It is finished

Sixth in a series on the Seven Last Words of Jesus

by Pastor Paul Wolff

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:30)

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When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Just before Jesus spoke this word, He was given a sour drink of vinegar. He could feel His life was slipping away, and He would soon die unless He performed some miracle to escape death. Jesus had walked away from those intent on murdering Him several times before throughout His life when it was not His time to die. Those were times when He yet had work to do, but now His work was done, and this was His time to die. He could not miraculously save Himself and still save sinners from the punishment for their sin. So, once again, Jesus submitted Himself to the will of the Father and would soon die. But He still had a couple more words to say before He died, so He drank the vinegar, gathered up what little strength He had left in His body, and spoke His final words.

“It is finished.” was Christ’s second to last word on the cross, and in Greek it literally is just one word. Yet, it is a very important word for your comfort, and for the assurance of your salvation. 

What is finished? Christ’s suffering was nearly at an end, but Jesus was not just notifying us that His suffering was at its end, as if to say, “I’m glad that’s over. I can’t take any more of that.” Neither was this word a word of surrender or defeat. Jesus was not giving up on His work for the salvation of sinners. This was a word of victory. Though it is a strange victory because it only came with His death. Jesus was suffering to pay for the sins of the world. He had to endure it all so that God’s wrath was poured out on Jesus so that He suffered it all, and none was left for you. In this sense, “It is finished,” means your redemption is completed or fulfilled. Jesus paid the full price for your sins and finished it all. The victory that Jesus won with His suffering and death is your victory because He died to save you. There is nothing left for you to do except to receive it thankfully as a gift.

Jesus came to fulfill God’s Law through a perfectly obedient life as a man, and He had done so marvelously. Jesus had also come to offer His perfect life as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. Jesus was to be the perfect substitute, who offered His life in exchange for the lives of all sinful people of all time. As Jesus hung there dying on the cross, His work for the salvation of the world was coming to its completion. When Jesus said, “It is finished” He was proclaiming that His work of salvation was completed, or it would be completed very soon with His imminent death. Jesus would not turn away from God’s will at the last moment, but would see it through to the end, trusting that God’s will is always best. 

How many people have lived in terror of God’s judgment, thinking they had to atone for their own sins, or appease God by their works, or sacrifice, or their own suffering? The comfort we receive from this one word, “It is finished,” is nearly incalculable. I would say it was priceless, but we know the price. It is a price more valuable than all the riches in the whole world. The cost of our redemption is the lifeblood of God’s beloved Son, Jesus Christ. It is finished. You can’t even offer God something to pay for your own salvation. First, because everything you have is already a gift given to you by God, already, so anything you try to give God already belongs to Him. And more importantly, to try to buy your salvation by any other means only shows that you despise what God’s beloved Son has done to save you. Neither the Father, nor Jesus will appreciate that. The only begotten son of God shed His blood for you to pay for your redemption. What could you give God that is worth more than that? The Father is well pleased with what the Son has done, because He paid the price for your sins in full. Jesus gets all the glory and praise forever because He has won for God a people of His creation, perfect and holy, washed clean of their sins by the blood of Jesus. 

Not everything is finished, however. The reign of sin and death is over, but God’s love for you is not finished. In fact, with the death of Jesus, God’s love for you is fulfilled, and it is eternal. Christ’s love for the Father is also not finished. Jesus fulfilled the First Commandment with His steadfast faith and love for God despite the suffering and torment He endured for the sins of the world. It was because Jesus loved God with His whole heart, and soul, and strength that He was willing to suffer and die to rescue sinners from the death that our sins deserved. 

Because Jesus remained faithful to the end, your life is also not finished, either. Your sinful life must come to an end, of course, but through faith in Christ your Sanctified life as God’s child will not end when your corrupted, sinful flesh fails you and you die. As Jesus rose victorious from the grave on the third day after He died and was buried, you, too, will rise from the grave on the last day when Jesus returns in judgment. On that day, Jesus will gather all who belong to Him through faith, and glorify them and take them to live with Him forever in glory in a new heaven and earth – a re-made paradise. 

Whenever you are tempted to self-righteousness, remember that Jesus is your righteousness. He won it all for you through His life and death. It is finished. When you are tempted to despair because of the guilt of your sin, remember that Jesus won complete forgiveness for you. It is finished. When you approach your final hour in this sinful world you can rest in peace knowing that in Jesus Christ you have a savior from sin and death.

When Jesus spoke these words, there was one thing yet to be completed. Jesus could not have come down from the cross without dying. Yet in this word, Jesus proclaimed His victory which would come immediately after His next, and final, word on the cross.

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Articles in this series:

Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.
Woman behold your son. Son, behold your mother.
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
I thirst.
It is finished.
Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

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Blessed are Those who Mourn, For They Will be Comforted

(Part 2 of a series of 9 articles on the Beatitudes)

by Pastor Paul Wolff

“Blessed are those who mourn” Photo from a Mosaic in the Saint Louis Cathedral in St. Louis, Missouri

In the second beatitude in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) Just like the other beatitudes, no one ever asks to mourn, yet it happens all too often. In general, we mourn at any kind of a loss, but mostly we associate mourning with the sadness we feel at the death of a loved one – a relative or a friend. These are proper occasions for mourning since those who die are lost to us who remain here on earth. Death is certainly a great enemy, and the losses we experience through death are the tragic result of sin. We also mourn sin and all of its consequences, including death. We mourn when others sin against us, but we also mourn when each of us recognizes that our own sin hurts our neighbors, and we rightly feel guilt that we have caused trouble to someone to whom we should have done good works, and not evil. We realize that each one of us is part of the problem, and that is a humbling thing to recognize, though often difficult to accept.

The problem with death which causes us to mourn is that it is permanent. There is no coming back from death as far as it is in our power. Sometimes people will say that they “died” when their heart stopped for a short time, but whenever someone has been revived from that situation it is clear that they weren’t dead, but they were dying. There comes a point, however, when a person cannot be revived, and is lost to us in this life. The comfort we have in Jesus is that He has overcome the power of death for all people. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.” (John 11:25) He is the solution to death.

The loving father mourned over his prodigal son, but was comforted by his repentance and return.

In Jesus we receive comfort in our mourning and rescue from death. Saint Paul wrote, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our lord.” (Romans 6:23) Death comes as a result of sin, and only Jesus can rescue us from sin and death. Jesus is the holy and perfect Son of God in human flesh. When He offered His life as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world, God the Father accepted His death as payment for the sins of all people of all time. Because of this, Jesus has conquered death for all people. On the last day, when Jesus returns in Glory and Power, all the dead will be raised never to die again. The believers will be raised in eternal glory because they gladly received Christ’s forgiveness in faith as a gift that was given to them. The unbelievers will be raised to unending mourning and torment because they rejected Christ’s gift of forgiveness and the guilt of their sin remains with them forever.

This is why Jesus is also saying in the Beatitudes that those who mourn over their sin are blessed because they recognize the guilt of their sin and repent of it and look to Him for forgiveness and salvation, and trust that He will make everything right in the end. That is where we are comforted. Jesus also taught, “I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7) That joy in heaven is not only the angels and the saints, but God, Himself, has joy over the repentant sinner because God has worked hard to win our salvation, and it gives Him joy that we receive His salvation as the greatest gift that He gives us. Jesus endured the wrath of God the Father for the sins of the world, so that we might escape that wrath (which we deserve because of our sinfulness), and receive full forgiveness through Jesus. We will also be reunited with all believers in God’s heavenly kingdom through the resurrection of all flesh and the glorification of all who, by faith, belong to God and are adopted as His children. (see my article: “Blessed are the Poor in Spirit”)

We mourn at the graves of loved ones, but we are comforted in the hope of the resurrection.

Saint Paul writes, “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10) Saint Paul reminds the Christians in Corinth that godly mourning over our sin and its consequences leads to repentance. We should mourn over our sin, lest we get too comfortable with it and enjoy it too much and despise Christ’s salvation. “Godly grief” leads to repentance which leads us to trust in Christ to forgive us and save us from our sin. The opposite of that is worldly grief which does not lead to repentance. The unbelievers in the world grieve when the consequences of sin are manifest and they are stopped from the guilty pleasure they take from wicked acts. This worldly grief leads to death because they mourn the pleasures and profits of sin rather than look to Jesus to save them from their sin.

In Matthew 11:16-19 Jesus points out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees who condemned John the Baptist for being too ascetic and austere in his lifestyle, while they condemned Jesus for being too free in His eating and drinking. In this passage, Jesus makes a distinction between worldly people and godly people. He compares worldly people to taunting children in the marketplace who say, “We played the flute for you and you did not dance. We sang a dirge and you did not mourn.” (v. 17) (Note: A dirge is a song of sadness and mourning like one sung at a funeral.) The world rejoices in sin and evil, but Christians cannot join them in their celebrations over such things. The world holds parades for sexual immorality and murder and theft and lies, and makes a big show of giving awards to people who practice and approve such things. They also condemn God’s people for not joining in with their wicked celebrations. So we mourn over wickedness and evil when the world celebrates. On the other hand, the world mourns when justice is done and evil people get what is coming to them, and they are prevented from continuing in their sin. In this case God’s people rejoice in His justice and the rescue they enjoy from God’s hand as their tormentors are punished and stopped from persecuting good people.

The Pharisees wanted the Christ to come and recognize their imagined righteousness and lift them up as leaders and co-rulers with Him. When He called them to repent (like all the other sinners) they resented it (thinking they were already holy) and they hated Jesus and plotted to kill Him (see John 11:53 and 12:10). The Pharisees did not mourn over their sins, though they didn’t exactly rejoice over their sins like much of the world does. Instead the Pharisees tried to cover up their sins and hide them and pretended that they were holy in all that they did.

Jesus explained to His disciples what was going to happen when He would be arrested and crucified. He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” (John 16:20-22) This is exactly what happened when Jesus was arrested, convicted in a prejudicial show trial, crucified, and rose from the dead. This is also prophetic (in a typological sense) about Christians mourning in anticipation of Christ’s return on the Last Day for judgment. We weep and lament over sin and death in this life as we await the complete fulfillment of our salvation, but when Jesus returns in Glory we will rejoice in unending praise for our God who has done so much to save us.

Jesus mourned with Mary and Martha at the grave of Lazarus, but Jesus brought comfort by raising Lazarus back to life.

Jesus mourns at various times in His life. In Luke 13 Jesus mourns over Jerusalem. Jesus says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” (Luke 13:34-35) Jesus doesn’t mourn only because they are going to kill Him and treat Him shamefully, but mostly because they have largely rejected Him as their savior and God and many will lose the salvation He goes there to win for them. Jesus also mourns the death of a friend, Lazarus, in John 11. Even though Jesus is planning on raising Lazarus back to life, the death of a friend still makes Jesus weep for sorrow.

The blessing that Christians receive for their mourning over sin is that they will be comforted. We are first comforted through the forgiveness of our sins that we receive from Jesus. Jesus sends us His Holy Spirit to bring His forgiveness to us through God’s Word and Sacraments. This comforts us because we know that the guilt of our sins have been paid for by Jesus, and we are freed from the punishment that is due to us because of our disobedience. Jesus has reconciled us with God by paying for our sins Himself through His death on the cross. God, the Father poured out His anger over our sins on Jesus when He was dying on the cross. Jesus remained faithful and endured God’s wrath, and died in our place. We are comforted that God has no more anger left for us because of what Jesus did for us.

Saint Paul writes of Christ’s comfort in his second letter to the Corinthians, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5) The comfort that we receive from Christ in the forgiveness of our sins, and the promise of eternal life in God’s Paradise, gives us empathy for the suffering of others in this world. As we have been comforted, so we can turn people to Jesus so that they, too, may receive God’s comfort, forgiveness, and assurance of eternal salvation.

We are further comforted when we mourn the loss of loved ones because we know that Jesus has defeated the sting of death by dying for our sins. The resurrection of Jesus is just the first of many. When Jesus comes again to judge the living and the dead He will raise all the dead, and all believers in Jesus will live forever in comfort with an “uncountable” number of fellow children of God (see Revelation 7:9) who have received God’s salvation through faith in Jesus. Christ’s salvation is free, and available to all through faith, but those who reject Jesus have rejected their salvation and do not receive the blessings and comfort that is given to them through Jesus Christ. Yet, we are comforted to be reunited with fellow believers to live forever in God’s heavenly kingdom.

Because Jesus has conquered sin and death He comforts us and tells us that, for the Christian, death is no worse than sleeping. Jesus will come and awaken us from the sleep of death, and give us eternal life.

Saint Paul gives the Thessalonian Christians the reason for hope when they grieve those who have died. He writes, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14) Our comfort in times of mourning is in the resurrection of all flesh. Jesus will return on the last day and raise all the dead, and we will be reunited with our brothers and sisters in the faith, and united with Christ forever. This is our ultimate hope, and our comfort in this life when we mourn those who are lost to us here.

Saint James reminds us that there is a time for mourning and a time for joy. He writes, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” (James 4:8-10) Here we see again, that our comfort is something that comes from God, just like everything else in life. We mourn the losses we experience in this sinful life, but trust in God for comfort and restoration, just as we trust in God for forgiveness, life, and daily bread.

Though we have comfort in this life in the hope of the resurrection, the fulfillment of our comfort must wait until the last day when Christ returns to fulfill all He has promised. Saint John saw a vision of this in the Revelation that Christ gave him. “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4) Our hope lies in the complete destruction of death and the restoration of God’s people as He wants us to be – holy and immortal in God’s heavenly kingdom.

“… the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.” (Isaiah 61:1-3)

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Other articles in this series:

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit

Blessed are the Meek, for They Shall Inherit the Earth 

Blessed are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness, for They Shall be Satisfied

Blessed are the Merciful, for They Shall Receive Mercy 

Blessed are the Pure in Heart, for They Shall See God 

Blessed are the Peacemakers, for They Shall be Called Sons of God 

Coming soon:

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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Prayer for the Church in Times of Persecution

by Pastor Paul Wolff

Background story: On November 5, 2017 a heavily armed man walked into the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, and killed 26 people and injured 20 more until a neighbor got his gun and came to the defense of the people of the church and drove away the murderer. Other neighbors pursued the gunman, who ultimately murdered himself last. This is by no means the first or last or worst persecution of Christians even in recent times, but it is the inspiration for this prayer. The prayer below can be used by and for all Christians in any place in times of persecution.

Let not your hearts be troubled Jesus goes to prepare a place for you.

Dear Lord Jesus, You have told us “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” and “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:10 and 5:4) We pray that you would bless all Your people throughout the world who are persecuted, and give your comfort to those who mourn the suffering and death of Christians because they bear Your name. Lord, we know that it is the will of Your Father that You will lose none of us whom the Father has given to You, and will raise us up at the last day (John 6:39), but many are lost to us, and we are grieved by our loss. 

Lord Jesus, send us Your Holy Spirit to teach us Your Word, and remind us of all that You have done to save us (John 14:26). Comfort Your people with Your peace. Strengthen Your people in faith that we may love our enemies (Matthew 5:44), bless and not curse them (Romans 12:14), that we may not be overcome by evil, but that we may overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). Open the eyes and the ears and the hearts of this wicked generation to hear and believe Your Word that they may repent and be healed (Isaiah 6:10). 

The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.

Lord Jesus, You have told us that as they persecuted You, they will also persecute us (John 15:20). Let this be a comfort to us that just as Your Father raised You from death and the grave, You will also come back and restore us to life and raise us to glory (1 Corinthians 15:42-43). Forgive us our sins where we have contributed to the evil in this world (Luke 11:4), but, as we also forgive our enemies, enable Your people to be a light to the world showing them Your love and forgiveness (Matthew 5:14). You, Jesus, are the light of the world (John 8:12) who forgives all our sins and gives us everlasting life (Psalm 103:2-5).

Blessed Lord Jesus, You have called us to gather together to hear Your Word and to receive Your gifts of forgiveness and salvation (Exodus 20:8-11). Strengthen Your people that even in places of great persecution we may not give up meeting together, but that we may be encouraged to trust in You even more as the Day of judgment approaches (Hebrews 10:25). Send Your angels to protect all Your people(John 17:11), that even in persecution, we may remain strong in faith, trusting in Your love and forgiveness and salvation. Amen.

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Bible Verses

Matthew 5:10

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
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Matthew 5:4

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
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John 6:39-40

Jesus said, “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
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John 14:25-27

Jesus said, “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
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Matthew 5:43-45

Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”
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Romans 12:14

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.”
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Romans 12:21

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
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Isaiah 6:9-10

(The Lord) said, “Go and tell this people: ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
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John 15:20

Jesus said, “Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.”
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1 Corinthians 15:42-43

“So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.”
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Luke 11:4

Jesus said, “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.”
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Matthew 5:14-16

Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
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John 8:12

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
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Psalm 103:2-5

“Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
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Exodus 20:8-11

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
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Hebrews 10:25

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
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John 17:11

Jesus prayed, “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name”
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Psalms 35, 69, and 109 are good prayers in times of persecution, but remember that Jesus endured the curses of our sin so that there is redemption in Christ even for the murderers who persecute Christ’s beloved people. You may pray that Christ’s enemies will be cursed temporally here on earth, but also pray that they may be led to repentance and trust in Jesus as their savior from sin, that they may become our brothers and sisters in Christ and receive the salvation that Jesus won for them, too, on the cross.

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Please share your thoughts and prayers by adding a comment below. I would love to hear from Christians throughout the world, so that I may pray with you and for you.

Christ Has Done All Things Well

by Pastor Paul Wolff

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Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.

After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means, “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” (Mark 7:31-37)

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Jesus heals us from sin and its consequences (Liturgical clip art by Clemens Schmidt)

No sinner does everything well. Everything we do is tainted by sin in some way. There is a saying, “Jack of all trades – master of none.” This means you can’t be good at everything. The most you can hope to do is to be good at one thing, and hope that this is a talent for which someone will pay you handsomely. Many people have made their fortune by specializing in one thing or another. This has its downsides though. God have mercy on you if you see a doctor for an ailment which is outside of his specialty.

Jesus truly has done everything well, but because of our sinful nature we don’t really care if Jesus has done everything well. We each want God to say, “You have done everything well,” just as we truly (though wrongly) believe that we already do everything well enough. Yet, if we are honest with ourselves, and measure ourselves up against God’s Law, we must admit that we don’t even come close to doing everything well.

Though, here we must ask: does God really expect us to do ALL things well? Though we hope that the answer is “no” we read in Leviticus 19 where God tells His people, “Be holy because I, the Lord, Your God, am holy.” This passage shows that God does require us to be perfectly holy as God is holy. We should remember, however, that when God first made people He made them holy as He is holy, but our first parents rebelled against God and lost their holiness. We continue in that rebellion. St. Paul quotes from Psalm 14 in Romans 3:10, “There is no one righteous, not even one.” No sinner can do everything well, because we all rebel against God and His righteous laws. There are no exceptions “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) If we measure ourselves against God’s Law we must join St. Paul in saying, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst.” (1 Timothy 1:15)

Faith comes by hearing and believing the Word of Christ (Romans 10:17)

So while we haven’t done much good, but have instead sinned greatly, Jesus has done all things well. Jesus even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak. Jesus said many times, “He who has ears to hear, let Him hear.” But on this day Jesus met a man who had ears that could not hear. So Jesus not only healed the man of his deafness, but gave him the ability to speak, also. Giving the man speech was no less a miracle than healing his deafness. If you know anyone who has been deaf since birth you know how hard it is for deaf people to talk. Though deaf schools do a great job of teaching the deaf how to speak, it is a difficult process, and it takes time. Even if a deaf person were to receive hearing today, it would still take time to learn how to speak clearly, but Jesus gives the man speech immediately. This reminds me of what God did at the Tower of Babel. In one day God gave the people different languages so that they forgot their old language and spoke new ones and couldn’t understand one another. In this case, however, Jesus gave this man speech so that he could be heard and understood by his friends and family.

Jesus did this out of compassion for the man. He didn’t do this for publicity, and certainly not to be known as a miracle worker. In fact, Jesus took the deaf man away from the crowd and put his fingers in his ears and spat and touched his tongue and healed him. I’m not sure what the spitting was all about, but it is likely that he touched the man’s ears and tongue to show the man what he was doing in healing him.

Then after giving the man hearing and speech, Jesus ironically told the man not to tell anyone what He had done. I think Jesus did this because since the man had only just then received his hearing and speech, he had an incomplete understanding of Jesus. He knew Jesus as a gracious miracle worker, but that is all. He needed to listen more and talk less, but he was a sinner, and it seems as though he preferred to exercise his gift of speech over his gift of hearing, even against Christ’s command to him. It was certainly true what the man said of Jesus, “He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.” But this is an incomplete picture of Jesus.

The Law of God kills the sinner, but Jesus gives Life to all who believe.

It is not necessarily good news for anyone that Jesus does everything well. If Jesus were any less than the merciful and holy God, He might still condemn us, saying, “Look! I lived the holy and obedient life. Why can’t you!” That would be true, and we would be condemned. This is why the Scripture says that the Law of God “Kills” and “brings death.” (2 Corinthians 3:6) It was necessary for our salvation that Jesus obeyed God’s Law and did everything well, however, it wasn’t His obedience to God’s Law that saved us from sin and its consequences. Jesus had to do more than do everything well – and that is exactly what Jesus did.

In order to be worthy to redeem us from our sins Jesus had to obey God’s Law just like any other person, and He had to do it perfectly so that He would not be condemned by His own sin. Romans 5:19 tells us, “Just as through the disobedience of the one man (Adam) the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man (Jesus) the many will be made righteous.” Jesus actively obeyed all of God the Father’s commandments. But Jesus didn’t do it for His own sake, He did it for us – to make us righteous in God’s sight.

Galatians 4:4-5 also tells us, “When the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” Jesus lived under God’s law like any other man, but He kept God’s law perfectly so that we might receive His heavenly inheritance as sons. We call this Christ’s Active Obedience. This is what the people were talking about when they said, “Jesus has done all things well.”

But in itself this doesn’t save us. Jesus had to go further to redeem us from the guilt of our sins. Jesus offered his life in exchange for ours. Jesus, in effect, said to the Father, “Don’t punish my brothers and sisters for the sins they committed against You. Punish me instead, and set them free from their sin.” This is what St. Paul described in Colossians 1:22, where he wrote, “(God) has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” Since Jesus has taken the punishment for your sins, there is no longer anything standing between you and your heavenly Father.

Though Jesus is the Almighty God, it was not without cost that He healed us from our sin. This was the cost.

Jesus truly treats us as His brothers and sisters, as Hebrews 2:14 says “Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death–that is, the devil.”

Jesus not only shared in our humanity, He shared in our suffering because of our sin. If you notice in Mark 7:34 after Jesus touched the deaf man’s ears and tongue He looked to heaven and sighed. The word for “sigh” here is used elsewhere in the New Testament and is translated as “groan”, as in 2 Corinthians 5:4 which says, “For while we are still in this tent (of our sinful body), we groan, being burdened – not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” We groan in our lives because sin causes us great sorrow and pain.

When Jesus healed this deaf man He groaned because He was taking the man’s suffering into Himself and giving him His life and healing. Though Jesus is the almighty God, it was not without cost that He healed people from their infirmities. It caused Him suffering. This is why God says in Isaiah 42:18-19 “Hear, you deaf, and look, you blind that you may see! Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is blind as my dedicated one, or blind as the servant of the Lord?”

Deafness and all our other bodily ailments come to us as a result of sin. When God made Adam and Eve they were perfectly healthy and immortal. Illness and infirmity and death only came after the fall into sin. Jesus rescues us from sin and all its consequences by taking our sin and its consequences into his body. This is why Scripture says in Isaiah 53, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed.”

This is why when Jesus came to be baptized, John objected saying, “I need to be baptized by you.” But Jesus said, “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Jesus fulfilled all righteousness not only by obeying God’s Law perfectly, and doing all things well, but also by taking the pain and guilt and all consequences of our sin into His body. St. Paul describes this in 2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

The miracles Jesus did give us a glimpse into what heaven is like where all believers will be healed and glorified by His grace.

It hurt Jesus to heal people from their illnesses and from all the consequences of their sins. Yet, He did not let this stop Him from healing anyone, nor did it stop Him from going to the cross and suffering and dying there for the sins of the world, and for your sins. Jesus did this because He loves You more than He loves Himself. This is the love that our God has for us – that He would take up the pain and suffering of our sin and take it to His grave in order to save us from having to endure that suffering for eternity. This is why we, as God’s children, sorrow in our sins – not just for the suffering that it causes us, but for the suffering that we inflict on Jesus for the sake of our sins. God have mercy on us sinners.

God our heavenly Father does have mercy on us for the sake of His Son, Jesus Christ. This miraculous healing and all of Christ’s miracles are a little taste of His heavenly kingdom where He will rescue us from death and restore us to perfect holiness and life and health forever. Jesus has taken the guilt and the pain of our sins into His body and has taken them to His grave. Yet when Jesus rose from the dead He rose victorious over sin and death, so that He might give us, His beloved children, the gift of eternal life with Him in paradise – without sin – without illness – without sorrow – without death. Jesus truly has done all things well for us and for our salvation that He might share with us the eternal riches of His heavenly Kingdom.