HIS ‘IT IS FINISHED’ WAS JUST THE BEGINNING FOR ME
Jn. 19:28-30
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Have you ever been “put out” or exasperated that you weren’t treated better in a situation? You got the ‘raw’ end of the deal?
2. There was a kid who felt like that. 8 year-old Timmy misbehaved badly and was sent to his room with no TV and no dessert.
3. As he said his evening prayers, he said, “Dear God, please don’t let Daddy & Mommy have any more kids. They don’t know how to treat the one they’ve already got!”
B. TEXT & THESIS
1. I want us to read about someone else who got the raw end of the deal.
2. 28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29 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. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” Jn. 19:28-30.
3. I want us to reflect on Jesus’ words, “It is finished.” We’ll see that when Jesus said “It is finished,” His ‘finishing’ was just the ‘beginning’ for you and Me.
I. WHAT “IT IS FINISHED” MEANT
A. JESUS’ O.T. WORK
1. Jesus’ sacrifice for sin was not an afterthought with God.
2. The Bible tells us the Jesus is the:
a. “Lamb slain from the foundations of the world” Rev. 13:8.
b. Those who would be redeemed were chosen and prepared for from the beginning of the universe (Mt. 25:34; Eph. 1:4).
3. Jesus could not come until the time was right, but He wasn’t idle.
4. WHO WAS IT WHO:
a. Appeared to Hagar (Gen. 16:7-14) in desert
b. Wrestled with Jacob, Gen. 31:11-13;
c. Appeared to Moses in the burning bush, Ex. 3:2-5;
d. Was worshipped by Joshua bf Jericho, Josh. 5:13-15;
e. Strove with Abraham over Sodom/Lot, Gen. 18:2-13;
f. With 3 Hebrews in fiery furnace, Dan. 3;
g. Spoke to Elijah at Mt. Horeb, 1 Kgs. 19:5-7;
h. Seen by Daniel suspended above river, Dan. 10:4?
5. THEY WERE PREINCARNATE MANIFESTATIONS OF JESUS CHRIST! He was busy preparing the nation of Israel for His coming!
B. THE N.T. WORK OF JESUS
1. Gal. 4:4 says, “When the time had fully come, God sent forth His Son….”
2. When the stage was set, then came the great day of Incarnation, then His life and ministry were revealed.
3. At last Jesus hung on a Cross. His life ebbed away. He saw His end was near and His work for eternity was complete, so he cried, “It is finished!”
4. His body had been beaten for our sicknesses. His life had been lived without sin. The Father had laid the sins of the world on Him on the cross. He was surrendering to the death penalty, dying for our sins. His work of 1,000’s of years was finished.
5. At last He could cry – concerning man’s redemption – “It is finished!” This phrase is only one word in Greek, “tetelestai.” This word was often stamped on ancient tax documents and its meaning was “Paid in full!” He had finished the work of redemption.
C. DISARMED THE DEVIL
1. “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” Col. 2:15.
2. When Jesus said, “It is finished,” He also meant it was finished for the devil!
3. Col. 2:15 clearly describes Jesus’ victory over the devil through/ by His Cross. The thing which seemed to disarm Jesus became the instrument of triumph, like the old jawbone Samson used to kill a 1,000 Philistines.
4. Carl Amerding recounted his experience of watching a wildcat at the zoo. “As I stood there,” he said, “an attendant entered the cage. He had nothing in his hands but a broom.
5. Carefully closing the door, he proceeded to sweep the floor of the cage. When he got to the corner where the wildcat was lying, he poked the animal with the broom. It let off a wild cry, stood and hissed, and at last moved to a different corner of the cage and lay back down.
6. Carl remarked to the attendant, “You are certainly a brave man!” “No, I’m not brave.” “Then the wildcat must be tamed.” “No, he ain’t tame.”
7 “The if you’re not brave and he’s not tame, I can’t understand why he doesn’t attack you.” The attendant chuckled and said, “Mister, he’s old – and he ain’t got no teeth anymore!” [Moody Monthly]
8. Church, Jesus has not only redeemed us, he’s disarmed the principalities and powers! 1 Cor. 2:8 says, “Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” Hallelujah!
II. IT WAS JUST THE BEGIN…FOR ME
WHEN THE WORK OF JESUS WAS FINISHED, IT WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING FOR ME! His finishing was our beginning!
A. BEGINNING OF A NEW LIFE
1. 2 Cor. 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
2. We should now have a a). New Position in Christ, b). a new Personality in Christ because we’re a new creature, and c). a new Potential in Him. We’re part of the new creation that’s coming
3. Also, we get NEW LIVES FOR OLD! It’s the very essence of the Gospel, we don’t get an old patch-up job, but a brand new life.
4. A few years ago Savanna, GA., had the headline, “Baby Grace found in Dumpster.” A garbage worker discovered – amongst the pornography, broken wine bottles, coffee grounds, and rotting food – a baby girl not over a week old!
5. The garbage collector named her “Baby Grace.” The hearts of many in that city went out to her; she had no trouble being adopted by loving parents.
6. The analogy is, on a garbage dump outside of a 2-bit occupied country, on a Roman Cross, Grace could be found. It wasn’t found in the pretty religions, but in the garbage dumps of humanity. And those who found it were close to the dumpster themselves! Grace is for YOU TOO!
B. BEGINNING OF A NEW FAMILY
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, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace…” Eph. 1:3-7.
2. You may not have had a good family background on Earth, but Jesus’ death opened the door for you to be adopted into the family of God!
3. ILLUS. A boy named John was one of 12 siblings. His father abandoned the family, and the helpless mother was forced to adopt out the children. A family adopted John. He said that the day they took him, something in him died.
4. He grew up with a hurting heart and in adulthood, buried himself in his work to hide his pain.
5. At last he visited a church, hoping to boost his spirits. The preacher talked about how God loves to adopt people. At the end of the sermon, he asked if anyone wanted to join God’s family. John raised his hand.
6. When he prayed, John felt the life-long rejection and hurt suddenly be healed. Jesus would never abandon him. He felt accepted and loved. He felt the Lord say, “John, I know all about that day at the train station. I know how you felt and I’ve been waiting all these years to adopt you into MY Family!”
C. BEGINNING OF A NEW PRESENCE/POWER
1. This new begging will give us an acute sense of the presence of God. God put His Spirit in us crying, “Abba, Father!”
2. Rom. 8:15-16, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”
3. This new presence in our lives will do at least 3 things:
a. SWEETEN THE SAINTS. So many saints are sour and bitter. The presence of God will change your disposition. The old lion Samson killed produced honey! The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, etc.
b. God’s presence will STIR THE SAINTS. When the presence of God is in the midst, the saints will be stirred. The Spirit is still hovering over His creation!
c. God’s presence STRENGTHENS THE SAINTS. When you’re in the presence of God, you become stronger. He can go with us everywhere we have to go.
A man was coming back from Mexico and wanted to bring back some cheese. The customs agent said, “You can’t bring that in.” They argued a moment and the man declared, “I AM going to bring this cheese into the USA!”
He stepped back to the line, ate the cheese, and then walked into the USA. Lesson? They may say we can’t take God into the public schools, but if He’s in us, we CAN take Him in!
D. BEGINNING OF AWARENESS OF YOUR ROLE IN GOD’S DIVINE PLAN
1. Once you know you’re a new creature, you’ve been adopted into God’s family, and you know that God’s Spirit is living in you – then you become aware that God has a larger purpose for your life.
2. You are here to “seek and to save that which is lost” just like Jesus! When Jesus said, “It is finished,” that was just the beginning for you – of a new purpose and meaning to life.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. Kay Arthur is a well-known Christian author and speaker. She frequently says, “Lord, I need your grace because I can’t make it on my own.”
2. As a young girl she went to church, but never committed he life to Jesus. She later got married to a man who suffered mental disorders. They had 2 kids.
3. Their marriage was always in trouble. At last he threatened to kill himself. She said, “Go ahead, I need the money.” He did!
4. In her remorse, Kay remembered driving home from the funeral shaking her fist at God and saying, “Go to hell, God!” It was like someone flipped a switch: she realized that’s exactly what God did. He went to hell for her, so she might go to heaven!
5. She broke and surrendered her life to Christ and became His spokeswoman.
B. THE CALL
1. God is giving you a new beginning today. A new start, a new family, a new presence/power, and a new role in God’s plan.
2. How many of you need a clean slate? How many want to join God’s family? Do you want a new power in your life? Are you ready to step into God’s new plan for your life?
3. Prayer & the Lord’s Supper.
[I first preached this in 2004. I'm sure the idea of this message was derived from another Sermon Central member, but I don't know who. Thanks!]
