FINISHED

Today’s Reading: John 19

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion on the right-hand side).

The view from the Garden Tomb area toward what many believe to be Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, where Jesus was crucified. You can see in the rock formation what looks to be a skull.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

Key Verse: John 19:30

So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

For readers who’ve been with me since we began, you know that we’ve completed the first three books of the Bible and that we are about to start Numbers. We’ve read of hundreds of animal sacrifices (they were used for food as well) and now these three words, “It is finished.” We could view again the video posted here some days ago which showed that, after Jesus’ death, God no longer accepted the animal sacrifices presented in the Temple (click here to view). Jesus proclaimed from the Cross that His Sacrifice for the sins of the whole world was complete. In Chapter 19 alone, there are 20 references listed in my Thomas Nelson Study Bible which indicate fulfilled prophecy by Jesus as He hung on the Cross. No wonder that soon after His death, thousands of Jews would believe in Jesus as the final Sacrifice for sin. Jesus’ task in His suffering and death for sin was “finished,” but His triumph was not. As He told His disciples, after three days He would rise again. The victory celebration of His resurrection continues to this day. Amen! Amen!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord Jesus, thank You for Your “amazing grace,” as the hymn says, “that saved a wretch like me.” I sing that most beloved hymn now as I pray. Because of the fact that You finished Your Sacrifice, I know that I can add nothing to that Sacrifice by my own efforts. I simply accept that fact. Help me to share the finished work of the Cross with someone today. Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

In the early days of exercising the call of God to be a Pastor, I rejoiced in the growth of the congregation. Rather than counting attendance at the services, I would count the precious people who partook of the remembrance elements of the Body and Blood of Jesus. The reason the Apostle quoted Jesus saying, “This do in remembrance of Me” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26), was because, “It is finished.” As I will shortly read Numbers, I keep this fact constantly in mind. Hallelujah!

Yours because “It is finished,”

David