finish His work. Notice in John 6 at 
verse 38. John 6, verse 38, for I have 
come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will 
of Him who sent me. Again, in John 8, 28 and 29. 
John 8, verse 28, when you lift up the Son of Man, then you will 
know that I am, and that I do nothing of myself, but as my 
Father taught me, I speak these things, and He who sent me is 
with me. The Father has not left me alone, 
for I always do those things that please Him. This was His 
meat, this was His pleasure, this was His delight. You see 
how unlike Christ we are? Can you say, even as a redeemed 
believer, my meat is to do the will of Him who sent me? The 
Father's always pleased with me because I obey Him. I want 
to do what He calls me to do. My pleasure is to please the 
Father. There is a great contrast between 
the Savior and the sinner, even the redeemed sinner. But notice 
Christ's purpose throughout His earthly ministry. Notice John 
12, 27. Now my soul is troubled, and 
what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this purpose I came to 
this hour. Father, glorify Your name. And then in John 17, verse 1. Jesus spoke these words, lifted 
up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify 
your son that your son also may glorify you. Verse four, I have 
glorified you on the earth. I have finished the same verb 
that is used in John 19.30. "'I have finished the work which 
you have given me to do.'" Now, this is a proleptic statement. Proleptic means to look forward 
to something. For Christ, at this high priestly 
prayer, the mission given him by the Father is as good as done. He is not gonna shrink back. 
He is not gonna turn away. He is going to indeed execute 
the task that the Father has given him. So back at John 19, 
30, when the Lord Jesus Christ says, It is finished. The plan, the purpose, the covenant 
with His Father, all those things that had been the marching orders 
of the Son of God, it is finished here at the cross. The entirety 
of the work of mediation entrusted to the Lord by the Father is 
now complete. It is finished. Now, when we 
move just a little bit further along, I'm going to encourage 
all of us that this is a word of comfort for the church. What 
do you think is more comforting? I have tried or it is finished. I have done the best that I can 
or Christ saying it is finished. I have labored my fingers to 
the bone, I've worn out my knees crawling up the steps at some 
Roman cathedral, or the cry of the Son of Man, it is finished. What is more encouraging to you, 
to look at your miserable performance under God, or to hear the sound 
of the Savior saying, It is finished. I submit that ought to be music 
to the ears of every redeemed sinner. This idea that it is 
finished is great and glorious and wonderful news for the people 
of God and ought to provide a great deal of comfort for us. So the 
fulfillment of Scripture, the fulfillment of the Old Testament 
types and shadows, the fulfillment of the Father's plan. Fourthly, 
in terms of the explanation of the words, it is finished, the 
accomplishment of redemption. the accomplishment of redemption. It is finished. Godwardly, that 
means all that the Father had given Him to do, He fulfilled. 
Manwardly, all that the Father had given Him to do, He fulfilled, 
and He redeems His people from their sins. This includes, but 
it is not limited to, the fulfilling of the righteousness of God. 
Remember, one of the unique aspects of our Lord Jesus is that He 
always did what was pleasing to the Father. His meat was to 
do the will of Him who sent Him. Remember that in terms of our 
justification before God, we not only require the forgiveness 
of sins, but we need a righteousness that avails with God. That is 
what the 33 years of Christ's life was about. The 33 years 
of Christ's life was absolute, perfect compliance with the law 
of God at every step. Every jot, every tittle of His 
law was fulfilled. He does that for us. He secures 
a righteousness for us. He does this so that we will 
be clothed with this acceptable garment as we enter into the 
wedding feast. Christ fulfills righteousness. John Gill says, hence, a perfect 
righteousness was finished agreeably to the law, which was magnified 
and made honorable by it. You see, that whole prospect 
or that whole transaction, as Jesus fulfills the law, as Jesus 
secures this righteousness for His people, that magnifies God's 
law. You see, the Book of Romans tells 
us that the manner in which God saves sinners is to maintain 
God's justness and the fact that He justifies the ungodly. In other words, He doesn't suspend 
the law. He doesn't send the law away. He doesn't relax the law. He doesn't decide to grade on 
a curve. He doesn't wink over our sin, 
but rather through Christ's obedience to it, through Christ's fulfillment 
of it, the law is magnified. The law is seen as something 
glorious and beautiful and wondrous. so that God is both just and 
the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. With reference to the accomplishment 
of redemption, we see here, it is finished, the satisfaction 
of the justice of God. the satisfaction of the justice 
of God. As I've been saying in our studies 
in Matthew 27, Christ cries, why hast thou forsaken me? Largely 
in part due to the doctrine of substitution. Christ took our 
place. Our sins are heaped upon the 
Savior. The Savior is being punished in our stead, and He exhausts 
the wrath and fury of God. That blessed word propitiation 
ought to be recalled here. Propitiation has to do with God's 
wrath. Christ takes the wrath of God. He doesn't deflect it, he doesn't 
point it elsewhere, he doesn't send it into some village in 
North Africa, but rather he exhausts it. He drinks the cup of God's 
wrath to the full. Robert Raymond makes this observation, 
when we look at Calvary and behold the Savior dying for us, we should 
see in His death not first our salvation, but our damnation, 
being born and carried away by Him. I quite like that. Now, persons might say, well, 
of course we look at our salvation. Listen to what Raymond says. 
We should see in his death, not first our salvation, but our 
damnation being born and carried away by him. Again, it goes back 
to this whole idea of law. God is a holy God. God is a just 
God. God is a righteous God. And God 
has said, the wages of sin is death. The soul who sins shall 
die. But God sent His Son as our representative, 
as our surety, as our mediator, as our priest. He's a public 
person. He acts on our behalf. And so 
Christ exhausts the wrath of God. He says, it is finished. Murray says, propitiation contemplates 
our liability to the wrath of God and is the provision of grace 
whereby we may be freed from that wrath. I wonder if we ever 
ponder that reality. And I'm not indicting or accusing, 
but do you ever wake up on a Tuesday morning and say, praise God, 
I'm not under the wrath of God. And we oftentimes phrase it positively. Praise God, I'm a believer. Praise 
God, I'm heaven-bound. I like to sing that song, This 
Train is Bound for Glory, you know, the Children's Sunday School 
song. They ought to have a commensurate song, This Train is Not Bound 
for Damnation. This train is not going to suffer 
under the wrath and fury and just judgment of a righteous 
and holy God. That is a positive application 
of this statement, it is finished. Again, with reference to the 
accomplishment of redemption, we see Christ's triumph over 
the devil. Christ's triumph over the devil, 
Colossians 2, 15. Hebrews chapter 2, verses 14 
and 15. 1 John 3, 8. In fact, you can 
turn to the 1 John 3, 8. There's one specimen among those 
other three, or among those other two. 1 John chapter 3. He who sins is of the devil, 
for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, 
the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works 
of the devil. Isn't that beautiful? Christ's 
triumph over the devil. It is finished. I think the backdrop 
for this entire section as he moves into Cain and Abel must 
be Genesis 3.15, the promise of the skull-crushing seed of 
the woman that would render invalid the claims of the devil. This 
is what our Christ does. When we read 1 John 3.8, we ought 
to hear in the background Genesis 3.15, for this purpose the Son 
of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the 
devil, that in the bruising of His heel He crushes the head 
of the serpent himself. So we have the fulfilling in 
terms of the accomplishment of redemption, the fulfilling of 
the righteousness of God, the satisfaction of the justice of 
God, the triumph over the devil, and then in a peculiar thing 
for us, in particular, the finishing of transgression and making an 
end of sin. Isn't that good news? It is finished. Your sin. Not that we don't ever 
practice sin, not that we never engage in sin, but the concept 
of sin. Behold, the Lamb of God who takes 
away the sin of the world. This was prophesied, as I mentioned 
earlier, in Daniel chapter 9. Daniel chapter 9, verse 24, 70 
weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city. 
In other words, these are things Messiah will do when He comes. These are things Messiah will 
do in the 70 weeks. One, to finish the transgression. Two, to make an end of sins. Three, to make reconciliation 
for iniquity. Four, to bring in everlasting 
righteousness. You see, it is finished. the specific language of Daniel, 
to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make 
reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness. This is what persons don't always 
understand. There is one means by which sin 
is dealt with. There is one place to take a 
guilty conscience. There is one place to bring a 
blackened soul. It's not to the therapy clinic. 
It's not to the psychiatrist. I'm not saying all those things 
are necessarily evil. But to deal with the problem 
of sin, there is a fountain open for sin and uncleanness. And 
it's drawn from Emmanuel's veins. And sinners plunge beneath that 
flood, lose all their guilty stains. If you are guilty tonight, 
if your soul is blackened, if you are in a desperate condition, 
there is one place to take yourself. There is one place, rather, to 
go, and that is to the cross. It is there that transgression 
is finished, that sin is made of sin, that reconciliation for 
iniquity comes to pass, and wherein Jesus brings in everlasting righteousness. And then a fifth that flows obviously 
and necessarily from this, it is finished. I would submit the 
purchase of every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ 
Jesus. Ephesians 1, Paul says, blessed 
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed 
us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. 
He then gives, not an exhaustive, but a very comprehensive list 
of those blessings. The Father chose us in Him. The 
Father in love predestinated us unto adoption as sons. The 
Father sent the Son, the one in whom we are accepted, the 
Beloved. It is through His blood we have 
redemption. And then the Holy Spirit is sent 
by the Father to seal and to guarantee that transaction. So 
the Lord God Most High secured all these privileges for us and 
Christ is the agent and he cries, it is finished. And then one 
other thing in terms of the accomplishment of redemption is the triumph 
over death itself. Turn over to 1 Corinthians 15. 
I'm sure that when you heard that story today out of Texas, 
you were sick. It's a terrible thing. It's a 
terrible thing whether somebody's gone down. It's a terrible thing 
whether somebody's an older person and they pass from this life 
into the next. I mean, one of the chief difficulties 
of sojourning in this world is losing people that we love. Isn't 
it? It's terrible. That great separation 
comes, and we know ultimately the wages of sin is death. If 
there was no sin, there would be no death. If there was no 
sin, there'd be no separation. If there was no sin, madmen wouldn't 
take guns and go into churches and shoot people, or sit in hotels 
and shoot concert goers. It just wouldn't happen. Sin. 
It's not guns that are the problem. It's not cars that are the problem. 
It's the human heart that's the problem. And until such time 
as the federal government can regulate that, they ought to 
leave it to the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to blame everything else. It is man whose heart is deceitful 
above all things that is desperately wicked. That's the problem, brethren. And death is an inevitable result 
of this whole idea of sin. But Christ at the cross cries, 
it is finished. The third day, He is raised from 
the dead. Romans 6, Paul says, death has 
no dominion over Him. You know what else it doesn't 
have dominion over? Those in Him. Look at 1 Corinthians 15, verse 
20. But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits 
of those who have fallen asleep. I picked on dispensationalism 
a little bit earlier. And I say that that is not a 
healthy view of biblical interpretation. It's certainly not a healthy 
or biblical or correct view of eschatology, the study of the 
last things. You know where you should get 
your eschatology? Yes, Revelation 20. I'm not suggesting 
otherwise. But 1 Corinthians 15, 20 to 28. 
Look at how Paul spells out the end. It's pretty, pretty cut 
and dry. There's no Jesus in Jerusalem 
on an earthly throne. There's no geopolitical, you 
know, sort of exaltation of Israel as a geopolitical state that 
has dominance in the Middle East and over the world. There's no 
temple. There's no rebuilt temple, there's no reconstituted sacrificial 
system. Read the text along with me. 
But now Christ has risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits 
of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, 
by man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all 
die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in 
his own order, Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's 
that is coming, then comes the end. So what happens when Christ 
comes again? Then comes the end. That's biblical 
eschatology, and it's very, very simple. You see, you can't have 
four-day prophecy conferences with that, because it's just 
too simple. You can't sell DVDs, if they even sell DVDs anymore, 
or send people to a link to stream. Isn't it amazing how many things? 
No more videos, no more cassettes, no more DVDs. I don't know where 
we're going to be in another 10 years. We might think the 
thought, and it'll start playing in our head. I certainly hope 
not. You see, this is not a sensationalized form of eschatology, but it's 
biblical. It's true. It is a particular 
prosaic order of events that are going to transpire when the 
Son of Man returns. Then comes the end. Those who 
are Christ's at His coming, then comes the end. Notice what He 
does when the end comes, when He delivers the kingdom to God 
the Father. Does that indicate? The kingdom 
is present. The kingdom is now. We're not 
waiting for the king to take his throne. We're not waiting 
for the king to rule over his dominion. The kingdom is present. The kingdom is current. The kingdom 
is here. Not in some dominion weird sense, 
but Christ rules and reigns from the right hand of the Father, 
and He must do so till all of His enemies are made His footstool. 
So at that point when He comes, He delivers the kingdom to God 
the Father when, or we might even read that after, He puts 
an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign 
till He has put all enemies under His feet. Now note this beautiful 
statement in verse 26, the last enemy that will be destroyed 
is death. For He has put all things under 
His feet, but when He says all things are put under Him, it 
is evident that He who put all things under Him is accepted. 
Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son 
Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under 
Him, that God may be all in all." Isn't that good news? He destroys 
death. The last enemy plaguing man is 
death, and Christ will ultimately destroy it. So, that's the significance 
or that is at least some of the meaning of the words, it is finished. Now, let's come to apply it. 
Two particulars and then we'll close. First, the comfort of 
the church. John Calvin said, now this word, 
this it is finished, which Christ employs well deserves our attention, 
for it shows that the whole accomplishment of our salvation and all the 
parts of it are contained in His death. I mean, that one simple 
statement destroys Romanism. That one simple statement destroys 
new perspective on Paulism. It destroys federal visionism. 
You see, in each of those particular approaches to God, there's a 
Christ plus. It really isn't finished, and 
I must make up sort of the balance. Christ did 90%. He did the heavy 
lifting on the cross, but there is this remainder for me. Well, 
if that's the case, then Christ wasn't correct when he said it 
is finished. The beauty of Protestant theology, 
the beauty of Pauline theology, the beauty of Isaianic theology, 
the beauty of Mosaic theology, Christ theology, is that we are 
justified by grace through faith alone. When he says, it is finished, 
he means it. The whole accomplishment of our 
salvation and all the parts of it, according to Calvin, are 
contained in his death. Matthew Henry calls this word, 
it's three in English, but one in Greek, he calls this, it is 
finished, a comprehensive word, and I love this, and a comfortable 
one. a comfortable one. I have a sweatshirt 
that I like to put on when I go home. It's just cozy. It's just 
comfortable. I don't think we're supposed 
to see it quite like that, but that whole idea of comfort, peace 
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew Henry is absolutely 
spot on. I love the way Spurgeon speaks 
concerning this statement, it is finished. He says, I am persuaded 
that it was so intended to be used as a word of comfort for 
the church. For none of the words of our 
Lord on the cross are addressed to his church But this one, I 
cannot believe that when he was dying, he left his people for 
whom he died without a word. Father, forgive them, for they 
know not what they do is for sinners, not for saints. I thirst 
is for himself, and so is that bitter cry, my God, my God, why 
hast thou forsaken me? Woman, behold, thy son is for 
Mary. Today shalt thou be with me in 
paradise is for the penitent thief. Into thy hands I commend 
my spirit is for the father. Jesus must have had something 
to say in the hour of death for his church, and surely this is 
his dying word for her. That's beautiful. This, in particular, 
is directed to the Church. It is finished. The application of redemption 
occurs because of the accomplishment of redemption. John Murray has 
that wonderful little book on the Ordo Salutis, or the Order 
of Salvation. It's called Redemption Accomplished 
and Applied. Christ, by His statement, it 
is finished, by all of the work that has gone into Him being 
there, has accomplished redemption. On the heels of that accomplishment 
of redemption, that redemption is applied to the people of God. We receive every spiritual blessing 
in the heavenly places in Christ. We are justified. We are sanctified. We will be glorified. This is 
our comfort. This is our encouragement. This 
is our hope. This is our joy. When we, by 
God's grace, know the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit, 
and we receive these redemptive benefits that have been applied 
because of the accomplishment of redemption by the Lord Jesus, 
then from that flows that peace. Romans 5.1, Therefore, having 
been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord 
Jesus Christ. That's comfort, isn't it? Now 
it far exceeds a nice old ratty sweatshirt, but it's It's comfort, 
it's joy, it's blessing, it's peace with God the Father and 
our Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew Henry again says, a full 
satisfaction is made to the justice of God. A fatal blow given to 
the power of Satan, a fountain of grace open that shall ever 
flow, a foundation of peace and happiness laid, that shall never 
fail. That's the significance of it 
is finished. So it is the comfort of the church, 
and as mentioned before, it is the security for the church. Our security is not wrapped up 
in our performance. It is not wrapped up in our works. 
Now, I know the devil's logic will suggest, well, if that's 
the case, then it doesn't matter how you live. Paul's already 
countered that in Romans 6, 1. What shall we say then? Shall 
we continue in sin that grace may abound? May it never be. Why do you think Paul had to 
counter that? Because when he preached justification 
by faith alone, in Christ alone, in synagogues, they made a beeline 
up to him afterward. He'd be standing in the foyer, 
greeting people as they left, and they'd say, you know what, 
Paul? If what you say is true, if men are justified by faith 
alone, then it doesn't matter how they live. They're going 
to have license to go out and sin. In fact, they're going to 
reckon this way. God loves to forgive sin. I love 
to sin. It's a beautiful situation. Paul 
says, may it never be. You see, the truth of justification 
by faith alone is the foundation for godly living. Antinomianism 
and legalism and a confounding of the biblical gospel leads 
to license, leads to rebellion, leads to sin, leads to unlawfulness. When we rightly appreciate justification 
by faith alone and we respond with that gratitude toward God 
and that desire to indeed glorify Him, that's how it's supposed 
to proceed. We are not to think for a moment 
that my good deeds worked out in my life somehow add to what 
our Lord Jesus accomplished and taken as a conglomerate will 
now bring me to God. That's the Galatian heresy. That's 
why Paul says, I am amazed. I marvel that you are so quickly 
turning from Him who called you in the grace of God to another 
gospel, which is not another. Paul says if we or anyone, even 
if an angel out of heaven, were to come to preach to you another 
gospel, something contrary to justification by faith alone, 
let him be damned to hell. This is the problem in Galatia, 
this is the problem in Rome, and unfortunately this has become 
a problem in some sectors of Protestant theology. Brethren, 
the truth of the gospel never promotes license. The truth of 
the gospel is the security for holiness. It's just an amazingly 
beautiful thing. So the forgiveness, or rather 
the believer security, is not in our own righteousness. It's 
not in our own works. It's not in our own performance. Now again, don't take that and 
say, well, it doesn't matter how I live. Of course it matters 
how you live. You've been bought with a price, 
therefore glorify God. in your body. But our focus, 
or rather our security, is grounded in the finished work of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. We have comfort, we have security. And I'll close here with a quote 
from J.C. Ryle to that end. He says, we rest our souls on 
a finished work if we rest them on the work of Jesus Christ the 
Lord. We need not fear that either sin or Satan or law shall condemn 
us at the last day. We may lean back on the thought 
that we have a Savior who has done all, paid all, accomplished 
all, performed what is necessary for our salvation. When we look 
at our own works, we may well be ashamed of their imperfections, 
but when we look at the finished work of Christ, we may feel peace. Amen and amen. Let us pray. Our Father, we thank You for 
the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank You that 
He cried this on the cross, having accomplished the Father's will, 
having wrought out a perfect salvation for all those the Father 
had given Him. We thank You for the fact that 
the The seed of the woman crushed the skull of the serpent. We 
thank you for the fact that He will indeed defeat death itself. We thank you that He has procured 
for us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. 
May these three words be indeed a comfort to our hearts, and 
may they be security for us. And may we proceed on the basis 
of a justification that is by grace alone, through faith alone, 
in Christ alone, pursuing holiness and seeking to honor the Lord 
God Most High who has saved us. And for any and all here this 
evening that have not believed the gospel, we pray that you 
would have dealings with them. should open their hearts, cause 
them to reflect upon these words, and cause them to come to the 
Lord Jesus Christ, that finisher, that accomplisher of redemption. And we praise you in His most 
blessed name. Amen.