The Word of Victory

Good morning everybody. My name is Mark. I'm one of the other pastors here and so glad you joined us. We're in a message series we're calling crosswords where we're looking at the seven sayings of Jesus on the cross and if you have missed any of the messages in this series you can go to our website TLC.org and watch any or all of them to your heart's content. They'll be there any time for as long as there's an internet and it is all for free. That's TLC.org.

Today we're talking about the sixth saying of Jesus but before we get to that saying I want to begin with a little story of my own. Several years ago I was at a pastor's conference and the keynote speaker was a pastor named Bill Hybels. Probably have heard of Bill Hybels. He founded a church called Willow Creek outside of Chicago, one of the largest churches in the nation now and Bill was telling us about a time in his ministry when he felt like he needed an outlet. He wanted to get outside the confines of his office and in particular he also wanted to have an opportunity to mingle with people who might not otherwise visit Willow Creek Community Church and so he decides to take up sailing or resume his hobby of sailing.

He'd sailed as a young person and he gets this 23, 25 foot sailboat and starts to sail on Lake Michigan there and other lakes in that area and his plan begins to work just as he had hoped. He starts to get to know, make friendships with other people in the sailing community. In fact one night he and his wife Lynn, they're anchored in this lake and they're on their boat and a guy that owns this big yacht comes over in his dinghy and invites him to a party he's having on the yacht and they accept he taxis them back over to this yacht and it's not exactly a Christian crowd but that's okay this is part of the plan.

Bill wants to befriend these people earn an opportunity to be heard so that he might share his love of Jesus and that opportunity came much sooner than he had anticipated because at the end of the evening they're leaving Lynn goes down the ladder on the side of this yacht gets into the dinghy, Bill goes down the ladder he has one foot on the ladder one foot now in the dinghy and just then the host of the party he leans over the rail he says hey Bill before you go I've always wondered what it means to become a Christian and I'm hoping that you will tell us.

I want you to freeze that frame right there one foot on the ladder one foot in the dinghy you've heard of the elevator speech this is the shorter version of the elevator speech this is you better say what you have to say before you get wet speech and so Bill tells us in a moment of inspiration he says well it goes like this it's the difference between do versus done religion says do you got to do this that and the other thing and the list may vary but if you do all the things on the list that's how you get your ticket punched Christianity says it's done it's done because Jesus Christ came and lived a perfect life he died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins the only thing we can do is humbly receive what he has done for us and he changes us from the inside out as he adopts us into his family.

And right about that time he plops into the dinghy his time is up that's a great answer do versus done and we're gonna see Jesus Christ affirm that today because religion does say do you know do this pilgrimage do this ritual do these commands Jesus Christ says it's done and so I want you to open your Bibles invite you to open your Bibles to John 19 this is where we left off last week by the way John 19 we're gonna pick up at verse 28 as a bit of a review and then move on to the sixth saying the verses will also be in your notes or on screen.

John 19 knowing that everything had now been finished and so that scripture would be fulfilled Jesus said I am thirsty René talked about this last week as well as verse 29 so let's jump to verse 30 now when he had received the drink Jesus said it is finished with that he bowed his head and gave up his spirit it is finished all the other gospels mentioned that after receiving a drink that was presented to him on the stick that Jesus cries out with a loud voice says that in Matthew Mark and Luke but only John gives us the content of that statement that loud cry because John is at the foot of the cross he can hear what Jesus actually says when he cries out it is finished.

And take note he doesn't say I am finished that would be akin to a cry of defeat he doesn't scream out you're finished scream condemnation the people that are witnessing the crucifixion he says I am and excuse me it is finished it is finished a monumental cry of victory in our time we've perhaps heard a lesser version of this how many of you remember the summer of 1969 I'm not talking about you know the Brian Adams song I'm talking about the actual summer of 1969 some of us that are you know 50 or better right now and I understand that we're in Santa Cruz so the late 60s may remain a blur for some of us here today I get that I was only five in the summer of 16 and 1969 so so I'm somewhat innocent at least I was more so then than I am now but I have just a few memories from when I was five years old and one of them comes from the summertime when there was the very first landing on the moon.

Any of you remember being glued to your television sets watching this play I remember I was in our living room watching this on a black and white TV my mother was there my brother was out robbing a bank or something like that I'm not sure I know confident it was me and my mom watching this and that the lunar module it touches down on the surface of the moon and then you hear Neil Armstrong's voice Houston tranquility base here and then do you remember what he said next say it with me the eagle has landed Wow I mean that that is such a cool statement the eagle has landed inspired a country inspired millions of little boys like me that were just fascinated with with space and exploration because the eagle had landed and that little four-word statement it sums up all that had preceded it right it sums up the the plans and the sacrifice and all of the work that went into achieving that lunar landing and so it was a monumental statement but infinitely more monumental than that one of the most historic statements ever made.

So Jesus says in the sixth saying when he says it is finished we could spend much time unpacking the meaning of that one statement but I just want to point out three observations here today I'm gonna ask you to write this first one down then I'll explain it first of all when he said it is finished I think he's saying that Christ's work it's done Christ's work done let me show you what I'm talking about here in the Gospel of John Jesus refers to his work often and his work refers to everything that he came to the earth to do and his 33 years here on the planet he had work that he was committed to doing in fact in John 4:34 he says my food is to do the will of him who sent me and finish his work now here in chapter 4 he's looking toward the finish line while he's hanging on the cross in chapter 19 he's at the finish line and he says that it's his food to complete this work.

In other words the thing that sustains him the thing that energizes him is to complete this mission and so much so that even the night before his crucifixion he can say that he's reached the finish line he prays this in John 17 starting at verse 1 Jesus looked toward heaven and prayed father the time has come glorify your son that your son may glorify you I have brought you glory on earth by completing that's the same root word as finish or finished there in the original I I brought you glory by completing the work you gave me to do there it is again the work and again that's his incarnation that's living a perfect life that's his teachings that's his miracles that's revealing the father perfectly that's why he can say if you've seen me you've seen the father this is all part of his work and he says I've completed it.

And he also refers to the fact that he has fulfilled all of the Old Testament prophecies concerning his life and the work that he would accomplish and the Old Testament expectations of him so much so that Paul would say in Romans 10:14 Christ is the culmination there's our same root word again culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who does all the things that they're supposed to do oh wait sorry I think I misread that righteousness for everyone who tries to be a good person no everyone who what believes and this is huge because it's popular in our culture to say something like this well you know I don't really follow any set of beliefs I just try to be a good person I think that's really what it all amounts to being a good person.

Anyone ever hear this before from friends co-workers yeah it's very popular but I want to ask the question what makes you think your good is good enough I mean it's like being a salesman who's got a quota that he knows he's got to meet but he never knows if he's met it and not only that but how does that make you any different than someone who follows a traditional religious path who does all these things to what to be a good person the point of what Jesus is saying here is that you're good are good it's not enough you know we often focus on Christ's death and that's good we should do that but before Jesus died the death that we deserve to die he lived the life that we were created to live perfectly everything that Scripture asked him to do and yet you know the world and even churches they're filled with people who are still trying to do what Jesus has already done and you can't do it it's not in you you're not up for the tasks or the job.

It's it's like a story I've told before that I mentioned it in our crosswords devotional book which if you don't have I encourage you to pick it up at the information desk it's free and it's a companion to this series but some years ago I was building a fence around our property and my son Jack who was all of two years old at the time Jack just turned 14 on Friday so you got to give me a moment but what seems like yesterday I was building this fence and my two-year-old son he wanted to be daddy's little helper so much so that Laura made him this little tool belt kind of I think that waste is like size 10 or something like that and he's got nail bags and hammer and all sorts of little tools and he he accomplished being just totally adorable.

What he was incapable of doing however was actually giving me any kind of help I mean he was just yeah I can assure you those nails are no longer there and here's the thing he had all the desire he had great intentions he loved his dad but he was incapable of doing the work it's not like it was you know 90 or 99 percent me and you know 1 percent Jack it was a hundred percent me and zero percent Jack because Jack couldn't accomplish what needed to be done and neither can we in Jesus life he did what we could never do and it wasn't building a fence it was more akin to tearing down a fence a fence that separated us from God and and so his work in life encompassed all of this and even more because his life's work was actually culminated in his death and his second statement speaks to that when he says it is finished it means Christ's sacrifice is done.

I mean what looks like his defeat is actually his victory where God's love is put on display in a way that we can't even entirely understand and if you find yourself sometimes feeling confused but how does God's love equate to Jesus dying on the cross I want you to know you're not alone in fact even when I was in seminary years ago I can remember being in a class where we were talking about this very same subject Christ's sacrifice and how it reveals God's love to us and in the middle of that discussion one of the students just erupted and he says I just don't get it what is Christ dying on the cross have to do with God's love he goes I imagine that being like I'm at the beach and some guy walks up to me and says I love you so much here I'll prove it and he drowns his son in the ocean how does God's love equipped equates a Christ's death.

Now the good thing for this student was that seminary is a place where you can ask these types of questions and you can air out your confusion your doubts it's a safe place to do that you can get this stuff resolved before you decide to go on and be a professional Christian okay so that was the good news for this guy the bad news was that we were about to take an exam on how Christ's sacrifice reveals God's love and this guy was toast no that didn't actually happen but everything else did and this guy he knew more than he was letting on but he was he was leaning into the mystery of the crucifixion and that there's parts to it that are that are beyond us that will unfold to us in heaven and wow us in ways that and we only get little glimpses that now.

So whether you've been a Christian for a matter of weeks or decades whether you're a scholar or not that there's aspects to that mystery that will remain and one of the other things that is somewhat of a disadvantage for us is that we don't have the kind of context that existed in the first century when Jesus was crucified we don't we're not surrounded by a sacrificial system like they were not just in Judaism but all the religions and had sacrifices that they're offering all the time you know I go what's up with that well the short answer is this the Bible says that sin human rebellion against God separates us from us from him it alienates us from God God still loves us just as much but sin creates this barrier and so God provided ancient Israel with a system where they could make sacrifice they could sacrifice an animal and the animal would bear the death its its death would provide a covering or payment for the sins of the people it would atone as it were for their sins.

In fact the word atonement that's just an invented English word that means the at one meant to be at one with God through the sacrifice he tries to capture the essence of what's going on in Hebrew language and culture this at one meant well there's a problem with the sacrificial system first of all they had to keep sacrificing over and over again because every time the priest wanted to approach the Lord in the temple he'd have to make sacrifices they'd sin they'd have to get sacrifices they'd sin again there'd have to be more sacrifices over and over and over again.

The second problem is that this whole system was like when you pay for something with your credit card now you put something on your card you're gonna enjoy the benefit of that thing right then and there but at the same time there's a bill that's waiting for you a bill that will have to be paid for with real money and that's what the sacrificial system all points toward it's it's a run-up it's a foreshadowing of the sacrifice that Jesus would make now that you have some context for sacrifice and by the way if it sounds you know kind of bloody and barbaric you know bear in mind that every time you know we have a burger or you know choose the leather upholstery in the car or have a leather sofa you know some animal made some sacrifice there too right so what we do for food and shoes and stuff like that they did in addition in this system of atonement.

But all that said Hebrews 10:9–14 says this we have been made holy our sins have been atoned for through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all that deals with that issue of having to repeat it day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties again and again he offers the same sacrifices which could never take away sins but when this priest that's Jesus had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins he sat down at the right hand of God since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool because by one sacrifice he has made perfect there's our root word again right there same word is finished or complete he's made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

Now whether you understand this a little or you understand it a lot the fact is we all need our sins to be atoned for every single one of us Adam Nye our pastor of young adults had an excellent devotional earlier this week in the crosswords book where he talks about a Rembrandt portrait called the raising of the cross here's that portrait here on screen now I want you to notice something as we pull in on this portrait here there's a funny little guy at the foot of the cross and you'll notice that he's got a European beret on his head and he's got blonde hair and old Dutch boy haircut he's got a van dyke you know little beard doesn't look anything like someone would look in first century Palestine and there's a reason for that and the reason is Rembrandt Rembrandt drew himself into the portrait he's making a statement that he was very much at the cross that he had just as much to do with the people who were there in terms of putting Jesus on the cross and he too needed his sins to be atoned for through the sacrifice of Christ.

And listen if you don't get this you will spend your entire life trying to atone for your sins by yourself every time you get overwhelmed with guilt or shame somehow you will tear yourself you know I'll make up for this God I will make this up for you someday I'll make this right the abortion the affair the divorce the mistake the lie you tell yourself every day or you feel you have to tell others your various failures whatever it is that dogs you in Christ sacrifice he is saying it is finished it's done it's covered you can be at one with God because of it.

And before I make this final observation you'll notice here in Hebrews 10:13 there's this mention that since Jesus sacrifice his sacrifice he waits for his enemies to be to be made his footstool what's that Jesus meek and mild what what do you mean he has enemies well not only does that refer to those who would forever oppose him those who would cling to wickedness who would refuse his gracious work or his loving sacrifice but it it also refers to his ultimate enemies sin death and the devil and they're not just his enemies they're yours and even so it is finished it is finished means Christ's victory done it's done.

Paul talks about this in Romans 5 when he says for the sin of this one man Adam caused death to rule over many but even greater is God's wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness for all who receive it they don't earn it they receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man Jesus Christ sin and death are defeated and not only that Hebrews 2:14–15 since God's children have flesh in blood he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death that is the devil and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

These verses taken together say you don't have to live as a slave anymore you don't have to live in fear anymore sin is not your master death is not your ultimate destiny and you might be thinking mark that's great you know what mark I even believe that because I can see sin is rampant in this world I can see that death is a very real thing but the devil I mean really isn't he some kind of cartoon character or something like that not according to the Bible Bible portrays him as a very real being who wages war against God and his creation and that includes you and that includes me.

Christ's victory however is complete sometimes we wonder how that works if the devil is a defeated foe why does he still get to can do what he does I saw a great example of this two months ago Bill Gates who is a brilliant guy and he's a genius by all accounts Bill Gates was pitted in a chess match against a young man named Magnus Carlson never heard of Magnus Carlson he was a chess master at age 13 in fact now at the ripe age of 23 he is the greatest chess player in the world two months ago Bill Gates challenges Magnus Carlson to a chess match on this Norwegian television show watch this because it's pretty much over before it begins it's on screen.

Yeah start the clock Oh yeah Really? That was quick. Oh, that was bad. He's a good sport. And something tells me that's not the look that was on Satan's face when Jesus said, "Check me." I don't know if you were watching the clock, it took Magnus Carson all of 12 seconds to actually perform the moves, including picking up the piece that he knocks over. And so when Jesus says, "It is finished," I imagine that Satan goes, "Ha! He's finished. I've won." And then three days later, Jesus rockets out of the tomb and it's checkmate. Game over. He's a defeated foe.

Yeah, he gets to make some moves, but the outcome is beyond question. All of this we have it. What does this mean for us? How do you respond to Christ's work, His sacrifice, His victory? What would God want us to do in response to all that Christ has done for us? Well, I think first of all, He'd want us to trust our lives to Him, to trust our lives to Jesus. You know, this question of do versus done is answered directly by Jesus in John 6. Look at this, this is fascinating. John 6 starting in verse 28 says, "Then they asked Him, 'What must we do to do the works God requires?'" What's your list, Jesus? Give us your list so we can be about being good people by keeping your list. Now, watch carefully how Jesus answers in verse 29. He answered, "The work of God is this, to believe in the one He has sent."

And by believe, He means trust, to rely on, to give Him your life, your...the good, the bad, the ugly, the whole thing. Just trust that what He has done is enough. Said differently, give your life to Jesus. I mean, we've just scratched the surface on all that He has done for us. Why wouldn't you want to give yourself to Him? I mean, do you really have a better offer? An invitation into a life of His grace, His love, His joy, the future that He promises? I mean, it's amazing. And yes, will it change us? You better believe it will. Will we become better people? Yes. As a result of His grace, not in order to earn His grace, our priorities will change. We will become more generous. We will become more loving. We will become more ethical because He is. And He lives through us. It's all in a response.

In fact, Paul describes this in 2 Corinthians 5:15 when he says, "And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised again." Because when you realize what He's done for you, you just get sucked up into the wonder and the adventure and the mission of Jesus realizing, "Man, I'm a part of His family. This changes everything." Want to close with this final story. This was in yesterday's Santa Cruz Sentinel. Right on the front page, headline went like this, "A Fresh Start." Such a beautiful story.

It begins like this, "After a decade of shuttling from group and foster homes across the state, David Gordon has found a permanent family. David's 17 and adoptive parents, Heather and Paul Meitz-Eglie, signed papers in March that ended David's journey through the foster system." And one of the things that makes this story so beautiful is that foster children who are 17 years old, especially males, are rarely adopted. They spend their entire growing up years in a system and then they're pushed out on their own as adults. And yet, praise the Lord, I mean, and we get it. He's not a new baby. He's got wounds. He's got behaviors like all of us. And yet, listen to how Heather looks past that.

She says, "I've learned to think about parenting in the long term and not expect children, especially foster teens, to learn behaviors immediately." And I think that's exactly the way God looks at us. He adopts us as we are. Behaviors in all. Wounds in all. Warts in all. And then starts to change us from the inside out. We learn how to become a member of the family, so to speak. And here's the best part of the article. This is just so much like the gospel. Listen to this. It says, "Once the paperwork is processed, David will have a new name, new social security number, new birth certificate and passport." In other words, a new identity as part of this family.

And it says that after the courthouse ceremony, the family celebrated with friends, relatives and social workers. And his new mom, Heather, says this, "The night of the party, David said to me, 'I'm not in the system anymore.'" No, he's not. He's in a family. And when you and I trust that it is finished, we're not in a system anymore either. We're in the family of God. Amen? Amen. Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your goodness and your grace. We thank you that it's done. We can rest in that. And Lord, I pray that if there are folks here that are in this room or listening to my voice elsewhere, that Lord, if they've been all their life trying to earn your favor, earn your approval, somehow earn their way into your good standing, that Lord, they would hear the finality, the triumph in Christ's voice saying, "It is done." We can never add to that.

And so, Lord, I pray that a new appreciation of your grace would penetrate hearts that need that, whether they're new to church or they've been in church for decades. And for those of us, Lord, who, by your spirit, have been able to slowly understand all that you have given us in Jesus Christ and the love motivation for it all. Lord, I pray that all the more you would transform us from the inside out, that we would all the more resemble the one who died for us and is raised just as we shall be someday. We pray this in His name, the one who paid it all. All God's people said, Amen.