River Church NOLA
Wed April 16
  • My Redeemer Lives
  • Rest On Us
  • You Are My All In All
  • Build My Life
  • Intro
    This is Holy week and a lot is going on in Jesus life. Tomorrow is called Holy Thursday where he will have his last meal with his disciples … The Last Supper. He will then go to the Garden to pray. After that, he will be arrested. I like what John says in John 18:4–6 “Jesus fully realized all that was going to happen to him, so he stepped forward to meet them. “Who are you looking for?” he asked. 5 “Jesus the Nazarene,” they replied. “I Am he,” Jesus said. (Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.) 6 As Jesus said “I Am he,” they all drew back and fell to the ground!” John recorded this so that we would be able to KNOW that Jesus gave himself. They didn’t take him.
    He goes through 3 mockeries of a trial, all of which were illegal according to the Jewish laws. If just show that people will do whatever to ge there way. It goes on today. He is then taken away to be crucified.
    Before we continue, let me ask you a question. How many of you have ever been working on a project and said, I just can’t seem to get it finished? All of us right? If you didn’t raise your hand, you are lying.
    We have all said at one time or another, If I could just have an extra week or an extra few hours in the day to catch up, I could get everything completed. Here’s the bad news… we will never get it all done. We will all die with some unfinished business because we live in a broken world with limited time. The world is full of unfinished projects.
    Mt. Rushmore is not finished. The guy ran out of money and died before he could finish. his son tried to finish but quit.
    As a matter of fact, probably the only person who finished everything he had to do before he died was Jesus.
    John 4:34 GNB
    34 “My food,” Jesus said to them, “is to obey the will of the one who sent me and to finish the work he gave me to do.
    Fortunately for you and me, He did finish the work he came to do. 2025 years ago when Jesus hung on the cross said…
    John 19:28–30 NLT
    28 Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. 30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
    The reason Jesus asked for a drink was that he had been on the cross for hours. His voice was parched and he wanted everyone to hear what he had to say. Then he shouted the words… It is finished! IOW everything was done that he came to do. This is not a word of defeat, it is a shout of victory.
    Throughout History, there have been a lot of words of victory.
    Neil Armstrong when he landed on the moon… The Eagle has landed. I remember that.
    However, nothing compares to these words Jesus spoke. No one had any idea what he meant when he said it at the time. I imagine the Roman soldiers though that this radical was done… gone for good. I imagine the religious leaders who had him executed thought, good our competition is gone. We don’t have to worry about him anymore. I imagine Pilot thought My political headache is over. I don’t have to worry about this guy anymore.
    Even the disciples didn’t understand what he meant. the must have thought, yes, it’s over. The dream is over. The kingdom isn’t here. I even think the devil didn’t understand. Ht thought, I just killed the SOG and I won.
    But Jesus didn’t say, I’m finished, He said it is finished. What was finished? His suffering? His pain? his dying on the cross? His humiliation? Yes. But much more.
    Let’s look at what this phase actually means. The greek for the phrase, it is finished is the word Tetelestai. It is a common Greek word and can have several meanings. In fact, when Jesus shouted it is finished on the cross, it had 5 different meanings.

    5 Uses of Tetelestai

    Servant: The task is completed

    If you had a boss and he gave you a task list to do, and you completed them, you would tell your boss, Tetelestai… The task if finished.
    So when Jesus said this, he mean that job God sent him to complete was finished.
    But it is als o a legal term.

    Judge: Justice has been served

    Judges would use this term when someone had served their time. They would come back before the judge and he would say, your time is tetelestai. You served your time. your sentence has been served. Justice has been served. He would then stamp the person’s document to show that he had served His time.
    Jesus meant that when he said this, our time had been served. He stamped our document and it says Justice has been served.

    Accountant: The debt has been paid in full.

    It’s also an accounting term. An accountant would take a person’s bill and stamp Tetelestai on the bill. Your debt has been paid in full. Your car is paid off. Your house is paid off.
    When Jesus shouted Tetelestai, he was also saying that our sin debt has been paid in full.

    Artist: The picture is complete.

    When an artist would finish a painting or a sculpture, he would say Tetelestai. It is finished.
    Jesus shouted it is finished and he meant every thing he needed to do was done.

    Priest: The perfect offering has been given

    The term was also used by the Jewish priests. When they would offer a sacrifice at the temple, they would come out and say Tetelestai… it is finished. IOW the sacrifice has been made.
    Jesus said the sacrifice has been made… Tetelestai
    Now all five of these phrases, the job is completed, justice has been served, the debt has been paid, the picture is finished, the sacrifice has been made, Jesus is saying all five of these things when he shouts, tetelestai. It's finished.
    This pretty much sums up Christianity. This is different from any other religion. All the others you are working for your salvation. Here Jesus did it and said Tetelestai… it’s finished and there is nothing more for you to do.

    What did Jesus Complete on the Cross?

    What did Jesus actually complete on the cross? He did 5 things so write these down.

    1. He fulfilled what God had promised us.

    Prophets had been promising a Messiah for thousands of years. There are over 380 promises in the OT about his coming. And these prophecies imply what Jesus would do.
    Remember Christmas? Unto you tis day, a Savior is born.
    When Jesus died on the cross, He fulfilled everyone of those prophecies that were made over thousands of years. In the OT, we got a partial glimpse of God. When Jesus came, he filled in the gaps. He completed the picture.
    Look what Jesus told some folks after he was resurrected.
    Luke 24:44–47 NIV84
    44 He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” 45 Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
    He said this is what I told you before I died… He would fulfill everything in the Law of Moses.
    Then He opened their minds so that they could understand. Luke 24:46–47 “And he said, “Yes, it was written long ago that the Messiah would suffer and die and rise from the dead on the third day. 47 It was also written that this message would be proclaimed in the authority of his name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem: ‘There is forgiveness of sins for all who repent.’”
    Here is what Paul said,
    2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT
    20 For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.
    He fulfilled all the promises in the Bible… over 7000 of them are yours to be claimed because of what Jesus did.

    2. He satisfied what God’s Justice required!

    God is a just God, and he is always fair. People can be unfair, but not God. He is perfect. The reason we have a sense of fairness … of right and wrong is because we are created in God’s image. God is also a God of Laws. (something our culture has forgotten about) He created everything and it runs according to laws that work.
    Laws of Physics … chemistry… math… and these work every time. That’s why the world works. But it’s also true personally.
    There are physical laws, moral laws, and spiritual laws that God gave us. The bible is full of these laws. He wants us to keep them and share them. But there are two problems with these laws.
    One, we can’t keep them. We are completely unable to keep God’s perfect laws. Some people can keep some of them some of the time. But none of us are perfect. We want to say the right thing, but the wrong thing comes out. We don’t want to hurt anyone, but we do.
    Romans 8:3–4 NLT
    3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
    The only person that ever followed God’s Laws perfectly was Jesus… something that we cold not do. That’s why he was able to pay the price of our sins. God knew at the beginning that they Law could not save us, and that Jesus would have to solve our sin problem.
    The first problem we had with the Law was that we couldn’t keep it. The second problem is that it requires Justice. IOW, Law breakers are required to pay a penalty. If you break the law, you pay a penalty. If I speed, I get a ticket. Would it be fair if I stole from you and there were no consequences? Of course not.
    God has a sense of fairness and in our relationship with Him, we know that we have broken His laws. But there is good news. This is what Jesus finished for us on the Cross. Jesus did what the justice of god requires. He finished what we could not finish.
    Hebrews 5:9 GW
    9 After he had finished his work, he became the source of eternal salvation for everyone who obeys him.
    He could do that because Jesus satisfied God’s justice. He did that for everyone.
    Romans 10:4 NCV
    4 Christ ended the law so that everyone who believes in him may be right with God.
    If you believe in Him, you have been made right with God. He did what you and I could not do.
    Paul really sums it up in Romans 5:18
    Romans 5:18 NLT
    18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone.
    Jesus fulfilled God’s promises on the cross and he satisfied God’s Justice on the cross.
    He also …

    3. He paid off the debt I owed God.

    You owe something to everyone you have ever hurt or offended or have sinned against. But you are in even deeper debt to God, and it’s a debt you can never pay back. But here is the good news.
    Colossians 2:14 NLT
    14 He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
    Jesus cancelled the debt that we owed. Just imagine that you go home tonight and in the mail there is a letter saying that your house has been paid off or your visa has been paid off… You owe nothing. Would you like that? Or would you call them and insist on paying them?
    This is what Jesus did on the cross. He paid your debt off. Paul said,
    Colossians 1:14 GW
    14 His Son paid the price to free us, which means that our sins are forgiven. 
    Jesus paid the price for our sins which means they are forgiven.
    Example of Steve paying for lunch…
    Hebrews 10:18 NLT
    18 And when sins have been forgiven, there is no need to offer any more sacrifices.
    But what we typically do is we keep trying to pay the bill ourselves. That’s just dumb. We keep trying to pay for sins that have been paid for. Every sin that you have commited and every sin that you will commit has been paid for. Jesus died for every sin.
    Unfortunately, too many Christians carry around guilt that they should not carry around because they do not understand that their sins have been forgiven.
    In their mind, they think, if I just do this, then maybe God will forgive me. Maybe if I am good in this area…. When you think that we, you are trying to pay for sins that have been paid for.
    Listen, Jesus paid for every stupid thing that you and I will do… every sin… he paid our debt completely. There is nothing else you can do.

    4. He defeated the fear of death.

    Death is a universal fear… all over the world. Talking about death is a party killer for sure. It’s a universal fear but on the cross, jesus broke the fear of death. Paul said,
    Romans 5:17 NLT
    17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
    He broke the power of sin in our lives. How did he do that?
    Hebrews 2:14–15 NLT
    14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
    God cannot die, so he had to become a human to die for our sins. Only by dying could he break the power of the devil who had the power of death. Only by him dying could he deliver all of those who lived their lives as slaves of the fear of dying.
    If Jesus Christ had not been resurrected, you wouldn't have any idea that there's life after death. The only reason you know that there's life after death is because Jesus Christ resurrected. There would be no Christianity.
    This whole idea of dying and being resurrected is pictured in Baptism. Baptize means to immerse. You go under the water… death… come out resurrection. Paul said,
    Romans 6:4 GNB
    4 By our baptism, then, we were buried with him and shared his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life.

    5. He destroyed Satan’s power to control me.

    In the death of Jesus on the cross, there is a spiritual battle going on between good and evil, and on the cross it looks like evil is winning. It actually looks like Satan won. Actually I believe that Satan thought he won. But three days later He had a surprise coming. Jesus was alive and is alive today. Surprise.
    When Jesus said it is finished, he didn’t say he was finished. But on Easter Sunday morning, the devil was saying Oh no, I’m finished. Now, if you don’t have a relationship with Jesus, you do not have His Spirit in your life and you are powerless against Satan. You have no power.
    However, if you do have a relationship with Jesus, you have the power of the Holy Spirit in your life and you have power over the devil. But if you don’t have Jesus in your life, Satan can manipulate you. He manipulates you through thoughts, suggestions, and his two favorite ways are through temptation and condemnation.

    Through Temptation.

    Here is what he does. He minimizes the temptation. He goes, it’s no big deal… go ahead. It’s no big deal… everyone is doing it. Then when you do it, he tells you are a terrible person and you are going to hell.
    Notice what Paul said Jesus did in these verses.
    Colossians 1:13 NCV
    13 God has freed us from the power of darkness, and he brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son.
    God set us free from the power of the devil.
    So when you fall to the temptation, He accuses you of being a slimeball.

    Through Condemnation

    On the cross, Jesus destroyed, his power to condemn you. When you understand that Jesus has completely forgiven you, Satan can’t condemn you anymore. God has taken that away.
    Colossians 2:15 LBP
    15 In this way God took away Satan’s power to accuse you of sin, and God openly displayed to the whole world Christ’s triumph at the cross where your sins were all taken away.
    He can’t accuse you anymore. The cross was God’s fatal blow to evil… to Satan. He didn’t know what was going on, lost his power.
    If it seems like he has a lot of power, he is living on borrowed time.
    If you see a snake, and cut it’s head off, the body will wiggle for a while. He is dead but he doesn’t know it. Satan is dead and doesn’t know it. He was fatally wounded at the cross.
    If you accepted Jesus into your life, Satan has no power over you unless you give it to him. How do you give Satan power? Through fear… bitterness… anxiety… giving into temptation. You can give power back to Satan but he doesn’t have power over you if you don’t give it to him.
    So when Jesus died on the cross, he said it is finished. He is saying that he had fulfilled all of God’s promises… satisfied God’s judgement so you don’t have to pay… he paid off your debt that you owed God… and He defeated the fear of death.
    All 5 of these benefits are potentially yours to claim, but you have to accept Jesus.
    Listen, when you accept Jesus, really accept Jesus into your life, he will do his work in you. Take a look.
    Philippians 1:6 NLT
    6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
    God finishes everything he begins for your salvation. Listen, everything that needed to be done for yours and my salvation has been done 2025 years ago.
    Paul said Salvations was God’s idea…
    Ephesians 2:8 MSG
    8 Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish!
    Jesus did it all on the cross. All we have to do is to trust him enough let him do it. All other religions have their list of do’s and don’ts. But when it comes to a relationship with Jesus, everything has been done. If you are wondering what you have to do to go to heaven, you are too late. it’s been done. Just accept it. Stop trying to pay your way. Hell is a place for people who want to pay their on way. Stop it.
    Prayer
River Church NOLA
robert@riverchurchnola.com
504-578-8317
https://riverchurchnola.com
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