Easter
2016: Good Friday
It
is finished: Tetelestai!
Let me explain. In Israel when a deal had been completed or an act of
kindness done it would be sealed with the parties saying Tetelestai.
That is it is finished it is completed with nothing more to be done.
The word is in the “indicative perfect passive” which indicates
that something is completed with continuing endurance or in other
words it was a once and for all event. It can never be repeated and
as such there was only ever one Good Friday each other is simply a
remembrance of the former. Therefore today we celebrate the once for
all sacrifice made on the cross.
In
order that we do that we will consider:
- Why was the cross necessary?
- What exactly happened on the cross?
- What does the cross mean to me?
We
will be reading a number of bible passages with songs and words in
between.
Why
was the cross necessary?
In
order to answer this we need to go back to the beginning of time and
into the Garden of Eden.
Genesis
2: 4-9
This
is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
when the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
Now no shrub
had yet appeared on the earth and no plant had yet sprung up, for the
Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no one to work
the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole
surface of the ground. Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust
of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and
the man became a living being.
Now the Lord
God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the
man he had formed. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of
the ground – trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food.
In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:
15-17
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to
work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You
are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat
from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat
from it you will certainly die.’
Adam was created by God with a purpose, he was to enjoy the benefits
of all that God had given and all that God affords but continued
relationship and security with Him was conditional. The condition was
simple obedience. God in effect told Adam to obey by not eating the
fruit of a particular tree in the garden. Given the vast array
available you would think that this would be an easy task but it is a
bit like the “wet paint” notice, how hard it is to not test the
truth of the notice. Adam with the help of Eve did test the truth of
God's word and so sin was born and death came into the world. I would
love to elaborate much more but we have only an hour so I leave you
to spend some time considering this later.
You may well be asking why is this important today; the answer is
that sin is hereditary. It is passed on from one generation to the
next. Parent to child throughout all ages. Paul addresses this issue
in Romans 3 where he says that all people of whatever gender, age or
nationality “have sinned and have fallen short of God's perfect
standard.”
For Adam and Eve the effect was immediate, they were immediately out
of fellowship with God. They hid from Him in the garden instead of
joyously coming to Him in sweet fellowship. Their relationship with
God was dead. But you might ask why it is that sin is passed on. The
reason is that when sin entered the world the world was immediately
affected and has been on a downward spiral ever since. When God
finished His work of creation He said everything was good, ideal or
perfect. Now that man has made an impact everything is affected to
the detriment. For instance gardening is no longer the pleasure that
it should have been because of weeds etc.
Paul says in
1 Corinthians 15:21 “since death came through a man, the
resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all
die, so in Christ all will be made alive.”
From the day when sin entered the world there was already a plan for
salvation in place. In fact the bible teaches that sin was no
surprise to God, He had already from before creation planned that
Jesus come as the Saviour. The plan was always that an innocent
victim die in the place of the guilty party, in the garden it came it
the form of the death of an animal whose skin was used to clothe the
new born sinners. From that time on the sacrifice of pure innocent
male animals was the accepted way for sinful people to be able to
come into the presence of Jesus. None of these sacrifices hit the
mark fully they were merely a temporary measure that spoke of the
Perfect and Only sacrifice that fully atones for the sins of mankind.
They all spoke of Good Friday.
156 How deep the Father's love for us.
How
deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure,
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss -
The Father turns His face away,
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.
How vast beyond all measure,
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure.
How great the pain of searing loss -
The Father turns His face away,
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory.
Behold the man
upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders;
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished;
His dying breath has brought me life -
I know that it is finished.
My sin upon His shoulders;
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers.
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished;
His dying breath has brought me life -
I know that it is finished.
I will
not boast in anything,
No gifts, no power, no wisdom;
But I will boast in Jesus Christ,
His death and resurrection.
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer;
But this I know with all my heart -
His wounds have paid my ransom.
No gifts, no power, no wisdom;
But I will boast in Jesus Christ,
His death and resurrection.
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer;
But this I know with all my heart -
His wounds have paid my ransom.
What exactly happened on the cross?
Psalm 22 begins with “my God, my God why have you forsaken me?”
Jesus in saying this on the cross was taking the Psalm to Himself:
My
God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving
me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but
you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.
Yet
you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises.
In
you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered
them. To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and
were not put to shame.
But
I am a worm and not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the
people. All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their
heads. ‘He trusts in the Lord,’ they say, ‘let the Lord rescue
him.
Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.’
Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.’
Yet
you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you, even at my
mother’s breast. From birth I was cast on you; from my mother’s
womb you have been my God.
Do
not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help.
Many
bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. Roaring lions
that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me.
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.
I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me. My mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death.
Dogs
surround me, a pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands
and my feet. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over
me. They divide my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.
But
you, Lord, do not be far from me. You are my strength; come quickly
to help me. Deliver me from the sword, my precious life from the
power of the dogs. Rescue me from the mouth of the lions; save me
from the horns of the wild oxen.
I
will declare your name to my people; in the assembly I will praise
you. You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob,
honour him! Revere him, all you descendants of Israel! For he has not
despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not
hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help. From
you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly; before those
who fear you I will fulfil my vows.
The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him – may your hearts live for ever!
The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him – may your hearts live for ever!
All
the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the
families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion
belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.
All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who
go down to the dust will kneel before him – those who cannot keep
themselves alive. Posterity will serve him; future generations will
be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He
has done it!
Tetelestai!
In
the Psalm King David spoke of a day to come when a descendant of His
would achieve salvation for God's people. He prophesied that it would
be a work of God alone through his own ancestor. Jesus died on the
cross taking to Himself sin.
Isaiah
spoke of what was to happen:
Isaiah
53
Who
has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been
revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Surely
he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him
punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced
for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the
punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are
healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He
was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was
led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers
is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgement
he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
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.
Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
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.
What
happened on the cross? God's
plan of salvation was carried out. Sin was dealt with, it was not
wiped out but it was dealt with justly. It is only a corrupt judge
that chooses to turn a blind eye to wrong and so God who is perfectly
righteous and just cannot simply by-pass sin, sin had to be dealt
with. The penalty had to be paid, blood had to be shed in order that
it propitiate or appease God's anger at sin. It was God Himself that
paid the price in that His Son Jesus became a man but without sin. On
the cross He became sin in place of all that repent and trust in Him.
What happened on the cross is that Jesus was judged by God to be the
arch sinner, the worst that has ever lived and yet He was perfect.
Jesus had the full force of God's wrath poured out on Him, the
sufferings that were seen are nothing in comparison to what was
really taking place. The author of life died as a treacherous sinner
for you and me.
All
of that on the cross; no wonder Tetelestai was shouted as His final
breath.
What
does that mean to me?
These
two songs say it all:
143
Here is love vast as the ocean.
1.
Here is love, vast as the ocean,
Loving kindness as the flood,
When the Prince of Life, our Ransom,
Shed for us His precious blood.
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten,
Throughout Heaven’s eternal days.
Loving kindness as the flood,
When the Prince of Life, our Ransom,
Shed for us His precious blood.
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing His praise?
He can never be forgotten,
Throughout Heaven’s eternal days.
2.
On the mount of crucifixion,
Fountains opened deep and wide;
Through the floodgates of God’s mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide.
Grace and love, like mighty rivers,
Poured incessant from above,
And Heaven’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.
Fountains opened deep and wide;
Through the floodgates of God’s mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide.
Grace and love, like mighty rivers,
Poured incessant from above,
And Heaven’s peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love.
3.
Let me all Thy love accepting,
Love Thee, ever all my days;
Let me seek Thy kingdom only
And my life be to Thy praise;
Thou alone shalt be my glory,
Nothing in the world I see.
Thou hast cleansed and sanctified me,
Thou Thyself hast set me free.
Love Thee, ever all my days;
Let me seek Thy kingdom only
And my life be to Thy praise;
Thou alone shalt be my glory,
Nothing in the world I see.
Thou hast cleansed and sanctified me,
Thou Thyself hast set me free.
4.
In Thy truth Thou dost direct me
By Thy Spirit through Thy Word;
And Thy grace my need is meeting,
As I trust in Thee, my Lord.
Of Thy fullness Thou art pouring
Thy great love and power on me,
Without measure, full and boundless,
Drawing out my heart to Thee.
By Thy Spirit through Thy Word;
And Thy grace my need is meeting,
As I trust in Thee, my Lord.
Of Thy fullness Thou art pouring
Thy great love and power on me,
Without measure, full and boundless,
Drawing out my heart to Thee.
465
When I survey.
When
I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid
it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.
See
from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were
the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
We
have sung the purpose, by His love we have experienced grace,which is
perfectly seen in His sufferings on the cross. How wonderful that
Good Friday was that heard from God the Son:
Tetelestai!
In
Christ alone.
In
Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
In
Christ alone! - who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.
There
in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
No
guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand:
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand:
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
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