About

Call to worship: Isaiah 52:13-53:6

Text: John 19:28-30

Sermon Outline:

1. The prelude to 'It is finished.' 19:28-29

   Two purposes of 'I thirst':

   • To express Jesus' suffering.
   • To fulfill the Scriptures.
2. The pronouncement 'It is finished.' 19:30

   3 steps through this holy ground:

   • We never could've begun what Christ has finished.
   • Christ has finished what we never could've begun.
   • TWe needn't do anything else, then, but rest upon what Christ has finished.

Prepare

Questions to Consider:

1. Most of all, what I'd like for you to do is read the sermon text together as a family prior to corporate worship. Do that, pray it, soak in it, discuss it as friends, as spouses, as parents. Some questions to help:
2. In 19:28-29, what is the stated reason that Jesus says 'I thirst'?
3. When Jesus says 'I thirst,' He's alluding to and bringing about the fulfillment of Ps 69:21b. Read that Psalm. Consider how it speaks to what Jesus has endured on the cross. What's the point of Christ crucified fulfilling God's Word? Why is that significant?
4. Once Jesus says, 'I thirst,' He's ready to say those greatest words, 'It is finished.' What is finished? What is the cross about? What did He achieve on it? Consider Romans 3:21-26; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18. Why was this work so essential for us?
5. J.C. Ryle wrote, 'We rest our souls on a 'finished work,' if we rest them on the work of Jesus Christ the Lord. We need not fear that either sin, or Satan, or law shall condemn us at the last day. We may lean back on the thought, that we have a Savior who has done all, paid all, accomplished all, performed all that is necessary for our salvation.' What a divine pillow for the soul! Is that our daily resting place?