Today we read John 18 in our Spoken Word Bible Reading Plan. This gives us the account from John's perspective of the betrayal, arrest and interrogation of JESUS, leading up to His crucifixion. Now I want to share THIS from "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers.
It Is Finished
I have finished the work which You gave Me to do. — John 17:4
The death of Jesus Christ is the performance in history of
the very mind of God. There is no room for looking on Jesus Christ as a martyr;
His death was not something that happened to Him which might have been
prevented. His death was the very reason why He came.
Never build your preaching of forgiveness on the fact that
God is our Father and He will forgive us because He loves us. It is untrue to
Jesus Christ’s revelation of God; it makes the Cross unnecessary, and the
Redemption “much ado about nothing.” If God does forgive sin, it is because of
the Death of Christ. God could forgive men in no other way than by the death of
His Son, and Jesus is exalted to be Saviour because of His death. “We see
Jesus…because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour.” The
greatest note of triumph that ever sounded in the ears of a startled universe
was that sounded on the Cross of Christ – “It is finished.” That is
the last word in the Redemption of man.
Anything that belittles or obliterates the holiness of God
by a false view of the love of God, is untrue to the revelation of God given by
Jesus Christ. Never allow the thought that Jesus Christ stands with us against
God out of pity and compassion; that He became a curse for us out of sympathy
with us. Jesus Christ became a curse for us by the Divine decree. Our portion
of realizing the terrific meaning of the curse is conviction of sin, the gift
of shame and penitence is given us; this is the great mercy of God. Jesus
Christ hates the wrong in man, and Calvary is the estimate of His hatred.
It is SO important that we understand this, and that we also understand that God created us with a free will, fully knowing that we would fall and would need a SAVIOUR. He did so with the purpose of having GOD the SON become the Son of God, living life on earth NOT as GOD, but as a sinless Man. He lived His life according to the Word of God, and demonstrated just how powerful God's Word is in the life of one who will dare to speak the Word and believe the Word! Then He laid down His life! No one took His life from Him! JESUS gave His life, standing in our place, becoming sin with our sin and sick with every earthly sickness, disease, weakness and infirmity, so that WE can walk free from them all! JESUS said that because HE went to the Father, WE can do the works that He did during His earthly ministry, and even greater works than He did! We are in a much better position, with God IN us, than Adam and Eve were before they sinned. They communed WITH God, but we have God IN us! HALLELUJAH! Meditate daily on Who JESUS is, and on who YOU are - IN HIM! When you do, you will see so clearly the plan of God for mankind! Then we can boldly be about our Father's business! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "Children of the Light":Shalom in Him!
