The full payment for your sin and for my sin has already occurred although some people have not have yet claimed their blood purchased receipt that says, “Paid in Full.” Jesus said our debt is paid in full, completely and absolutely covered when He said, “It is finished.” Did you notice He did not say “I am finished”? He did not say, as a person might say while suffering fatigue or exhaustion, “I am finished.” He said, “It is finished.” The “it” was redemption. It was clear; it was emphatic; and it was directed towards His mission of redemption. Jesus died on the cross to accomplish divine justice and to redeem humanity.
Theologically, justice was required for redemption. The shedding of Jesus’ blood provided payment for a debt Jesus did not owe of which we could not pay. The Gospel originates in the Holiness of the Godhead. God is perfect justice. God accomplished the display of His perfect Holiness by fulfilling the Law. The Law required the shedding of blood to cover the penalty for sin. God paid our debt through the work of Jesus Christ. God literally liquidated Himself through the life of His Son to buy back humanity. God put everything on the line on the cross to display both the deadly consequences of sin and the dramatic portrayal of love that God has for humanity. God loves you specifically and individually. That is how great He is!
The cross is amazing. It is mystery; it is not just a mechanical transaction. Jesus is a beautiful Savior. We celebrate a beautiful God. Often, we fail to grasp the beauty of God. We can view the Cross as a transaction rather than an expression of beauty. Only the believer in Christ sees both the horror of the injustice of the cross and the wonder of God’s great compassion and beauty in the cross. Jesus is a beautiful Savior that evokes adoration. That is why we sing love songs to the lover of our souls. He is our beloved and we are His beloved. “The Christian life is not only believing but also beholding. Worship is the missing jewel of the Evangelical world.” (A.W. Tozer)
The cross of Jesus Christ was the greatest liquidation process the world has ever known. Jesus put aside His rights of divinity to pick up the fabric of humanity to become a great sponge that God would use to both blot out and absorb our sins. Jesus would be squeezed out; he would bleed and die for the justice of the Father and the sins of the world. God “liquidated” a portion of the Trinity for a season for your salvation. Jesus liquidated all for your redemption. He sold the farm for you. The cross is God reaching out to you to show His love for you.
I had the honor to serve a church in Wisconsin for a few years. I grew very close to a man named Jim. He was one of the elders of the church. He, unlike his brothers, had respiratory issues and health challenges as a young man which he would struggle with for the rest of his life. He lived on the farm which had been in the family for generations. Living on the farm caused many health problems for Jim. His older brothers, unlike him, were healthy and strong and worked on the farm, but he had to spend his time indoors. His father made a dramatic choice, a move no one would understand until years later. Jim’s father sold the farm and moved into town and changed his line of work. Years later he said to his son, “I sold the farm for you, Jim; I sold the farm for you! The Gospel is God saying to you, ‘I sold the farm for you.’” God sold the farm for you!
“How deep the Father’s love for us, how vast beyond all measure? That he should give His only son to make a wretch His treasure. Behold the man upon a cross, my sin upon his shoulders; It was my sin that held him there, until it was accomplished” (Stuart Townend)
God sold the farm for you – it’s paid in full. Take some time during this holy week to behold the Man of Sorrows. It’s time you came home to the Father. He has already paid it all – Receive his love today.
Growing in Christ,
Pastor Gene
