It Is Finished
First B Jackson
2021-02-22

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Alright. Hey. Good evening, everyone. How are you? Yeah?

Doing alright. Happy President's Day weekend, and glad you could be here. Glad to be eating together and get to visit, catch up a little bit. And, Scotty, thank you so much for your help back in the the kitchen this evening. And also, yeah, just, just thankful to be here with you.

We've been going through the book of John on Monday nights, and it's been more conversational style just to keep that in mind that as you read it through, if there's something that just jumps off the page and you go, I need to share that, please do. Please do. But before we get into the scripture, I'd I'd love to just worship in song together. So if you would, would you stand and we'll we'll sing. God, will begin tonight just by thanking you for your self giving others focused love.

The love that we are going to, we're going to we're gonna read about tonight, when you went to the cross. God, what you suffered, what you endured, for for our sake, out of that love, that self giving others focused love, lord, would we, recognize it, but also operate from it, that we know that you loved us so much that we can love others the way that you loved us. It it it is possible, but we need you. We need you in it. Thank you that we can sing together.

God, we have a lot of different things going on in this room right now. Some are feeling, brokenhearted or, discouraged. Others are are are feeling great. God, I thank you for both times, for those times in the valley that you're with us, for the times that you are, also with us on on the mountaintop. God, you're you're carrying us through.

That's what you do. That that is your work. You are with us through all things. You're working all things out, for for our good and for your glory. Jesus' name.

Amen. God, as we sing that song, there's always something that would just really grab ahold of me. And and and tonight, it's the no power of hell and no scheme of man can ever pluck us from your hand. God, thank you that we are secure in you. God, may we just kinda feel that that, just that holy hug around us from you this evening because we need it.

In Jesus name, amen. God, I am amazed at the imageries that we we just sang about in this song. The the lamb that was slain, this the sacrificial lamb lamb that you were during that Passover, God, that you laid down your life as the sacrificial lamb for our sins, but God, that you would pick it back up, come as the a roaring lion. It's just the imagery is so powerful there. God, tonight, the sacrificial lamb, may that that be something that just resonates with us as we as we read about your death and burial, that it would sit with us maybe in a way that hasn't before.

In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Can I have a seat? How we doing? I I heard a guy say, you know what?

Instead of saying how we doing, I'm gonna say, we're doing great. We're just gonna say that. We're doing great. We're up to John chapter 19. We've just been making our way through the book of John chapter by chapter, verse by verse.

I'm gonna be sad when it's over. But tonight tonight, I wanna cover nine chapter 19 starting at verse 16 through the end of the chapter, and it's where Jesus is led away to be crucified. He's nailed to a cross. He's declared dead. He's placed in a tomb.

So this right here, what we're studying tonight is the passion of the Christ. Have you ever seen the movie, the passion of the Christ? It's a tough movie to watch. It's very difficult to watch. To see what Jesus endured for us, it was a violent and terrible, terrible death.

But I believe it is important. I I do I believe it's very, very important to feel the weight of it and let it sink in. You know, and to not just skip skip ahead to the Easter message of his resurrection, but to know what Jesus endured to get there. Are you with me? That there's not a there's not an, a resurrection Sunday without Good Friday where Jesus was crucified.

We we take both. We take both. We feel the weight of both. The sadness of, Jesus going to the cross for our our sin and paying the the our our sin debt, but then also his victory out of the grave. We celebrate that.

But this is what we're gonna see tonight, that all who believe in him would have eternal life. That's the theme of John. It's belief. No doubt about it. Jesus' passionate commitment to carry out the father's will, to reconcile us, to bring us back to God because our sin separates us from God.

Jesus brings us back to God. To the very end, he shows how much he truly loves us. I want you to walk away tonight going, I know that Jesus loves me. How do I know that Jesus loves me? Because he went to the cross for me.

He endured a terrible, horrific death for me and for you and for the sins of the world. For all who would believe, he did it. He did it. So I'm gonna go ahead and read it. I'll share a few thoughts of my own, and then afterward, I'll open it up for conversation for, if there's anything that you'd like to to share from the text tonight.

So here's what it says. And by the way, Blake, thank you so much for all your hard work at the at the sound sound booth. Look at all the wires there. There are people watching online, and it's the I just we're grateful for you. Thank you.

Here's what it says. Then Pilate turned Jesus over to them to be crucified. So last week was, the trial, and Pilate declares guilty. He didn't want to, but he did. Declares Jesus guilty.

Turns Jesus over to be crucified, so they took Jesus away. Verse 17. Carrying the cross by himself, he went to the place of the skull in Hebrew Golgotha. There, they nailed him to the cross. Two others were crucified with him on either side, Jesus between them.

And Pilate posted a sign on the cross that read Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews. The place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. If I don't get to it, I just think, just that right there was so purposeful too because people were coming from all over for this Passover feast. They would have seen this sign. Verse 21.

Then the leading priest objected and said to Pilate, change it from the king of the Jews to he said I'm the king of the Jews. Pilate replied, no. What I've written, I've written. When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they divided his clothes among the four of them. They also took his robe, but it was seamless, woven into one piece from top to bottom.

So they said, rather than tearing it apart, let's throw dice for it. This fulfilled the scriptures that said they divided my garments among themselves, and they threw dice for my clothing. So that is what they did. Standing be standing near the cross were Jesus' mother, his mother's sister Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved, he said to her, dear woman, here is your son.

And he said to the disciple, here is your mother. And from in and from then on, the disciple took her into his home. Jesus knew that his mission was now finished To fulfill the scripture, he said, I am thirsty. A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it. They put a hyssop branch, and they held it to his lips.

When Jesus had tasted, he said, it is finished. Then he bowed his head, and he gave up his spirit. It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn't want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath and a very special Sabbath because it was Passover week. So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering the legs be broken. Then their bodies would be taken down.

So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, and so they didn't break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out. This report is from an eyewitness giving an accurate account. He speaks the truth so that you also may continue to believe.

These things happen in the to in fulfillment in the scriptures that say, not one of his bones will be broken, and they will look on the one they have pierced. Afterward, Joseph of Arimathea, who had been a secret disciple of Jesus because he had feared the Jewish leaders, asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus' body. When Pilate gave permission, Joseph came and he took the body away. With him came Nicodemus, the man who'd come to Jesus at night. He brought about 75 pounds of perfumed ointment made from myrrh and aloes.

Verse 40. Following Jewish burial custom, they wrapped Jesus' body with the spices in long sheets of linen cloth. The place of the crucifixion was near a garden where there was a new tomb never used before. And so because it was the day of preparation for the Jewish Passover and since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. I wanna stop there tonight, but I would like to pray first and and then, comment on on what we've read.

God, really, words cannot express our gratitude. For all that you would endure to bring us back to God, to restore a relationship that was broken, that everyone of us have have broken. Not one of us have lived a perfect life that you have lived. Thank you, God, for living that perfect life and dying a sacrificial death in our place. Thank you, God, for the opportunity to be reconciled to you, to be made right, to be made holy.

What a gift. What a gift. God, how can we thank you? Really? Words can't do it.

What you ask for is our heart, our belief in you. God, would you increase our faith as we read the story of your death and burial, God? May it truly sink in. Maybe in a way that it has not before. In Jesus' name, amen.

This is such a powerful such a powerful yet somber place in scripture. It really is. There's so much we could comment on. I'm just I'll I'll just take it verse by verse, starting with Jesus carrying his cross. I mean, you think about Jesus' ministry, right, up until now, and you you think of him teaching his disciples like in in Luke.

He goes, if and he says to his disciples, if any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way and take up your cross daily, every single day, and follow me. And now here's Jesus literally doing that. Isn't it amazing? I mean, it just solidifies Jesus' teaching so much to say, if you wanna be my follower, give up your selfish ways and take up your cross and follow me, and then Jesus literally does that. Taking up that cross.

Wow. Verse 18. There they nailed him to the cross. You know, crucifixion was awful, awful painful death, essentially. And not that I don't I don't mean to get too too graphic here, but, essentially, a person would would suffocate.

They would die, because as they were holding the weight of their body on that cross, it made it difficult. Every single breath was difficult to breathe on that cross. I think that we get the word excruciating from crucifixion. But later, that's why they would and, again, it's I I know this is it's difficult to listen to, but