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The Unfinished Work Of Calvary
John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
Matthew 27:50-54 50Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. 51And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many. 54Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.
· Jesus had been awake now for over 30 hours. Arrested the night before in the garden of Gethsemane, he had been held prisoner all night as the Sanhedrin decided his fate in an illegal trial. Sent from Pilate to Herod and back again, his weary body had been beaten by soldiers and whipped at the whipping post. His beard had been plucked, his clothing stolen, his face spat upon.
· He has been on the cross for six hours now. From 9:00 to 12:00, the crowds have come by to mock him, but since 12:00 he has hung there alone, save for a few friends and some soldiers. The crowds have fled to their homes because of a strange darkness that has covered the land.
· There are no photos of Calvary; God would not allow us to see it! It is as if God has hung his robe over the sun; He does not want men to observe as His Son becomes corruption for them.
· Theologians debate “How could God become man?” – that question is sometimes hard to answer
· But ask yourself “How could God become SIN?” – that question is almost impossible to answer!
· It is during this time that Jesus cries, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” God’s Spirit, which cannot dwell with sin, turns away. The MAN Jesus hangs on Calvary alone!!
· A historian in Egypt at the time wrote: “In this awful midday that has become midnight, either God is suffering or somebody He loves is suffering.” That was a pagan testimony!
· In our finite minds, we ask the question “How could God allow His Son to be put to death?” What we don’t stop to realize is that God allowed HIS OWN BODY to be put to death!
· Why? Because it was the only way under God’s law to redeem us from death! He took the sin of the whole world for all time – no wonder He stumbled!
But Heaven didn’t go into mourning when Jesus died! Heaven is built on the foundation of God’s Word, which said Jesus’ body could not remain in the grave!
Acts 2:23-24 23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. (AMPLIFIED: “retained by it”)
The place that went into mourning when Jesus died was Hell! Can you imagine the devil’s panic when he looks up and sees that Heaven is NOT mourning?
o 1 Corinthians 2:8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
Satan was expecting “I am finished!” – instead, he got “It is finished!” He then knew that “he was finished!” Through orchestrating the crucifixion, he had unwittingly fulfilled the Bible’s first messianic prophecy:
o Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
This was the most momentous moment in history! Hell had feared this moment for centuries, for millenniums, ever since creation! For out of the darkness at 3:00 came the cry, “It is finished!”
· In the Greek language it is just one word, “teleo” or “finished.”
· This is the greatest word ever uttered by the greatest man who ever lived!
· In this word lies the consummation of all OT truth and the germination of all NT truth.
· Explaining the wealth of meaning in this one word is like trying to catch the wind in your hand or trying to pick up the ocean in a sieve. Its magnitude and majesty are staggering.
FINISHED (“TELEO”):
o Used by ancient artists/writers to describe their “masterpiece” when it was completed
o Used by servants to say “I have completed my assigned task”
o Used by priests to say “It’s perfect” when they found a sacrifice faultless
o Used by merchants to mark “Paid in full” on a bill that was no longer owing
It is this word that terrified Hell and sent a thrill running through Heaven – “finished!”
When Jesus cried “finished” He dealt a death blow to the devil and sin, and set us free!
o Hebrews 2:14-15 14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
o Colossians 2:14-15 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; 15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
· FOUR PHYSICAL EVENTS HAPPENED AT THE CROSS WHEN JESUS SAID “FINISHED”:
o Entrance (veil rent)
o Earthquake
o Resurrection (of saints)
o Revelation (to centurion and others)
· Jesus is not the only one delivered unto death. We also have to bear our cross!
2 Corinthians 4:10-11 10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Our crucifixion is different than Jesus – He died ONCE, but we must die DAILY!
· When Paul said “I die daily,” he wasn’t talking about physical death! Every time his followers saw him, he had new bruises, injuries and broken bones from the persecution he endured.
· At one point, he told Timothy that “all they which are in Asia” – his converts – had turned away from him. They probably asked, “Paul, where are the promises of God in your life? All you have are trials!” Paul would say, “I don’t understand it either!” and then just keep on serving God!
· When Christians go through trials, they have more observers than they realize!
1 Corinthians 4:9 For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
Three realms (human, angelic & demonic) watch with interest as we fight our “life-and-death” battle against the flesh. Only those who “stay on the cross” until the work is “finished” will win!
God requires us to “die” because He knows that only crucifixion of the flesh brings these results:
o Entrance (into spiritual glory we have never seen)
o Earthquake (a shaking up of our comfort zone)
o Resurrection (the church comes alive)
o Revelation (of who Jesus is to the unbelieving world)
The devil doesn’t want you to die to your flesh! That is why he comes to us like he came to Jesus and cries, “Come down from the cross and save yourself! There is an easier way!”
What does it mean to die to the flesh? It means to replace your desires with God’s desires!
o Galatians 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
SATAN IS TERRIFIED THAT WE WILL STAY ON THE CROSS UNTIL THE WORK IS FINISHED! (he will let us talk about revival all we want as long as we quit prematurely – “I am finished”)
JESUS’ WORK IS FINISHED, BUT MINE IS NOT! I REFUSE TO QUIT BEFORE I SEE RESULTS!
