John 19:28-30 (NKJV) It Is Finished
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
It is finished! What is finished? How could this happen? Wasn’t He supposed to liberate Israel? What things were “now accomplished”? And now he is dead. What are we going to do now? I thought for sure He would free us from oppression! I am so disappointed. The two on the road to Emmaus echoed what many were thinking.
Most people thought that Messiah (Christ) would be a Mighty King that would come in power and liberate Israel from Roman occupation and restore the glory of the former kingdom. Isaiah 9:6 says “6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” It is no wonder they would think Christ would be a conquering king since the Prophet Isaiah said the government would be upon His shoulder. But God had a different plan. He wanted to go another way. He was doing a new thing. God knew that Rome was a temporary problem for Israel. Sin, on the other hand, was a bigger issue!
God came to the weak to shame the strong and to the poor and uneducated to shame the wealthy and the religious leaders. He turned everything we know about wealth, strength and power upside down. This plan was inconceivable to us. God would take on human form and come to the lowly to spread His message to the ends of the earth. He would entrust the greatest news ever to a fisherman, a tax collector and others that society would never have chosen. And on top of that, he would offer Himself as the only sacrifice needed to redeem us. Aren’t we supposed to serve Him? How is it that He came to serve us?
At this point, all the hopes and dreams of redemption seem dead along with Jesus. The religious leaders had struck the Shepherd and the flock had scattered as they predicted. Or did they? In hindsight, we see that they stepped back to regroup. They had to have time to process what had just happened. Looking back from our vantage point, we know the “rest of the story” as Paul Harvey [a News Anchor from days gone by] would say. We have seen beyond the death to the resurrection. It looks totally different from here.
These twelve did take the message to the ends of the known world of their time and on to the whole world as we know it today. Some interesting circumstances precipitated the spread of the Gospel. Some were forced out of Jerusalem and had to find other places to live. Others went on a mission to share the story. Do you share the story? 1 Peter 3:15 tells us to “…..Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect….”. In other words, you are to share with others the reason for your hope as the gift it really is. That hope is the Risen Christ who redeems us. As Pastor Don Feuerbach says, “You are the bearers of the good news to the world.” Things may seem dark as of today but Easter Sunday is always coming. And He is Risen! Go tell someone!
Father God, thank You for the gift of Your Son who brought a new covenant of love and redemption. You have shown us that, when things look their worst, You can bring out the best. Your power is made perfect in our weakness! Help us to walk in that power through the trials of every Friday but to remember that Sunday is coming! Help us to live lives as if every Sunday was Easter. Give us signs to remind us that You always walk with us and will lead us to Your Rest if we would but follow. Thank you that, by Your Son’s blood, we are Holy, Righteous and Redeemed! That we are loved more than we can fathom. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!