FRIDAY April 7, 2023
Good Friday
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
All the Gospels proclaim the message of salvation. The Gospel of John declares the deity of Christ and records Jesus’ final words on the Cross: “It is finished!”
What was finished? By dying on the Cross, Jesus had accomplished the redemption of mankind. He fulfilled all the Father had called Him to do. Jesus came to earth to give His life as a ransom for us: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). As a Christian, know this:
...you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you (1 Peter 1:18-20).
Christ was sinless, and, as a willing sacrifice, He satisfied God's justice against sinners. We all were deserving of death, having an eternal death sentence looming over us. Now we have the opportunity to receive life––eternal life. Our Savior has secured salvation for anyone who will come to Him by faith.
Jesus on the Cross shouted, “It is finished!” because He fulfilled the promises in the Old Testament. He had gone to the Cross to defeat death and the grave. Isaiah the prophet wrote about Jesus when he said: He will swallow up death forever… (Isaiah 25:8). Hosea 13:14 says: “I [God] will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death….” This is a glorious message of hope.
The message of the Cross is central to the Gospel message. If you do not know Christ, you have an important decision to make. Will you accept or reject Christ? He is the only way given by God for your salvation. He secured the price for your redemption when He died on the Cross.
In the Cross, sin is cursed and cancelled. In the Cross, grace is victorious and available.
~G. Campbell Morgan~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
