Temple Baptist Church - 4-13-2025
John 19:16-30
Introduction:
A. I like to preach the Sunday before Resurrection Sunday on the Cross of Christ.
B. Galatians 6:14 is my Life Verse, which reads:
Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
C. When I quote that verse, I often think of the words of the song, “When I Survey The Wondrous Cross.”
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.
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.
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?
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.
D. The declaration of the cross of Christ:
1. The Cross Declares God’s Love For Fallen Man - John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
1 John 3:16a Hereby perceive we the love of God , because he laid down his life for us:
2. The Cross Declares God’s Hatred For Sin - Philippians 2:7-8 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: (8) And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
3. The Cross Declares God’s Punishment For Sinners - Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Revelation 20:14-15 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
E. The demand of the cross of Christ:
1. That We Who Are Saved Daily Bear It - Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
2. That We Earnestly Defend It - Jude 3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
3. That We Diligently Preach It - 1 Corinthians 1:21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
F. The Defilement of the cross of Christ: Religion glories in self-righteousness, not in the cross of Christ. Probably the greatest of all sin is pride. We are prone to think more highly of our selves than we should.
G. The Finishing of the Cross. The cross of Christ is a FINISHED product! We are to add nothing to it nor take anything away from it.
1. Verse 28 says, “After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished!”
2. Verse 30 says, “John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”
H. The words “It is finished” say it all. The work of the cross was and still is a finished work. Nothing needs to be added to the cross nor anything taken away from the cross. The cross was a perfect work that brought about the burial and resurrection, and, therefore, the Gospel.
1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1. In “It Is Finished,” We Find The Word of God Verified – Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Genesis 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
Hundreds of prophecies were written about Jesus Christ, and He fulfilled each one perfectly and completely. God's Word can be relied upon not only for guidance in this life but also for hope in the life to come. Jesus Christ left nothing undone!
2. In “It Is Finished,” We Find The Work Of Propitiation Finished – John 4:34 Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
At Calvary, we witness the culmination of 4,000 years of sacrifices. Millions of lambs had died in anticipation of the death of the Lamb of God, who would take away the sins of the world. Mankind had long awaited the coming of the Messiah, and we look back on His arrival with wonder and amazement. When Jesus proclaimed, “It is finished,” He was declaring that the substitutionary work on the cross on our behalf had been accomplished.
Peter said, in I Peter 3:18, “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.”
Jesus Christ became the scapegoat for you and me. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for taking my place and dying for my sins!
3. In “It Is Finished,” We Find The Way Of Salvation Established – John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
1 Corinthians 1:17-18 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. (18) For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
A person may teach and preach anything they choose, but that does not change the fact that salvation is found only through Jesus Christ. It is not through a church, a denomination, a movement, baptism, a sacrament, a dogma, or an individual theology; it is solely through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. People can choose their own paths, but they will not reach heaven unless they follow God's way.
4. In “It Is Finished,” We Find The Wages Paid In Full – Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Ezekiel 18:20a The soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Jesus Christ became the “Sinner’s Substitute.” Our sins separated us from a holy God, and Jesus Christ, our Propitiation, reconciled us back to Him through the finished work of Calvary.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Hebrews 9:26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
The cross on which Jesus died can be seen as an "altar," with Jesus representing the "sacrifice."
5. In “It Is Finished,” We Find The Lost World Condemned – John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
1 John 5:10 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
As Christ suffered for us as no one ever suffered, so the sinner who rejects Christ will one day endure suffering for all eternity!
6. In “It Is Finished,” We Find The Works Of The Devil Destroyed – 1 John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
One day, God will eliminate Satan's position, purpose, power, people, and ultimately himself. Because of Calvary, one day, there will be no more Satan!
7. In “It Is Finished,” We Find The Wealth Of Eternity Secured – Revelation 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;
Because of Christ's finished work on Calvary, we who are saved will one day finally be home!
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