In this 2007 post from the blog, Kingdom People, Trevin Wax contrasts two gardens, Eden and Gethsemane.
“It is finished!”
- Jesus, from the cross (John 19:30)From one garden to another, Eden’s paradise to Gethsemane’s agony, we see God’s redemptive plan unveiled: Satan, sin and death forever defeated, only through the death and resurrection of God’s only Son. The fulfillment of prophecy, the climax of history, the culmination of God’s eternal plan came crushing down upon Jesus of Nazareth as He hung on the cross that Friday afternoon.
Jesus had lived a sinless life, teaching and preaching the good news of God’s Kingdom – the Kingdom He had come to inaugurate. This Kingdom had arrived with miraculous signs: bread for the hungry, healing for the sick, and sight for the blind. Now, in His death, Jesus was taking the weight of the world’s sin and suffering upon Himself. As He bore the punishment for the sins of the world, He was completing His earthly work.
On the sixth day of creation, God had made man in His image. Behold the man: Adam, the first human, the man whose sinful choice cast all of humanity into the powerful grip of sin and death. Now, on the sixth day, Friday, Pilate stands next to Jesus and declares, “Behold the Man!” Jesus, the “second Adam,” the true human being, the one whose sinless life will undo the curse of sin and death. Behold the Man who will pay for our sins! Behold the Man who is our Messiah and Lord! Behold the Man who is our Savior and God!
Piercing through the dark storm clouds and echoing through the valleys surrounding the hill of Golgotha, Jesus cried out from the cross, “It is finished!” announcing that His work was complete. On the sixth day, God had completed his work of creation. Now Jesus finished His work, as the spotless Lamb who died as our sacrifice. “It is finished” – the victory cry from the cross. The sacrifice had been accomplished. And God saw that it was good.
written by Trevin Wax © 2007 Kingdom People blog
We’ve linked and reproduced this week’s series of meditations as we set our faces towards Jerusalem, knowing that many of you don’t get around to clicking the links. Both our posts so far have been original material created by the bloggers. If someone asked you to write a mediation about this season, with what themes or thoughts on Christ’s sacrifice would you begin?
The best book I have ever read on the subject is “Contemplating the Cross; A Pilgrimage of Prayer” by Tricia McCary Rhodes.
“Today and every day, God extends an invitation — an eternal, unchanging summons to kneel in the shadow of the cross and make it your soul’s home”
It is a staple in my library, and I begin reading it the week before Easter each year. Rhodes leads us through narrative descriptions of the final hours of Jesus that are powerful and life-changing.
But not only do I read it at Easter — it is such a challenge to my walk with the Lord that if I find myself slipping a little ‘backwards’ her’s is the first book I reach for, to bring me back on track.
Very much enjoying your blog, Paul.
Comment by kaybee — April 9, 2009 @ 12:00 pm