Day 53.

Yesterday we considered my favourite word in the New Testament, ‘tetalestai’ in the Greek. We noted the occurrence of the phrase ‘it is finished’ at creation, the cross and the end of the 7 last plagues. The plagues run the days of creation backwards, but are also the plagues of the cross, where Jesus took the wrath of God against sin on our behalf.

The word ‘rest’ also occurs at all three junctions. God Rested, Jesus rested, John says for those who receive the plagues, there is “no rest.” God’s people are resting in a finished work, outwardly demonstrated in their devotion to the day of rest. We cease our labours (for salvation) and rest in His finished work. After rest comes work.
All this took place at Calvary when he said, “It is finished!” The cross was His biography. The wood was the table upon which it was written, His flesh was the parchment, and the nails were the pen dipped in His blood. But it was our biography too. His brow was pierced for the wrong things we have thought, His hands were spiked because of the wrong things we have done, His feet were rigid to the tree because of the wrong places we have been. His back was raw because of the wrong burdens we have born. His side was opened near His heart because we have loved foolishly with our hearts. His lips were cupped to the cry of woe for the wrong things we have uttered. He was suffering a human death because of the wrong thing that we are.
Of the first tree satan said, “Take and eat,” and thus man was lost; a thief turned out of paradise. Of the second tree Jesus says, “Take and eat” and by partaking we are saved. Of this second tree a thief, by partaking, was turned into paradise. God planted the first tree, man the second. (The Bible calls the cross a tree, by so doing it wants us to remember the first tree of Knowledge of good and evil.) With the second tree the knowledge of good and evil is complete. Where in all the world and in all the scriptures, do we learn the knowledge of good and evil as we do at the second tree – the cross? There we see goodness incarnate. There we behold the holiness of God displayed as nowhere else. There we discover the unfathomable love and matchless grace of Deity unveiled as never before or since. But there, too, we also see evil. We see it in all its hideousness. There we witness the consummation and climax of the creature’s wickedness. There we behold as nowhere else the vileness, the heinousness and awfulness of sin as it appears in the sight of a thrice Holy God.

” Thorns shall the earth bring forth,” He was carrying the curse of Eden upon His brow because He was “made a curse for us” (Gal.3:13) He was naked because of Adam’s nakedness. Eve was told, “In sorrow shall you conceive,” He was the man of sorrows. “From the sweat of your brow,” it was declared to Adam. Jesus sweat “great drops of blood,” in Gethsemane. The sword that marked the divide between Eden and a cursed world was thrust into His side. He had been born amongst the sacrificial animals. Now He was the sacrifice and substitute. Today it is finished!