SUFFICIENCY OF THE CROSS

JOHN 19:28–30

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

(John 19:30).

The perfection of our salvation is contained in Jesus Christ alone. He made this evident during His final moments on the cross. His work of meeting the demands of the law and its penalty had been accomplished. Nothing now stood in the way of man’s redemption. Jesus had done it all. Of course, His burial and resurrection were yet to come, but so certain were these that they were considered already accomplished when Jesus said, “It is finished.”

Notice that Jesus did not think of Himself, of His need to quench His thirst, until He had faithfully served others. Once our needs were met, He turned to His own needs. It was only then that He asked for vinegar to drink. It was customary in those days to keep a vinegar drink on hand at a crucifixion for the relief of the dying. Some, however, believe Jesus was given vinegar to mock Him, and certainly the Roman guard ridiculed Him. But, historical evidence and the accounts of all the evangelists support the assertion that it was a customary drink. It was also necessary, for in drinking this Jesus fulfilled the prophecy in Psalm 69:21.

John does not record everything that the other evangelists wrote, for as we have stated previously, John assumed the other accounts were well known. For example, he does not mention Jesus saying, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” This, of course, was very important because it focused on the forgiveness that we have in Christ. But John only records Jesus saying, “I thirst” and “It is finished.” This, in a sense, says it all.

All the sacrifices and foreshadows of the old system were insufficient in themselves and had to be continued every day. But Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient. No other sacrifice is needed. We do not need to look anywhere else for salvation, for Christ is all. As Calvin wrote, “Let us stop here, therefore, if we do not choose to be deprived of the salvation which He has procured for us.”

Once He had announced the completion and sufficiency of His work, Jesus gave up His spirit, and committed it to the Father. In the same way, all who are in Christ have this confidence and hope, that when this life is over, we will not perish but will be given into the guardianship of the Father who remains ever faithful.

CORAM DEO

Jeremiah 29–30

Titus 1

WEEKEND

Jeremiah 31–35

Titus 2–3

Read the passages below from Hebrews. In your own words, how is Christ’s work finished? In what ways do people look for other means of salvation? How’ do they treat Christ’s sacrifice as incomplete and insufficient? Thank God that Christ’s work is sufficient. Commit to stop trying to save yourself.

For further study: Heb. 7:20–28; 9:11–28; 10:1–18