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Well please turn with me in your 
Bibles to John's Gospel, John chapter 19. Come to our final message on 
the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ and it will be just an 
emphasis on verse 30 and what we find is the sixth saying of 
the Savior on the cross. But I'll read chapter 19 beginning 
in verse 17 to set the larger context. 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. Then 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 his 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 a sponge with sour wine, put 
it on Hyssop, 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. Our 
Father in heaven, we thank you for the written word of the living 
and true God. And we thank you for the focus 
of scripture, the incarnate word. the Son of God, the Word of God, 
who took on our humanity to live in our place, to die for us, 
and to rise again. We thank you that He satisfied 
divine justice. We thank you that He fulfilled 
and obeyed all the law that you laid upon Him. We thank you for 
His resurrection again the third day and for His current session 
at your right hand. And we pray now that He would 
give us the Holy Spirit, that we would have our minds opened, 
and that you would instruct us and edify and encourage all of 
the people of God And for those who are dead in their trespasses 
and sins, we pray that you would awaken them, convict them of 
sin, and let them hear the glorious truth of our blessed Savior, 
that it is finished, the salvation of his people, the fulfillment 
of the will of God, all that you had obliged or given to him 
and his obligations to him. We praise you and thank you for 
his finished work on behalf of all of his people. Forgive us 
now for all of our sins, cleanse us in the precious blood of the 
Lamb, And we ask in Jesus' name, amen. Well, as we have seen the 
crucifixion of our Lord, I've mentioned that there are seven 
sayings of the Savior on the cross. And just by way of reminder, 
the first is, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what 
they do, in Luke 23. The second comes to that thief 
on the cross, today you will be with me in paradise. The third 
here is found in John's gospel, woman, behold your son. The fourth, 
my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? The fifth, we saw 
last time, I thirst. The sixth is, it is finished. 
And the final is, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. And as Pink says, we have a word 
of forgiveness, a word of salvation, a word of affection, a word of 
anguish, a word of suffering, a word of victory. and a word 
of contentment. And I think it's important for 
us to see that as we begin this morning when Jesus says, it is 
finished. This is a triumph. This is victory. This is an expression of what 
God had given Him to do and He fulfilled it all. He completed 
it. So we don't think or we don't see it as Him saying, I am finished, 
but rather it is finished. All that the Father had laid 
upon Him. So I want to look at two things 
this morning. First, the declaration of the Savior in verse 30a, and 
then secondly, the death of the Savior in verse 30b. But with reference to the declaration, 
I've already mentioned the word that Jesus uses here when He 
says, it is finished. We see it again in verse 28. 
twice, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the 
Scripture might be fulfilled." The word translated there fulfilled 
is the same Greek word but a bit of a different tense or a different 
way of expression. And basically the word means 
to complete an activity or process, to bring to an end, to finish 
or complete. You can see that's how it's used 
specifically in verse 28, knowing that all things were now accomplished, 
the scripture might be fulfilled. And then in verse 30, he said, 
it is finished. And what is interesting about 
the verb that is used here is the tense. So it's called a perfect 
tense. The kids will probably get this 
more than the adults because the adults have probably forgotten 
more grammar than our children are currently learning in school 
now. But a perfect means a past completed action with abiding 
results. The results continue, they are 
perpetual, they are for us now based on what Christ has done 
in this finished work that he renders up to the Father. And 
then when we come to the specific meaning of the word, I want to 
consider four things. This will concern the bulk of 
our time. First, the fulfillment of Scripture. Secondly, the completion of His 
earthly suffering. Third, the accomplishment of 
His Father's will. And then fourthly, the salvation 
of His people. So that one Greek word, it's 
tetelestai in Greek, contains within it the completion of Christ's 
work on behalf of His people to satisfy divine justice in 
order to save us from all of our sins. So in the first place, 
it is finished points to the fulfillment of Scripture. We 
already see that in verse 28. After this, Jesus, knowing that 
all things were now accomplished, We have that same sort of indication 
here. It's consistent with Luke 24, 
44 in a post-resurrection appearance to the disciples. It says, these 
are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, 
that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law 
of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms concerning me. So 
just a brief survey of the Old Testament relative to what is 
finished or what is completed. And we'll break it down the way 
Jesus does in Luke 24, the law, the prophets, and the writings. 
The law refers to the first five books of Moses. We refer to that 
as Pentateuch. With reference to the law, and 
I'm just going to focus on the sort of types and shadows that 
John rehearses in his gospel. The first is the proto-gospel, 
the first giving of the gospel in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 
15. The promise of God that the seed 
of the woman would destroy or crush the serpent himself. On the heels of Adam and Eve's 
transgression, on the heels of their departure from the living 
and true God, God comes to bless, God comes to communicate, God 
comes to covenant that from the seed of the woman there would 
be one that would crush the devil himself. We see that sort of 
consistency in John's Gospel. In John 18, 1, Jesus goes into 
a garden. In John 19, He's crucified at 
Skull Place, or the place of a skull. I think John is rehearsing 
for us the fulfillment of all that is written in the book of 
Genesis with reference to our Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, 
the binding of Isaac. In Genesis chapter 22, God tells 
Abraham, take your son, your only son, the son whom you love, 
which sounds a lot like John 3.16, and God tells Abraham to 
take him up to Mount Moriah and there to sacrifice him, there 
to crucify, or to bury a knife into him and kill him. Well, 
we see that in the binding of our Lord Jesus Christ in the 
garden in John's gospel at John chapter 18. So what Jesus is 
saying when he declares it is finished, it is completed, it 
stands applicable for all times, is the Old Testament scripture. 
We have as well the Passover. John puts together his gospel 
account and he references three Passovers with reference to the 
life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have that in 
Exodus chapter 12, but in John 19 at verse 14. Now it was the 
preparation day of the Passover and about the sixth hour, and 
He said to the Jews, Behold your King. As well, we need to remember 
with reference to that Passover feast and its consistency with 
reference to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, 
you had two Israelites living in the days of Moses back at 
the time of the giving of the law. You have those persons told 
that they must subscribe, they must obey, they must do what 
the Passover necessitates. And remember, the specific emphasis 
in the Passover was to kill an animal, to take the hyssop, and 
to splash the blood on your doorpost. such that the angel of the Lord 
would see that blood and pass over. And instead of bringing 
judgment to bear upon you, passes over such that you're free from 
the penalty of divine justice. Now with those two Israelites, 
remember, it's not based on their character. One of those Israelites 
may have been wavering and doubting and wondering what the possible 
significance of splashing blood on the doorpost might be. His 
compadre might say, well, God said it, let's do it and trust 
that he'll bring it to pass. When that angel of the Lord passes 
over that doorpost and he sees the blood, he sees the blood. He doesn't see the character 
of the one who is wavering a bit with a few doubts. Consistent 
with that in the New Covenant Scriptures, we're to look to 
the Lord Jesus Christ and live. It's not based on our virtue. 
It's not based on our character. It's not based on our merit. 
It's not based on anything in us. Because if it was, all of 
us would be cut off and sent to hell forever and ever, world 
without end. Amen. It's based on Jesus. It's based on the Lamb of God. 
It's based on this one who says, it is finished. If you are not 
a believer in Jesus Christ this morning, let me point you to 
the one who has finished the work of redemption for all those 
whom the Father had given him. There ought to be no doubt, no 
waver, no thought whatsoever that he won't receive me. Listen 
to his voice in John's Gospel. At John 6, 37, he says, all that 
the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes 
to me I will certainly not cast out. It's never been the case 
in the history of the world that a sinner who has seen Jesus as 
altogether lovely and chief among 10,000, who has reached to put 
the hand of faith upon that surety of a better covenant, has been 
rejected, resisted, or cast away. The concept or the idea that 
those for whom Jesus died can finally be lost is devilish in 
its origin. It is not taught in Scripture. 
Christ doesn't say, it's almost finished, but it's up to the 
free will, it's up to the virtue, it's up to the character, it's 
up to the performance, it's up to the merit of that one who 
comes to me. That's not what he says. He says, 
it is finished, a past completed action with abiding results. 
So if you come, He receives. It's that simple. It's that glorious. It's that wonderful. And that's 
why we call it gospel. The gospel isn't good advice. 
It isn't self-help. I'm not a guru telling you to 
buck up and try harder, but rather preaching Christ and Him crucified 
and resurrected as the blood of the Passover, by which when 
God sees, He doesn't render vengeance upon the Israelite. But upon 
the believing sinner, he finds grace and mercy and kindness 
and compassion, and we will enter heaven based on what that one 
does. Paul calls him that. In 1 Corinthians 
5.7, Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. It's not your 
virtue. It's not your character. It's 
not your good works, because you don't have any of those things. We are dead in Adam. We are dead 
in our trespasses and sins. Our carnal minds are enmity with 
God. It is all about Jesus. It is 
finished means come to the Savior as he gives everlasting life 
to everyone who comes. As well, not only the Passover, 
but the Day of Atonement. The Day of Atonement, we have 
that in Leviticus chapter 16, which is central to the book 
of Leviticus, central to the Old Covenant system, central 
to the sacrificial system that was instituted by God through 
Moses. Namely, that day, one day out 
of the year, when the high priest would take a goat and he would 
kill it and he would take the blood into the Holy of Holies, 
that one day out of the year. He didn't wander into the Holy 
of Holies every single day. He didn't wander into the Holy 
of Holies on a Thursday just because he wanted to see what 
it was like. He went in there once in the calendar year, and 
he divested himself of all of his pomp and all of his glory 
in terms of attire, and he wore a linen garment. And he goes 
in there and he pours blood onto the mercy seat to atone for the 
sins of Israel. But with reference to the Day 
of Atonement, it's not just the one goat that is executed and 
it's blood offered up. There was another goat called 
the scapegoat. The high priest puts his hands, places his hands 
on that goat and he confesses the transgressions of Israel. 
He confesses the sins against God. He confesses idolatry. He confesses blasphemy. He confesses 
Sabbath breaking. He confesses insubordination. 
He confesses murder and adultery and theft and lies and covetousness. 
He confesses all those sins that Israel was guilty of and then 
he drives that goat out into the wilderness. He drives that 
goat out as an image and an emblem of God's removal of their sin. Take the unclean thing out and 
cast it away into the wilderness. Well, isn't that what Jesus does? 
Isn't that what Jesus is all about? Isn't that why we preach 
Christ and Him crucified? Not for a better life here on 
earth, though it is a better life here on earth. Not for riches, 
and not for glory, and not for more properties, and not for 
bigger cars, but what is the emphasis with reference to gospel 
preaching? The emphasis is that God is holy, 
we have sinned against Him, and we're liable to His just judgment 
and condemnation. The glorious truth of Christian 
theology is that Christ Jesus came into this world, sinners 
to save. The Day of Atonement is reckoned 
by our Lord Jesus Christ here in John chapter 19. When He says 
it is finished, He puts an end to sin and iniquity and lawlessness. Not practically, but in terms 
of saving His people from their sins. And then we've got the 
bronze serpent. Remember, Jesus likens his mission 
to that bronze serpent in John's gospel, John chapter 3. Just 
as Moses lifted up the serpent, so must also the Son of Man be 
lifted up. And remember that bronze serpent 
in Numbers chapter 21. What was going on? Oh, the people 
are worshiping, and they're praising, and they're thanking, and they're 
glorifying God. No, that's not what happened. The people were 
grumbling, the people were whining, the people were longing to go 
back to Egypt because they wanted better fare. So what does God 
do? He sends serpents, fiery serpents, 
probably not actual flames of fire on the snakes, but when 
they bit you, the inflammation and the pain would certainly 
result. But it would be deadly as well. 
So God sends these fiery serpents to bite these Israelites. And 
then the people cry out to Moses, we don't want to be bitten by 
fiery serpents and we don't want to die. Notice how God doesn't 
say, well you miserable lawless wretches, you started this chapter 
off by whining and complaining, just off the heels of a victory 
by the way against certain Canaanites. I'm just going to let you throb 
in pain, be inflamed to the point of death, and be done with you. 
That's not what happens at all. God says to Moses, build this 
bronze serpent, lift it up in the wilderness, and everyone 
who looks to that serpent will live. It's that simple. It's that easy. It's that wonderful, 
it's that glorious. You look and you live. You don't 
pull yourself over and kiss the foot of it. You don't suck the 
venom out first and then go over to it, but rather you look and 
live. Isn't that intriguing that Jesus uses that by way of an 
analogy to his own mission? Just as Moses lifted up the serpent, 
so must also the Son of Man be lifted up. What was the response 
to that bronze serpent? Look and live. What's the response 
to the one lifted up? That's John 3.14. You all know 
John 3.16, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten 
Son, that whosoever, what? Believeth in Him. In other words, 
look and live, not suck the venom out of your own arm, and then 
look, clean up your act, make yourself better, and then present 
yourselves to God. See, that's such a futile attempt. 
We sometimes meet people that do that. Perhaps you did that 
prior to actually coming to the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, I want 
to make sure that I'm prepared. I want to make sure that He'll 
take me. I want to make sure that I'm readied for that reception 
on the part of Christ. As if our filthy attempt to clean 
ourselves can somehow commend us to Christ. If it could, then 
Christ died in vain. It is faith in Jesus. It is to 
look. It is to live. It is to receive 
with the open hand of faith all the benefits secured by our Lord 
Jesus Christ given to those who come. Again, not advice, not 
just giving you something to consider on a Sunday in August 
2025. Yeah, you know, you might think 
about this. No, you look and you live. All 
that the Father gives me will come to me and the one who comes 
to me I will certainly not cast out. Or Matthew's gospel, come 
to me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you 
rest. Well, how do we come to him? 
It's in faith, it's to look and to live. We've got the bronze 
serpent. We've got the entirety of the 
sacrificial system. That's announced by John very 
early in his gospel, after the prologue, where he shows us Christ, 
the Word, who was with God and was God, that Word who became 
flesh and dwelt among us. After moving past the theology 
in the prologue in chapter 1 at verse 18, he starts the public 
ministry of our Lord in John 1.19. And in John 1.29, John 
the Baptist sees Jesus and he says, Behold the Lamb of God 
who takes away the sin of the world. What is that but the antitype 
to every commandment given by God through Moses to the people 
of Israel to cut up animals, to present them to the priest, 
to the priest then, cutting it up, putting it on the altar, 
and some of them being consumed wholly by fire, others portioned 
out so that the priest could All of that is fulfilled by our 
Lord Jesus. That's why in this new covenant 
era, the praises of God's people are the sacrifice. We don't actually 
sacrifice animals. We don't go out into the backyard 
or to the farm and grab a goat and bring it to church on Sunday 
because we got to make up for some of our sinfulness. Jesus 
finished it. Jesus completed it. He is indeed 
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Again, 
if you're not a believer here this morning, listen to the language 
that is used by the Baptist. Behold the Lamb of God who takes 
away the sin of just a handful, just a few, just the frozen chosen, 
just that small bit that somewhere, somehow, actually exists and 
they're holy and upright. No, it's for the world. I'm not 
preaching universalism. I'm not suggesting that everybody, 
without exception, will be saved. But everybody without distinction, 
God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. Remember 
Jesus' interaction with the Samaritan woman. And then, by extension, 
the Samaritans from the village. What did they come to learn? 
They came to learn, according to 442, that he is the savior 
of the world. Brethren, that was good news 
to the Samaritans. The Samaritans were outcasts. The Samaritans were shunned. 
The Samaritans were obnoxious. The Samaritans were not persons 
that, as far as they were concerned, were going to heaven to be with 
Israel's God. And yet they had learned that 
in this Jesus, He was, in fact, the Savior of the world. So the 
types, the shadows, the written statements with reference to 
the Scriptures are all finished by our Lord. They're completed 
by our Lord. They are fulfilled by our Lord. What about the prophets? Well, 
I would suggest there are several, and we could stay here for several 
hours to go through the prophets, but I just want to focus on Isaiah 
and Jeremiah. In the prophet Isaiah, you have 
what we call servant songs of Yahweh. They're facets of the 
Lord Jesus Christ and things that He will do when He comes 
into this world, when He comes from their vantage point. What 
do we learn in the servant songs of Yahweh? We learned that he 
would be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. We've 
gone now, this is the fourth message on the crucifixion. Could 
there be sorrow like his sorrow? Was there an acquaintance with 
grief like his acquaintance with grief? He was a man of sorrows 
and acquainted with grief. He is cut off by the Father and 
by His people. He has no form, no comeliness. There's nothing about Him that 
intrigues the carnal eye of man. John tells us as much in John 
1. He comes to His own, but what? His own do not receive Him. So 
this suffering servant of Yahweh, the one whom the Lord was pleased 
to bruise, putting him to grief, is the victor, is the champion, 
is the author and finisher of faith. He is the one who saves 
his people from their sins. And that's the point of the Servant 
Songs of Yahweh. Consider the prophet Jeremiah, 
two places. He speaks concerning Messiah 
and he applies the term to Messiah, the Lord our righteousness. This is his name by which he 
will be called the Lord our righteousness. Now, if you're thinking the way 
you ought to be thinking, that's good news. Why? Because we don't 
have righteousness. We're filthy, vile, helpless, 
we. Full atonement, can it be? Hallelujah, 
what a savior. The Lord, our righteousness, 
that one in whom that one through whom we receive with open hand 
of faith not only the forgiveness of sins, behold the Lamb of God 
who takes away the sin of the world, but we also receive a 
righteousness. Could you imagine if we were 
just forgiven right now, but the rest of our lives depended 
upon us to seal the deal? If you're thinking biblically, 
you'll say, I don't think I can do that. Honestly, if you're 
thinking biblically, you'll know there's no way I can do that. 
What's God's demand with reference to the law? Just give it your 
best shot. God's not into participation 
trophies. It's not enough to show up on 
the ball field. You gotta win. I was a great 
father, as you can tell. What's God's demand with reference 
to the law? exact, entire, personal, perpetual. If we just receive 
the forgiveness of sins in the gospel, but then the rest was 
up to us, a la Roman Catholicism, a la New Perspective on Paul, 
a la Federal Vision, faith in Jesus, plus faithfulness of life, 
That faithfulness of life isn't what God calls us to. He calls 
us to exaction. He calls us to perfection. He 
calls us to entirety. And if we are forgiven, but we 
don't have a righteousness imputed to us and received by faith alone, 
we're back at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We're 
Adam in the garden, under a covenant of works, and we better choose 
properly, we better choose rightly, we better choose perfectly, each 
and every time. It is finished. not just the 
forgiveness of our sins, but the imputation of the righteousness 
of our Lord Jesus. So I don't think it's out of 
the ballpark to highlight that Isaiah 23, five and six, or I'm 
sorry, Jeremiah 23, five and six, he identifies the Lord Jesus 
as the Lord, our righteousness. And then one other place in the 
prophet, Jeremiah 31, behold, the days are coming when I will 
make a new covenant, not like the one that I made with them 
before, which they broke. Don't you love being in an unbreakable 
new covenant? Don't you love being in an inviolable 
new covenant? Don't you love the fact that 
there is nothing that shall separate us from the love of God that 
is in Christ Jesus our Lord? Don't you love the fact that 
He who began a good work in you will complete it unto the day 
of Jesus Christ? Don't you love the fact that 
in John 10, Jesus says, no one can pluck you out of the hands 
of my Father. Again, this idea that we can 
lose what Jesus has conferred is ultimately an indictment upon 
Jesus. He doesn't actually save his 
people from their sins. It's his fault, which is a horrible, 
blasphemous thought. And so we need to understand 
the beauty of the new covenant, features that were there in the 
old covenant, but by virtue of the promised new covenant. What 
does God say? I will write my law on their 
hearts. I will forgive them of their 
sins. I will be their God and they shall be my people. They 
will know the Lord experientially, savingly. Doesn't Jesus pray 
this in the high priestly prayer in John 17 3? This is eternal 
life, that they may know thee, the only true God in Jesus Christ 
whom thou hast sent. We've got fulfillment. We've 
got completion. We've got finishedness with reference 
to the Old Covenant Scriptures and then the writings, the Psalms, 
the Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes. One only needs 
think of the Psalms that we have seen just as we moved our way 
through John's Gospel. Psalm 22, the suffering Savior 
on behalf of sinners, exalted to the right hand and majesty 
of God most high. Psalm 69, where our Lord Jesus 
lets us in and shows us the degree of His suffering upon the cross. 
We've got Psalm 130, where the psalmist is waiting for the Word 
of God. That's the incarnate Jesus Christ. So when He says it is finished, 
He is speaking with reference to the Scriptures. It's finished, 
it's completed, it's fulfilled, and it has abiding results even 
now. What God has written, what God 
has spoken, we bring back to God and we say, Your Word says 
right here that if I was an Israelite bitten out in the wilderness 
and I looked up to that brazen serpent, I would have lived. 
And your son says that's what's involved in looking to him with 
reference to his work, his gospel. Don't ever underestimate that. You cannot weary God by bringing 
God's word back to him. That's the only perfect word 
there is. I would suggest, secondly, not 
only the fulfillment of Scripture is finished, but secondly, the 
completion of His earthly suffering. Not I am finished, but it is 
finished, that earthly suffering. We have to ponder and consider. 
And again, Psalm 22 and Psalm 69 and Psalm 88 give us great 
windows into the physical torment of our Lord Jesus Christ on the 
cross. It's finished. Judas has done 
his worst. The Sanhedrin had done its worst. 
The multitudes had done their worst. Pontius Pilate had done 
their worst. But behind all that, God the 
Father had done his worst. And now Jesus says it is finished. 
No longer to suffer. No longer to agonize. no longer 
to go on in that particular condition. He'll go into the grave, he'll 
be raised the third day, and he'll be ascended on high. This 
is a new covenant pattern. Philippians chapter 2, he humbled 
himself, he became obedient to death, even the death of the 
cross. Therefore God also has highly 
exalted him and given him a name which is above every name. Jesus 
sets forth the pattern that we see in the Old Testament. The 
cross always precedes the crown, but the crown is definitely there. And Jesus experiences that. Jesus knows that. Jesus has rendered 
that. We made the comparison last week 
with reference to Jesus' statement, I thirst. Not only does it show 
us human anguish, not only does it show us true humanity, but 
it shows us victory. We see in the person of Samson, 
after the battle against the Philistines, where with a jawbone 
of an ass, he slays a thousand Philistines, he then cries out 
for drink. Or that warrior depicted for 
us in Psalm 110, after he smashes the heads of his enemies, he 
goes to the brook and he drinks. This is our Christ. Remember, 
this isn't a cry of defeat. This isn't a meager expression 
that it's all over now, and I'm all over. No! This is victory. This is glory. This is the cessation 
of suffering. This is the cross passing and 
the crown coming. And this is paradigmatic or a 
pattern for all of the people of God. Yes, afflictions. Yes, 
hardships. Yes, sorrows. Yes, woe. Yes, 
difficulties. Yes, a veil of tears. But what 
lay on the other side? The crown of glory, which the 
Lord will give not only to Paul, but to all those who have loved 
his appearing, 2 Timothy chapter 4. And then thirdly, I would 
suggest we have the accomplishment of his father's will. Several 
times in John's gospel, Jesus refers to the hour, the hour. It's culminated. It's fulfilled. 
It's completed. It's finished. What is the hour? 
His suffering, his death, his resurrection. That's the hour. He was governed by a time schedule. We see it there in the reading 
that our brother Cam read in Luke chapter 9. What happens 
there in that passage? He set his face steadfastly to 
go to Jerusalem. He set his face like a flint. Why? because that's the purpose 
for which he came. It's an amazing thing to see 
the unbelievers ask the question and then try to answer it. Well, 
why did Jesus come into this world? Sometimes their answers, 
you know, they have a relative degree of being on the mark. 
Well, he started a new religion, which isn't necessarily altogether 
perfectly true, but I get why they would say that. Or, you 
know, he came to teach ethics. He came to demonstrate ethics 
in his own life. He taught us that the way to 
deal with life is to turn the other cheek. He taught us the 
way to deal with life was to do all the things that he said. 
Again, not necessarily bad, but when you don't put it in its 
proper biblical category, you can end up bad or messed up. 
And then you get the hippies in the 60s with Jesus Christ 
Superstar, who really didn't know why he was here. He just 
sort of bounced around the hills in Israel and wondering what 
it was he was going to do. That's not the Christ of Scripture. 
The Christ of Scripture, according to His humanity, read of Himself 
in the Old Testament. The Christ of Scripture read 
of himself in Psalm 22. The Christ of Scripture read 
of himself in the servant songs of Yahweh and the prophet Isaiah. 
The Christ of Scripture understood all too well Messiah being cut 
off according to Daniel chapter 9. Christ knew specifically why 
he was here. Christ knew always why he was 
here and he set his face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem. He had already 
told his disciples what was going to happen in Jerusalem. I'm going 
to be arrested. I'm going to be tried. and I'm 
going to be crucified. Brethren, if it were you and 
I, and we knew that driving to Abbotsford tomorrow would result 
in our arrest, in our prosecution, and then in our execution, we 
might go to hope. We might go the other way. Christ 
knew exactly what lay in wait. Christ knew exactly that it pleased 
Yahweh to bruise Him, Isaiah 53. Christ knew specifically 
what was in view and He never shrinks back. Even at His arrest 
in the garden, look at John 18. John 18, remember the scene. 
They lay hands on our Lord and Peter lays hands on the servant 
of the high priest and lops his ear off. And notice Jesus' admonition 
in John 18, 11. So Jesus said to Peter, put your 
sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which 
my father has given me? Then the detachment of troops 
and the captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and 
bound him. Shall I not drink the cup which 
my father has given me? So not only do we have an hour 
Jesus must keep, but there's a cup that he must drink. And 
if you remember the background of the context with reference 
to the cup, you see it in the Psalms, you see it in the Prophets. 
God's cup of wrath, God's cup of fury, God's cup of judgment, 
God's cup of vengeance. This is poured out upon Babylon 
when they sin against the Most High. This is poured out upon 
the enemies of God. What's that mean? It means that 
we, enemies of God, had a substitute that took in our place the cup 
that was destined for us. Instead of us drinking that cup, 
instead of us suffering his wrath and his fury, instead of us being 
cast off into hell forever, Christ drinks the cup. Remember, that's 
what evoked from him the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. 
Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. It doesn't 
say, if it's possible, let these horrible people, led by the Sanhedrin, 
carried on by the Pontius Pilate, let these people all fall into 
a pit and perish and die. No, no, no. That's not what he's 
praying about. If it is possible, let this cut 
pass from me. But note the resolution. Note 
the steadfastness. Note the setting his face like 
a flint. Nevertheless, father, not my 
will, but thine be done. If you're not a believer here 
this morning, I don't know in how many ways to tell you to 
come to Jesus and believe. This one finished it. This one 
fulfilled it. This one did all that the Father 
gave him to do. Remember in John 4, my meat, 
my food is to do the will of him who sent me. John 6, this 
is the will of the one who sent me, that whoever believes will 
be saved. Christ accomplishes the Father's 
will. Christ satisfies everything laid 
upon Him in covenant obligation. Christ never shrank back. Christ 
never shirked responsibility. Christ never was slothful. Christ 
never put His feet up and just hoped it all worked out. No, 
He set His face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem, to do all that 
we've seen done in this section, so that He could fulfill the 
will of the Father who sent Him, and then, fourthly, bring us 
to salvation. It is finished, the fulfillment 
of Scripture, the completion of His earthly suffering, the 
accomplishment of His Father's will, and the salvation of His 
people. Just a few thoughts. First, the 
assumption of our humanity. We call that the incarnation. 
The taking to himself, our humanity, without ever, ever stopping being 
divinity. Without confusing the divinity. without changing the divinity. If you read John 1.1 and John 
1.14, you cannot conclude confusion, you cannot conclude lessening, 
you cannot conclude any alteration or change. In the beginning was 
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The 
Word became flesh and dwelt among us. That, you know, when we've 
been there 10,000 years bright, shining as the sun, we've no 
less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun. And 
one of the reasons is going to be the incarnation of our blessed 
Savior. That is, you know, an amazing 
reality. We sing it at Christmas time. 
Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see. Hail the incarnate deity. Pleased as man, with men to dwell, 
Jesus our Emmanuel. Or in the Nicene Creed we confess, 
God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten 
not made, one in being with the Father through whom all things 
were made. John tells us the same thing 
in John 1.3, all things come to pass, all things are created 
because of Christ. How could Christ do that? Because 
in this divine and infinite being there are three persons, the 
Father, the Word, or Son, and the Holy Spirit. The same in 
substance, the same in power, the same in eternity. Each having 
the whole divine essence, yet the essence undivided. The glorious 
mystery of the Incarnation is that the Son of God never ceased 
being the Son of God when He assumed to Himself our humanity. 
Whatever is not redeemed is not, or whatever is not assumed is 
not redeemed. And that's what we see in the 
blessed Incarnation of our Savior. We see as well His obedience 
to the divine law. His obedience to the divine law. 
And as I mentioned earlier, exact, entire. Personal, perpetual, 
but not only personal, representative because he's our great high priest. 
He stood in our place. He obeyed for us men and for 
our salvation. He died for us men and for our 
salvation. As mentioned earlier, we need 
forgiveness. I'm not suggesting otherwise 
because we've made a mess of our lives. We need a righteousness 
by which we can enter into the presence of a thrice holy God. 
Remember that parable of the wedding feast when the master 
of ceremonies comes along and he sees that man, he's not properly 
clothed. He doesn't have what's requisite 
to be at that banquet. So what happens? He's cast out. 
Where do we get that garment? Where do we get that robe? Well, 
the same place that prodigal son got it. Remember the prodigal, 
he's a long way off, he's craving pig food, and he comes to himself, 
not to Christ at that point, he comes to himself and he reckons, 
you know, if I go back and cast myself on the mercy of my father, 
perhaps he'll take me in as a hired servant, and at least I'll get 
three hots and a cot. The text is conspicuous. Well, 
the son was a long way off. The father runs to him. The father 
falls on him. The father kisses him. The father 
brings him back, orders the slaying of the fatted calf, takes a robe 
and puts it on him, puts a ring on his finger. It's not the prodigal 
that we celebrate, it's the father of prodigals. It's the God of 
mercy, the God of grace, the God who forgives and the God 
who gives righteous robes such that we are fit and ready to 
enter into his presence. Christ fulfilled that. Christ 
finished that. The satisfaction of divine justice. The satisfaction of divine justice. 
Turn to Romans 3, where I think this is evident and obvious and 
glorious. Romans chapter 3. If you're familiar 
with Romans 3 and 4, you'll know that Paul is dealing with the 
doctrine of justification by faith alone. And what that means 
is the look and live motif. the bitten Israelite languishing 
in the wilderness who looks to that brazen serpent and lives. Justification by faith alone. Not justification by faith plus 
works, not justification by works, but justification by faith. And 
Paul is gonna outline specifically in chapters three and four and 
then into chapter five how this can be. And the benefits that 
accrue to man who by God's grace believes on Jesus. But before 
he gets to the benefits that accrue to the man who believes 
on Christ Jesus, 5.1 being one of them, therefore having been 
justified by faith, we have peace with God. Before he gets to the 
benefits accruing to believing sinners, he deals with the gospel 
and God. He shows that the gospel does 
not remove divine justice. It doesn't alter divine justice. It doesn't put a little fix on 
divine justice. It satisfies. It upholds law. It upholds God's righteousness. It upholds God's justice. In 
fact, look at 321. Before we proceed, I want you 
to see or consider that Paul is using righteousness in two 
ways in these early chapters of Romans. For instance, in 1.16 and 1.17, 
when he says, for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the 
power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes, to the 
Jew first and also to the Greek. And then he says, for in it the 
righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. He's not 
speaking specifically of the perfection or attribute of God 
and His rightness. He is speaking specifically of 
the righteousness that God demands and the righteousness that God 
supplies. to needy sinners. We'll see that 
when we return to our exposition in Philippians, when the apostle 
says, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that 
righteousness which is from God through faith in Christ Jesus. So, on the one hand, in the book 
of Romans, in these early chapters, righteousness is that which God 
demands, but that which God supplies. He takes that garment, that robe, 
and he lays it on his pig-smelling son. so that the pig-smelling 
son can come to the slaying of the fatted calf. But he does use righteousness 
to speak of God's perfections, God's attributes, God's rightness, 
and I think that's the emphasis here in Romans 3, 20. 25 and 26 specifically, but back 
to the text. Notice in the end of verse 22, 
for there is no difference for all have sinned and fall short 
of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the 
redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as 
a propitiation by His blood through faith, notice, to demonstrate 
His righteousness. Go to a local church and find 
10 people coming out of that church and say, what's demonstrated 
at the cross? I bet you, and I'm not a betting 
man, but I bet you that 10 of them would say love. 10 of them 
would say grace. 10 of them would say mercy. And 10 of them would be right. 
Love, grace, mercy. but it's not just love, grace, 
mercy, it's righteousness. What's Paul countering? What's 
Paul dealing with? Well, if it's just look and live, 
if it's just receive with the hand of faith, then that seems 
to suggest that God has just dispensed with His law and justice. No. The substitute is set forth 
as a propitiation. What does that mean, propitiation? 
It has to do with God's wrath. It has to do with God's fury. 
It has to do with God's vengeance. Christ is that propitiation. The reality is he doesn't just 
deflect the wrath of his father, he doesn't just send it into 
the cornfield, but he takes the wrath of his father for us men 
and for our salvation. Paul is upholding how God in 
the gospel can be just and the justifier of the one who has 
faith in Jesus. So again, before Paul gets to 
the benefits that accrue to the believing sinner, he wants to 
vindicate the righteousness of God. He wants everybody to make 
sure that they know that in the gospel of our salvation, God 
didn't compromise, God didn't renege, God didn't say, well, 
you know, they're trying their best, I'll let them in. No, no, 
no, no, no. He upholds that righteousness. 
Justice and mercy meet and kiss in the cross. And that's Paul's 
point. Notice, because in his forbearance 
God has passed over the sins that were previously committed 
to demonstrate at the present time his righteousness that he 
might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 
So the gospel isn't just a relaxing of the law so us schlubs can 
fumble our ways in. No, it was perfect satisfaction 
of divine justice on the part of the Son of God for us men 
and for our salvation. I would suggest next the triumph 
over the devil. Christ, in that Genesis 3 15 
fashion, goes to skull place and there defeats the devil. 
And in the interest of time, I'll just call out a few texts. 
You can look them up on your own. Colossians 1, 13. Colossians 
2, 15. Hebrews 2, 14 and 15. 1 John 
3, verse 8. And Revelation 12, verses 1 to 
12. What does it tell us? It tells 
us that we're not waiting for the second coming of our Lord 
to deal the death blow to the devil. Well, I can't wait till 
Jesus gets here to crush the serpent. He crushed the serpent 
at his first coming. He crushed the serpent at his 
cross. He bound the strong man in that 
first advent. Yeah, there's skirmishes and 
battles to be sure that we must wage in this present evil age. 
The war's been won, decisively so. He has triumphed over the 
devil. He has crushed the head of the 
serpent. Christ, at the right hand of the Father, is enthroned 
as victor, as triumphant, as the champion. That is a benefit 
that accrues to the people of God based on it is finished. I would suggest the securing 
of every spiritual blessing for the elect. Two places in Paul, 
1 Corinthians 1, 30 and 31. Christ is our wisdom from God. That is redemption. That is, I'm sorry, justification. I'm sorry, righteousness, sanctification, 
and redemption. Or Ephesians 1.3, 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. 
How? Because it is finished. It's 
all secure. It's all there. It's accomplished. It's fulfilled. It's completed 
with abiding present results for those who receive. And then, of course, the triumph 
over death itself. One passage that I think we should 
look at in 1 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians chapter 15, a passage 
that hopefully comes up at every Christian funeral, 1 Corinthians 
chapter 15, specifically at verse 54. So when this corruptible has 
put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, 
then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death 
is swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, where is your sting? 
Oh, Hades, where is your victory? Paul, I don't wanna say mocking, 
but it sounds like mocking, similar in chapter one, where's the scribe? Where's the debater or the disputer 
of this age? Has not God made wise or made 
foolish the wisdom of the world? It's sort of mocking. Again, 
I want to be reverent. I don't want to impose things 
on Paul, but, oh, death, where's your sting? I mean, when we live 
our lives right now, yeah, we think about the worst thing ever 
being economic collapse. I don't know why I chose that 
here in happy Canada. We think of injury, we think 
of disease. What's the apex predator when 
it comes to threats in our lives? It's death. It's that bullet 
flying out of the end of a gun, heading for our head. That provokes 
or incites most of the fears that men generally have. What 
does Paul say? Where's your sting? Where's your 
sting, death? Hades, where is your victory? This stuff has been dealt with. You get to the book of Revelation, 
chapters 21 and 22, what do you see? There's no more sorrow there, 
no more pain, no more suffering, no more what? No more death. 
Jesus finished so that the sting of death is removed. Back to 
John 19, and quickly and finally, note the death of the Savior. 
The death of the Savior at the end of chapter 30, verse 30. After he said, he receives the 
sour wine from the soldiers, he says, it is finished to tell 
us die. And bowing his head, he gave 
up his spirit. The bowing of his head makes perfect sense 
in a context like this, right? He's gone through affliction, 
he's gone through hardship, he's gone through sorrow, he's gone 
through, you know, extreme physical torment and suffering. He's bowing 
his head now. So men do when they come to die. 
True humanity is illustrated once again in what the Savior 
does in this instance. He didn't just appear to die. 
He didn't just fake being dead. It wasn't the swoon theory of 
Islam and James Cameron, but it was actual bowing his head 
in death. And we know that based on the 
next clause, he gave up his spirit. Now, John, and this is not a 
critique at all. It's a stand in amazement at 
the literary power of the apostle John under the inspiration of 
the Holy Spirit. John can be delightfully ambiguous. We saw 
it when Jesus stood before the high priest. Who was it, Annas 
or Caiaphas? It's Jesus, he's the high priest. 
There's no his in this passage. It's literally he gave up the 
spirit. Now the word gave up means, get 
this, to give up. It means to deliver. It also 
means to hand over. So in his delightfully ambiguous 
way, we can read it in two ways, and I think that's the intention. 
He gave up his spirit in death to the Father. Certainly confirmation 
of this is in Luke's gospel, the final saying of the Savior 
on the cross, into your hand I commit my spirit. But it could 
as well be read and understood in the larger context of John's 
gospel as based on the fulfillment of the Father's will, the completion 
of the hour, The finishing of Scripture, the finishing of the 
work of redemption, He handed over the Spirit to the church. He gave up His Spirit to the 
Father, and in so doing, He gives the Spirit to the church. This 
is big in John's Gospel. John 7 connects the giving of 
the Spirit with the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus 
speaks in the upper room, the Spirit who proceeds from the 
Father, I will give to you. John 20 and verse 22, that enigmatic 
statement where he breathed on them and said, receive the Spirit. Not so enigmatic when you turn 
to Acts chapter two. And when the disciples are gathered 
together on the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, how does the Spirit 
come? as a mighty rushing wind. And when everybody's marveling, 
and when Peter preaches, Peter links the giving of the Spirit 
on the day of Pentecost to our blessed Savior enthroned at the 
right hand of the Father in Acts 2.33. He gave up his spirit to 
the Father in death. Father, into your hand I commit 
my spirit. And in so doing, he gives the 
Spirit to the church of the living God. It's beautiful. In conclusion, 
quickly, I would suggest first that this verse contains great 
comfort for the church. Great comfort for the church. Calvin said, now this word 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. It is finished. Matthew Henry 
says a comprehensive word and a comfortable one. and listen 
to Spurgeon in a sermon on this. I am persuaded that it was so 
intended to be used. He's talking about comfort for 
the church in this sixth saying of the Savior on the cross, it 
is finished. He says 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 commit 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. It's a great dying word, isn't 
it? It is finished. Which brings us secondly to the 
benefits for the church. Redemption in Christ. It is finished. Brethren, you need to live in 
light of that blessed reality. Not so that you may sin, that 
grace may abound. No. When we live in light of 
that reality, I think we're far less tending towards sin. The gospel does not promote license. The gospel does not promote sin. 
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that 
grace may abound? May it never be. Where does Paul 
go before he goes to the admonition for us to not present our members 
as instruments of unrighteousness? He goes first to the gospel. 
You died with Christ. You were buried with Christ. 
You've been raised again with Christ. Romans 6.4. The gospel 
does not promote license. The gospel promotes holiness. 
The more you get your mind wrapped around Tetelestai, it is finished, 
the better off you're gonna be. The more you understand chapter 
11 in our confession of faith, the happier and holier you're 
likely going to be. I would suggest as well, the 
peace of the believer. I already cited Romans 5.1. Therefore, 
having been justified by faith, we have peace with God. You may 
not have peace with man. You may have problems in your 
family. You may have problems in your marriage. You certainly 
have problems with your government. You have problems with other 
people in society. You might have problems with 
the persons at work, whether they be employees, fellow employees, 
or employers, or whatever your particular situation is. There's 
problems, right? In this world, you will have 
tribulation. Jesus promised that in John 16, 33. But in spite 
of all those problems, in spite of all those hardships, in spite 
of all those difficulties, what do we do have? Peace with God. We have peace with God. Therefore, 
having been justified by faith, we have peace with God. And I would suggest finally, 
with reference to a benefit for the church, its stability and 
its security. And I don't mean specifically 
for local churches, but for believers who make up the local church. 
This is our last text. You can turn to Romans chapter 
8. Romans chapter 8. in a stroke of gospel genius, 
the Apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Spirit, tells us how we 
can withstand the devil, withstand those voices external to us that 
say things like, well, how could you ever be a Christian? How 
could you ever be saved? And withstand even the own voice 
in our head that says things like, man, how could you possibly 
ever think that you're gonna go to heaven? You know that the 
devil by nature, by function, by office, not really sure how 
to classify that. I'm not into the devil in terms 
of how he operates and all that, but what is he? You see it in 
Revelation 12. You see it in several places 
in the Old Testament. He's an accuser of the brethren. 
If he can accuse you, cause you to lose your footing with reference 
to the stability of God's Word, The rest is a walk in the park 
with them. Isn't that what he does with Eve? How dare you believe 
that wicked God told you that? No. Has God really said? We think the devil's gonna come 
crashing through our front door with his horns and his pitchfork, 
you know, with flaming fire to get us. More often than not, 
it's subtlety. More often than not, it's cunning. 
More often than not, it's just a whisper in the ear. Did God 
really say that? Did Jesus really mean it is finished? Is justification by faith really 
alone? You sure those papists aren't 
right? You sure your faithfulness isn't necessary? You sure your 
loyalty isn't brought to bear with reference to your final 
admission into heaven? You sure about that? Look at 
how Paul deals with everything contrary to the gospel of free 
grace. Verse 31, what then shall we 
say to these things? If God is for us, who can be 
against us? He who did not spare his own 
son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with 
him also freely give us all things? It's an argument from the greater 
to the lesser. If God didn't spare his own son, he's not going 
to help you on a Thursday? God didn't spare his own son, 
he's not going to bring you deliverance or forgiveness and help and peace 
and communion on a Saturday. If God didn't spare his own son, 
he's not going to come to the aid of his adopted sons and daughters 
who are joint heirs with his only begotten son? Come on. Get 
your head out of the garbage, Christian, and start thinking 
gospelly. Notice what he goes on to say, 
verse 33, who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God 
who justifies. Not you and God. Not a bit of 
God and a bit of you. Not even 99% God and 1% you. No, it's God who justifies. Verse 34. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died and furthermore 
is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also 
makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the 
love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, 
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 
As it is written, for your sake we are killed all day long, we 
are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things 
we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded 
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, 
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, 
nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate 
us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 
How could Paul write that unless Jesus said, it is finished. Christian, find your assurance, 
your stability, your security, your peace, your benefit, your 
blessing, your life in Jesus. Unbeliever, find it today. Come to the Savior King. Look 
to Him in faith. Just as Moses lifted up the serpent, 
so also must the Son of Man be lifted up. with the clear implication 
that as you looked and lived in the wilderness in Numbers 
21 today, look and live wherever you might be in faith and receive 
the benefits secured by our Lord Jesus Christ and vindicated when 
he cries from the cross, it is finished. Well, let us pray. 
Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you 
for the glory of our blessed Savior. We pray that this gospel 
would be preached throughout the earth and that a multitude 
by your grace would look unto Christ in faith and know the 
joy of everlasting life. We pray that very specifically 
for our meeting here, for young and old alike, for any unbelievers, 
may they by grace look to the Lord Jesus Christ and receive 
with that hand of faith all the blessings, all the benefits, 
all the good things that Christ has secured for needy sinners. 
And we ask this in Jesus' name, amen.