Paid in Full (Prep)

Seeing Jesus Through The Eyes of a Friend  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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Introduction
“It is Finished” τετέλεσται = “Paid off or paid in full”
Jesus is very much in control of this situation even in His frail, human condition.
After caring for the needs of His mother by enlisting John’s help, He now turns to the final moments of His life.
Jesus knew “that all was now τετέλεσται, he had a Scripture to fulfill and something to say...
By saying “I thirst”, Jesus is accomplishing two things.
He is fulfilling Scripture (John tells us this right in the text).
Psalm 69:21 ESV
They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.
Psalm
He thirsted so we would not have an eternal thirst like the Rich man and Lazarus...
He thirsted so we could forever drink from the water of life and thirst no more.
He is preparing Himself for the most important announcement in History! And He needed a drink to ready his mouth to say the one-word announcement, τετέλεσται!
When did Jesus say this word? Just before He gave up His Spirit. Notice, He was responsible for His death. He was the one who deliberately, at that time, gave up His Spirit. “We die because we cannot help it; Christ died because He willed to die, and not until the moment arrived when He saw it best.” J.C. Ryle
John 10:18 ESV
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
Why did Jesus say this word? To let everyone know their debt to God was now paid in full. It wasn’t uttered to let everyone know that His life was over. τετέλεσται has a much richer meaning than simply “finished”. It means “to be fully accomplished”, “To be perfected” as in . But is also means, “to pay what one owes”, “to make obligatory offerings” to the temple chest() or the state (). A great debt is owed and there is only One who can afford to pay it for you.
Luke 23:46 ESV
Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
John 10:14–15 ESV
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
How did Jesus say this word? Jesus ask for something to drink to fulfill prophecy and, most importantly to prepare Himself to say τετέλεσται.

After sermon is written, ask these three questions to edit

But how do you suppose He said this important word? One would think, due to the extreme physical abuse He has endured, that it would be soft and almost unintelligible. But as we read the other accounts of this same story, we see something entirely different...
Luke 23:46 ESV
Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
Matthew 27:48–50 ESV
And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
Mark 15:36–38 ESV
And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
Luke 23:46 ESV
Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
Jesus mustered up the strength and while His life’s blood was oozing from His body, this powerful word with a strong voice surges from His mouth, τετέλεσται!!!
After sermon is written, ask these three questions to edit
What do my hearers NEED to know?
What is NICE for them to know?
Where CAN they go (if they would like to know more)?
Keep it at 45min which is 3000 words (Murder the Darlings)
What is the “Elevator Speech”? Make sure you have a compelling hook! Why should they listen to you?
Introduction
Greet everyone (be in front of the pulpit)
Attention (Why should they listen to you?)
Last word are important words.
My dad, on January 4th 2014 suffered from a bleeding stroke after just arriving to he and my mom’s wintering spot in Holiday, Florida...
My nephew, Jason (who was very close to my dad) called His grandma to find out what was going on. My mom handed my dad the phone. My dad’s light was dimming quickly and in a matter of minutes he would no long be able to speak as the blood overtook the left hemisphere of his brain. The words spoken by him to Jason were sweet and he will never forget them...
Telling him about the trailer
Take care of grandma
I love you…
Last words are important words. I know Jayson will always cherish those last words from Grandpa Green, “I love you.”
Jesus was within minutes of taking His last breath. And He, over the course of His ministry has said many significant things. Profound teaching, admonishments, encouragements and so on. But I believe that He is about to utter some of the most profound and significant truth to date. Words that are worth cherishing!
The question is, will you hear them?
Unfortunately we allow the voices and the sound of this world to drown out the sweet voice of our Savior. We can easily fail to cherish what He has said to us in His amazing Word.
But it is times like these that we can have our hearing tuned back in so we can hear His powerful voice that speaks life-changing words. And I believe, if you truly hear these last words of Christ that we will look at today, you will be forever changed! Supernaturally altered into the Child of the King!
At first blush this text seems to be the testimony of a colossal failure...
What do the hearers need to know? You can live because Jesus died.
In reality and what you will actually see from this text is amazing!
Main Textual Idea: Jesus, the God/man, dies on the cross. It is complete. It is paid in full
It’s not the testimony of a colossal failure, but instead it is the victory shout of our warrior King!
This is what I want you to see from the text...
Main Idea: The Life Giving Power of a Dying Man’s Words
There is Only One Who Can Declare “Paid in Full”
The Life Giving Power of a Dying Man’s Words
Jesus life was Bankrupted so yours could be “Paid in Full”
Jesus Thirsted to Pay Your Debt in Full
There is Only One Who
Your Whole Future Hangs on One Word
τετέλεσται
Your Eternal Hope Comes Down to One Word
Notes
Jesus is very much in control of this situation even in His frail, human condition.
After caring for the needs of His mother by enlisting John’s help, He now turns to the final moments of His life.
Jesus knew “that all was now τετέλεσται, he had a Scripture to fulfill and something to say...
By saying “I thirst”, Jesus is accomplishing two things.
He is fulfilling Scripture (John tells us this right in the text).
Psalm 69:21 ESV
They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.
He is preparing Himself for the most important announcement in History! And He needed a drink to ready his mouth to say the one-word announcement, τετέλεσται!
Your Eternal Hope Comes Down to One Word
The Unmitigated Power of this One Word
When did Jesus say this word? Just before He gave up His Spirit. Notice, He was responsible for His death. He was the one who deliberately, at that time, gave up His Spirit.
Do You Believe The WORD
One Word, Eternal Hope
Why did Jesus say this word? To let everyone know their debt to God was now paid in full. It wasn’t uttered to let everyone know that His life was over. τετέλεσται has a much richer meaning than simply “finished”. It means “to be fully accomplished”, “To be perfected” But is also means, “to pay what one owes”, “to make obligatory offerings” to the temple chest() or the state ().
Your Hope is Wrapped Up in One Word.
Luke 23:46 ESV
Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
Romans 13:6 ESV
For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.
John 10:14 ESV
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
John 10:14–16 ESV
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
How did Jesus say this word?
Why did He say this word?
Eternal Hope is Found in One Word
When did He say this word?
Do You Believe The WORD
Interrogative: How can life...
Transition:
Body (Satisfaction)
1. His Thirst Quenches Our Desire (vs. 28-29)
Have you ever been so thirsty you thought you could die?
This was the experience of Jesus. The Psalmist gives us an idea of what He was going through hundreds of years before it ever did...
Psalm 22:15 NLT
15 My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.
Of course this Psalm is a clear prediction of the Messianic crucifixion. Look at the next verse...
His Thirst Quenched Ours
Psalm 22:16 ESV
16 For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet—
Jesus, hanging on the cross, a raging fever coursing through his body, in unimaginable pain and suffering, and His mouth is as dry as clay that has been baked in the sun. It is an understatement to say he is miserable! This is where we pick up John’s story...
John 19:28–29 ESV
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.
John 19:28 ESV
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.”
John 19:28–29 ESV
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.
After this - He just took care of his mother by entrusting her to His best earthly friend, John...
After this -
Jesus knowing that all was now finished - All the prophecies except one, were completed. Everything that needed to be accomplished, including the wrath absorbing sacrificial event on the cross, was almost complete. His mission was now finished and He knew it all too well. His agony both spiritually and physically were all but over...
Holman New Testament Commentary: John C. Dramatic Death (19:28–37)

Carson observes that “Jesus’ knowledge that all was now completed is the awareness that all the steps that brought him to this point of pain and impending death were in the design of his heavenly Father, and death itself was imminent”

But there was something else, Jesus utters the fifth of His seven saying on the cross. Take a look at all 7...
1. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
2. “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
3. “Woman, behold your son. Son Behold your mother.”
4. “My God, My God, have you forsaken me?” ;
5. “I thirst.”
6. “It is finished.”
7. “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”  
said (to fulfill Scripture), “I thirst.” - As I said earlier, I can only imagine how unbelievably parched our Lord must have been…
By saying “I thirst”, Jesus is accomplishing two things. First, He is fulfilling scripture. John comes right out and says this in this verse!
One of the passages that John is talking about is found in...
Psalm 69:21 ESV
21 They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.
Pslam 69 21
Again, folks, this is significant! There is a great article online that was so helpful in speaking to the chances of one man fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah. Sheri Bell says,
One reason the Bible’s Old Testament is so important to Christians is that it contains prophesy — over 300 predictions, in fact — that, like the threads of a tapestry, establish the Messianic credentials of Jesus.
Just a handful of prophesy that Jesus fulfilled:
He was born in Bethlehem,
preceded by a messenger (John the Baptist),
entered Jerusalem on a donkey,
was betrayed by a friend who received thirty pieces of silver,
was silent before His accusers,
and died in the manner Romans used for criminals (crucifixion),
during which they pierced His hands and feet.

Peter Stoner, in his classic book Science Speaks, calculated the chance of any man fulfilling these prophesies, even down to the present time, to be 1 in 100,000,000,000,000,000 (10 to the 17th power). 

How can anyone think that Jesus just “happened” to be in the right place at the right time? Clearly, we can’t consider coincidence.
To help us visually comprehend the staggering odds of this probability, Stoner proposed that we take that many silver dollars and lay them across the state of Texas. In doing so, we’d find they would stack up across the state two feet deep. But wait; there’s more! Now mark one of the silver dollars, and stir up the entire mass of coins. Then blindfold an enthusiastic volunteer and tell him that he can travel as far as he likes across Texas, but that he *must* pick out the marked silver dollar. THAT is how difficult it would be for one man to fulfill these prophecies. Unless, of course, he did so because of divine appointment.
Stoner then upped the ante significantly: he looked at the odds of any man fulfilling even just 48 of the 300+ Old Testament prophesies. The odds jumped to 10 to the 157th power! - https://www.josh.org/jesus-fulfill-prophesy/
https://www.josh.org/jesus-fulfill-prophesy/
My friends, you have a MORE than reasonable faith! Don’t be ashamed and nervous about Jesus! He is out legit Messiah who has fulfilled every prophecy ever uttered about him even down to the simple little truth that he, while hanging on the cross, thirsted!
And, there just so happened to be a jar of some relief...
A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth - Some say the Roman soldiers were having a moment of Pity on Jesus, but they were not. They didn’t give Jesus a nice refreshing glass of water to quench His thirst, no, they gave Him sour wine, or vinegar
When’s the last time you got done mowing the lawn in 95 degree weather, sweating like a dog, come into the house and go past the ice water, or nice cold Coke fore a big glass of sun-warmed vinegar.
Some scholars claim that...

The substance called “vinegar” in the current passage was a cheap, sour wine that was used by soldiers to quench their thirst (Mark 15:36; cf. Ps. 69:21). It differs from the “wine mixed with myrrh” that Jesus was offered, and that he refused, on the way to the cross (Mark 15:23). Whereas the latter was a sedative, “wine vinegar” prolonged life and therefore pain.

Holman New Testament Commentary: John C. Dramatic Death (19:28–37)

We should not read any compassion into this act, since the bitterness would prolong pain by extending the life of the victim.

They were happy to give Jesus this vinegar because it would only delay the inevitable...
The
Jesus, however was not concerned about that as we will find out in a bit...
Did you notice something familiar in the second half of the verse?
“So they (the soldiers) put a sponge of the sour wine (vinegar) on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.”
Did you notice to tools they used? They used a sponge...
But they also used a hyssop branch. They nestled the sponge on the bushy top of the branch and lifted it up for Jesus to suck the liquid out of.
But of all the branches in all the world, it was a HYSSOP branch. Big deal, right?
The
Let me read you a verse that will blow your mind...
Exodus 12:22 ESV
22 Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning.
Ex
Do you know what this verse is referring to? The first Passover - the blood of an innocent lamb was spread on the doorpost and the lintel of every house that would not receive judgment, because the death angel would “passover” them because of the blood of the lamb!
And now, here we are, hundreds and hundreds of years latter, the Jews again celebrating the Passover feast while the true Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, hangs on posts saturated in His blood. And the beautiful imagery of a Roman soldier offering up a sour wine-soaked sponge to our Lord nestled in a HYSSOP branch is a breathtaking theological exclamation point from God Himself saying here is yet another reason to believe that My Son is who He says! Jesus is the true Passover lamb!
Remember?
Psalm 22:15 ESV
15 my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death.
He would have been barely able to talk and yet he needed to speak clearly...
He is preparing Himself for the most important announcement in the History of the world!
He is preparing Himself for the most important announcement in the History of the world! He needed a drink to ready his mouth to say this crucial, one-word announcement
He needed a drink to ready his mouth to say this crucial, one-word announcement
He thirsted so we would not have an eternal thirst like the Rich man and Lazarus...He thirsted so we could forever drink from the water of life and thirst no more.He is preparing Himself for the most important announcement in History! And He needed a drink to ready his mouth to say the one-word announcement, τετέλεσται!When did Jesus say this word? Just before He gave up His Spirit. Notice, He was responsible for His death. He was the one who deliberately, at that time, gave up His Spirit.
He thirsted so we would not have an eternal thirst like the Rich man and Lazarus...
He thirsted so we could forever drink from the water of life and thirst no more...
“We die because we cannot help it; Christ died because He willed to die, and not until the moment arrived when He saw it best.” J.C. Ryle
Illustration -
Clean up!
Remember what we are talking about here. We are talking about the life-giving power of a dying man’s words. And that His request to quench His thirst is really about quenching our thirst. It’s about Him being the satisfaction for all our desires...
He thirsted so we would not have an eternal thirst like the Rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31)...
He thirsted so we could forever drink from the water of life and thirst no more...
Application -
Review - The Life-Giving Power of a Dying Man’s Words
His Thirst Quenches Our Desires
2. His Cry Satisfies Our Debt (vs. 30)
You and I can scarcely conceive of the torment and pain that Jesus was enduring at this point in the crucifixion. Remember, the Romans were masters at inflicting the most pain for the longest period of time. They had it down to a science.
This pain, coupled the the even more painful reality that He was absorbing God’s wrath on our behalf. This substitutionary atoning act severed His intimate relationship with the Heavenly Father for a time. An unimaginably horrific time.
But this was all about to come to an end. Look at the text...
John 19:30 ESV
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
John 19:29 ESV
A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.
His Declaragion
Explanation -
John 19:30 ESV
30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
There was one more reason other that Jesus requested a drink...
Remember what said?
Psalm 22:15 NLT
15 My strength has dried up like sunbaked clay. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You have laid me in the dust and left me for dead.
He would have been barely able to talk and yet he needed to speak clearly...
He needed a drink to ready his mouth to say this crucial, one-word announcement
He is preparing Himself for the most important announcement in the History of the world!
He thirsted so we could forever drink from the water of life and thirst no more...
Explanation -
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished” -
Before we get to what He said, let’s look at the how He said it! How did He say what He said...
Jesus ask for something to drink to fulfill prophecy and, most importantly to prepare Himself to say τετέλεσται. But how do you suppose He said this important word? One would think, due to the extreme physical abuse He has endured, that it would be soft and almost unintelligible. But as we read the other accounts of this same story, we see something entirely different...
One would think, due to the extreme physical abuse He has endured, it would be soft and almost unintelligible. But as we read the other accounts of this same story, we see something entirely different...
Matthew 27:48–50 ESV
48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
Mark 15:36–38 ESV
36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
Mark 15:36–38 ESV
36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
Luke 23:46 ESV
46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
ESVThen Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
Jesus mustered up the strength and while His life’s blood was oozing from His body, this one powerful word with a strong voice surges from His mouth, τετέλεσται!!!
Why did Jesus shout this word?
Certainly, to let everyone know that His mission was finished...
. But is also means, “to pay what one owes”, “to make obligatory offerings” to the temple chest(
. But is also means, “to pay what one owes”, “to make obligatory offerings” to the temple chest(
τετέλεσται has a much richer meaning than simply “finished”.
) or the state (
) or the state (
It means “to be fully accomplished”, “To be perfected” as in .
). A great debt is owed and there is only One who can afford to pay it for you.
). A great debt is owed and there is only One who can afford to pay it for you.
“To be perfected” as in . But is also means, “to pay what one owes”, “to make obligatory offerings” to the temple chest() or the state (). A great debt is owed and there is only One who can afford to pay it for you.
But is also means, “to pay what one owes”, “to make obligatory offerings”
For example, in paying taxes, a form of τετέλεσται is used...
Romans 13:6 ESV
6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.
Or even more significant, payment to the temple chest...
For example, to the temple chest...
For example, to the temple chest...
Matthew 17:24 ESV
24 When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax went up to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the tax?”
Romans 13:6 ESV
6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.
Why even more significant? God is owed something far more than a “two-drachma tax”
A great debt is owed and there is only One who can afford to pay it for you...
When Jesus shouted τετέλεσται, He wasn’t simply informing everyone around Him that His life was over! No! He was communicating on the highest, most passionate level that He has paid the sin debt in full! Paid in FULL!
His death on the cross paid a debt you owe that you could NEVER pay! Not a financial debt, but a sin debt. You and I, by our own will, by our own volition, by our own choice have rebelled against God when we have decided to live our own way, contrary to His way. This decisions have led us down a path of more and more decisions against our creator. The result is there is a “Hell Debt” to pay!
John Piper - “Therefore sin is not small, because it is not against a small Sovereign. The seriousness of an insult rises with the dignity of the one insulted. The Creator of the universe is infinitely worthy of respect and admiration and loyalty. Therefore, failure to love Him is not trivial - it is treason. It defames God and destroys human happiness. Since God is just, he does not sweep these crimes under the rug of the universe. He feels a holy wrath against them. They deserved to be punished, and He has made this clear: “For the wages of sin is death” (). “The soul who sins shall die” ().” (The Passion of Jesus Christ, pg. 21)
Because God is just, He must punish sin. This is serious! You must, over the course of your life, live flawlessly. If you want to avoid God’s punishment, you must NEVER sin against him! But there’s a problem with this idea...
Galatians 3:10 ESV
10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”
Gala
Deuteronomy 27:26 ESV
26 “ ‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’
None of us in this room have been able to accomplish this monumental task. I’m willing to bet that most of us have broken God’s law in one way or another even this morning.
And for those of you who are thinking you have not, you are guilty for lying or pride and are guilty as well! So, we are all guilty! And we are all cursed! And God is just in punishing us all in Hell, forever!
Except for τετέλεσται! This is why I say it is the most important word Jesus could have yelled forth! And that is exactly what He did! He wanted the world to know that His six hours on the cross and subsequent death, accomplished more than any of us, all of our combined lifetimes, throughout history could NEVER accomplish! His death was complete, it paid for all sin of all time, even yours!
Jesus absorbed God’s wrath so you would need to for the rest of your eternal existence!
Galatians 3:13 ESV
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—
And as Jesus hung on that tree, the beautiful Son of God, was cursed because of my pride, because of your arrogance, because we have consistently and passionately chosen our ways over His. There isn’t one person in this room or within the sound of my voice that doesn’t deserve to be eternally separated from God.
Yet Jesus “Paid that debt in full for each one here.
Romans 5:7–8 ESV
7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Ephesians 1:7 ESV
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
There is caveat, however. We don’t just all get a “get out of hell free” card because of Jesus’ cry from the cross...
It is a gift from God to you.
Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephe
But like any gift, you must receive it! And you receive it by faith. Can you demonstrate that faith by calling on the Lord to save you from Hell.
Romans 10:13 ESV
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Acts 2:21 ESV
21 And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Jesus cried forth from the cross a deep, powerful, visceral cry - τετέλεσται. He told the world that it is paid in full!
The obvious question for you, sitting in your seat this morning is, do you believe, do you receive the glorious payment of your sin by Jesus? Or do you wish to pay that debt yourself?
There is one more beautiful thing you must see from John’s text this morning...
and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit -
After Jesus cried out with His last ounce of human strength, He bowed His thorn crowned, blood soaked, head and died.
Specifically John says that He “gave up His spirit.” Not the Holy Spirit, His spirit!
Folks, I have told you and told you over the past several months that if we have learned one thing about our Lord is that He was NO VICTIM! He has been working His way to the cross. He has orchestrated event after event to get Himself killed exactly at the right time in history. And now His mission is complete, prophecies are fulfilled, God’s wrath is satisfied, the debt is paid and now He gives up His spirit.
According to this text, ladies and gentlemen, Jesus, not the Jews, not the Roman Soldiers, no one but Jesus was responsible for His death. He chose the exact time when His spirit would leave him. It shouldn’t be a surprise to us. After all, He told His disciples this truth back in John 10...
Notice, He was responsible for His death. He was the one who deliberately, at that time, gave up His Spirit.
John 10:18 ESV
18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
John 1
J.C. Ryle - “We die because we cannot help it; Christ died because He willed to die, and not until the moment arrived when He saw it best.”
ESVNo one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
Jesus Christ was no victim! He gave up His spirit and died exactly when He wanted to!
ESVAnd one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
ESVAnd someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.
ESVThen Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
Jesus mustered up the strength and while His life’s blood was oozing from His body, this powerful word with a strong voice surges from His mouth, τετέλεσται!!!
Jesus Christ was no victim! He cry out with a loud voice τετέλεσται! It is complete! The debt is paid in full...
The Power of the Cross
Oh, to see the dawn Of the darkest day: Christ on the road to Calvary. Tried by sinful men, Torn and beaten, then Nailed to a cross of wood.
This, the power of the cross: Christ became sin for us, Took the blame, bore the wrath: We stand forgiven at the cross.
Oh, to see the pain Written on Your face Bearing the awesome weight of sin; Every bitter thought, Every evil deed Crowning Your bloodstained brow.
Now the daylight flees, Now the ground beneath Quakes as its Maker bows His head. Curtain torn in two, Dead are raised to life; 'Finished!' the victory cry.
Oh, to see my name Written in the wounds, For through Your suffering I am free. Death is crushed to death, Life is mine to live, Won through Your selfless love.
This, the power of the cross: Son of God, slain for us. What a love! What a cost! We stand forgiven at the cross.
Stuart Townend & Keith Getty Copyright © 2005 Thank you Music (Adm. by CapitolCMGPublishing.com excl. UK & Europe, adm. by Integrity Music, part of the David C Cook family, songs@integritymusic.com

Arrangements

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Jesus’ Cry is still heard today! Even this morning. Your debt is paid, if you repent and place your faith in Jesus as your ONLY hope for eternal salvation. Have you heard is Cry of τετέλεσται? Are you listening?
What does at debt free life look like?
Confidence / Boldness for the Lord
Joy in all circumstances
A Hunger for More!
Review - The life Giving Power of a Dying Man’s Words
His Thirst Quenches Our Desire
His Cry Satisfies Our Debt
Conclusion (Visualization)
John 19:30 ESV
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
John 19
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Division 5 Statement:
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Conclusion (Visualization)
Last words are important words...
I’m a little bit jealous of my nephew Jayson for getting to talk with my dad one last time. I won’t get to hear his voice again in this life...
But we do get to hear the words of Jesus.
Action - I’m just wondering what your life, what my life, what the life of this church would be like if we really listened to the life giving words of a dying man. I bet you we would experience His power in greater ways than we could ever imagine!
Invitation
Connection Group Questions / Reflection Questions
From your perspective, what are some reason for why Jesus said, “I thirst”? Why are these reasons important?
Why should we be confident in our faith?
What are the meanings of τετέλεσται (it is finished)? Why is this such an important word?
Confidence / Boldness for the Lord
Joy in all circumstances
Name three ways this passage should shape your walk with Jesus this week. What will you do to change or grow in these areas?
A Hunger for More!
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