Therefore when Jesus had received the sour
wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up
His spirit.
Insights: A lot to do has been made
about the Greek phrase tetelestai and
I don’t plan on doing that today.
Rather, I want to focus on the One who actually said the phrase which we
translate as “It is finished!” Yesterday
we looked at the humanity of Jesus in regards to Him being the infinite God-man. Today we look at the other portion of Jesus
nature, His divinity. In other words,
only God could have announced “It is finished!”
In saying this phrase He is declaring the suffering of the cross, the
bearing of sin and the wrath of God is complete. Nothing more is required and now He can
completely lay His life down. Only God
can determine when a life is to end and no one can take a life of another
before God deems it is time. Think about
how many failed suicides occur. Think
about how many people are wounded in battle with what ought to be fatal blows
and yet they survive. Think about how
many times doctors say this person should be dead and we can’t explain it. The answer—GOD! Only God has the right in His sovereign
nature to determine when life ends. It
is therefore significant that Jesus after saying tetelestai bowed His head and gave
up His spirit. He IS God! He IS sovereign! He IS the infinite God-man! And HE is worthy of praise! Pastor Ed Litton of First Baptist North
Mobile lost his wife in a car accident.
After the event he was teaching some seminary students and he was asked
if God’s sovereignty helped him or hurt him.
Litton’s response to the student was, “Yes.” He went on to say it comforted him to know
God loved his wife and that she was with Him in eternity because she had
received the gift of salvation which comes through Jesus Christ. At the same time it hurt him because God
allowed his wife to be taken before he was ready for her to go. It is at times very difficult to handle the
events of this world, but the beauty of God’s grace and sovereignty is WE don’t
have to handle it. We just have to trust
by faith that GOD is completely in control.
Today’s verses help us to understand this truth a little better because
Jesus, the infinite God-man, decided in His sovereignty when to give up His life. Take comfort in God’s plan for you. Trust Him and give Him praise.
Questions:
- In what ways has God shown you His sovereignty?
- Does God’s sovereignty give you comfort?
Prayer: Father I am so grateful You are in control and not me. Your plan is perfect and mine is
selfish. Thank You for giving Jesus at
the perfect time in history as ordered by Your plan. Amen.
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