08.18 Luke 23: 43-56
Tetelestai Es ist Vollbracht
Luke 23: 44-
56 NKJV
44 Now it was about the sixth hour,
and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 Then the sun
was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And when Jesus had
cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My
spirit.’” Having said this, He breathed His last.
47 So when the centurion saw what had
happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”
48 And the whole crowd who came
together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and
returned. 49 But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from
Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
50 Now behold, there was a man named
Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. 51 He had not consented to their
decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was
also waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for
the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in
a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. 54
That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.
55 And the women who had come with Him
from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was
laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they
rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
Luke 23: 44-
56 Schlachter 2000
44 Es war aber um
die sechste Stunde, und eine Finsternis kam über das ganze Land bis zur neunten
Stunde1.
45 Und die Sonne
wurde verfinstert, und der Vorhang im Tempel2 riß mitten entzwei.
46 Und Jesus rief
mit lauter Stimme und sprach: Vater, in deine Hände befehle ich meinen Geist!
Und als er das gesagt hatte, verschied er.
47 Als aber der
Hauptmann sah, was geschah, pries er Gott und sprach: Wahrlich, dieser Mensch
war gerecht!
48 Und die ganzen
Scharen, die herbeigekommen waren zu diesem Schauspiel — als sie sahen, was
geschah, schlugen sie sich an ihre Brust und kehrten zurück.
49 Es standen
aber alle, die ihn kannten, weit entfernt, auch die Frauen, die ihm von Galiläa
her nachgefolgt waren; und sie sahen dies.
50 Und siehe, ein
Mann namens Joseph aus Arimathia, einer Stadt der Juden, der ein Ratsherr3 war,
ein guter und gerechter Mann,
51 der ihrem Rat
und Tun nicht zugestimmt hatte, der auch selbst auf das Reich Gottes wartete,
52 dieser ging zu
Pilatus und bat um den Leib Jesu;
53 und er nahm
ihn herab, wickelte ihn in Leinwand und legte ihn in ein in Felsen gehauenes
Grab, worin noch niemand gelegen hatte.
54 Und es war
Rüsttag, und der Sabbat brach an.
55 Es folgten
aber auch die Frauen nach, die mit ihm aus Galiläa gekommen waren, und sahen
sich das Grab an und wie sein Leib hineingelegt wurde.
56 Dann kehrten
sie zurück und bereiteten wohlriechende Gewürze und Salben; am Sabbat aber
ruhten sie nach dem Gesetz.
This was THE
most unjust human act ever done…… because Jesus Christ was absolutely sinless…...
It is the worst that men could do….. It is the worst that men ever did….. They
tried to kill the Messiah because they would not repent and be saved….
God shows up that day at Calvary…..
All of us
understand the death of Christ…... We all understand that Christ died for our
sins….. Every true Christian knows that and believes that….. But we tend to
look at the cross of Christ either in the sense of His suffering and death…… Or we tend to view it as a great loving sacrifice
on the part of Christ….. “Greater love
hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend,”
There is an
element at Calvary that an important revelation in the New Testament that often
gets overlooked, and that is the presence of God that day at Calvary…...
Calvary is
more about the wrath of God against sin and rebellion than it is about anything
else…… Yes, it is human cruelty and injustice at its worst…... Yes, it is an
expression of sacrificial love at its best….. But most importantly what goes on
at Calvary has meaning for you and meaning for me because of what God does
there…... It is when God shows up at Calvary that it becomes the saving event
that it is…...
Jesus is the
victim of human injustice….. Jesus did suffer agonizing pain….. Jesus did
willingly, lovingly sacrifice His life…... Those things are true…..
But we need
to think more deeply about this event…..….. We do that when we begin to see God the Fathers presence at Calvary….. Jesus
was crucified at nine o’clock on Friday morning of Passover week….. For the
first three hours, the people and the rulers and the soldiers and even the
criminals dominated the scene...blasphemy, ridicule, sneering, scorn, abuse,
mockery…... There’s only one man who is the exception to the rule through those
first three hours and that’s one of the thieves who is given light
from God and sees the truth a bout Jesus…. He is wonderfully saved while he’s
hanging next to Jesus…..
Let´s look at
the first three verses more closely…. And when it was over…. God took center
stage….
Luke 23: 44-46 NKJV
44 Now it was about the sixth hour,
and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 Then the sun
was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And when Jesus had
cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My
spirit.’” Having said this,
He breathed His last.
Luke 23:
44-46 Schlachter 2000
44 Es war aber um
die sechste Stunde, und eine Finsternis kam über das ganze Land bis zur neunten
Stunde.
45 Und die Sonne
wurde verfinstert, und der Vorhang im Tempel riß mitten entzwei.
46 Und Jesus rief
mit lauter Stimme und sprach: Vater, in deine Hände befehle ich meinen Geist!
Und als er das gesagt hatte, verschied er.
Verse 44. “It was now, or already, the sixth hour.” That would be noon..... there was
darkness….
Verse 45…. sun was darkened….. Literally failing or going out…... God turned
out the lights…..
This is
mid-day, high noon….. The sun is high in the sky….. then suddenly pitch
blackness…… The sun goes out….. There’s no moon…… There are no stars….. Pitch
black…... You can’t even imagine the shock…..
What caused
this blackness? It was not an eclipse…. They don´t happen during a full
moon…..Passover is always during a full moon…..
You only have
one other alternative and that is God……
Sometimes when
God showed up….. He showed up in judgment against Egypt as darkness…… Exodus chapter 10 records the plagues ….
Look at verse 21…
Exodus 10: 21 NKJV
Schlachter 2000
21 Then the Lord said to Moses,
“Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land
of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.”
21 Und der Herr
sprach zu Mose: Strecke deine Hand aus zum Himmel, damit es im Land Ägypten so
finster wird, daß man die Finsternis greifen kann!
When God
brings darkness…. it’s so thick you can grab
hold of it….
The people of
Israel would then well know that the presence of God could be associated with
supernatural, inexplicable darkness…... We’re not talking about a few clouds
rolling across in front of the sun….. We’re talking about total darkness…..
But there was
something even more to it because the darkness was associated with judgment......
There is a
very familiar theme in the Old Testament and it’s built around an expression
called The Day of the Lord.....
The Day of
the Lord is associated with judgment….. and judgment is associated with
darkness…..
Joel 1...... verse 15,
Joel 1:15 NKJV Schlachter 2000
15 Alas for the day! For the day of
the Lord is at hand;
It shall come as destruction from the
Almighty.
15 Ach, was für
ein Tag! Ja, der Tag des Herrn ist nahe, er kommt als eine Verwüstung vom
Allmächtigen!
The Day of
the LORD is often Judgment for those who refuse to repent… turn to Amos chapter
5 verse 20…
Amos 5: 18- 20 NKJV
18 Woe
to you who desire the day of the Lord!
For what good is the day of the Lord to you?
It will be darkness, and not light.
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion,
And a bear met him!
Or as though he went into the house,
Leaned his hand on the wall,
And a serpent bit him!
20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light?
Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?
For what good is the day of the Lord to you?
It will be darkness, and not light.
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion,
And a bear met him!
Or as though he went into the house,
Leaned his hand on the wall,
And a serpent bit him!
20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light?
Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?
Amos 5: 18-
20 Schlachter 2000
18 Wehe denen,
die den Tag des Herrn herbeiwünschen! Was soll euch der Tag des Herrn? Er wird
Finsternis sein und nicht Licht,
19 wie wenn
jemand vor dem Löwen flieht und ihm ein Bär begegnet, und wenn er heimkommt und
sich mit der Hand an die Wand lehnt, so beißt ihn eine Schlange!
20 Wird nicht der
Tag des Herrn Finsternis sein und nicht Licht, Dunkelheit und nicht Glanz?
Supernatural
darkness was almost always associated with divine judgment……
This is Day
of the Lord darkness…... What does it
symbolize? The presence of God in judgment…..
Now the main
character is now God and He has taken center stage….. God arrived at Calvary
not in light but in darkness….. He showed up to unleash judgment on sin…… past
present and future…..
God showed up
in darkness….. Judging sin….. He poured out His wrath on the Son for our sin
and rebellion….. God unleashed the full extent of His fury on Jesus....
This is the
cup that Jesus was thinking of in the Garden.... It is here on the cross…… that
He bears in His own body our sins…... It is here that He is made sin for us who
knew no sin….. It is here that He is wounded for our transgressions, crushed
for our iniquities….. It is here that He is made a curse for us…...back to luke
23….v44….
Luke 23: 44 NKJV Schlachter 2000
44 Now it was about the sixth hour,
and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
44 Es war aber um
die sechste Stunde, und eine Finsternis kam über das ganze Land bis zur neunten
Stunde.
Jesus was on
the cross for about three hours…… At the 9th hour…. About 3 o´clock Jesus cried
out….. It´s recorded for in in Matthew and mark….. let´s turn to Matthew 27….
V ….
Matthew 27: 45,46 NKJV
Schlachter 2000
45 Now
from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 46 And
about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama
sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
46 Und
um die neunte Stunde rief Jesus mit lauter Stimme: Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,
das heißt: »Mein Gott, mein Gott, warum hast du mich verlassen?
When He says,
“My God, My God,” this is the disappointment of the moment….. Jesus was totally separated from the Father
for the first and only time ever…. It was very hard for Jesus….
And then a
miracle in verse 45…
Luke 23: 45 NKJV
Schlachter 2000
45 Then the sun was darkened, and the
veil of the temple was torn in two.
45 Und die Sonne
wurde verfinstert, und der Vorhang im Tempel riß mitten entzwei.
God gives us
a picture of the work that He had done
on the cross….. the veil of the temple
was torn in two…..
It’s been
dark for three hours, pitch black….. Nobody could see the hand in front of
their face….. They’ve been standing around for three hours trying to
communicate and figure out what went on….. They would associate that with the
divine presence and judgment…..
A loud
tearing sound coming from inside the holy place in the Holy of Holies…… as God
rips the curtain from the top to the bottom…… God ripped that Veil….. It´s was a very thick curtain…..
This is the curtain that separated the Holy place from the Holy of Holies….
Remember….. The
High Priest could go in there once a year…… and only for a moment to sprinkle
blood on the Mercy Seat…..
The veil in
front of the Holy of Holies symbolized that the presence of God was closed to
sin and sinners…… But at three o’clock as Jesus paid for our sin and
rebellion…. God rips open the Holy of
Holies because Jesus Christ has made a way for us ….. The cross is atonement…...
The torn curtain is access to the Mercy seat…. Access to the Father…. Remember
it was God´s plan all along….. God is by nature a saving God……..
By Jesus
death the New Covenant is realized….. It had been in effect…. people had been saved
before that…. but the official ratification and activation of that New Covenant
didn’t happen until Jesus died on the cross….. and then God split the curtain
and threw open the way to His presence…...
When that happened,
the temple was obsolete….. all the sacrifices were obsolete…. They were all only symbols of what was to
come…… Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world….
Jesus opened the way to the Father once for all by his sacrifice on the
cross…….. How wonderful…. God is there
at the cross in judgment against sin….. but…... That’s not all….. He also ripped the curtain(veil) into the
Holy of Holies…. This is Good news…..
If you read
Hebrews chapters 9 and 10 in your own quiet times you will find a better
understanding of the miracle of the torn Temple curtain.….. It symbolizes the wonderful truth that the way
to the Father is open….. We have an advocate with the Father…. Jesus our
redeemer….
Turn with me
to Hebrews 10…v 19….
Hebrews 10: 19-22 NLT
19 And
so, dear brothers and sisters,[f] we
can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By
his death,[g] Jesus
opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And
since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let
us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him.
For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us
clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
Hebrews 10: 19-
22 Neues Leben
19 Deshalb, liebe
Freunde3, können wir jetzt zuversichtlich in das Allerheiligste des Himmels
hineingehen, denn das Blut von Jesus hat uns den Weg geöffnet.
20 Das ist der
neue, lebendige Weg durch den Vorhang, den Christus durch seinen Tod4 für uns
eröffnet hat.
21 Da wir also
einen großen Hohen Priester haben, der über das Volk Gottes eingesetzt ist,
22 wollen wir mit
aufrichtigem Herzen in die Gegenwart Gottes treten und ihm ganz und gar
vertrauen. Denn unsere Herzen wurden mit dem Blut Christi besprengt, um unser
Gewissen von Schuld zu reinigen, und unsere Körper sind mit reinem Wasser
gewaschen!
We don´t need any earthly priest or anyone to intercede for
us……
We can now rush, into the throne of grace to
receive mercy and help in time of need….. God ripped the curtain, the work was
done……
What are the
consequences of Christ’ work on the cross? Of course #1…..
1 the forgiveness of sins…. our redemption by the Lord Jesus!…….
2 Access to God the Father
3 life after death….. eternal life for
all who repent and believe the Gospel….
God gives us
a dramatic illustration of that….. He himself rips open the veil that hid his
presence from us….
God showed up
in judgment at the cross….. And He also showed up in salvation….. Judgment on His Son for our sin and
rebellion Means a wonderful and undeserved salvation for us…... Jesus paid our
debt…..And the way to the Father is open for us…..
I would like
for us to look at the crucifixion in the Gospel of John for a few minutes….
Turn to John 19…
John 19: 28-30 NKJV
28 After this, Jesus, knowing[e]
that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
said, “I thirst!” 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting
there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and
put it to His mouth. 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: 28-30 Schlachter 2000
28 Nach diesem, da Jesus wußte, daß schon
alles vollbracht war, spricht er, damit die Schrift erfüllt würde: Mich dürstet!
29 Es stand nun
ein Gefäß voll Essig da; sie aber tränkten einen Schwamm mit Essig, legten ihn
um einen Ysop und hielten es ihm an den Mund.
30 Als nun Jesus
den Essig genommen hatte, sprach er: Es ist vollbracht! Und
er neigte das Haupt und übergab den Geist.
It is
finished….. Es ist vollbracht….. Tetelestai…..
Literally
translated the word tetelestai means, “It is accomplished…. Or paid in full….
The word
tetelestai was also written on business documents and receipts in New Testament
times…… to show that a bill had been paid in full….. The Greek-English lexicon
by Moulton and Milligan says this:
“The
connection between receipts and what Christ accomplished would have been quite
clear to John’s Greek-speaking readership….. it would be unmistakable that
Jesus Christ had died to pay for their sins……”
As Spurgeon
says TETELESTAI conveys “an ocean of meaning in a drop of language, a mere
drop.
A C Gaebelein
adds “Never before and never after was ever spoken ONE WORD which contains and
means so much. It is the shout of the mighty Victor. And who can measure the
depths of this ONE WORD!”
Looking at
the Cross we see the work of redemption completed.
The payment
required for sin is death (cf Ge 2:17-note, Ro 5:12-note, Ro 6:23-note) and
when Christ said TETELESTAI, He was saying that the sin debt was “PAID IN
FULL!”
TETELESTAI is
not a cry of defeat…. but a cry of triumph of a Living Savior..... The WORK OF
REDEMPTION has been fully, finally and forever accomplished (cf Jn 4:34-note,
Jn 17:4-note).
Let´s go back
to Luke 23…v46…
Luke 23: 46 NKJV
Schlachter 2000.
46 And when Jesus had cried out with a
loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’” Having said this, He breathed His last.
46 Und Jesus rief
mit lauter Stimme und sprach: Vater, in deine Hände befehle ich meinen Geist!
Und als er das gesagt hatte, verschied er.
After Jesus
had triumphantly said, “It is finished,” one word in the Greekverse 46 of Luke
23 says, “And Jesus crying out with a
loud voice,”
“He cries out
with a loud voice, He shouts at the top of His lungs in full strength.” What
does He say? “Father, into Your hands I
commit My spirit.”
Those who
heard Jesus…. would have understood that…... That was Psalm 31:5 a very
familiar verse….. In fact, it was so familiar, it was their evening prayer…….
They prayed it every night before they went to bed….. It was their “Now I lay
me down to sleep” prayer….. “Into Your hands I commit My spirit,” very familiar
to all of them. They prayed it regularly…….
But Jesus
made two changes in it…… First, He added something, “Father,” sweet communion
has been re-established…...
The suffering
is over. Sweet communion with the Father reestablished.
Jesus quotes
Psalm 31 it is the prayer of a righteous sufferer who is in the midst of His
suffering…… saying, “All I can do is commit My heart to You….And Jesus is the
perfect, sinless, righteous sufferer who in death expresses perfect trust in
His Father’s love and promise to receive Him……
That’s what
Peter said, didn’t he? He didn’t revile, he committed himself to a faithful
Creator….. By the way, Stephen borrowed that….. Remember when Stephen died he
said, “Jesus, receive my spirit,” just as Jesus said, “Father, receive Mine.”
So, Luke says
after that, having said this He breathed His last. Very descriptive in its
simplicity and yet restrained. So God had
slain His own Passover Lamb….
How do we
respond to this? How do you respond to the cross? Let´s read to the end of the
chapter….. but please pay close attention to v47….
Luke 23…. Beginning at verse 47 ….
Luke 23: 47-56 NKJV
47 So when the centurion saw what had
happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”
48 And the whole crowd who came
together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and
returned. 49 But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from
Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
50 Now behold, there was a man named
Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. 51 He had not consented to their
decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was
also waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for
the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in
a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. 54
That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.
55 And the women who had come with Him
from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was
laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they
rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.
Luke 23: 47-
56 Schlachter2000
47 Als aber der
Hauptmann sah, was geschah, pries er Gott und sprach: Wahrlich, dieser Mensch
war gerecht!
48 Und die ganzen
Scharen, die herbeigekommen waren zu diesem Schauspiel — als sie sahen, was
geschah, schlugen sie sich an ihre Brust und kehrten zurück.
49 Es standen
aber alle, die ihn kannten, weit entfernt, auch die Frauen, die ihm von Galiläa
her nachgefolgt waren; und sie sahen dies.
50 Und siehe, ein
Mann namens Joseph aus Arimathia, einer Stadt der Juden, der ein Ratsherr3 war,
ein guter und gerechter Mann,
51 der ihrem Rat
und Tun nicht zugestimmt hatte, der auch selbst auf das Reich Gottes wartete,
52 dieser ging zu
Pilatus und bat um den Leib Jesu;
53 und er nahm
ihn herab, wickelte ihn in Leinwand und legte ihn in ein in Felsen gehauenes
Grab, worin noch niemand gelegen hatte.
54 Und es war
Rüsttag, und der Sabbat brach an.
55 Es folgten
aber auch die Frauen nach, die mit ihm aus Galiläa gekommen waren, und sahen
sich das Grab an und wie sein Leib hineingelegt wurde.
56 Dann kehrten
sie zurück und bereiteten wohlriechende Gewürze und Salben; am Sabbat aber
ruhten sie nach dem Gesetz.
“When the
centurion saw what had happened, he began praising God!
That´s the
right way to respond, isn’t it?...what other kind of response would there be
than praising God?”
Every
benediction in the New Testament is an expression of praise to God for
redemption…... We want to join the heavenly chorus and sing, “Worthy is the
Lamb that was slain to receive power and honor and glory and riches and wisdom
and strength…..” There’s only one way to respond….. First in repentance and then in thankfulness…… To worship the Lord for
His mercy and unfailing love…… next week we´ll look at the resurrection of the
Lord Jesus….
It has been
well said that Christ’s RESURRECTION is the Father’s “AMEN” to His Son’s
declaration “IT IS FINISHED.”
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