I tread ever so reverently here, on this holy ground before the Cross of Christ.
As we enter into this most holy of holy days, I strain to hear the sounds heaven hears.
The frenzy,
The fear,
The fury.
The Rejection,
The Betrayal,
The Scattering,
The Suffering—
it was all foretold.
One of the hardest chapters to read in the whole Bible is Isaiah 53. This heart-wrenching prophecy of the suffering of our Savior, God’s Righteous Servant, held—of all things—promise.
As hard as it is to stomach—the injustice and cruelty—all Jesus suffered accomplished what God had promised long before: the justification of multitudes.
It doesn’t discount His agony in the face of such suffering, however. For we read Jesus “began to be deeply distressed and troubled. ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,’ he said to them” (Mk 14:33b-34a).
But, just as He said; “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again” (Mk 8:31), so it was. His death held promise. In revealing the most wretched atrocity, God delivered a promise of victory.
So, with complete trust in the Father, and that promise to possess, Jesus endured immense suffering. A suffering inflicted by hate . . . yet endured by a love and mercy toward the recipients of its grace.
The crucifixion was fully known to Jesus, but it was still His choice,
His will,
His passion,
and His resolve to suffer it.
In complete trust, obedience, and love of the Father He fulfilled the will of God to the utmost degree.
And from the Cross He strained, “Tetelestai."
This stated "Finished" was as a blanket covering all the duties foretold of God’s Messiah.
For Jesus, His finished work included many varied things.
His mission was complete—nothing left undone;
The battle of temptation over;
His suffering at its end.
Redemption accomplished;
Salvation secured;
Divine atonement made;
His sacrifice perfect.
The Law fulfilled;
The Old Covenant closed;
The sacrificial system obsolete.
The debt of sin paid.
Reconciliation made;
Justice satisfied.
All that—and more—completed, perfected . . . finished.
Tetelestai!
This, His victory cry of triumph.
What Jesus declared finished grants us an eternal beginning.
The end of His earthly life bought for us eternal life. His death opened the door to heaven for all who believe His salvation is an accomplished fact.
The Father’s will was done on earth, just as it was formed in heaven before the Word became flesh.
This instrument of torture became a tool for God’s use. And the evil plotting of man was overcome by God’s sovereign plan.
Tetelestai – it’s the most profound word Jesus utters.
For it is a declaration.
A statement of success.
A promise.
Jesus endured the Cross by the power of His passion. And our response should, too, be one of undying passion--in the shadow of the Cross.
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