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The crucified and risen Lord Jesus establishes the ministry of the Gospel in order to bestow His life-giving Holy Spirit and His peace upon the Church. To those who are called and ordained to this office, and to those they serve in His name, He grants the Holy Absolution of all sins. By the fruits of His cross, He replaces fear and doubt with peace and joy, and thus gives "repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31). Through the preaching of His sent ones, He calls us to believe that He "is the Christ, the Son of God, " so that by such faith we "may have life in his name" (John 20:31). In His resurrection, we have the "living hope" to which we have been "born again" and by which we are guarded "for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Peter 1:3, 5). Until then, "though you have not seen him, you love him," and by the mercies of God "you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory" (1 Peter 1:8).

In John 20:11-18, we will see how Easter changed Mary Magdalene, and how Easter changes us too.

These are Jesus’ last recorded words from the cross – the dismissal of His Spirit into the hands of the Father (Ps. 31:5). The final act of atonement was that the sacrifice be killed; the Lamb had to die. Death occurred the moment Jesus yielded up His Spirit from His body, yet His act of committal reveals contentment, faith, confidence, and love. Following His cry of dereliction, perfect and blessed communion with the Father has now been restored for eternity. Here we also see the heart’s true haven – the loving custody of the Father.

The ancient Greeks boasted of being able to say much in little – to give a sea of matter in a drop of words. Jesus says everything in just one word: tetelestai (“It is finished/completed/ended/realized.”) This word from the cross encapsulates the believer’s assurance, hope, joy, peace, and divine consolation. “It is finished” is not a despairing cry, an expression of relief that earthly suffering is nearly ended, nor the final gasp of a worn-out life; rather, it is a declaration from the Redeemer that THE great purpose of God in world history stands completed. The ransom and penalty for our sin has been paid-in-full with finality! Perfect atonement has been made. The goal of the incarnation is reached.

Jesus spoke the lone word in Greek “dipso” or “I thirst” just before He bowed the head and gave up the spirit. The Maker of heaven and earth had parched lips, the Lord of Glory in need of a drink as His blood (and life) poured out from the cross. God does not thirst. Angels do not thirst, but Jesus – as God yet full man – cries out for liquid…giving expression to the intensity of the agonies with which He was suffering on our behalf. Jesus, however, calls out in order to fulfill Psalm 69:21 too: “...and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” No cup of cool, refreshing water for the Savior of the world, only a sponge soaked in warm vinegar. But because of His dying thirst, all who like Jesus thirst today can come to Him, drink living water, and never thirst again.

Nothing can be more frightening and traumatic in life than to be forsaken by one’s closest love, such as abandonment by a parent or being forsaken by a spouse. One might expect such rejection from an enemy, but from one’s closest love? The same Father who had earlier declared, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt 3:17), now forsakes Jesus in His greatest hour of torment and despair. Hence, Jesus cries out with a loud voice, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mt 27:46) These are words of deepest misery. In some sense Jesus was cut off from favor and fellowship with the Father, for He was bearing the full penalty of sin and God’s wrath. In this moment, Jesus was experiencing God’s all-out forsakenness (i.e., the separation of hell) in our place, yet such was the cost of our redemption that Jesus willingly paid!

As Jesus is in the midst of what would be a 6-hour crucifixion, the Fourth Gospel notes, “Standing by the cross of Jesus were His mother and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” These women were committed disciples of Jesus, and they stayed with Jesus to His very end. When Jesus sees His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He says to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then He says to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” From that hour, John took her into his very home. Jesus is not simply honoring His mother and setting an example for children today; rather, in His final hours, Jesus continues His perfect, active obedience to God’s Torah in our place. Perfectly fulfilling the 4th commandment for us, Jesus makes earthly provision for His mother – very likely widowed, in her late 40s, and with little or no personal income. Hence, young children and adult children look to the cross of Christ today not just for inspiration and example, but for forgiveness, healing, and power to reconcile.

The second of Jesus’ words from the cross are spoken in response to a dying murderer and thief next to Him. The criminal says, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom”; his words are both a plea and a confession of faith. Jesus responds to the contrite, believing man: “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.” As Savior, Jesus once again shows His readiness and His power to save sinners. Moreover, if a dying Savior can save in this way, how much more He who has risen triumphant from the grave! Jesus remains willing and able to save all who come to Him in humble repentance and faith.