At EDF, we don't just encourage you to use less electricity, we actually reward you for it. That's why when you use less during peak times on weekdays, we give you free electricity on Sundays. How you use it is up to you. EDF. Change is in our power. Hey Sainsbury's, have you got anything to help me save on my lots dinners this week? Well, we're always matching and lowering prices. So hundreds of Sainsbury's fresh fruit, veg and everyday products are price matched to Aldi. And every week with Nectar, you can save money on thousands of the products your family loves. So we can help you plan your dinner and your budget. Sainsbury's, good food for all of us. Selected products, Aldi price match not in Ni. Nectar prices require Nectar account. Sainsbury's.co.uk slash aldi price match and Nectar.com slash prices terms. Have you ever had a moment in your life where it felt like everything was falling apart? Like what you thought God was doing suddenly didn't make any sense anymore? Well, for the disciples, that was good Friday. Now to set the scene, by early Friday morning, Jesus has already been arrested. He's actually been through multiple trials overnight. And these trials, let's just be clear, they weren't even legal by the own religious standards of the day. These were rushed and done in the dark and they were driven by this panic and this urgency by the religious leaders who remember wanted him dead. So he's brought before of course the Jewish leaders and then he's taken before Pontius Pilate. Then he sent to Herod and then he sent back to Pilate. Now here's the thing. It doesn't actually find him guilty, but he's under the pressure of the crowd and because the crowd is growing, Rome's priority is control. Now think about this for a minute. Just days earlier, people were shouting Hosanna. Now some of those very same people are shouting for him to be crucified. That's how quickly things can turn. You all know this. Jesus is then beaten. He's mocked. I don't know if you've seen the same clip going around social media that I have where the crowd of thorns actually looked like a helmet of thorns. But either way, I've seen those thorns. It was painful. And the idea of crucifixion in the Roman world, it was one of the most brutal forms of execution. He was specifically designed to maximize pain and to prolong death. The goal was public humiliation to make a mockery and an example of the people that they were crucifying. A crucifixion wasn't just a death, but it was suffering. And it was on display for everybody to see. And you know, the thing about Jesus was he wasn't just experiencing the physical pain of the cross. He was carrying something actually far heavier. In Isaiah 53, there's a connection that we see to what Jesus was experiencing on the cross. If you go back and read Isaiah 53, it says he was pierced for our transgressions. Transgression means sin. He was crushed for our inequities, all the ways that we fall short. Now, remember Isaiah 53 was written hundreds of years before, but it's describing exactly what's happening here. And so you have to think through this for a minute. This wasn't just a random set of circumstances. This was intentional. It was God's plan from the moment he sent Jesus. That may feel hard, especially because of how difficult those circumstances were that Jesus went through on the cross. But remember, on the cross, Jesus is taking on sin, yours and mine. He's taking on the weight of separation from God, the weight of everything that stands between us and our Father. Why? So that we don't have to. And then that darkest moment when Jesus says, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He's actually quoting Psalm 22. And if you go back and read Psalm 22, it's a Psalm that begins in anguish, but by the end, there's victory. And so what's happening here is Jesus is experiencing the full weight of what it means to be separated from God, so that you and I never have to. And then in John chapter 19, verse 30, we see the words where he says, it's finished. Now, the word that Jesus uses there is the word tete lestai. It comes from the Greek root, which is telaio. Please forgive my pronunciation if I'm getting that wrong. But what it means is to bring something to its end, to completion, meaning it is fully accomplished. But here's what matters. This isn't just done. This is it's done and it stays done. And so in the Greek, that's the perfect tense. And what that means is it's a completed action that has ongoing results. So what Jesus is doing is he's making a way for you and me and for our kids and for our grandkids and for everybody that's still to come. You know, in the ancient world, there was a couple different definitions that I just want to make sure we don't miss because of the weight it carries. Tete lestai was actually used as financial language. When a debt was paid, they would write or stamp on it. Tete lestai, paid in full. There's no remaining balance. You don't have a balloon payment coming down the road. There's no fine print. It's paid in full. It's actually also the language of sacrifice. So you know, in that culture, there was sacrifices that the priests would do on the behalf of the people. And so when a priest inspected a sacrifice and found it acceptable, he would say, tete lestai. It's complete. Meaning nothing else would need to be added. It was also servant language. So when someone completed a task that was given to them, they would report back and they would say, tete lestai. Meaning I've done everything that you've asked of me. Now bring those concepts back to the cross. When Jesus says, tete lestai, it's not in defeat. He's declaring that debt of sin, it's paid in full. That requirement of the law, it's fully satisfied. The work that the Father gave him to do, it is completely accomplished. And that's why the cross matters for us, because there's nothing left for you to earn. There's nothing left that you can do or not do. There's nothing left for you to add. There's nothing left hanging in the balance. It's not like there's partial forgiveness that you have to earn the rest of the way. There's no probation. It's finished. The work on the cross is finished. I want you to hear this. He didn't almost save you. He fully saved you. That's what tete lestai means. You don't have to try to earn it. You don't have to try to fix it yourself first. You have to accept the gift that he gave you by doing that for you. Now on Monday we started off talking about the already and the not yet. This is the part where the already becomes real. The price is paid. The victory is already secured. But it doesn't look like a victory yet. Why? Because by the end of the day, Jesus is dead. The sky has gone dark. The temple curtain has been torn. And that temple just so you know, and you can listen to my podcast to learn more about this, but that curtain was what separated the people from the presence of God, that thick, thick curtain temple. And it is at that moment ripped open. And so what that looks like is there's now finally access to God, to the Father, because of Jesus. I just want to pray for you. Jesus, thank you so much for the cross. Thank you for what you did for me and for everyone. Lord, I thank you for the opportunity we had to be reconciled to you because of your love for us. Lord, I pray for my friends that are listening today that even in this moment that you would overwhelm them with the amount of love that you have for them. And I thank you that you are not just a father, but a good father, one that lays down his life for us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening, friends.
