Wed Jul 16

Listen up, little ones

Especially for the littles in your household.

Listen for the word finished.

Reading

John 19:16-30—It is Finished!

Optional Reading

Isaiah 52:13-15

Keys for kids

Also for the littles. Young households might choose, after Keys for Kids, to go directly to praise and prayer.

Jesus was successful in his saving work.
Jesus finished that work in his death and resurrection.
There is nothing we can add to Jesus’s work—only believe.

Questions

(Some read the ?s before the notes/ ask them after.)

What has Jesus finished?
What are the results of Jesus finishing salvation?
Why did Jesus have to finish our salvation?

Notes

Jesus was successful in his saving work. The last words uttered by Christ on the cross, as recorded in John’s Gospel, seem to be an exact parallel to, and even a translation of, the last words of Psalm 22. “It is finished!” “He has done this!”

What has He done? What is finished? Remember, Christ said those words before dying and in those words (and the final words of Psalm 22) is expressed the completion of the work of Salvation. He has done it all. The three-in-one God planned from before time began that the Son would die for the sins of His people, that the Father would pour out His wrath on the Son and accept His sacrifice as payment for the sins of all He chose to save, and that the Holy Spirit would apply that finished work of Christ to the hearts of those for whom Christ died so that they would repent and believe.

We have in Christ an atonement that really atones, a satisfaction that truly satisfies, a salvation that completely saves. Even our faith is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). By His grace we praise Him (v.23,25), revere Him (v.23,25), seek Him (v.26), turn to Him (v.27), and bow before Him (v.29). It is finished! Our Savior is successful!

Hughes notes that “It is finished” was not a submissive cry but a shout of victory. In the Greek it was only one word, in the Greek perfect tense, meaning, “It is finished and always will be finished!” What had Christ finished? … he had finished the atonement.

Swedish Method questions

See the Sunday notes for meaning of the symbols.

Praise

Psalm 22e, 34a

Prayer

Praise God that Jesus finished his saving work.
Pray for change in you from last Lord’s Day’s sermons.
Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.