At the Cross: God's Plan Fulfilled in John 19

What does the world see here? What do you think? It's finished. It's over. It's the end of a simple life of a man who didn't travel more than a 100 miles away from his home, who seemingly led some sort of rebellion. Is the end. Not a rich man, a poor man. Another execution. What's the world see? Death wins again. Because it always does. What's god doing? Notice Jesus didn't say, I am finished. He says, it is finished. The work is complete, and he gives up his spirit. Do you see it in verse 30? He gave up his spirit. In other words, this is not a life taken. It's a life given. [00:51:03] (61 seconds)  #ItIsFinished

So what's going on on the cross? Before we go any further, we need to understand that what's taking place on the cross is the plan of god that he had planned before he even created humanity. Amen. His plan was to reconcile those whom he made in his image back to himself even though they hated him, rebelled against him, and mocked him. Yes. Real people are making real decisions in this moment. They're fully accountable for their decisions, but behind these decisions, behind Pilate, behind Herod, behind the Jewish leaders is our sovereign plan, is the sovereign plan of god. [00:29:57] (52 seconds)  #SovereignPlan

The question, friends, is never whether sin will be punished. The question is, who will bear the punishment? Scripture tells us we have two choices. Either we will bear the punishment or Christ will bear the punishment. God puts forth his own son as a substitute in our place for our sin. Isaiah 53 tells us that Jesus is the suffering servant, that he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities. Second Corinthians five twenty one says, that god made him to be sin who knew no sin. What's happening on the cross is so much more than a worldly injustice done to a perfect man. What's taking place is that god is pouring out his righteous wrath upon his son, Jesus Christ. Amen. [00:34:55] (70 seconds)  #SubstituteSacrifice

That word propitiation in Romans three matters deeply. It means that god's righteous wrath against sin is fully satisfied through the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus. Hallelujah. And this is where the cross begins to take on incredible depth. As Jesus serves as our substitute, what we find is that god is both just in punishing sin and the justifier in that he is the one who takes the sin upon himself in the person of Jesus, the second person of the trinity so that god who is just also reveals his love and his mercy and his compassion so that he can be both just and justifier. [00:33:57] (57 seconds)  #JustAndJustifier

It's interesting, isn't it? What the world sees here is something to simply pass over. It's a sponge lifted to Jesus on a hyssop branch, a small detail easy to overlook. But the thing is this hyssop plant has a history. This hyssop plant has a history connected to the redemptive plan of god. Connected right back to the Passover moment. Right back to Exodus 12. See, when god delivered Israel out of Egypt, he told them to apply the blood of the lamb with, guess what, hyssop over the doorposts of the home. And now we see this hyssop branch right here held to the mouth of the lamb who was slain. [00:48:31] (68 seconds)  #HyssopAndPassover

Truth is acknowledged, but it's not upheld. Justice is recognized, but it's not carried out. Certainly, all of that is true. But if that's all we see in John 19, if that's all we see at the foot of the cross, then the cross becomes nothing more than another tragic injustice in a long line of human brokenness. We have a lot of those stories throughout human history. But there's more to the story, isn't there? What is god doing here? Acts two verse 23 tells us that Jesus was delivered up, don't miss it, according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of god. [00:28:52] (53 seconds)  #PlannedRedemption

He knows what's been accomplished. He knows what still remains. And in this moment, he speaks not because he's out of control, but because he's perfectly in control. Amen. While he hangs on the cross, there's not a moment in which he's not in control. To the point where he, in his right mind to fulfill scripture, quotes from Psalm 69. For my thirst, they gave me sour wine to drink. And here at the cross, that passage is fulfilled. This is more than just fulfillment though. This is completion. You see here in the text that knowing that all was now finished, he's bringing it to a close. He's not gonna stop short. He's not going to leave something undone. He's going to complete the plan of god. [00:47:36] (61 seconds)  #JesusInControl

See friends, we're not a neutral observer. The cross happened because of sin. It happened because of your sin. It happened because of my sin. The cross shows us how serious sin is and and how great god's love is. We see in the cross that our sin is far worse than we ever thought. What we see in the cross is that god's grace is far greater than we could have ever imagined. That he himself would take our place. There are only two ways to stand at the foot of the cross. Either Jesus stands in your place or you stand and you take the righteous judgment of god for your sin. Friends, the reason we gather this evening is because god has made a way for you to be forgiven. [00:54:32] (71 seconds)  #GraceAndJudgment