MONDAY 24th
John 19:30
NIV (v30) – ‘When he had received the drink, Jesus said, It is finished. With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.’
ESV (v30) – ‘When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, It is finished, and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.’
When I read this verse to prepare this devotion, I thought of the words of the hymn that say, ‘’tis done the great transactions done, I am my Lords and he is mine’ there is firstly the transaction that Jesus made at Calvary where he bore our sin and shame, and there is also the transaction made when we come and kneel at the Cross, Jesus has done all that is necessary for our salvation, but we need to come by faith to receive it.
The transaction Christ made at Calvary is the greatest transaction ever made, because he who knew no sin of his own took upon himself the sin of the world, he who didn’t deserve the punishment for sin, took upon himself the punishment that we deserved, he who didn’t deserve the wrath of God bore the wrath of God on our behalf. When we come to the Cross in repentance and acceptance, we get what we do not deserve, we receive his grace and his mercy. And extending from this is forgiveness and justification and sanctification bringing us into adoption into the family of God. Truly because of the Cross and our coming to the Man who hung on the Cross we become new creations, the old is gone and behold the new has come. What an amazing transaction and transformation. ‘I am a new creation, no more in condemnation, here in the grace of God I stand.’
‘It is finished’, all that Christ needed to do he had done, and in all our imaginations we can never comprehend what Christ went through, what he suffered on our behalf with all its horror, anguish, pain etc. but he willingly submitted himself to the will of his Father because of his love for mankind, because of his love for you, because of his love for me and for the joy that was set before him.
Oh, how He loves you and me,
Oh how He loves you and me.
He gave his life, what more could he give?
Oh, how He loves you;
Oh, how he loves me;
Oh, how he loves you and me.
Jesus to Calvary did go,
His love for sinners to show.
What He did there brought hope from despair.
Oh, how He loves you;
Oh, how he loves me;
Oh, how he loves you and me.
May we never ever not appreciate what Christ has done for us, may we never ever be silent, but may we always be abounding with praise in our hearts with gratitude and thanksgiving for the price he has paid. The ‘it is finished’ at the Cross is where it all begins for us.