Let's turn back to John chapter
19. I want to begin the message with
verse 28. It says, after this accusation brought by the chief
priest and the Jewish leaders, after The soldiers had harassed
him and humiliated him. After Pilate and the people had
gone through this mock trial and brought false witnesses to
testify against him, after these things and after
the soul and body, bodily agony of the cross. It says, after
all these things, our Lord Jesus knowing now that all things were
accomplished. After these things. This is the
last moment on the cross. His dying moment. Knowing that everything is accomplished.
all things accomplished." What things? Well, turn back to John
3. John chapter 3, verse 35. It
says, "...the Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into
his hands." I'm talking about all things. pertaining to the
everlasting covenant. The Father had delivered all
these things pertaining to his kingdom, his covenant, the redemption
of his people. He had delivered all those things
into the hands of Christ. Hebrews, it says, God brought
again from the dead. Our Lord Jesus Christ, that great
shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting
covenant, the everlasting covenant, made
in eternity in Christ, with Christ, for his people, his kingdom.
All of those things are committed to him. And he knows now that
they are all accomplished. They are all fulfilled. There
will be a new heaven and a new earth. Look at 2 Peter chapter
3. 2 Peter chapter 3. Peter says here
in chapter 3 of 2 Peter verse 12, looking far and hastening
unto the coming of the day of God when wherein the heavens,
being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with
fervent heat." The destruction of the old earth and the old
heavens. Nevertheless, we, according to
his promise, look for new heavens and a new
earth. There is going to be a new heavens and a new earth. Wherein
dwelleth righteousness, where sin never touched never defiled,
never entered, new heavens and a new earth. And that promise
was made in Christ. God put all of this in the hands
of his Son. And that's what it's saying here.
After this betrayal and denial and persecution and harassment
and mock trial and crucifixion of the Son of God, I was upon
the cross bearing our sins in his body on the tree. This is
all accomplished now and everything pertaining to that covenant,
pertaining to your redemption, my redemption, pertaining to
God's everlasting kingdom. There's going to be a new heaven
and new earth populated by people like Christ, conformed to his
image, righteous, holy, can't sin. Have no sin, can do no sin. We read about them. Let me read
for you in Revelation chapter 7. John saw this fulfilled. It says in Revelation 7 verse
9, After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man
could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and
tongues, stood before the throne. The ungodly are not so. The ungodly
shall not stand before the throne. They crumble. Who can stand in
his presence in the holy hill? Who shall ascend and stand in
it? We will someday. Stand before the throne. Unashamed,
not guilty, undefiled. Stand before the throne. And before the Lamb, clothed
in white robes, purity, holiness, palms in their hands, palms of
victory. And they cried with a loud voice,
salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne and unto the
Lamb." Look at Revelation 21. Revelation 21 describes this
time again. Revelation 21, verse 3. I heard a great voice out of
heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will
dwell with them. They shall be his God, and God
himself shall be with them and be their God." This is future.
This old world has got to be destroyed. Every enemy, everything
contrary to God in word, in thought, in act, in deed, in principle,
It's all got to be destroyed. The world, the old heavens, because
sin touched there. Satan, you know, rose up. He was sun of the morning, rising
morning star. Had great power, rebelled against
God. I saw Satan, Christ said, fall
from heaven as lightning. He'll be destroyed. All principalities
and powers and rulers of darkness, this earth, this world, the old
heavens will be destroyed to be a new heaven, a new earth,
wherein dwelleth perfect, absolute holiness, righteousness. And
that's what he's talking about here, the tabernacle of God with
men. Verse 4, And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes,
there will be no more death. That's the last enemy that will
be destroyed. No more death. No more sorrow. No more crying. Neither shall
there be any more pain. The former things are passed
away. And he that sat on the throne said, I make all things
new. And all things new are accomplished
by him in whose hands all things were delivered to be accomplished,
to be prepared, to be fulfilled, to be done. See, the curse has
got to be removed, for as the curse is found, got to be removed. The results of the curse, all
who are under the curse, all who contributed to the curse,
Satan, his everything, all things, all things, have got to be satisfied,
paid for, put away. And in Christ, all things become
new. And that's what he's saying here.
The Lord Jesus knowing by his incarnation, by his perfect life,
righteousness and holiness, by his substitutionary death, all
things are now accomplished, fulfilled, accomplished. Now,
I want you to turn to 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 15, here's
a scripture that I've read many times to you, I want you to read
it again and then at the last line I want us to focus on something
here. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 24, Then
come at the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom
to God. This kingdom is in his hands, the Lord Jesus. God put
everything in his hands. to redeem the people of the kingdom,
to put away the curse upon those people, to make them holy, to
give them a righteousness, perfect standing. And he said it's accomplished,
and he'll deliver up that kingdom to God, even the Father, when
he shall have put down all rule and all authority and all power
contrary to himself. He must reign. He always has,
is now, and always will, till he hath put all enemies under
his feet. The last enemies shall be destroyed. When we talk about under his
feet, that means to wipe them away, annihilate them. Do away
with them. Every enemy. Verse 27, God hath
put all things under his feet, in his hands, for him to accomplish. Now when God says all things
are put unto him, it is manifest that he is accepted that put
all things unto him. The father has never been unto
the son, or the son came to do the father's will. Now watch
this, and when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall
the son also himself be subject unto him that put all things
unto him. That God may be all and in all. Now let's go back to Revelation
a minute, 21. That God may be all. Verse 5,
And he that sat upon the throne said, Now I make all things new. And he said, You write, these
words are true and faithful. Revelation 23. That God may be
all and in all. Verse 3, Revelation 22, verse
3, there will be no more curse because he's put it away. But
the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it. His servants
shall serve Him. They'll see His face. His name
shall be in their forehead. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. No
opposing thought, no opposing word, no opposing principle or
act of nature. God is dwelling with them. And there'll be no night there.
Listen, verse 5. They won't need a candle. They
won't need the light of the sun. The Lord God giveth them light. He's there. He's all in that
kingdom. See, that kingdom that the Lord
Jesus, into whose hands God put all things pertaining thereunto
from before the foundation of the world. He accepted that responsibility,
the surety of the covenant, mediator of the new covenant. And this
world, under its curse and judgment, He came into this world, the
Son of God, the messenger of the covenant. And he met every
enemy, every power, every principality. He met all the curse, Satan,
sin, death, hell. Satisfied God's holiness. Put away all the curse and judgment. Redeemed the people. Gathered
them all up. And one day he'll deliver it
to the Father. He'll destroy the old heaven and old earth.
There'll be a new heaven, new earth, new kingdom. And we won't
need a sun or moon. He's the light. He's our glory. He's our happiness. He's our
joy. That God may be all and in all.
There's no opposing forces. There's nothing contrary to Him.
Those people are like Him. They're one in Him. The glory
which you give me, I've given to Him. And He's accomplished
that. It's not accomplished by coming
down here and shaking hands with a preacher or joining a church
or turning from your this way and that way to another way.
It's all in Him. It's a gift of God, the unspeakable
gift of God. Accomplished by Christ and given
to His people. And it's fully accomplished.
When we read this verse 28, Jesus knowing that Everything is now
accomplished. Full tale. It's ours. Even the creation is awaiting
the revelation of the sons of God. Everything is just paused. All this is an act being played
out. A play being drawn to its conclusion. Scene 1, 2, and 3. Act 2, scene
1, 2, 3, 4. Act 3, that's the last act. Scene 1, 2, and I believe we're
in scene 3 of Act 3. And everybody's played his part,
done his thing, and it's over. And our Lord delivered up the
kingdom to his power. New kingdom, covenant. And all
this other is wiped out and done away with, annihilated, that
God may be all. And he knew it was accomplished.
Look here at verse 29. Let me show you one other scripture
on this. Isaiah 61. This is what he said down there
in Nazareth. The scripture he turned to and
read. Isaiah 61, verse 1, Spirit of
the Lord God is upon me. He hath anointed me. to preach
the good tidings to the meek. He has sent me to bind up the
broken heart. He'll do it, because God sent
him to do it. He sent me to proclaim liberty
to the captives. He sent me to open the prison
to them that are bound. He sent me to proclaim this year
of jubilee, this acceptable year of the Lord, the day of vengeance of our God.
to comfort all that mourn, to give them, appoint unto them
that mourn in Zion, give them beauty for ashes, the oil of
joy for their mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of happiness,
that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting
of the Lord, that He might be glorified, that God
may be all and in all. This is accomplished. After this,
not without this, after all this, he'll see the travail of his
soul and be satisfied. All right, let's go back to our
text, John 19. Accomplished that the scripture
might be fulfilled. And that's all, the whole Old
Testament, the scriptures, points to this hour, to this day. This
is what the Passover is all about. This is what the brazen serpent
lifted up is all about. This is the promise of God in
the garden to Adam and Eve, the seed of woman, the messenger
of the covenant, the cities of refuge, the tabernacle, the atonement,
the mercy seat. This is the Scriptures, and it's
fulfilled. He said, I thirst. Now, let's
look at this. They were set a vessel full of
vinegar. And they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon
Hyssop, and put it to his mouth." This is prophesied over in Psalm
22. Turn there just a moment. This
is a scripture that might be fulfilled. Psalm 22, verse 15.
He's talking about hanging on the cross, Verse 14, I'm poured out like
water, all my bones are out of joints, stretching on that cross. My heart is like wax, it's melted
in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like
a potsherd, my tongue cleaveth to my jaws. Thou hast brought
me to the dust of death, thirst, indescribable thirst. After this
trial and beating in the soldiers' hall, nobody gave him a drink
of water. He's bearing his cross out there
outside the walls of Jerusalem in the new burning heat of that
sun, hanging on that cross, fever high, his wounds bleeding. My tongue cleaves to my jaws. I thirst. This vessel full of vinegar is
a sour wine. That's what it is, vinegar, a
sour wine. It's called a soldier's drink. A soldier's drink. Now, we see
our Lord in the hands of God. It pleased the Lord to bruise
Him. The death of our Lord Jesus Christ, all of this after these
things, the mocking, the trial, Humiliation to death is ordained
of God. You see, He's taken what we deserve. He's taken our place, our judgment,
our sins, our shame. Everything that He's going through,
He's doing it for His people. He's doing it for His people.
All of this. And he's in the hands of God.
He's smitten of God and afflicted. This is prophesied before the
foundation of the world. Lamb slain. You see? We see him
in the hands of Satan. It's said over there in Genesis
that this Messiah will crush Satan's head, but Satan will
bruise his heel. All that these people, when those
soldiers slapped his face spit in his face, and crushed that
crown of thorns down on his head. Why did they put a crown, a purple
robe, a reed? They are mocking him as a king. He was mocked as a king. He was
accused of being a king, of professing to be a king. He was crucified
and the judgment over his head, this is the king of the Jews. They resented him as a king. They said, we'll not have this
man reign over us. Won't do it. So he's in the hands
of God. God smote him and pleased God
to bruise him. He's in the hands of Satan. And
Satan is the instigator of much of this. But now watch this.
He's in the hands of men. Turn to Psalm 69. I heard a preacher say one time,
if I'd been there, I'd have stood for Him. If I'd have been there,
I'd have stopped that awful, awful sin. If we'd have been
there, we'd have been crying the same thing they cried, crucify
Him. Crucify Him. Because there's no goodness in
us. No goodness in any man. Listen to this. Psalm 69, verse
20. This is our Lord speaking again. Verse 19, Psalm 69. Thou hast
known my reproach and my shame, my dishonor, my adversaries are
all before thee. Reproach hath broken my heart. I am full of heaviness. I looked
for someone to take pity, but there was none. I looked for
comforters. I found none. I said I'm thirsty. They gave me also gall for my
meat. In my thirst they gave me vinegar
to drink. That's man. I thirst. And they took old sour vinegar,
put it on a sponge, bathed his face in it. Verse 22, let their table become
a snare before them. That which should have been for
their welfare, let it become a trap. We deserve it. Let their eyes be darkened, they
shall not see. Let their loins continuously
shake. Pour out your indignation upon
them. Let thy wrathful anger take hold
of them. Let their habitation be desolate.
Let none dwell in their tents. They persecute him whom thou
hast sinned. Please God to bruise him. But
man, men, they persecuted him, even in his dying hour, lending
him no comfort, no pity, no relief. I thirst, laughingly, vinegar. And I'll show you something else
in this text, John 19, that reached out and broke my heart. It says in verse 31, the Jews
therefore, because it was the preparation that their bodies
should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day, their Sabbath
was coming up. It was a high day. You know,
these Jews, It was late in the afternoon and the Jew's Sabbath
began at sunset. The Sabbath, the seventh day, was not Saturday morning to Saturday
evening. It was Friday night to Saturday
night, 6 o'clock Friday night. He was on that cross. And they
was getting ready to observe the Passover. It's just staggering. Here's the Lord's Passover on
the cross. The Passover points to the Lamb without blemish or
spot, smitten, slain, His blood poured out for His people to
deliver them from bondage. And they've crucified Him. And
they're saying to Pilate, now, our Sabbath day is in just a
little while. Let's get Him down from the cross.
so that he won't defile that holy day. We don't want him hanging
on that cross out there and these thieves on those crosses when
we are worshiping God and observing our holy, hallowed Sabbath day
and Passover. So break their legs. Just think
of the torment these men are hanging on the cross. Break their
legs. Take away their final support,
the horrible thing. Take a rod and break their legs. Hasten their death so we can
get them down so we can go worship God. Oh, the hypocrisy. Not concerned over crucifying
an innocent man. Only concerned that their holy
days will be defiled. Their traditions will be interrupted.
But read on verse 32, the soldiers, they break the legs of the first
and break the legs of the other that is crucified with him. Verse
33, but when they came to Jesus, they saw he was dead already.
They break not his legs. Of course, that's that the Scripture
might be fulfilled, not a bone of him shall be broken. But one
of the soldiers, verse 34, Knowing he was dead already, here is
the evil heart of men. Knowing he was dead already,
took a spear and jammed it into his side. Here is the dead body
of this, the man, the man of all men, the Holy One. Went about doing good, did no
man any harm. And yet this human being, this
son of Adam, this depraved, fallen creature, saw he was dead already,
couldn't break his leg, God wouldn't let him. Not a bone of him shall
be broken. Ice over that. But he couldn't
be satisfied to walk away. He's got to take his spear and
see if he can humiliate him a little more. Jam it in his side. That's Christ in the hands of
men. Let's go back over here to verse
30. It says in verse 29, they filled a sponge with vinegar
and put it in his mouth. And then verse 30, when Jesus
therefore had received the vinegar, he said, it's finished. It's
finished. What's finished? What's finished? You know, he prayed in John 17
before he ever went to this cross. I finished the work you gave
me to do." Well, the father's business is finished. First words
that are recorded on this earth, spoken by our Lord, I must be
about my father's business. But it's finished. The will of
the father is finished. He said, Lo, I come, and the
volume of the book is written of me to do thy will. This is
the will of him that sent me, that of all that he hath given
me, I'll lose nothing but raise it up. It's finished. The Old
Testament laws and types and shadows. It's finished. Full appeal. Passover, mercy
seat, tabernacle, high priest, atonement, the righteousness
of His people. Finished. The old timers talked
about the active obedience of our Lord and the passive obedience
of our Lord. In His active obedience, From
the cradle to the cross. He went about doing good. He
loved. He was holy. He was submissive
to the Father's will. He did no sin. He actively obeyed
God. And that's our holiness. He is
passive. Now watch this. From the time
he stood before Pilate to the time he said it's finished. That's
passive obedience. As a lamb before her slaughters,
no objection, no word of rebuke, open not his mouth. Isn't that
right? Passive. Do what you will to me. When
they slapped him, spit on him, accused him of being a devil, are you a king? Where did you
come from? Drive a nail in his hand? Not
a word. Obedience. Obedience. It's finished. Righteousness
of his people, atonement, sin, death is finished. When he died,
we died. It's finished. The curse of the
law, finished. And I'll tell you something else. When he said to his disciples,
his poor, depressed, broken-hearted disciples who stood before him,
knowing he's going to go through this, he said, don't let your heart
be troubled. You believe in God, you believe in me. In my Father's
house are many dwelling places, and I go. I go to Jerusalem,
I go to the soldiers hall, I go to Pilate's judgment pavement,
I go to that cross, I go to the grave, I go to heaven to prepare
for you a place. And let me tell you something,
he ain't working on it now. It's finished. It's finished. That's our hope. It's finished. You know when
that soldier pierced his side, out came blood and water. You
see that here in verse 34. One of the soldiers pierced with
a spear, pierced his side, and forthwith came out blood and
water. In the Old Testament, when the
priests were going about the work of the tabernacle, the atonement,
Sacrifices. Those two elements were constantly
in use. Water to purify, to cleanse. Before the priest came into the
presence of God, his garments were washed in pure water, his
body was washed in pure water. Before he went into the tabernacle,
again, his feet and hands were washed with water. That's our
sanctification, cleansing with water. The blood is justification, the
cleansing of our souls, the putting away of our guilt. So Christ
gives us a holiness before God, sanctified. And he gives us a
right standing before God, justified. Cleansed from sin and without
sin. And that's what he's talking
about. Out came his blood and water. to sanctify, blood to
justify. The law doesn't do either one.
It neither justifies nor sanctifies. It's the blood. It's the blood. Well, let me read the closing
verses of this chapter. There's some hope for some people
that were questionable. Verse 35, he that saw it, John's
talking about himself here, and bear record it is true, he knoweth
that he saith true that you might believe. John wrote about this
in 1 John 5, the blood and the water. He said, this is he of
whom it's written. For these things were done that
the scripture should be fulfilled, a bone of him shall not be broken.
And again, another scripture, they looked upon him whom they
pierced. And after this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple
of Jesus, but secretly, this man, during our Lord's ministry
on the earth, admired Him and respected Him and somehow believed
on Him, but he was afraid. But after our Lord died, it says,
for fear of the Jews, but after our Lord died, he boldly came
to Pilate and besought him that he might
take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him leave. He
came therefore and took the body of Jesus. This man is identifying
here with the Lord. There was a day when he didn't
because of fear. His fear seems to be gone after
this. And when you and I see, not with
these eyes like he did, but with the heart, what Christ endured
for us, our fear of man will be gone too. And our embarrassment
will be gone. Our shame at being identified
with him will be gone. We'll boldly come and say I'm
his friend. I know him. And there came also
Nicodemus. Now here's a fellow that never
did come except by night. But he comes by day this time.
Which is the first came to Jesus by night and he brought a mixture
of myrrh. He was a Pharisee. and alloys
about a hundred pound weight. And then they, Arimathea Joseph
of Arimathea and Nicodemus, took the body of Jesus, wound it in
linen clothes with the spices." Where's Peter, James, and John?
But nevertheless, here are these men. "...as the man of the Jews
is to bury." Now in the place where he was crucified, there
was a garden, and in that garden, a new sepulchre. This is Joseph's
sepulcher, the rich man. Christ can't be placed in a common
grave. He's got to be placed in a place
where man has never laid. There's never been a body buried,
because when he comes forth, it's got to be declared he came
forth, not another. He was buried in a sepulcher
wherein man has never laid. This wasn't a hole in the ground,
this was a cave. The Lord's humiliation is accomplished. He's buried in the best grave. Humiliation is over. He's glorified. He's glorified now. And I'm not
trying to get anybody to feel sorry for the Lord. Weep not
for me. He's King. He's glorified. All
things are under His feet. Then laid there Jesus, therefore,
because of the Jews' preparation day, for the sepulchre was nigh
at hand." All things are now accomplished. Thank God for the substitution,
our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope the Lord will bless that.