April 28,2024
When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on that Holy and unforgettable day, the world shifted. The long awaited Jewish Messiah had arrived. He even received a King’s welcome with palm leaves and cloaks laid in His Majesty’s path. But Jesus wept. He knew what lay ahead in this Holy week. His beloved people would soon reject Him and what He came for. The very thing that they had prayed and waited for. The gift of hope and eternal life.
Sin has a very high price tag that includes eternal consequences. Jesus had a job to do that had a very high price tag with eternal consequences. He was the only one that could pay that price, not for Him but for us.
The Price:
He was arrested and taken from place to place to be put on trial in the cover of darkness. He was slapped, spat on and ridiculed by angry religious leaders.
He was dragged through the streets being cursed, spat upon and hit by angry mobs.
He was flogged and beaten until He was not even recognizable to His own friends and family. Being flogged means a whip with about 9 leather straps that were imbedded with pieces of lead and shards of bone. The bone dug into the skin, at times all the way to the bone. When the guards jerked the whip back it would rip skin and muscle away from the bone. He was lashed so many times that people usually did not survive that level of damage.
He was then brutally forced to endure the weight of the cross through the long streets of Jerusalem to Golgotha Hill outside the city. He was nailed to the cross and raised up to be displayed naked.
And you know what? All of that was NOT the height of the price He must pay. And you must remember that this is God incarnate! At any second He could have uttered one Word and a legion of Angels would have been there to stop this. But His Amazing Love for us kept Him there.
He had seven statements that He made from the Cross during those unimaginable hours. The highest price for sin is total separation from God. God is all that is good. Love, light, comfort and peace and every good thought or feeling you have. Without Him there is only darkness, guilt, agony and regret.
Imagine the agony He felt as He cried out “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46 NKJV). Total separation.
His last statement was “Father, Into Thy Hands I Commit My Spirit” at the exact second He CHOSE to die. He chose that second because in His second to the last statement He Completed what He came for. A birth.
Tetelestai! Loud and clear for the world to hear far into future generations. Tetelestai! The Birth of Hope.
In our modern day English most Bibles translate it as “It is Finished.” But if you look back at the original Koine Greek you will find it used when a debt is paid off. Written on the ancient texts Tetelestai or PAID IN FULL!! Once Jesus announced our sin debt Paid in Full, Hope for all mankind was born.
So at Golgotha sin died but hope was born. That is our starting place. This Cross on that Hill has tugged at our hearts for so long. But now we must see it as our birth place.
When we return with Jesus to rule from Jerusalem we must complete and honor His Victory. All that were born of that hope (Jew and Gentile) must start at Golgotha and walk back the Via de La Rosa to the foot of the throne of the Victorious Messiah, King of kings.
After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled…
He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
John 19:28, 30 NKJV
Bible Notes:
The entire work of redemption had been brought to completion. The single Greek word here (translated “it is finished”) has been found written on papyri receipts for taxes, meaning “paid in full”.