On this Good Friday, we read in John 19:30 NKJV the account of Jesus death on the cross-
30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
On the cross that day, Jesus died to pay the sin debt each of us owe. I remember that wonderful hymn of the faith that states so perfectly what He did that day when “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe, sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.” He gave His life because of the stain of our sin. It has been said that sin will take you further than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want pay. Sin stains our life and sin separates us from the love of God. No one took Jesus life that day. Rather, Jesus freely gave His life that day. What was it that put Him on the cross? Sin that stained our lives, but His death washed us white as snow.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said that -“When you cannot trace His hand, you must trust His heart”. I love this quote and use it to speak of God’s work in our lives even when we think He is not there. It happens when we are over burdened by the issues of life. When we cannot see clearly and all hope is being lost. Yet, in these times I must trust His heart and when I do that, peace will come into my life as I wait upon the Lord.
When Spurgeon preached on the text from John on that Sunday morning December 1, 1861 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London he said-
-Let us hear the text and understand it.
-let us hear it and wonder at it.
-Let us Hear it and Proclaim it.
I truly appreciate the words of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, don’t you?
On that cross as Jesus declared it is finished, He does so with one word-Tetelesti-“. The word means paid in full, completed, and it comes from the Greek word te-le-o which means “finish.”
When Jesus proclaims “it is finished”, He states unequivocally He has finished redeeming man. He has finished restoring man. He has finished regenerating man. He was finished doing what was required of God and what was needed by man.
On this Good Friday, as we remember the death of our Savior and the account from John “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. Remember and never forget that His love for you is so great that His life was His gift to you for eternal life.
It’s Friday and He has been:
Betrayed
But Sundays coming
It’s Friday and He has been:
Before Annas and Caiaphas
But Sundays coming
It’s Friday and He has been:
Denied by Peter
But Sundays coming
It’s Friday and He has been:
Before the sanhedrin
But Sundays coming
It’s Friday and He has been:
Before Pilate
But Sundays coming
It’s Friday and He has been:
Before Herod
But Sundays coming
It’s Friday and He has been:
Accused and condemned
But Sundays coming
It’s Friday and He has been:
Beaten and mocked
But Sundays coming
It’s Friday and He has been:
Crucified, pierced and placed in a borrowed tomb
But Sundays coming
It‘s Friday but Sundays coming!
A thought to ponder,
Elbert Nasworthy
