“Our Daily Bread” http://odb.org

The Daily Devotions of Greg Laurie    http://www.harvest.org/devotional

Written by bruce r. mills for “God’s group”  @ www.Godsmanforever.com

        (revised from 3/25/2016)

“It is Finished”

Luke 23:46…  And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.   (NKJV)

Today, as we think about the death of the most important Man (fully human, and yet fully God) to ever walk the face of the earth… We can see beyond this mournful day with excitement, because we know the outcome of what Jesus’ death on the cross means for Christians’ today…

Because Christ rose from the dead almost 2000 years ago this Resurrection Sunday, Christians everywhere have a hope with-in them, that they too will have a new glorified body that will rise up and meet Jesus in the air, at the future time of the Rapture…1 Thessalonians 4:14-18…  [Unless Jesus returns in the Second Coming before we die]  Whether you believe in the Rapture or not…doesn’t change what Christ did for us on the cross…

As I write about the day Jesus Christ was crucified, we need to look at all 4 of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John), to piece together this most important and historic event…  These 4 Books of the Bible reveal all sides of Jesus Christ…the Christian’s Lord, their Master, and their Savior…

This sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, was predicted way back in the O.T. in…

Isaiah 53:12b…  Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.  (NKJV)

This prophecy from scripture was fulfilled, as we read this, in…Mark 15:28…  So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with the transgressors.”  (NKJV)…as Jesus was placed on the cross at Calvary between 2 robbers…  Jesus Himself predicted this fulfillment of the scriptures, during what we now call “The Last Supper”, in…Luke 22:37…

Only the Book of Luke provides the scripture about the grace Jesus gave to the one thief, even as Jesus hung there Himself on the cross to die…  This for me, is biblical proof that being baptized in water is not a requirement to be saved…  This thief knew he was a sinner deserving of death… He knew Jesus was going to be with His Father…and by faith alone, he asked Jesus to be saved…

Luke 23:42… Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” ⁴³ And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”  (NKJV)

We see Jesus’ fully human side when He cried out this to His Father, in…

Matthew 27:46 (and Mark 15:37)…  And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”  (NKJV)

Jesus was near death, and feeling not only tremendous physical pain, but also the abandonment of His Father; as God’s wrath was poured out on Christ, as the substitute for the sins of those that put their faith and trust in Him…  This is at the very heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as Christ took on the past, present, and future sins of those that are imputed with Christ’s righteousness, as they are justified by God’s grace at the time of salvation…

2 Corinthians 5:21… For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (NKJV)

We see Jesus’ compassion for the thief that He pardoned…but we also see Jesus’ love and concern for the well-being of His mother Mary…only found in the Book of John…

John 19:26-27… When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” ²⁷ Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.  (NKJV)

This disciple that was given charge of Jesus’ mother, was the Apostle John…John 21:24…

And lastly…we see Jesus as Lord, with total control of His own death…with the last spoken words before Jesus dies on the cross, in…

Luke 23:46… And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’ ” Having said this, He breathed His last.  (NKJV)

The Bible reveals that it took 6 hours for Jesus to die on the cross…  This was a relatively short time, as my research shows that death from some Roman Crucifixions took up to 2 or 3 days… The Book of John, reveals that shortly after Jesus was satisfied that His mother would be taken care of…He said this… “It is Finished”, in…John 19:30…

The fact that Jesus was speaking with a “loud voice” right up until the end, suggests that He was still not near death as a mortal man…but Jesus decided Himself (as Lord), that He had accomplished all that His Father had asked of Him, and then “He breathed His last.”

I can only imagine what Jesus’ disciples were thinking at the time of Jesus’ death…  And I have to believe Satan, and everyone else who wanted to see Jesus dead, were rejoicing at the moment Jesus breathed His last…  But  we know with 20/20 hindsight through God’s written Word, that there was a happy ending to this sacrificial death of Jesus, so very many years ago…

Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your only Son to suffer and die on the cross…so that those You grace with salvation, who come to Christ through saving faith alone, may be given eternal life with You…Ephesians 2:8-9… I pray Father, that this Holy Week ends with many people seeking Christ to become their personal Lord and Savior [See 1. Below for a gospel presentation]; as well as those Christians who re-dedicate their lives to You, as they realize once again what Jesus did for all Christians’ on the cross…  I thank You and praise You now for all You have done; and for the many blessings that are still to come for all of Your redeemed, obedient children…  I pray for lives to be eternally changed by You this day, in Jesus’ most precious name and for His sake…Amen…

Blessings in Christ,  bruce

References:

1. When there is no other place to turn…turn to God !!  If you’re not a “born again” Christian, is the Holy Spirit urging you to open this link ??  Here is the truth for this most important days writing, about how God’s grace is received to become a Christian in God’s eyes; through understanding and obeying the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ…   https://godsmanforever.com/2016/12/19/the-gospel-of-our-lord-jesus-christ-12182016-written-by-bruce-r-mills/

2. To my brothers and sisters in Christ, please feel free to share this message of the cross with those in need…

Picture credit:  https://www.google.com/search?q=picture+of+Christ%27s+crucifixion&rlz=1C1VFKB_enUS610US619&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=939&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiEhJCm1NvLAhXCGh4KHZDQAz0QsAQIGw&dpr=1#imgrc=I_uMhjvJ8i1nmM: