Luke 23:50-56 "And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just: (51) (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. (52) This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. (53) And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. (54) And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on. (55) And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. (56) And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment."
The word that came to my mind when I read these verses is the word,
"finality." I'm not sure that I've ever spoken that word before in my
life, but it came to me with a great force. Some of you know that I am a
stickler on word meanings, so I googled it. AI always pops up first since its
inception, so I read what it had to say about finality. Here is AI's
definition: "Finality is the state of being settled, concluded, or
impossible to change, often conveying a sense of absolute closure or irrevocable,
firm action. It denotes the end of a process (e.g., death) and is frequently
used to describe conclusive legal judgments, philosophical teleology (purpose),
and definitive tones in speech" I admit these thoughts were the ones that
were running through my mind.
The death of Jesus settled something for everyone. Bear with me, please. For
the Roman soldiers, His death settled the day's work. They were told to nail
Him to the cross and make sure He died. When Jesus gave up the ghost, it was a
finality for them. The chief priests and elders were determined to put an end
to the life of Jesus in order that He would not be a thorn in their side. His
death was a finality for them - or so they thought. When Joseph and Nicodemus
begged the body of Jesus and "wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a
sepulchre," It was a finality for them. They felt they had done all they
could do for Jesus. The list goes on and on as to the fact that something was
settled, concluded, or impossible to change. PRAISE GOD! The debt of sin
that was against us had reached the state of finality in that there was
"absolute closure or irrevocable, firm action. It denotes the end of a
process." To quote a Gospel song that is sung by David Phelps, "That
was the end of the beginning." Our home in heaven was settled and
irrevocable by the death of Jesus Christ. I could go on and on, but right
now I am rejoicing in the FINALITY OF THE WORK OF MY LORD.
I hear the Savior say, "Thy strength indeed is small,
Child of weakness, watch and pray, Find in Me thine all in all."
2 Lord, now indeed I find Thy pow'r and Thine alone,
Can change the leper's spots And melt the heart of stone. [Refrain]
3 For nothing good have I Where-by Thy grace to claim;
I'll wash my garments white In the blood of Calv'ry's Lamb. [Refrain]
4 And when, before the throne, I stand in Him complete,
"Jesus died my soul to save," My lips shall still repeat.
Refrain:
Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.