It Is Finished

John 19:16b-42

Key verse 30a

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” 

Read verses 16b-24. Why was Jesus crucified in the middle of the two others in Golgotha? (Isaiah 53:12) What does the sign (“Jesus of Nazareth” “King of the Jews”) mean? (19-20) Why did the chief priests protest? (21) How did the soldiers’ deeds fulfill the scripture? (24; Psalm 22:18)

 Read verses 25-30. Who stood near the cross? (25) How did Jesus take care of his mother? (26,27, Lk 2:35) What does Jesus’ cry, “I am thirsty” reveal about him? (28) What does Jesus mean by saying, “It is finished”?

 

Read verses 31-37. Why didn’t the soldiers break the legs of Jesus despite the request of the Jews? (31-33) What did the sudden flow of blood and water mean? (34) Why was the writer’s testimony true? (35) How do these things fulfill the scripture? (36, 37) 

Read verses 38-42. Who buried Jesus? (38,39) How were Joseph and Nicodemus changed by Jesus’ death? (38, 39) Find how many times the scripture has been fulfilled throughout this passage? 

It is finished

John 19:16b-42

Key verse 30a

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”

Introduction:

This passage shows Jesus’ crucifixion very vividly. The author, John who identified himself as the disciple whom Jesus beloved, was the reliable witness by standing just beneath the cross together with several women. However he could later convince others to put their firm faith and take root in Jesus through the Scriptures. May the Lord help us to examine this passage and come out like him as a powerful testimony sharer and a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ.  

1. Read verses 16b-24. Why was Jesus crucified in the middle of the two others in Golgotha? (Isaiah 53:12) What does the sign (“Jesus of Nazareth” “King of the Jews”) mean? (19-20) Why did chief priests protest? (21) How did the soldiers’ deeds fulfill the scripture? (24; Psalm 22:18)

Read verses 16b-24. 

  So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle. 19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 20Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”  22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

 23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. 24 “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, “They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.”So this is what the soldiers did.

Why was Jesus crucified in the middle of the two others in Golgotha? (Isa 53:12) 

 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors

Golgotha: the place called skull- it is the meaningful area throughout history. 

a) For instance, in Genesis 22 God commanded Abraham to go to the mount of Moriah to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering. 

He had to make a three day trip from Beersheba to Moriah (the hill portion of Jerusalem). 

b) According to the original desire and at God’s right time, Solomon built the temple in the same area.

c) Golgotha is slightly located to the north compared to Moriah and temple (according to map)

Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

First, Crucifixion is one of the worst method of executions that human beings had ever made. 

The victim was stripped naked. Iron spikes were driven through the wrists (median nerve) and feet, splitting the bones to cause the most excruciating pain directly on nerves. 

The victim was then raised up from the ground and left to die slowly. Sometimes death would not come for several days. 

The body would be left on the cross to be eaten by vultures. Notably, the author does not say the detail, rather he simply writes, “Here they crucified him...”

Second, Jesus was not alone. Luke calls the two men “criminals” (Lk 23:32); Matthew and Mark call them “robbers” (Mt 27:38, Mk 15:27). 

These nameless men were human beings. They were not innocent. But they probably didn’t think they deserved to die, at least not like this. 

As the soldiers stretched out their arms and picked up the nails, these men might have thought “I can’t believe this is happening to me.” 

They couldn’t believe that this is how their lives would end. Perhaps they prayed, “O

God, stop this from happening. I promise that if you save me now, I’ll be good for the

rest of my life.” 

God didn’t stop it. The nails went in, and the crosses went up. God didn’t save his Son Jesus either. The cross of Jesus went up too, right in the middle between the two criminals.

Third, The words “Jesus in the middle” are quite revealing. These words show that

Jesus died as a criminal. He participated in human suffering. Jesus did not deserve to suffer like a criminal.

Yet Jesus entered into the sinful humanity. Jesus had fellowship with tax collectors, wayward women, and others rejected by society. 

Fourth, Jesus went up on a cross and had “crucifixion fellowship” with two thieves.

One of the two thieves mocked Jesus. But the other was convinced that Jesus was innocent. He understood that Jesus was not a man. He said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 

Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Lk 23:42-43). 

Fifth, “Jesus in the middle” shows us that, no matter why we are suffering, the holy Son

of God completely stays with us and understands our suffering. 

What does the sign (“Jesus of Nazareth” “King of the Jews”) mean? (19-20) 

“Jesus of Nazareth”

Mattew 2:19-23.

19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

 21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 

23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through he prophets: “He twill be called a Nazarene.” (HYPERLINK "http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Psalm%2022.6"PsalmHYPERLINK "http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Psalm%2022.6" 22:6, HYPERLINK "http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Psalm%2022.13"13; HYPERLINK "http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Psalm%2069.10"69:10; HYPERLINK "http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Isaiah%2049.7"IsaiahHYPERLINK "http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Isaiah%2049.7" 49:7;HYPERLINK "http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Isaiah%2053.3"53:3; HYPERLINK "http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Micah%205.1"MicahHYPERLINK "http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Micah%205.1" 5:1). 

Nazareth held the Roman garrison for the northern areas of Galilee. Therefore, the Jews would have little to do with this place and largely despised it. 

In HYPERLINK "http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/John%201.46"JohnHYPERLINK "http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/John%201.46" 1:46, "And Nathanael said to him, 'Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?' Philip said to him, 'Come and see.'" to overcome his prejudice. 

In HYPERLINK "http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Isaiah%2011.1"IsaiahHYPERLINK "http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Isaiah%2011.1" 11:1 it says, "Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit." 

In Hebrew, the word for "branch" is netzer, "NZR" which letters are included in NaZaReth. 

 “King of the Jews” 

First, Jesus was a good shepherd for God’s people. Jesus healed the sick. He gave sight to the blind. He preached the good news of the kingdom of God. He became the Father of orphan-like people. 

Second, “The King of the Jews” is also the title of the promised Messiah. The Jews were eagerly looking forward to the coming of this king. But when he came, they rejected him. 

In their sin and spiritual blindness, they crucified him. Now this king was on the cross, shedding his blood for the sins of the world. But he was still their King.

Third, John the apostle received a vision from God about what was actually going on in heaven. 

Revelation chapter 5:6, 11-13 read;

“Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne,

encircled by the four living creatures and the elders“ “Then I looked and heard

the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand

times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders.

In a loud voice they sang: ‘Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and

wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’ Then I heard every

creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in

them, singing: ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and

glory and power, for ever and ever!’ Then the four living creatures said, ‘Amen,’ and the

elders fell down and worshiped” 

Why did chief priests protest? (21) 

They had hard time in accepting Jesus as the King of the Jews or the Messiah.

How did the soldiers’ deeds fulfill the scripture? (24; Ps 22:18)

Ps 22:18 They divide my garments among them 

   and cast lots for my clothing.

2. Read verses 25-30. Who stood near the cross? (25) How did Jesus take care of his mother? (26,27, Lk 2:35) What does Jesus’ cry, “I am thirsty,” reveal about him? (28) What does Jesus mean “It is finished”?

 

Read verses 25-30. 

25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home. 28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Who stood near the cross? (25) 

his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby,

How did Jesus take care of his mother? (26,27, Lk 2:35) 

Luke2:35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

Jesus was mindful of his mother who was suffering from the extreme pain.

What does Jesus’ cry, “I am thirsty” reveal about him? (28) 

So far he was silent like a lamb being slaughtered. 

He opens his mouth and says, “I am thirsty.” No doubt, he had been thirsty for hours. His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth (Ps 22:15). His words shows Jesus’ humanity. His suffering was real.

It was due probably to his dehydration and distressed physical condition. 

What does Jesus mean “It is finished”?

It is not easy to finish our race by accomplishing what we have to do in our lives. But there is one person who truly finished the race. He is Jesus.

Jesus ended his life with a loud cry, “It is finished.” It was his shout of victory. Jesus declared to the whole world that his earthly mission was accomplished. 

He declared that all the sins of the world were completely paid in full.

It is finished! It is passive sentence. Jesus interpreted what he had done from God’s point of view or from the scriptural point of view.

This final remark of our Lord Jesus is well fit in this passage in light of fulfilling all the Scripture regarding completion of God’s salvation work. 

Although he had to go through excruciating pain and suffering like cardiac rupture, still at the last moment, he cried out with the last blow of his strength to reveal the completion of God’s salvation work. 

May the Lord help us to follow his good example in saying the same at the last moment of our lives rather than uttering a unbelieving word or a mere word of unfulfilled dream. 

3. Read verses 31-37. Why didn’t the soldiers break the legs of Jesus despite the request of the Jews? (31-33) What did the sudden flow of blood and water mean? (34) Why was the writer’s testimony true? (35) How do these things fulfill the scripture? (36, 37)

Read verses 31-37. 

31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. 36 These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” 37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”

Why didn’t the soldiers break the legs of Jesus despite the request of the Jews? (31-33)

Jesus died earlier than usual due to his extreme suffering at the trials.

How was the sudden flow of blood and water mean? (34)

I think that it is the most shocking scene to the author and it turned him into a powerful witness of Jesus’ physical death. 

When the author wrote this book around AD 85, already almost half a century passed by after Jesus’ death. But like those who had gone through a Iraq war can never forget the horrible scene and have hard time to overcome post traumatic syndrome Jesus never forgot the scene. 

No sooner had he seen the sudden flow of blood and water from Jesus’ body, he was shocked and never forgot it in his life time. 

When the author wrote this book, he was being urged to protect the faith of believers who were losing their faith. 

Gnostic view was gaining popularity and they claimed that Jesus did not have physical body at the time of crucifixion. But John had to witness and convince others to maintain their faith, revealing that Jesus died in his body which was shown through sudden flow of blood and water.

In brief, the evaluation from modern day Medicine may support Jesus’ physical death:

  

The gospel of John describes the piercing of Jesus' side and emphasizes the sudden flow of blood and water. 

Some authors have interpreted the flow of water to be ascites from an stomach. 

However, the Greek word plvra, or pleura used by John clearly denoted the ribs. 

 Although the side of the wound was not designated by John, it traditionally has been depicted on the right side. 

Most likely a large flow of blood would be more likely with a perforation of the distended and thin-walled right atrium or ventricle or great vessels.

 Therefore, the water probably represented serous pleural and pericardial fluid, and would have preceded the flow of blood and been smaller in volume than the blood. 

Perhaps in the setting of hypovolemia and impending acute heart failure, pleural and pericardial effusions may have developed.

The fact that Jesus cried out in a loud voice and then bowed his head and died suggests the possibility of a catastrophic terminal event. 

One popular explanation has been that Jesus died of cardiac rupture. 

It’s associated with hypovolemia and hyperemia.

These then could have dislodged and embolized into the coronary circulation and thereby produced an acute transmural myocardial infarction. 

Rupture of the left Ventricular free wall may occur.

The actual cause of Jesus' death may have been multifactorial and related primarily to hypovolemie shock, exhaustion asphyxia, and perhaps acute heart failure.

However, the important feature may be not how he died but rather whether he died. 

Clearly, the weight of historical and medical evidence indicates that Jesus was dead before the wound to his side was inflicted.

The spear pierced between his right ribs, probably perforated not only the right lung but also the pericardium as well as heart and thereby ensured his death. 

Why was the writer’s testimony true? (35) 

It was true indeed because he was the person who have seen it and confirmed with his naked eyes!

How do these things fulfill the scripture? (36, 37)

Verse 36-

 Numbers 9:12

 Exodus 12:46 

 Psalm 34:20

Verse 37-Zechariah 12:10

4. Read verses 38-42. Who buried Jesus? (38,39) How were Joseph and Nicodemus changed by Jesus’ death? (38,39) Find how many times the scripture has been fulfilled throughout this passage.

Read verses 38-42. 

38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jews. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Who buried Jesus? (38,39)

Joseph and Nicodemus

How were Joseph and Nicodemus changed by Jesus’ death? (38,39) 

They changed drastically in this passage.

Joseph became bold and overcame his shyness and fear. Nicodemus also came out to day light to confess his faith by his actions!

Find how many times the scripture has been fulfilled throughout this passage.

This passage is based on factual description by the author called John. So in terms of fulfilling the scripture, almost each and every verse was the fulfillment of the book. 

In conclusion,

Jesus died on the cross according to the scripture and obeyed to His Father to the end. 

John became a witness about all these. He carefully and vividly described what had happened according to the scripture. Jesus’ death was not ended up in misery, but in great victory in fulfilling God’s promise that had been planned from Genesis 3:15 and Genesis 12:1-3. May the Lord help each of us to have absolute faith and vision in our God of living. Amen. 

One word: It is finished!

Jesus, Crucified for Our Sins

 John 19:16b-42
Key Verse 19:30

“When he had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.'  With that, he bowed his head and gave his spirit.”

As shepherd Jonathon mentioned in his message last week, our Easter message  is covered in three parts.  Last week on Easter Sunday we heard the message on the arrest and trial of Jesus.  This week we look at the the death of Jesus on the cross, and next week is the resurrection of Jesus.

This weeks passage describes the death of Jesus on the cross.  The death of Jesus, brings to completion,  the key part of God's redemption plan for man.   Jesus death, paid the price for the sin of mankind.  As the time approached, the night before his crucifixion, Jesus prayed, “Father the time has come.  Glorify your son, that your son my glorify you.” (John 17:1b).  Jesus also prayed, “ I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” 

Through this passage, may God help us to accept through Jesus death on the cross, our sins are forgiven.  May God help us to live as servants delivering this message of Jesus death on the cross, to university and college students, helping them to capitalize on this blessed and complete redemption which God has provided through Jesus Christ.  

I. Jesus was crucified(16b-27)

Vs. 17, 18, say, “Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull(which is Aramaic is called Golgatha).  Here they crucified Jesus and with  two others – one on each side and Jesus in the middle.”  In the first part of John 19, the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on Jesus head, and put a purple robe on him.  They struck him in the face and went up to him again and again saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!”  After Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified, the soldiers took charge of him, and Jesus was lead to the place of crucifixion carrying his own cross.

When they arrived at the place of the Skull, they crucified Jesus.  In vs. 18, it says that Jesus was crucified with two other men, criminals.  In Isaiah 53:12b it says,“because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with transgressors.”   Jesus was the sinless Son of God.  Yet, he was crucified with two other criminals.  Jesus was crucified in the middle with a criminal on each side of him.  It appears that the way Jesus crucified with the other criminals, it made him appear as the ring leader.  In this way, while being crucified, Jesus was humiliated even more.

Crucifixion is also one of the most agonizing ways to die.  These days, when the death penalty is administered , through the use of lethal injection, death occurs within about 15 minutes or so.  If someone is hanged, which was used until until recently in Texas, the convicted criminal would die even sooner.  Yet, back in the days of the Roman empire, crucifixion was used.  In addition to being a method of execution, it was as a way to deter people from a life of crime.  When a criminal was crucified, they were affixed  or attached to the cross by ropes, nails or a combination of the two.  They could be hanging on the cross for hours to more than a day.  They were kept on the cross, until their legs could no longer support them.  This would cause them do die by suffocation.  In the case of this passage, the bodies would have to taken down earlier.  So they would break the legs, causing them to die in shock, or by suffocation.  According to tradition Jesus hands and feet were nailed to the cross.  Then cross was dropped into he hole, and the weight of his body, tore at the nails.  His blood flowed down ,slowly as he gasped for air with each breath.

At the top of the cross was fixed a sign, with a title describing their crime, such as, “thief, or murderer.”  The sign at the top of Jesus cross the read,“Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews.”  When the chief priests saw this, they protested to Pilate.  They wanted the sign to say something like, “Jesus of Nazareth who claimed to be the king of the Jews.”  Yet, Pilate said to them, “What I have written, I have written.”  Last week we heard how Pilate was in a position, where he had to either stand on the side of truth and let Jesus go, or he had to give in to the demands of the Jewish religious leaders.  Pilate finally gave into the demand  of the Jews.  Here it appears that while Jesus was dying on the cross, Pilate gained the courage to take his stand.  He had the sign at the top of Jesus cross read, “Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews.” Though a small gesture, God used Pilate to proclaim  that Jesus is the king of the Jews.   

Look at vs. 23-24, shows the soldiers behavior beneath the cross.  They divided up his clothes and cast lots for his garments.  These soldiers were selfish, greedy, and childish.  While Jesus was hanging on the cross, dying in excruciating pain, they were casting lots to see who among them would get his clothes.  Yet, John saw this from the perspective of fulfilling prophecy.  Ps. 22;18 says, “
18 “They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” 

Vs. 25-27 show while the other disciples deserted Jesus, the women who followed Jesus, stayed with  him.  These women were Jesus' mother, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.  The apostle John was also there. These women were the ones who served and supported Jesus ministry.  They shared in Jesus' joy, his sorrow, glory and pain.  While Jesus was at his darkest moment, these woman stayed with him, as he was dying on the cross.  When Jesus saw his mother there with the disciple whom he loved, he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.”  To John he said, 'Here is your mother.”  This really shows Jesus heart for fallen mankind.  When Jesus was dying, he understood the pain his mother was experiencing, watching her son die.  He also understood the pain of his disciple John, who was referred to as the disciple he loved.  Many times we experience some kind of small discomfort, such if you have a cold, or in my finger, I have a small splinter that really stings.  Its easy for us to think we can't think of other peoples problems, but only give thought to our own.  In my case,  I don't have a job, or money.  How can I think of serving campus mission.   Yet, when we have faith in Jesus who died on the cross for our sins, we can overcome ourselves, and be truly mindful of the needs of others.  In Isaiah 53:4a it says, “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows,"   

II.  IT IS FINISHED  (28-42)

Look at vs. 28-30.  This passage describes the last moments of Jesus life.  Taking a look at Mark 15, it tells us that Jesus was crucified at the third hour, which is 9 am our time.  Darkness came over the whole land from the sixth hour to the ninth hour, which corresponds to between noon and three in the afternoon.  So Jesus was on the cross for about 6 hours.  In this passage, from vs. 28, Jesus knowing that everything was finished, to fulfill Scripture, he said, “I am thirsty.”  So they soaked a sponge in some wine vinegar, and lifted it to Jesus lips.  When Jesus had received the drink, he said, “It is finished.”   Then Jesus bowed his head, and gave up his Spirit.  When Jesus said, “It is finished,”  Jesus meant that his mission  as the lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice for mans sins had been completed.   God had provided the way for man to be forgiven of his sins was.

Taking a  quick glimpse at some points in God's redemption history, Lets take a look at Gen.3  In Gen. 3,  Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden breaking their relationship with God. In Gen. 3:15b , God promised, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;  he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”  God promised that through the offspring of woman, He would crush the head of Satan.  In Gen. 12:3b, when God called Abram, God promised him that all peoples on earth would be blessed through his offspring.   Then we see God building the nation of Israel, through the patriarchs, their slavery in Egypt, and the Exodus..  In Exodus, and Leviticus we see the establishment of the tabernacle and the system of offerings, where sin was to be atone for.. God was trying to help his people understand, that sin was not free, but needed to be atoned for.    Although this sacrificial system we see in the Old Testament era, was imperfect, it was a shadow of the ultimate sacrifice to come.  ]Jesus who came through the line of Abraham, is the perfect and final sacrifice for mans sin.  This is why just before he died on the cross Jesus said, “It is finished.”  Jesus death on the cross payed for all the past, all present and future sins of mankind.  John the Baptist understood this truth, and In John 1:29, when John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”  

Many people, however, may struggle with this simple truth.  Some people may feel inadequate.   They might feel in their heart, “Oh I haven't served many bible studies, or 'Oh I haven’t raised even 1 disciple of Jesus”, or “Oh, I’ve never really helped the poor, or others when they are in need.”  People might worry about many things, some of which may be important.  Nevertheless, each persons sins were forgiven through Jesus death on the cross.  All one has to do to be forgiven of their sins, is to simply accept Jesus death on the cross as paying for their sins.

I myself grew up in the Catholic church.  In the catholic church, of course they study the gospels, the Old Testament, the epistles and the whole bible very well.  They also have a lot of unique information on the lives of the saints, which is very insightful, inspiring, and interesting.  Yet, one thing I remember about the catholic church, is that I always had the feeling that in addition to Jesus death on the cross, there was something else I needed to do in order to be forgiven for my sins.  At one point in my catechism class, they gave each of us a scapular, which is kind of a cloth necklace.  They taught us that if you die wearing this necklace, you will surely go to heaven.  So I kept this scapular on my bedposts, thinking that I would keep it, and start wearing it when I became a senior citizen.  That is if I made it to being a senior citizen.  Yet, somehow I lost this scapular.   In a little bit of distress, a bit later I went to a catholic teacher, and asked if I could get another scapular.  Yet, when I asked the teacher about getting another scapular, she didn't know what I was talking about.  So I though, “Oh, you mean that scapular is no longer needed for salvation.”  Basically in the Catholic church, the one big thing that troubled me, was trying to find that one thing that needed to be added to crucifixion of Jesus, in order to be forgiven and saved.  It seemed that this one thing always changed or was modified, so that you never really knew what it was.  I  never really knew what that one thing was.  This of course is because, there is no other thing that needs to be added to the death of Jesus, for the forgiveness of sins.

Later when I studied the Bible while attending Cal State Long Beach, I finally understood that it is only through Jesus death on the cross, that one can be forgiven of their sins.  It isn't Jesus death combined with something else.  When Jesus was talking to Nicodemus in John 3, Jesus said in vs. 3:14,15 “Just at Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”  The point from this verse is very simple  When we believe in  Jesus who died on the cross, we can have eternal life.  Through Jesus death on the cross, Jesus completely provided a way for each person to be forgiven of their sins, and to be adopted into the the family of God.

This is the key message that we need to accept for ourselves.  This is also the key message that we need to share among the students on all the university and college campuses throughout Southern California and beyond.  Students work so hard to somehow make a way for themselves in this society.  This is proper and necessary.  Yet, more importantly, students need to hear the message, that through Jesus death on the cross, their sins are forgiven, and they can have an eternal dwelling place in heaven.  May God give us strength and spirit to continually invite students to bible study, and to a new life as a member of  God's family.  Until just recently, I had a job where I was driving all over this country, but I lost that job.  Despite not having a job at this time, may God help me to resume campus mission and share the message of Jesus crucifixion with students on our college and university campuses..  

Look at vs. 31-37.  It was preparation day and the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath.  So the Jewish leaders asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.  So the soldiers went to the first man and broke his legs and then those of the other.  When they came to Jesus, and found that he was already dead, they didn't break his legs.  Instead one of the soldiers pierced Jesus side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.  

In vs. 38-42, we see Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, both members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council.  They didn't support the decision to have Jesus crucified.  Though these two men  believed in Jesus, they kept their belief in secret.     Now after Jesus' death, Nicodemus and Joseph came out of the closet to take a stand for Jesus. They asked Pilate for permission to take down Jesus' body so they could provide him a proper burial.  

We can take heart from Nicodemus.  Many times our bible students leave bible study for one reason or another.  We start to think about all of our character flaws, and problems.  We despair, thinking the bible study was for nothing.  Yet, you never know.  Sometime in the future, some of our previous bible students may gain faith, and take a stand on the side of Jesus.(1 Cor. 15:58b)

One Word:  It is finished.