New Life!

Dear Friends,

We commemorate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in the beautiful season of spring. How fitting, as it approaches with the hope of new life, joy and fruitfulness!   

Written over 600 years before the birth of Christ, the coming of the Messiah was prophesied:

Isaiah 53:1-12
1 Who has believed our message? To whom has the LORD revealed his powerful arm?

2 My servant grew up in the LORD’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.

3 He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs
on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.

4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his
troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!

5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was
whipped so we could be healed.

6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on
him the sins of us all.

7 He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.

8 Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was
cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people.

9 He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a
rich man’s grave.

10 But it was the LORD’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering
for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD’s good plan will prosper in
his hands.

11 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his
experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear
all their sins.

12 I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted
among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

We are forever thankful for our Lord’s full atoning work on Calvary and His Resurrection from the dead. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:17 …if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.

Our Lord Jesus has purchased for us forgiveness and redemption, freedom from sin, death and Satan, and fellowship with our Heavenly Father. We must not forget that our redemption came at a very great price – the shed blood of our Lord, Jesus. The sinless Lamb of God suffered a brutal, humiliating and horrifying death on the cross. Jesus died so that we would live!

When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. ~John 19:30

“It is finished” in Koine Greek is “tetelestai.” The word was used in different contexts:

1. A servant, upon successfully completing his master’s assignment, would say, “Tetelestai,” which indicated that he had done precisely what was required of him – “mission accomplished!”

In crying out “Tetelestai,” Jesus declared that He had faithfully accomplished His messianic mission, thereby perfectly fulfilling the will of His Father!

2. A Hebrew equivalent of tetelestai was used by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement, as he sprinkled the blood of the sacrificial lamb on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. Temporary atonement was made for the people’s sins for one more year. However, through Christ’s shed blood on the cross, the Lord’s perfect sacrifice brought the permanent removal of sin and the end of the sacrificial system of the Law. Hebrews 9:12 says, “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his [Jesus’] own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”

3. The word tetelestai was also used in the business and banking world to indicate the full payment of a debt. When a debt was fully paid, the document was signed “paid in full.” Jesus took our place and fully paid our debt of sin. When Jesus cried, “Tetelestai,” he was affirming that our debt was wiped out – “paid in full!”

4. Tetelestai was also used to describe a turning point, or the end of one period and the beginning of another. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was indeed “the hinge of history.” The Old Covenant ended, and the New Covenant began! Everything in the universe turned at that very moment! Our lives also turned from darkness to light when we received Jesus as our Savior and Lord!

Because Jesus declared, “It is finished,” we have a new beginning – a new life to live! Let us live this abundant life of hope, joy and thanksgiving for the glory of our God!

May the Lord richly bless you and your family,

Pastor Paul