John chapter 19. This is the
sixth saying of our Savior on the cross. One more, and I'll
be done with this. Then we'll move on to something
else, whatever God wills for me to say. But I want you to
start reading with me there in verse 28. John 19, 28. After this, and you know if you
want to know what after this is, just read what happened before. After this, Jesus knowing that all things
were now accomplished that the scripture might be fulfilled, The scriptures might be fulfilled,
saith I thirst. Now there was said a vessel full
of vinegar and they filled a sponge with vinegar and put it to his
mouth. When Jesus therefore had received
the vinegar, he said, it is finished. And he bowed his head and gave
up the ghost. The Jews therefore, because it
was the preparation that the body should not remain upon the
cross on the Sabbath day, For that Sabbath day was a high day,
besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, that they might
be taken away. Then came the soldiers and break
the legs of the first and of the other which was crucified.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he's dead already, they
break not his legs. Our Lord Jesus Christ, I don't
know to try to describe him and the
things that he did and suffered while he was on this earth. Human
mind just can't get it. My mind can. Maybe yours can.
Mine can't. He is the only perfect man that
ever lived on this earth. God created Adam. Adam may have
lasted 24 hours. I don't know. I know he wasn't,
after he had created Eve, I know he didn't last very long before
he partook of the forbidden fruit and fell as our representative
and we all fell with him. He was separated from God, we
were. He died spiritually, we died
spiritually. We lost understanding of God,
he lost understanding of God. He lost righteousness, we lost
righteousness. And so God, even before He created
Adam, He already had His end declared. He already had a body
prepared for the Lord Jesus Christ to come into this world with. Our Lord Jesus was in the mind
and purpose of God to come into this world for this one event,
this one event, the greatest event that's ever taken place
in human history. and will ever take place in human
history is our Lord Jesus Christ on this cross and what was accomplished
while he is on that cross. People say, well, airplanes is
the greatest. Nope. What about computers? Nope. What about iPhones? Nope. The greatest event that ever
took place in human history was our Lord Jesus Christ being put
on that cross. And the reason being is he had
no sin of his own. He did nothing wrong. He obeyed
God perfectly all the days of his life. He was sent into this
world for this one event. One event, one event. And so
being a perfect man, his mind was even perfect, even when he
was suffering on this cross. His mind was perfect. He was
here in the last moments of his life. He had been cruelly, cruelly
mistreated, suffered more than our minds could ever even begin
to fathom. But his mind is clear, his memory
is perfect, and he says, And his last words,
everything he said in the words that he used on the cross, were
full of wisdom and prudence and ordered before he ever uttered
them. God said, this is what you'll
say. The scripture said, this is what you'll say. This is what
you'll go through. And he, with all this wisdom
and all this clearness of his mind, his sufferings was without
measure. And when our Lord declared on
this cross, and I said, and the scripture said, he cried with
a loud voice in one place, it is finished, it is finished.
In his mind, in his heart, in his will, in his heart and soul,
when he said it is finished, he said, my Father's glory It's
fully accomplished now. The salvation of his sheep was
in his mind. And so when he said it is finished,
he understood clearly what was happening. He understood clearly
that every purpose of God was fulfilled. Every promise that
God made was finished in him. Every prophecy, every ceremony,
every sacrifice, every covenant, and all the eternal glories were
fixed so clearly in our Savior's mind at this awful hour. And He knew that the scriptures
all were comprehended in Him. They were all comprehended in
Him. And all of this, when and while he was yet mocked by his
enemies, his hands and feet were nailed to the cross, and in his
mind, while he was on that cross in this moment, he beheld all
of God's revelation. Remember, he's eternal. His mind's
perfect. You're talking, you're looking
at a perfect man here, sinless man here, a holy man here, a
harmless man here. So why wouldn't his mind be perfect?
Why wouldn't his mind be clear? And at this time, and he beheld
all of God's revelation from Genesis to Malachi. And he said,
it is finished. It is finished. And this is what
Bruce Crabtree and I was talking about this the other day. Our
blessed Savior, by the worth, worth of His glorious person, the worth of His person before
God, the worth of His person before heaven, the worth of His
person before us, He was able to endure in his six hours on
the cross, by his sufferings, by his sufferings and the agony
he endured, our everlasting punishment. I mean, how can one man suffer
so much, as many in such short space of time, and do for so
many people what they could not do for themselves? If you know
who he is, you can get it. Huh? Oh, listen. Our Lord Jesus Christ, how valuable,
how worth, how much worth is his person. And his person was
so virtuous, so sinless, so perfect. that God could look on him and
say, I find no fault. This man is perfect in my sight. But yet, when he was on that
cross, he was bearing people's sins in his own body on that
tree. And in six hours, he was able
to go through what you and I could not have ever satisfied God with
in eternity, separated from him. That's how valuable His person
is. That's how worthy He is. And our Lord Jesus Christ's suffering,
it can't be measured, can't measure it with our finite minds. But I do know this, that what
causes our eternal punishment, sin, He took it away. Our second death, which is the
punishment for sin, He took it away. He took it away. And I also know this, that what
He suffered on that cross, God accepted it for everyone for
whom He died. So I ask you the question, do
you reckon He died for you? Did He reckon He died for you?
I believe He died for me. Believe He died for me? So when
He said it is finished, when He said there in verse 30, it
is finished. What was comprehended in that
statement, in that declaration that our Lord gave? May God help
us to grasp it and understand it to a little degree. I know
this, that it comprehended all the types. You know the Old Testament
is full of types and pictures. Abel's sacrifice, Abel's lamb
was the type of our Lord Jesus Christ, a picture of him. Noah's
Ark, and let me tell you something about that. God, you know Noah
didn't say one day, he said, I think it's going to rain, so
I'm not going to make myself a boat. No, no, God came to him
and he found grace in the eyes of the Lord, and the Lord told
him what to do, and the Lord directed him what to do, and
the Lord told him how big to build it, and how to build it,
and what to put in it. So all those types, the Passover
lamb was a type of our Lord Jesus Christ. And all the promises
in this blessed book that was made to God's elect, that we
would one day receive and have in our hearts and possess our
Lord Jesus Christ comprehended all those prophets. And the prophecies,
all the prophecies in the scriptures were fulfilled and comprehended
in our Lord Jesus Christ. Now fully accomplished, ain't
that what he says there in verse 28? After this, Jesus, knowing
that all things were now accomplished, now listen to this, that the
scriptures might be fulfilled. Whoa! People say they ain't been
fulfilled yet. Only one thing left to do. All
of it's been fulfilled. The only thing has to happen
is for Christ to come get us. Huh? I've already got the promise. I've already had my sin put away.
I've already been given righteousness. I've already been accepted of
God. So all I'm waiting for is to
be called home. God already got the promise of
that. Huh? Where'd I get it at? Got it from
Christ, got it from God, before Christ ever come in, before Christ
ever died. I've got that promise. Where'd
you get it at? God! The whole book, the law and the
prophets were finished in our Lord Jesus Christ. You start
out in Genesis 3.15 where God said, would bruise, that Satan had
got, that the seed of the Roman would bruise his head, or his
heel, and he'd crush his head. Do you go all the way to Malachi,
when the servant of the Lord shall, the servant of the Lord
shall suddenly appear in his temple, and shall arise with
healing in his wings. And all the types, from that
red heifer, to the turtle doves, the chassah that was dipped in
the blood and sprinkled on the lintels of the doors when the
Passover lamb was coming through. And I tell you what, in all,
to Solomon's temple, in all of its glory, our Lord Jesus Christ
was greater than all of Solomon's glory, worth all the more than
Solomon's gold, greater than Solomon's temple because he was
the temple of God in this world. And I tell you what, all of them
were fulfilled in Him. Every prophecy, and I tell you
that Bible is full of them. Every prophecy was wrought out
in our Lord Jesus Christ. Now I want to, listen to me,
I want you to pay attention. You suppose we take away Christ
out of the Old Testament, take away Christ. Take, find you the
wisest man that you can find and you hand him just the Old
Testament now. You hand him just the Old Testament. And say, I've got a problem here
and I'll see if you can find and see if you can solve it.
Now you read this Old Testament here. You start in Genesis and
you go through the Old Testament and you Find in your mind an
ideal character who will fit exactly all that's prophesied
and promised in that old book, in that Old Testament. Huh? Oh my. That'd be a task, wouldn't
it? That'd be a task. I want to show
you something before I get into it. Look over here at Acts chapter
8. This is what I'm talking about.
Acts chapter 8. In verse 26, look what I'm talking
about here. Oh, construct in your imagination,
you wise men. I gave you the Bible, I gave
you the Old Testament. There's a lot of prophecies,
a lot of pictures, and a lot of promises in that book. I want you to tell me, find the
ideal character that'll fulfill those things. Here in verse 26,
it says, the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip. saying, Arise
and go toward the south, under the way that goeth down from
Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose, and behold,
a man of Ethiopia, and eunuch of great authority under Kendese,
queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasure,
had come to Jerusalem for to worship. He was returning and
sitting in his chariot and he was reading Isaias or Isaiah
the prophet. Then the spirit said unto Philip,
go near, go to that chariot and join yourself to it. And Philip
ran and caught up with him. and heard him reading, he is
reading out loud, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and
said, understandest thou what thou readest? Boy, that's a good
question, ain't it? Do you understand what you're
reading? How can you understand unless God gives you one? Now
watch what this man says. And here's the first thing he
said, how can I accept some man should guide me? I can't understand
unless somebody should guide me. That's what God calls preachers
to do. Huh? And listen to this now.
And he desired Philip, he stopped that chair and said, come up
here and sit with me now. And the place of the scripture
which he read was this, out of Isaiah 53. And this is what he
said, seven and eight. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
and like a lamb done before his shearer, so open not his mouth.
And his humiliation, oh, he was so humiliating. And his judgment
was taken away. And who shall declare his generation
for his life is taken from the earth? Now here's the question.
This is what this wise man's gotta find out, gotta answer.
And the eunuch answered and said, I pray thee, who's this prophet
talking about? Of himself or some other man? Is he talking about himself or
somebody else? Now watch what he says now. And
then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture
and preached unto him the Lord Jesus Christ. Where do you reckon
he started at? When he started out. So okay,
now let's go. That's what we're giving to this
wise man. Let's hand him that Old Testament.
this do like this youth the open unity who's this man talking
about now you remember he must be a prophet like Moses he must
be the captain of the Lord and host and fight all the battles
and conquer all the enemies of God's people he must be Aaron
a high priest that goes behind the veil and offers blood. And he must yet be called Melchizedek,
who is the most high prophet, the most high priest of the most
high God with no beginning and no ending. He must be both David
and he has to be Solomon. He got to be a king and he's
got to be the wisest man that ever lived. He must be Noah,
and you know what Noah means? His name means comforter, comforter. He's gotta be the prophet Jonah
and all the thanks fulfilled in Jonah. He's gotta spend three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth. He's got
to be Judah, out of whom Shiloh shall arise. And he's gotta be
Joseph. And you know Joseph, he must
be hated and despised of his brothers. He must be rejected
and sold and sold for money like our Lord was. He's got to be
put in prison. He's got to bear judgment for
something he didn't do. Then he's got to be raised up
out of there. and exalted to the highest position. And then he's got to be the only
one that's got the bread to feed anybody. Now remember these things. And I tell you, I said it, now
listen. It's what this old man, we got
to tell this old wise man said, he must be the lamb slain. And that was two girls, for one
was sins confessed over it. And he was let go by a fit man
out into the wilderness. He's got to be that scapegoat
who carries him all the way away. And he's got to be the fit man
that takes him and he's got to be that goat that all the sins
were laid on and were sacrificed. He's got to be the turtle dove
dipped in blood. He has to be the priest who slew
that bird and offered it. He must also be the altar, the
basin altar. He must be the incense altar. He must be the basin altar in
which sacrifices were offered. He must be that incense altar
made out of gold that made that incense go up before God. He must be the tabernacle. where
God dwells and man meets God and only there. He must be the
mercy seat behind that veil. And when you go in that tabernacle,
there's a right on the right hand side, there's a table full
of showbread. He gotta be that showbread. And
over here on the right, there's a light. Left. On the left, there's a light.
And in that light, he must be that light. Oh my, our Lord Jesus,
you reckon this fella find this man? All prophecies must meet in this
man, even though they seem to contradict. It says in there that all kings
shall fall down before him, yet he's also despised and rejected
of men. He must be born of a virgin. He must be a man without spot
and without blemish. And yet God causes all sin of
his people to meet on him. He must be a glorious king with
an everlasting throne, the son of David. And yet he must be
a root out of dry ground. Now, wise man, you've read that
book. You've read that book. Who is
this man? Who is he talking about? Who
is he talking about? What's the key that unlocks this
book that we gave to you? Well, I believe I found it. I
believe I found it. Believe I found the key. There's
only one man that can wear the dress of the Old Testament. And that's the Son of God, the
Lord Jesus Christ. That garment fits him perfectly.
But what about that cross? What about that cross? Oh, that's
part of the garment he's got to wear. What about that cup
that it talked about, that full of the wrath of God? He's gotta
drink that too. That goes with the garment. That
goes with the garment. And oh my, he said, in him we
see all things accomplished. It is finished. Everything is
summed up in that God and in that man, the Lord Jesus Christ. All those Old Testament sacrifices,
all those Old Testament sacrifices, from Abel's lamb to the last
lamb offered under that Old Covenant was fulfilled in him. Done. Oh my. And he was the one sacrifice,
after all those sacrifices were offered, he was that last sacrifice,
the perfect sacrifice, the blessed sacrifice, that when he offered
himself without spot before God, he put away sin once and for
all. And I tell you what, He satisfied
God. I tell you something else He
satisfied. He satisfied all the consciences of all the people
where that blood's been applied. Is your conscience asking for
anything else other than Him? Huh? You want something else to make
it satisfied? No, no. He satisfied our conscience. Not only satisfied them, but
purified them. Purified him. Oh my. When Isaac was taken up on that
mountain and Abraham went there, he was that ram caught in that
thicket. He was that ram. And you know,
when he talked about that three hours of darkness, I'm gonna
tell you what I think. I'm gonna quit preaching now,
I'm gonna tell you what I think. I'm gonna quit preaching, tell
you what I think. When our Lord Jesus Christ in that three hours
of darkness on the cross and no one seen, It says over in
Hebrews 9, it says over there in verse 12, that with, not with
the sacrifice of bulls and goats, not with the sacrifices of lambs,
but he entered once into the holy place with his own blood,
just like they did in the Old Testament. They were behind that
veil. But they took the blood of a lamb. But he entered once
in that three hours of darkness. He entered once into that holy
place. Not with the blood of others,
but with his own blood. He put it on God's altar. And
you can find that in Revelations 19 too. And it says this, he
entered there and put his own blood on that altar. And when
he came back out, when he came back out, now you got to remember
this is God and man. He's hanging on, why was there
three hours of darkness? He by his spirit went into that
presence of God and offered his blood and when he came out, you
know what he came out with? The eternal redemption. How long
is eternity? As long as me and you know. You know how much redemption
I got? Eternal. You know how eternal is? It reaches all the way back there.
It reaches all the way to there. That's what he got for his people. Oh my. Oh my. And then he got back on that
cross, went there by the Spirit. The darkness lifted. Darkness
went away. He said, it is finished. Our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished
this blessed redemption. I tell you what was finished,
His obedience, His perfect obedience to His Father is finished. For
sinful man, and that's what we are, that's what we are, we're
sinful men, sinful men. But yet for that sinful man to
be saved, the law must be kept. Every time you look at the Ten
Commandments, Don't, you're guilty of every
single one of them and 10,000 things beside. Before a man can
be saved, a sinful man can be saved, that law must be kept.
And a man must have a righteousness that God will accept. Christ
said, it is finished. I brought in everlasting righteousness
for my people. In fact, the scripture says,
Jehovah's a kid in you. The Lord, our righteous. Christ
is the end of the law for everyone that believeth. And he is the
end of the law in two ways. Let me tell you this. He was
the end of the law. He is the end of the law for
righteousness. That's for the man who fulfills the law. And
then he's the end of the law for death. Sin, the end of the
law is death for those who don't keep it, if you're going to be
justified by law. And then I tell you, He's the
end of the law, not only for righteousness, but also He brought
death to end at there on the cross. The end of the law, He
bore the curse of it. So I tell you what, when He come
to the end of the law, you and I's already been there in our
Savior. Oh my, obedience and it's curse. Now let me tell you something,
God can ask no more. Could God ask any more? The law
has received it's claim. It's been honored, it's been
magnified, it's been fulfilled. Justice can't ask for another
moment of obedience. It's done, it's finished, it's
complete. Look in Romans 8. Look in Romans
8. Let me tell you, this is what
happened. This is what happened. Romans
8. Oh my. Gary Spracker preached
here recently on the uttermost farthing. Has been paid, the
uttermost farthing. For a man can ever get out of
prison, the uttermost farthing has to be paid. And when that
uttermost farthing's been paid, the door is open, freedom's accomplished,
we get to go free. A debt's been paid, the uttermost
farthing. And look what it said here in
Romans 8, 32. He that spared not his own son,
Oh my. But delivered Him up, delivered
Him up to that cross, delivered Him up for our sin, delivered
Him up to His law, delivered Him up to condemnation and guilt,
delivered Him up for us all. Now listen to this, if He did
that, how shall He not with Him also freely, freely give us all
things? Now listen to it. Well, who's
gonna lay anything in charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who's
gonna condemn us? It's Christ that died. Not only
did He die, but yay, He's risen again. Well, where's He at? He's
at the right hand of God. That's where He's at. Ah, listen
beloved, the whip of God's law was worn out on him, worn out
on him, and it ain't got nothing for me. And I tell you it's lifted up
and wore out for those for whom he suffered. Scott Richardson,
this is where I got this at. He said, men die and then face
the judgment. Our Lord Jesus Christ faced the
judgment, then he died. when he died. He totally destroyed,
when he said it is finished, every enemy of our soul. Sin,
he bore it away. Satan, he crushed his head. Death,
he took away his sting and his power. And he took away the keys
of death and hell. Oh my! No wonder, he said, it
is finished. Upon a life, I did not live. Upon a death, I did not die. Another's death, another's life,
I cast my soul eternally. Bold shall I stand in that great
day, for who ought to my charge can lay. Fully absorbed by Christ
I am, from sin's tremendous curse and blame, it is finished. Hang your soul on that. Soak
your soul in that. Our Father in the blessed name,
precious name, glorious name, saving name, holy name, powerful
name, name that's above every name,
we come to bless you, come to praise you. Lord, we cannot begin
to comprehend what it means and understand what it means that
it is finished. But Lord, I thank you that what
little I know about it, I'm very thankful. What little I understand
about it, I'm very thankful. Because I do understand this
clearly, plainly, and believe it, that when you said it is
finished, my salvation and all your people's was eternally and
completely finished once and for all. You give us a full, a free, a
complete, eternal salvation. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Bless
your holy name. God bless the gospel to the hearts
of those gathered here today. For Christ's sake, amen. 125 in our hymn book. Let's stand
together and sing this. 125. Everybody ought to know this
one. We sang it enough, but oh my, what an appropriate song
today. The Savior say, thy strength
indeed is small. Child of weakness, watch and
pray. Find in me thine all in all. Jesus paid it all, all to Him. It had left a crimson stain He
washed it white as snow. Lord, now indeed I find Thy power
in Thine alone Can change the leper's spots And let the heart
of stone Oh, nothing good have I Whereby
thy grace to claim I'll wash my garbage wine In the blood
of Calvary's Lamb Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow. Before the throne, I stand in
hymn. Jesus died. My soul to save. My lips shall
still repeat. Jesus paid it all. Well, God willing, I'll see to
it.