Today let’s begin the year 2018 by remembering the perfect sacrifice that Jesus Christ paid for the forgiveness of our sin and the salvation of our souls. In today’s text from Zechariah 3:1-5, in a typical courtroom setting, Satan, identified as the accuser of the brethren in Revelation 12:10, is seen accusing Joshua the high priest before God, only to be rebuked by The Lord Himself.
This is a beautiful picture of the present ministry of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ stands in the presence of God for us as our Advocate (1 John 2:1b) and High Priest (Hebrews 4:14). He ever lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). When a sinner turns to Christ for the forgiveness of their sin, The Father removes their filthy rags of sin and guilt and replaces them with His robe of righteousness. Upon the merits of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, filthy, guilty sinners like myself are declared not guilty before God.
The declaration of not guilty is not because of anything that we have done or refrain from doing. It is because of these six English words that have rocked the universe for 2,000 years: “It is finished” (John 19:30) and “He is risen!” (Mark 16:6)
Glory to God for His garments of righteousness given to clothe all who call upon His Name!
It is finished.
The depth of those three words transcend the ability of human language to communicate them. To get a richer flavor of certain verses I often open the Reina Valera bible, in a sense the KJV equivalent in Spanish. “It is finished” in Juan 19:30 uses only two words: “consumado es”. Consumado is an interesting word with rich meaning. It does mean finished but its full flavor includes: fully accomplished; delivered; culminated to its utmost perfection.
Indeed.
In Greek, only one word is used for “It is finished”, a version of #5055 in Strong’s Greek concordance. One word can express the full meaning of what Jesus said on the cross? I wish I could speak Greek…
French being my “third language”, I often also do a quick check there. Jean 18:30 reads “Tout est accompli” or “all is accomplished”
Indeed.
My takeaway trying to understand these amazing words (1 in Greek, 2 in Spanish, 3 in English and French), is that the in-depth meaning of what Jesus did on the cross for us cannot be fully described using limited human languages. Yes, the Spanish version that suggests culmination to perfection enriches my personal understanding. But, ultimately, it is all about being born of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit within us gives us greater understanding than man-made languages, dictionaries, or lexicons.
It is a blessing to read, study, and absorb the word of God. Berean minded saints can benefit through further study, translations, and commentaries. Ultimately, however, it is all about our intimacy with Jesus. About having the Holy Spirit as our true Translation or Lexicon. Call it the HSV (Holy Spirit Version 😀). It does not reside in a book or an iPad. It was placed within our hearts by Grace alone, through Faith alone, in Christ alone.
Thank You Jesus.
God bless,
JoseM