The gospel of the cross was the great message which the Holy Spirit impressed upon the hearts of the disciples. He makes the crucified Christ a reality in our lives as He is the Rock upon which our lives are built. Identification with Jesus Christ is also foundational to sanctification as a second work or grace. If we die with Him we will also live with Him. Paul said he preaches Christ crucified (1 Cor. 1:23). A person can only be saved after proclaiming to him or her the message that Jesus shed His blood for the atoning of sins on the cross. We are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth to be a propitiation by His blood through faith” (Rom. 3:24-25).
During the six hours when Jesus laid down His life on the cross (that was from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. – in Israel it is between the 3rd and 9th hours of the day) He talked very little. The seven pronouncements which He did make jointly took less than a minute to utter. Nevertheless, they were the most meaningful words of forgiveness, saving grace, comfort and victory over the powers of Satan which Jesus had spoken in the midst of intense agony of death. These words were the following:
1. “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do” (Luke 23:34). Jesus demonstrated His boundless love and grace when He prayed for His trespassers during His condemnation and execution. Before His crucifixion He already prayed for the spiritually blind residents of Jerusalem. They faced great anxiety and international dispersion because they did not know the time when God visited them through His Son. The prayer which Jesus offered on the cross for the pardon of His trespassers was heard during the subsequent centuries when thousands of Jews accepted Jesus as their Messiah. In the end-time there will also be a large group of Jews who will look on Him whom they have pierced, and grieve for Him (Zech. 12:10).
2. “When Jesus therefore saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, Woman, behold your son! Then He said to the disciple, Behold your mother! And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home” (John 19:26-27).
With this arrangement Jesus had far more in mind than caring for His mother Mary. He also committed His mother (Israel) to the care of His disciples (the church). In the Bible Israel is often likened to a married woman of whom the Messiah would be born. In Isaiah 54:5 Israel is depicted as a married woman, and in Revelation 12:4-6 as a woman with her male Child, Jesus, who will rule all nations with a rod of iron.
The church certainly has an obligation to comfort and encourage Israel. We are called upon to provoke them to jealousy by the way in which we serve the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob through this woman’s Son, Jesus (Rom. 11:11-12).
3. “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Initially, the thieves who were crucified with Jesus both reviled and insulted Him (Matt. 27:44). Later, the one thief was strongly convicted of his own wickedness and of the innocence and righteousness of Jesus. He then begged for mercy (Luke 23:39-42). The Lord Jesus immediately reacted to this change of heart, and gave the repentant sinner the assurance of eternal life. In this way He honoured a promise which is still valid today: “The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37).
From the wonderful repentance of a stubborn sinner on the cross we know that Jesus is the great Physician who came to save spiritually dying people. He did not come for those who justify themselves and think they do not need His saving grace. We also know that there is no sin which is so big that it cannot immediately and completely be forgiven. Furthermore, we know there is grace for everyone who has entered the valley of the shadow of death, as long as he or stretches out the hand of faith to the Lord Jesus.
4. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46). Between 12 noon and 3 p.m. when Jesus died on the cross there was darkness upon the whole land (Mark 15:33). That was an overt indication that, spiritually speaking, the dark clouds of humanity’s sin had descended upon Jesus and separated the Son from His heavenly Father. As an innocent Person, Jesus willingly took the place of convicted sinners so that the sin of lost humanity could be laid upon Him to pay the just penalty for all sinners. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5).
The Father has laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all (Isa. 53:6), thereby making Him the object of His divine wrath. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). At that critical moment when the Son was covered by lost humanity’s burden of sin the Father looked away. Jesus was dying and during those agonising moments of laying down His life on the cross He cried out in His human nature: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” He took the place of all lost sinners who were forsaken by God, and was surrounded by the darkness of divine wrath and judgement.
5. “I thirst!” (John 19:28). People who were crucified experienced an intense thirst when they were nearing death, and yearned for water. In a Messianic Psalm which prophetically refers to the death of Jesus, David said: “My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue clings to my jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death” (Ps. 22:15).
The death of Christ was much more severe than ordinary people’s death. He was confronted by fallen humanity’s total burden of sin and had to lay down His life under the extreme wrath and judgement of God: “My heart is like wax. It has melted within Me” (Ps. 22:14). He was indeed forsaken by God in a place where perpetual thirst prevails. The lost rich man was vividly conscious of his thirst when he opened his eye in Hades (Luke 16:24). Jesus served the full penalty for our sins.
It was shortly before His death when Jesus was forsaken by God and experienced immense thirst. The events of these critical moments emphasise the clear contradistinctions of His crucifixion:
· The big antithesis from which all the others arise is that Jesus died so that we can live (John 3:16).
· Jesus was forsaken by God so we will never be forsaken by God once we are reconciled with Him through Christ (Heb. 13:5).
· Because Jesus experienced the thirst of death He can quench our spiritual thirst so we will never again be thirsty (John 4:14; 6:35).
· He hanged naked on the cross so we can be clothed with the garments of salvation (John 19:23; Rom. 13:14; Rev. 3:18).
· He became poor so that we, through His poverty, might become rich in God’s grace (2 Cor. 8:9).
6. “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit” (Luke 23:46). Jesus laid down His life and commended His spirit into the hands of His Father. He did it willingly and consciously (John 10:17-18). Directly afterwards, with His last breath, He cried out:
7. “It is finished” (John 19:30). The Greek version of the dying word of Jesus is tetelestai. To fully comprehend the significance of the word tetelestai that was uttered by Jesus at the moment of His death, we should briefly investigate its applications during the first century. This word was more meaningful to those people than to us today, and we will do well to retrieve its original meaning.
Fully paid. In the first instance, according to the Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, the word tetelestai was used as the first word on a receipt. It therefore coveys the meaning of fully paid. Have you ever considered the fact that Jesus actually bought you when He shed His blood and gave His life for you? Paul reminds us of this truth: “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:20). Peter said: “...you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct... but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:18-19). The testimony of the elders in heaven confirms their full realisation that they have been bought with the blood of the Lamb, when they sang: “You were slain (sacrificed) and with Your blood You purchased men unto God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev. 5:9 AB).
Do you have the assurance that the price for your sins has been fully paid? Do you comply with the condition of repentance and confession of your sins to have them forgiven? The Word of God says: “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy” (Prov. 28:13; see also 1 John 1:8-9). After conversion, we ought to walk with the Lord and keep our record clean by confessing all sins of which the Holy Spirit convicts us (1 John 2:1-2). Do you have fresh date stamps on your receipt?
The Corinthians were very carnal due to a lax attitude, and this disposition seriously hampered their spiritual growth to maturity (1 Cor. 3:1-3,16). Don’t enter the new life with a heritage of carnal attitudes and unconfessed sins. They will eventually cripple you spiritually. Jesus has paid the full price to do a complete work in your life. He wants to save and sanctify you. Don’t leave the throne of grace with hidden sins that have not been confessed and forsaken.
Sentence served. During the first century it was common practice to nail the charge-sheet of a prisoner to his cell-door. The offences for which he was convicted were written on the charge-sheet, as well as the penalty imposed upon him. After he served his sentence, the charge-sheet was removed from the door and cancelled by writing across it in big letters: Tetelestai (Fully served). It was then given to him and nobody could ever charge him again for these offences. He had paid the price for his trespasses in full by serving the entire sentence.
In a spiritual sense all human beings are captives of Satan, “for all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23). They find themselves in his death cells awaiting their trial before the great white throne where they will be condemned to eternal death. The prison master is the devil, and no person can free himself of his own accord from this severe bondage, or from the death sentence imposed upon him. To save lost sinners, Jesus Christ willingly served the death sentence that has already in principle been imposed upon all sinners (Rom. 6:23). After His resurrection from the grave, He is in a position to cancel the charge-sheet of every lost sinner by writing in red letters with His blood across it: Tetelestai – Sentence served.
“You were dead in sins, and your sinful desires were not yet cut away. Then He gave you a share in the very life of Christ, for He forgave all your sins, and blotted out the charges proved against you, the list of his commandments which you had not obeyed. He took this list of sins and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross” (Col. 2:13-14 LB). The Saviour was indeed sent to earth “to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house” (Isa. 42:7 KJV). His mission to free those who are spiritual captives of Satan, is also reiterated in Isaiah 61: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound” (Isa. 61:1).
Have all the sins of which the devil accuses you before the throne of God been blotted out by the blood of the Lamb? If so, nobody can ever accuse you again for those sins, no matter how serious they were, because the sentence for them has been fully served.
Victory gained. A third usage of the term tetelestai was related to successful military campaigns against the enemy. When a general returned from the battle-field and paraded his captives of war in the streets of Rome, he proclaimed his victory by shouting: Tetelestai... tetelestai... By this victory shout a clear statement was made that the enemy was conquered and its power broken: mission accomplished!
Although it was His dying-word on the cross, Jesus also proclaimed His victory over the enemy with the shout: Tetelestai! To die was a major victory for Jesus, “that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14). “Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (Col. 2:15).
Jesus conquered the enemy, but has not yet obliterated him. The devil is still very active on earth, therefore we are called upon to share in the victory of Calvary and become “more than conquerors through Him that loved us” (Rom. 8:37). There is a battle to be fought and a victory to be gained.
These were highly dramatic moments when Jesus laid down His life on the cross to become the Saviour of a lost world. It introduced the dispensation of the New Testament, which made a wonderful difference in the relationship between God and mankind. The veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom (Matt. 27:51). This ensured free access to the throne of grace for every person. During Old Testament times, only the high priest could enter the Holy of holies once a year to bring a blood sacrifice for the atonement of Israel’s sins. However, the broken body and shed blood of Jesus were part of a once for all sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world. Lost sinners who accept this sacrifice by faith don’t need human mediators, such as priests, to approach the throne of grace on their behalf:
“Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Heb. 10:19-22).
A big earthquake occurred at the moment that Jesus died, and many of the deceased saints rose from their graves when Jesus was resurrected (Matt. 27:51-53). Jesus broke the power of death so it cannot contain and lay hold of those who have received the gift of eternal life. Jesus said: “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, even though he dies, he shall live” (John 11:25).
After the three hour long darkness which prevailed immediately prior to the death of Jesus, the sunlight burst through the clouds and shone vividly. Golgotha was bathed in a new lustre and the testimony of these events would, through the centuries, dispel the darkness of sin and lostness in the lives of millions of people. Everyone of us who has become a partaker of His saving grace has been sent to proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvellous light (1 Pet. 2:9).
When the Roman soldiers “saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, Truly, this was the Son of God!” (Matt. 27:54). Even heathen people, who were ignorant of Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament, came trembling to the conclusion that Jesus is the Son of God. The Lord offers reconciliation through the blood of Christ to people from every nation, tongue and tribe, even to the ends of the earth.
Because Jesus was prepared to make Himself of no reputation and descend to the lowest depths of dying on a cross in the place of lost sinners, God raised Him from the dead. He highly exalted Him and gave Him a name which above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:6-11).
Every person on earth will have to bow the knee before Jesus Christ and confess that He is Lord and God. It is the duty of believers to prepare all people for an encounter with Christ. They are invited to bow before His throne of grace now to receive Him as their Saviour. If they refuse the offer they will, on judgement day, appear before Him at the great white throne where He will condemn them to the lake of fire. He is either your Saviour who has saved your soul, or He will be your Judge to condemn you to hell because of your sin and unbelief (cf. Acts 17:30-31).
The shadows of the church dispensation are stretching and time is running out. Let us make the most of the remaining time by redeeming it to serve the Lord and extend His kingdom on earth. Like Jesus, we should be urgent about our mission: “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4). The night of God’s judgements in the great tribulation is rapidly approaching and there is still much unfinished business in His kingdom to be done before the trumpet will sound. The lost must be saved and Christians must be prepared to appear before the heavenly Bridegroom.