“It is finished.” John 19:30 Why did Jesus come into the world? One important reason the Son of God became a man was to live the life you and I would have to live in order to enter heaven. Jesus lived the perfect life. There was no sin in Him, and the night before He died He was able to say to the Father, “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do” (17:4). None of us can say these words to God. We’ve never been able to say them, even on the best day of our liv...
Apr 23, 2025•3 min
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30 What was finished? One thing that was finished was the long night of Jesus’ suffering. Jesus knows about suffering from the inside. He has been to the edge of endurance. Jesus knows about excruciating suffering more than anyone else has ever known it. But He is not suffering now. He is not on the cross now. He is done with that. It is finished. Jesus is no longer in the grav...
Apr 22, 2025•2 min
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” John 19:28 We could list passage after passage from the Old Testament that was fulfilled by Jesus’ words here, but let’s focus on just two of them: First, Psalm 22 is an amazing prophecy depicting the cross in extraordinary detail. It was written a thousand years before the time of Christ, in a culture where crucifixion was unknown: “All who see me mock me… they wag their heads; ‘He trusts in the L...
Apr 21, 2025•3 min
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:28-30 The same Jesus who once called out to a crowd, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink” (7:37), also cried out from the cross, “I thirst.” Th...
Apr 20, 2025•3 min
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 Think about it: the Father’s love was beyond Jesus’ reach. He was shut out from the Father’s love, and yet He said, “My God, my God…” This is of huge importance for our faith. God said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). That is His promise. But there will be dark times in your life when you simply cannot feel the love of God. When these times ...
Apr 19, 2025•3 min
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 What did it mean for the Father to give up His dearly loved Son to a cross? What did it mean for the Holy Son of God to give Himself up to become our sin-bearer and be shut out from the love of the Father? Christians sometimes say something like this: “I know Jesus died for my sins, but I don’t feel that God loves me.” If that’s you, consider what God has done ...
Apr 18, 2025•3 min
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:45-46 The clearest revelation of hell is at the cross. Hell has six dimensions and Christ experienced all of them on the cross… 1. Jesus was in conscious suffering. Hell is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Luke 13:28), and Jesus entered into all ...
Apr 17, 2025•4 min
...but standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. John 19:25-27 As Mary stood at the foot of the cross her heart must have been crying out, “My son, my son, my son…” And Jesus was saying, “Yo...
Apr 16, 2025•3 min
It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. Luke 23:44-45 This wasn’t an eclipse. An eclipse doesn’t last three hours. God turned off the light. The sudden darkness tells us something entirely new was happening. The darkness reminds us that the events that took place in these hours are beyond our understanding. But there are some things that we know, because God has told us… Christ bore our sins on the cross. He ...
Apr 15, 2025•3 min
“Today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43 The thief on the cross went from being an unbeliever, to being a believer, to being in heaven in a single day. Jesus could do this for every Christian if He wanted to. Imagine what that would be like: Every conversion on a Sunday morning would lead to a funeral on Monday! Why doesn’t Jesus do that? Four out of five Christians will say, “He’s leaving us here to get us better prepared for heaven.” No. You are as ready for heaven on the day you co...
Apr 14, 2025•2 min
“Today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43 Can you imagine anything further from the mind of this man? He feels that he is already in hell, and that the worst is still to come. He’s absolutely hopeless and powerless, and in the middle of all his pain and guilt, Jesus says,“Paradise... today!” To paraphrase C. H. Spurgeon, this man had breakfast with the devil, but he met Christ before noon, and then he had supper with the Saviour. The thief probably thought Christ’s kingdom would come s...
Apr 13, 2025•3 min
“Today...” Luke 23:43 Don’t you just hate waiting for exam results? You take the test, hand in your paper, and then you wait. Imagine living your whole life waiting for the results. Will I make it into heaven, or will I spend eternity in hell? When this man says to Jesus, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom,” Jesus does not say, “Well, we’ll have to wait and see.” He says, “Today you will be with me in paradise!” (23:42-43). If our works were involved in any way in our gaining entrance ...
Apr 12, 2025•3 min
“Today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43 If the thief had lived 30 more years, he would have lived a new and different life, but he didn’t have that opportunity. The fact that he entered paradise anyway shows us where the basis for our salvation lies. Our salvation in Christ involves three gifts: (1) justification—by which our sins are forgiven, (2) sanctification—by which we grow in the likeness of Christ, and (3) glorification—by which we enter into the everlasting joy of heaven. Th...
Apr 11, 2025•3 min
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Luke 23:42 Here is a man who is full of anger against God, but then something changes in his soul. Let’s consider four things we are told in this story: He begins to fear God. “Do you not fear God?” (23:40), he said to the other criminal. He recognises his sinful condition. Then he confesses his own guilt: “We are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong” (23:41). He gives no excuses. He believes in the Lord ...
Apr 10, 2025•3 min
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:39-43 His lif...
Apr 09, 2025•3 min
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” Luke 23:39 One of the two criminals who was crucified with Jesus spoke in the last hours of his life. He was completely lost, completely helpless, and he was still angry with God. You can almost feel this man’s hostility toward Christ... “If you’re God, why don’t you do something?” Suffering doesn’t always make people more tender. Sometimes it brings out the worst in us. Pain can even inte...
Apr 08, 2025•3 min
“Father, forgive them...” Luke 23:34 How is it possible for God to forgive the worst sins, and for Him to embrace the worst sinners? That question takes us to the heart of this amazing prayer. Man’s sin reached its full horror and its most awful expression on the cross as we crucified God’s Son. If there was ever a moment in human history when God’s judgment had to fall, this was it. But at the same moment, Jesus cried out, “Father, forgive them.” Jesus was isolating Himself under the judgment o...
Apr 07, 2025•3 min
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34 Had anyone ever prayed for these men? It is possible that not a single prayer had ever been said for even one of these Roman soldiers at any time in their lives. But Christ prayed for them. And Christ prays for you, too, when nobody else will. They needed this prayer because ignorance of the law is no defence against breaking it. If you break the speed limit and get pulled over, telling the police officer, “But I didn’t see the s...
Apr 06, 2025•2 min
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34 We’ve taken a step back to look at what the men who crucified Jesus were actually doing at the cross. Now let’s take a look at what Christ Himself was doing on the cross. Thank God that Jesus does not just look down from the cross and say, “They know not what they do!” Jesus taught: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Mat. 5:44), and that is precisely what He is doing here. Jesus prayed for His enemies; and ...
Apr 05, 2025•2 min
We impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 1 Corinthians 2:7-8 You haven’t really understood sin until you begin to see who it is that you sin against. Sin is much more serious than breaking a moral code. It is an offense, an affront, an insult against God. That’s what makes it so serious. You may never stand up and say, “I defy God,...
Apr 04, 2025•3 min
“They know not what they do.” Luke 23:34 Jesus said these words about the men who were nailing Him to the cross. What was it that they didn’t realise? Well, one thing they could not see is that, by their actions, they were preparing for themselves an eternal hell. Sin brings sorrow in this life and judgment in the life to come. If you knew the sorrow and the judgment a sin would bring, you would not do it. Spurgeon says that hell is “drinking a cup of gall, every drop of which is distilled from ...
Apr 03, 2025•2 min
“They know not what they do.” Luke 23:34 What were these men really doing when they were nailing Jesus to the cross? Well, one thing they were doing was shutting themselves out of heaven. Did you know that it is actually sin that shuts people out of heaven? If you could see the joy that you are spurning when you sin, you would not do it. Pastor C. H. Spurgeon paints a compelling picture: I see a pearly gate, and beyond it is a world of light and joy. A man standing outside, with a hammer and nai...
Apr 02, 2025•2 min
When they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. Luke 23:33-34 The soldiers took hammers and metal spikes, and they nailed the Son of God to a beam of wood. They lifted Him up on a pole and dropped it into a hole in the ground. Then Jesus spoke for the first time from the cross: “They know not wh...
Apr 01, 2025•3 min
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Galatians 1:3-5 This is the true gospel—what Jesus did for us on the cross (gave Himself for our sins), and what He does for us now by the Spirit (rescues us from the present evil age). Notice who gets the glory: “Our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever” ...
Mar 31, 2025•2 min
Far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 6:14 Throughout history, there have been three versions of Christianity – one that centers on the individual, one that centers on the church, and one that centers on Jesus Christ. The self-centered gospel is about what you can discover. It goes like this, “The truth lies within you.” Many people would rather view Jesus as a teacher who enlightens us than a saviour who delivers us. Paul utterly rejected this gospel...
Mar 30, 2025•3 min
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Galatians 6:7-8 The battle with the flesh will continue every day of your Christian life. You will never be done with the flesh until you see Jesus. While you cannot get rid of the flesh, you can weaken its position. Grasping this will really help you make sense o...
Mar 29, 2025•3 min
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Galatians 5:22-23 The second mark of a person who is walking by the Spirit is that the fruit of the Spirit is growing in your life. The flesh produces works. The Spirit produces fruit. Fruit grows. It comes from a life within. It is not manufactured. It is the fruit of the Spirit (not of the law). If you were to ask: “How do I get more love, joy, and peace in my life? How do I i...
Mar 28, 2025•3 min
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:24 In your ongoing war against sin, Christian, you are to crucify the flesh. What does that mean? Is crucifixion a fast death or a slow death? Crucifixion is a slow death. So, when Paul says we have crucified the flesh, that means it is dying, not that it is dead. Martin Luther said, “Christ’s people nail their flesh to the cross, so that although the flesh be yet alive, it cannot perform that wh...
Mar 27, 2025•3 min
The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. Galatians 5:17 The bad news is that the root of sin still lies within us. There is a continuing presence of sin in the life of a Christian believer: “The desires of the flesh are against the Spirit.” The good news is the Spirit also lives within us. There is a continuing presence of the Spirit in the life of a...
Mar 26, 2025•2 min
Walk by the Spirit... Galatians 5:16 What does it mean to walk by the Spirit? How would you know if you are walking by the Spirit? One mark of the person who walks with the Spirit is that you are waging war against sin. When you become a Christian, you become a new person in Christ, but you still live life in the body. There is a tension. Christ is your liberator, but there is active resistance to Him within you. Perhaps you have heard the story of the new Christian who was baptised. After comin...
Mar 25, 2025•3 min
