"He breathed His last."... but He wasn't finished!

Day Seven Luke 23:44-46      from Jesus Last Days, A Model For Our Days

⁴⁴ It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, ⁴⁵ because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶ And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last.

There were three hours of darkness while Jesus suffered on the cross. In John 8:12  Jesus said: “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” In John 12:35-36 Jesus talks more about the light and gives instruction  to walk in the light. “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. ³⁶ While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.”   In verse 36 Jesus is declaring the call of followers of Christ. As Jesus hung on the cross the light was indeed being taken out of the world. We now as His followers are to carry the light into the dark world. When Jesus returns He will again be the light of the world. Revelation 21:23 describes the restored or recreated city of God. It says: The city had no need of the sun or the moon to shine in it for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is the light. One day the light of Christ will again fill the earth. Until that time we are called to be light bearers.

Jesus came to earth to restore our broken relationship with God. When Adam and Eve fell,  sin became a part of human nature causing a separation, blocking our ability to fellowship with God. What happens next in the text proves the complete redemptive work of Jesus. Verse 45 says the veil of the temple was torn in two.  Matthew 27:51 says: Then behold the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The temple veil separated the Holy of Holies, the place where the presence of God dwelt from the rest of the temple where man had access. The veil was there because sinful man could not come into the presence of God. The tearing of the veil signifies the end of that separation between man and God. The fact that it tore from top to bottom means that it was God who did it. There was and is no longer anything to separate those who are redeemed by Christ from God. Jesus perfect sacrifice removed the barrier. 

In John 19:30 Jesus says: “It is finished” His work on the cross completed the plan of redemption. Every need of man is satisfied in the work of the cross. The power of the cross is forgiveness. The power of the cross is redemption. The power of the cross is healing. The power of the cross is complete restoration of all that God intended from the beginning.

Jesus said, on the cross, “It is finished”. Yet I wonder, that first day when He was gone, what went through the minds of the disciples? I’m sure they struggled to try to make sense of all that had happened, all they had seen and heard. I am sure they feared and questioned what would happen next. What would become of them now? Peter surely anguished over  failing his friend and Lord.   Judas recognized his mistake. We can read that account in Matthew 27:3-5  Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, ⁴ saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? See to that yourself!” ⁵ And he threw the pieces of silver into the temple sanctuary and departed; and he went away and hanged himself.     Judas tried to fix his mistake. First he tried to give back the money as if he could pay for his sin. Tragically Judas, like so many people today, believed the lie that his sin was too great to be forgiven. He killed himself trying to pay the price for his sin through his own sacrifice. The cross of Christ, the blood of Jesus was shed even for the sin of Judas. He failed to accept Jesus forgiveness and the atonement for his sin. The blood of Jesus was shed even for the most horrible thing you have ever done. Judas could not pay the price for his own sin. Neither can any of us. “It is finished” is payment in full. It is God’s free gift of grace. We need only to say yes Lord and accept it.

It is interesting that perhaps the first time we see true faith in operation in the religious leaders comes in Matthew 27:62-66.    Now on the next day, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered together with Pilate, ⁶³ and said, “Sir, we remember that when He was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I am to rise again.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore, give orders for the grave to be made secure until the third day, otherwise His disciples may come and steal Him away and say to the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last deception will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “You have a guard; go, make it as secure as you know how.” ⁶⁶ And they went and made the grave secure, and along with the guard they set a seal on the stone.     By faith, because of their knowledge of scripture they knew it wasn’t over. Unfortunately  their faith didn’t cause them to repent. They merely attempted to cover up the resurrection. Many people today mistakenly believe that knowledge of who Jesus is, is all that is required to save them. In James 2:19 it says:   You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.     Merely having a knowledge of who Jesus is will not save anyone. We must each individually accept what He has done, making Jesus our Lord and Savior.

I wonder, did the disciples know as surly that Jesus would rise as promised? It is easy to fall back to looking at our circumstances when things get hard.  The disciples struggled with the circumstances surrounding them, the feelings of despair and doubt. It had appeared that were on the brink of realizing the fulfillment of the promised coming kingdom of God.  Now all seemed lost. Jesus was gone and with Him all their hopes and dreams died as well. This was truly a dark and desperate time for the followers of Christ. What was true then is also true today. We often fail to recognize that there is a spiritual realm operating as well as this physical realm we are part of. While things looked bleak in the physical realm, there was a tremendous victory being won in the spiritual realm. Just like that dark day when Jesus was in the grave, often the very darkest times of our lives, the times it seems as if absolutely everything has gone wrong, these are the times of great victory in the spiritual realm. James 1:2-4 in the Amplified version says: ² Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations.   ³ Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience.   ⁴ But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing.    Surly God is working even in the darkest times. Hebrews 11:1 says: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Truly the darkest hour is just before dawn.  In the  unseen realm, Jesus was conquering sin and death.  Revelation 1:18 speaks of what was happening while Jesus was in the grave. I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.  Ephsians 4:8-10 says:  Therefore it says,   

⁹ (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰ He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)

And He gave gifts to men, Paul goes on to talk about those gifts in verses 11-13.   He gave and there purpose.   And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, ¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.    Jesus didn't stop in the grave, He continued on, and so must we.