Final sayings of Jesus

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Luke 23:33-35 ESV

And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!"

When we are sick, we tend to focus on ourselves. Our self preservation kicks in. We are concerned about our health. But Jesus is not concerned with himself. As he is crucified, he thinks of others. During the most painful and excruciating time,  Jesus is praying for those who crucified Him. He is praying for His executioners. He is concerned with the welfare and state of those who are inflicting pain on Him. He asks for mercy and forgiveness for His enemies.

Who are His enemies? Those who wanted Jesus dead. They could have been the Jewish leaders, the Roman governor, etc. We can count ourselves among them. The enemies of Jesus have one thing in common. We all want our kingdoms intact; we don't want Jesus's kingdom to infringe on ours. We want to be kings of our own little kingdoms. We don't want to live for Jesus. We want to live for ourselves. We don't want to die to ourselves. We reject the kingship of Jesus. Christians know who Jesus is. They know his glory, his kingship, and his kingdom. But we still push back against the King of Kings. We excuse our sin. We still wish Jesus to go away. Wish him to die so we can live as we wish. We are treacherous, like Judas. But Jesus still intercedes for us, those who know him yet still rebel.

Mark 15:33-34 ESV

And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.  And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

It is noon, when the land is full of light and no shadows are there. Yet this day, there is darkness. Darkness is associated with the curse of God. Blessedness is associated with God's face shining on us. But during this time, there is darkness. God's face has turned from Jesus. So he cries out, as an innocent sufferer. For the first time, Jesus is cut off from His father. Jesus takes all of our sins upon Himself. God sees the sin and the Father is filled with anger and wrath. This is worse than death and physical torture. A place where God has forsaken. God is the source of all good things. When we are cut off from this, all goodness will be gone.

John 19:29-30 ESV

A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

This sour wine is a fulfillment. Psalm 69:21 speaks to this. Jesus' life was about fulfillment. This was not giving up. In Jesus' cry, he was speaking as one who had completed a financial transaction. Transaction complete. Jesus has paid for it all. We no longer owe God for our sin. Jesus has paid in full for us all.

When we rejected God, we aren't just autonomous. We fall under the reign of Satan, sin, and death. So Jesus freed us from the other kingdom. He had defeated sin, Satan, and death. This is the finished that Jesus spoke of.