All right, well, let's go to John 19 this morning we want to continue in John 19 I'm not quite sure what the format will be here. I think I I I do not like to talk about. myself but I had some difficulty in prep and I want to read here in John 19 17 through 30 and this is the king on a cross this is the focal point we could say of all of history because if the Lord would have only done his earthly ministry up to the cross and would have avoided the cross, we would not be saved. It was not enough that he should minister a perfect life of healing and blessing. And three years of ministry was not enough. It was not enough even for him to just bleed. You know, we speak a lot about the blood of Christ, but when we speak about the blood of Christ, we speak about, we mean, what we actually mean is the death of Christ. That the bleeding of Christ was the ultimate bleeding of Christ. It was not just a wound, but it was a wound unto death. This is what we have before us today in the gospel, and we could say that the gospel of John goes, points to this. It points, everything culminates here. in this work on the cross. And we find it here in 17 through 30. And let's read this. I do believe I want to, because of the nature of this passage, that I want to also read some other portions of other Gospels that relate to this, the King on a Cross. John 19, 17. And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha, where they crucified Him and two others with Him, one on either side and Jesus in the center. Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross, and the writing was, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin." Let's remember that it was outside the camp. Hebrews 13 says that He suffered without the gate or outside the camp. It was not in Jerusalem. It was outside the gates of the city. And but it was close enough that the inscription that was over top of the cross was read by many of the Jews. Therefore, the chief priest, verse 21, the chief priest of the Jews said to Pilate, do not write the king of the Jews, but he said, I am the king of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written. He finally found his backbone. He finally found his spine and stood up to these manipulators. Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and made four parts to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said, therefore, among themselves, Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be, that the scripture might be fulfilled, which says, they divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Therefore the soldiers did these things. Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing by, he said to his mother, woman, behold your son. Then he said to the disciple, behold your mother. And from that hour, that disciple took her to his own home. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst. Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there, and they filled his sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to his mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is finished. And bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. I wanna make a comment here on this sour wine in verse 29. Let's not confuse that with the drink that he refused earlier. He refused the earlier drink that had the gall mixed in with it because that was a, it was a, It was a pain-deadening, the gall had the effects of a, I can't think of the word, but it had the effect of dulling the pain, but it also dulled the senses, and Christ fully was in full possession of all his mental faculties. Notice in verse 28, well, let me finish. So this sour wine was a different drink from the one mixed with gall that was mentioned elsewhere in some of the other readings, not mentioned here. So this is a different time. It was earlier in the crucifixion. But notice in verse 28 he says, Jesus knowing all things. That he was in full comprehension of his faculties and it was for this, probably for this very reason, one of these very reasons is that, so that he would not, that he did not drink of the other drink was so that he could demonstrate to us his complete control of his own faculties and the fact that he bore our sins to the utmost. he uh... he shared he took of this drink then and following that he said it is finished now it says in the other passages and we want to read in some of the other passages but it says that uh... he cried out with a loud voice and so it doesn't say necessarily what he said in some of the other passages that we'll read but here in john and this is the only place the in the narrative of the crucifixion that we have this it is finished nowhere else does it record the words of Christ saying it is finished even though in John 17 in verse 4 he says I have finished the work that you gave me to do which was in a sense a it was a prequel to this saying that I have already surrendered myself, I've submitted myself to do this work. But now he is actually saying it is finished. And so I would suggest that these three words, it is finished, is the focal point here in John. In this narrative, in this account, verse 17 through 30, that it all points to this word, it is finished. And interestingly, this is the same word that in verse 28 is said to be, knowing that all things were now accomplished. That's the same Greek word that finished is in verse 30. And so, Jesus knowing that all things were now fulfilled or completed or brought to a culmination or a conclusion. Everything was now done. Everything is now finished. It is finished. I want to go back and read in the Matthew account. Matthew And as we consider, I think it was Brother Terry once said, you know, that even all of time is divided by this happening. We have the time before the crucifixion of Christ as B.C. and following that, or before Christ, and then after that, our calendars, it divides history, literally divides history from this occasion. After that it was AD. So I want to read Matthew 27 beginning in verse 32. Now as they came out they found a man of Cyrene And all of these accounts, by the way, are following right after his sentence where Pilate gave Jesus over to the chief priests and the Jews to fulfill the sentence of death that he had pronounced. Now as they came out, in verse 32, Matthew 27, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, him they compelled to bear his cross. And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, place of his skull, they gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when he had tasted it, he would not drink. Then they crucified him and divided his garments, casting lots that it might be fulfilled. which was spoken by the prophet. They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Sitting down, they kept watch over him there, and they put up over his head the accusation written against him. This is Jesus, the King of the Jews. Now, what kind of accusation is that? That's a statement. There's no fault to be found here. Just as Pilate had said, I find no fault in him. And so the inscription over top him is indeed this is Jesus the king of the Jews then two robbers were crucified with him one on the right and another on the left those who passed by blasphemed him wagging their heads and saying you who destroy the temple and build it in three days save yourself If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." Notice that there's none of this mockery and scorn recorded in the Gospel of John. None of that is in the narrative at all in the account in John. But as the chief priests looked at him, They mocked Him. And those who were, at least one of those who was crucified with Him was also mocking. And here it says, those who passed by blasphemed Him. So it was a public place, and people who walked past wagged their heads and said, you who destroyed the temple, and this was a false narrative, even that. Jesus said, break this temple down, and I will rebuild it in three days. He was not claiming that he would destroy the temple. He was just saying that if you would destroy this temple, which indeed it was going to be destroyed, but it wasn't him who was destroying it. They were using this narrative, it was a false narrative, to try to get him crucified, to try to say that he's a threat to our way of life, our religion, our very nation. That he would literally destroy this temple of God. He made this claim. You who destroy the temple." No, he didn't say that. He said, tear it down and I can build it back in three days. Save yourself if you are the son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise, the chief priests also mocking with the scribes and elders said, he saved others himself, he cannot save. Consider the immense injustice of this whole narrative. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him." You think that would have happened? No. They had many demonstrations of His deity before this, and now they throw that at Him after He was crucified on the cross. Let Him come down from the cross and let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him. I'm sorry, I jumped ahead. If he does that, we will believe him. He trusted in God. Let him deliver him now, if he will have him. For he said, I am the Son of God. Even the robbers who were crucified with him reviled him with the same thing. Now, from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, there was darkness over all the land. Now, so, if you come back to John, I believe it was, I'm not sure if I wrote this down, and it says here it was the sixth hour. So, we have to be careful that, and notice that John uses the Roman means of timekeeping. And they started their time at midnight. And the Jews started their time at six o'clock. So when we read in John, where it says in John 19, in verse 14, now it was the preparation day of the Passover and about the sixth hour. And this was early morning. So this would have been six o'clock in the morning. So when we come back now and we read here, The ninth hour, Christ was, let me get my facts straight here. Yes, in verse 45 of Matthew 27, now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour, there was darkness over all the land. That would have been from the Jewish reckoning. So from six o'clock in the morning, if that was the first hour, the sixth hour in the Jewish reckoning would have been 12 o'clock noon. That was when the darkness started. But he was actually crucified at 9 a.m. He was on the cross from 9 to 12. At 12 o'clock, the darkness descended. And it was dark until 3 p.m. And so, if we read this, you recognize that there is a discrepancy, but not necessarily. It's just a different timekeeping method. The Jews kept it one way, the Romans kept it another. And so, now from the 6th hour or 12 noon until 3 p.m., there was darkness over all of the land. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama, sabatanai, that is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Some of those who stood there when they heard that said, this man is calling for Elijah. Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and offered it to him to drink, which I believe he did take." Which is what we see in John, this second drink. The rest said, let him alone, let us see if Elijah will come and save him. And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit, which I believe is where he cried out, it is finished. Then behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, et cetera, et cetera. I wanna, let's go to Mark 15. Mark 15 in verse 21. It is interesting to me that in John, again, in the narrative of John, we see nothing of Simon of Cyrene. It just simply says that he bearing his cross, John 19, 17, that he bore his own cross, which is very probable that he bore it maybe to the city gate, but having been scourged and beaten to an almost unrecognizable state. He would have been weak from blood loss. And so, he was bearing his cross, but he did not bear it all the way to Golgotha. It is clear that Simon of Cyrene, as it says in Matthew and also in Mark, They compelled this man, Simon Assyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by to bear his cross. And they brought him to the place Golgotha, which is translated place of a skull. Then they gave him wine mingled with myrrh to drink, but he did not take it. And when they crucified him, they divided his garments, casting lots for them to determine whatever man should take." I just want to comment here. It says in another place that the Son of Man, the foxes of the earth and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. All that he had were the clothes that he wore. And literally before, so they stripped him and hung him, crucified him, naked and bleeding and destitute. He, as one writer said, he was suspended between earth and heaven, rejected by earth and forsaken by heaven, hung upon the earth, between heaven and earth, not wanted by either, or we should say forsaken by one, rejected by the other. And before he was even dead, the soldiers, the four soldiers, were dividing the only possessions that were his, his clothing. He was not even dead yet. He was hung. And as he looked down, he said, you know, he could see, well, I have no more need of those. And they were dividing his clothes among them, four soldiers. Interesting that in all of the gospel accounts, the soldiers are casting lots and dividing his clothes, all of them. And this is a prophecy that I want to point out from Psalm 22, that as one writer pointed out, this was the Psalm of David, and it says here, In Psalm 22 verse 18 They divide my garments among them and for my clothing they cast lots and this was a situation this Crucifixion was a situation that David had never encountered He had never seen this. This was a specific prophecy of how they would treat the Messiah, how they would treat the Savior. Before he was even dead, they were casting lots for his garments. They divided his garments. They thought that it was very likely that there were five pieces of clothing. And to each one, to each soldier, which it was four soldiers, according to In verse 23 of John 19, then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts. So there would have been enough for all of them, one. But then they came to the tunic and said, well, wait a minute, we don't want to just destroy this tunic by trying to divide it up. Let's just cast lots and see who would take this fifth garment, this fifth piece of clothing. And so they cast lots to determine which one should take this fifth piece. Now, back in Mark 15, 25, now it was the third hour and they crucified him. And the inscription of his accusation was written above, the king of the Jews. With him they also crucified two robbers, one on his right and the other on his left." Let's consider here briefly that there were, as it says in John 18, where they crucified him and two others with him. Again, every account of this narrative of the crucifixion includes the fact that he was crucified with others, that he was crucified with criminals. Why is this important? Why are these Notice that there are things that are not recorded in all of them, but there are certain elements that are recorded in every account. For instance, only in John we see the exchange with his mother and with the beloved disciple, only in John. And it is, as I mentioned earlier, only in John it is this phrase, it is finished. And no mention of Simon of Cyrene as it was in all of the others. Only in Luke, there is this father, forgive them for they do not know what they do. Only in Luke also is the penitent thief. that the indication or the teaching us, the narrative of how the one was repentant and the other was scornful. No other place in Matthew, Mark, and John indicates that this one was a penitent thief. Also only in Luke, his father in your hands, I commend my spirit. Only there. But to come back to where I was reading here in Mark 15, with him they also crucified two robbers, one on his right and the other on his left. Where is the prophecy? A little exercise, where is the prophecy that relates to this? Does someone know? Yes. Yes, Isaiah 53, 12, it says this, and I turned to it just briefly. You don't have to turn. I will read it for you. Isaiah 53, 12 says this way. Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the great and he shall divide the spoil with the strong because he poured out his soul unto death and he was numbered with the transgressors. He was numbered with criminals. He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors. So, interesting that in God's revelation of this narrative, in all four gospel accounts, It makes a point that there were criminals crucified with him because he was numbered with them. It was a prophecy in Isaiah. Same way as we see this soldiers casting lots for his clothes. It was a Psalm 22 prophecy that was intentionally fulfilled. So we come back to Mark 15 reading, with him also they crucified two robbers, one on his right and the other on his left. Verse 28, so the scripture was fulfilled which says, and he was numbered with the transgressors. And those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying, Aha! You who destroyed the temple and built it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross. Likewise, the chief priests also, mocking among themselves with the scribes, said, He saved others, himself he cannot save. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. Even those who were crucified with him reviled him. Now when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabbathanai, which is translated, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why have you forsaken me? Now there was this thought here that I encountered that this would have been the first time that there would have been a felt sensation of distance between Christ from between the Son and His Father. That there was a question that this was a separation that it was a broken fellowship hear for the first time in all of eternity that, my God, my God, why? It's a question. It's almost like the writer pointed out. It was an expression of surprise, even though the Lord knew all things. But there was no sin in Christ. Why have you forsaken me? It's a question that begs an answer. It begs an answer from us. Why have you forsaken me, Father? And so therein lies the plan of our redemption is that why have you forsaken me? Because he was the sin bearer. Some of those who stood by when they heard that said, look, he is calling for Elijah. Then someone ran and filled a sponge full of sour wine, put it on a reed and offered it to him to drink, saying, let him alone. Let us see if Elijah will come to take him down. And Jesus cried out with a loud voice and breathed his last." Again, this was the loud call that would have been the cry, it is finished in John. Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And so when the centurion who stood opposite him saw that, he cried out like this and breathed his last. He said, Truly this man was the Son of God." There were also women looking on from afar. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, the less and of Joas, and Salome, who also followed him and ministered to him when he was in Galilee. Many other women came with him to Jerusalem. Again, just an amazing narrative. Let's turn to Luke 23. Luke 23 and verse 26. Only in Luke here, and you will see only in Luke, we have Jesus turning to the daughters of Jerusalem and making these comments. Luke 23, 26, now, as they led him away, they laid hold of a certain man. In other words, they compelled this man, the Simon Assyrian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bury after Jesus. And a great multitude of the people followed him, and women who also mourned and lamented him. But Jesus turned to them and said, daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For indeed, the days are coming in which they will say, blessed are the barren wombs that never bore and breasts which never nurse. Then they will begin to say to the mountains, fall on us, and to the hills, cover us. For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry? There were also two others, criminals, led with him to be put to death. And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified him. You know, when you come to this, there they crucified him. This is no longer the prophecy. This is the narrative of the actual crucifixion of the Lord. It is now occurred. It is history now for us looking back. There they crucified him. And the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left. Then Jesus said, Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do. And they divided his garments and cast lots. The people stood looking on, but even the rulers with them sneered, saying, He saved others. Let him save himself, if he is the Christ, the chosen of God. The soldiers also mocked him, coming and offering him sour wine and saying, If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. And an inscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. This is the King of the Jews. Now this is an important point too. That in this inscription it was written in the three main languages of the day. That was in the Hebrew language. This is the language of religion. And in the Greek, it was the language of philosophy and learning and culture. And then in Latin, it was the language of the Romans, the language of enterprise and of military and might and dominance. It was in all of these languages, these three languages, this was recorded. for all the world to see that this is the King of the Jews and was literally said in truth. Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed him, saying, If you are the Christ, save yourself and us. But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?" Don't you love the fact that one of these narratives carries this account and tells us about this penitent thief because it gives It gives us hope too, doesn't it? It gives us a joy in seeing that Christ on the cross had the absolute authority to pronounce faith in this man, to call this man to faith and to say the outcome of this man's faith. It's a beautiful thing for us to consider that in this narrative of brokenness and of defeat, so-called defeat, there is a tremendous victory pronounced. And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong. Then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And Jesus said to him, assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Now it was about the sixth hour. That had been 12 o'clock. And there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour or three o'clock. Then the sun was darkened. And the veil of the temple was torn in two. And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, he said, Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. Having said this, he breathed his last. So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man. And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned. But all his acquaintances and the women who followed him from Galilee stood at a distance, watching these things. So what an amazing revelation, what an amazing narrative that we have been blessed with receiving the very narrative of how he died, of the things that occurred during his death, the things that are that are meaningful to us in the things of his scorn and the fact that he was a king and they scorned him and mocked him. You know, it's despicable what happened here. But I want to come back to this truth here in verse 30 of John 19. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, It is finished. And bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. No man took it. This is an important point, as he even made it earlier. that states that he is not a victim led, as we see in that one song we sing, but that he gave up his spirit. It was after he knew that it was accomplished, after he knew that it was completed, after knowing all things were now accomplished, And he, it was an intentional offering up of himself. He gave up his spirit, it says. He bowed his head and gave up his spirit. This is the focal point, I think, that we want to take from here. And I would just, look, what is finished? He says it is finished, it is accomplished, it is done now. And I had to think of, for instance, of Hebrews 2, where he says here, A familiar passage in Hebrews 2 verse 14 is, "...inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared in the same, that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil." So at that point when he died, this power of the devil was broken. It was here that the devil who through fear of death kept as all in bondage that bondage to the fear of death was broken he destroyed him who had the power of death that is the devil and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage that is one thing that was finished also the all of the uh... ceremonial law was finished it was the the shadow The shadow that the law represented was now accomplished in the substance of Christ. It was finished. And one of my favorite passages in the Epistle of Colossians, in chapter 1 verse 19, For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross." So, when Christ died, the enmity between God and sinful humanity was broken. That enmity was broken in the death of Christ. That enmity that existed, that ostracization, that rejection in the Garden of Eden was finished now. That broken fellowship between God and sinful humanity, I should say, those who would come to faith, that was broken. That was over. That was fulfilled. That was finished. Do we understand that there is not one thing that you and I can do to mend that enmity? We have to simply come back to this cross work of Christ and say, well, the Lord said it was finished. I would like to ask you, if you were brought to to give an account for why you don't do this, that, or the other. Why don't you have a ritual that you go through? Because Jesus said it is finished. It is done. It is over. having made peace through the blood of his cross and continuing here in Colossians and you who once were alienated and enemies in your mind because or by wicked works yet now he has reconciled he is brought near how in the body of his flesh not just in the body of his flesh but through death that is why it was not enough for him just to just to live a good life for us, but he had to give his life, he had to give his body through death to present you holy and blameless and above reproach in whose sight? In God's sight. This is the amazing truth of the cross work of Christ. And I want to finish with a few thoughts out of John 6, where Brother Terry was this morning. I thought for a minute he was going to steal my thunder. But John 6, I thought about This, you know what first comes to mind when you meet a stranger, or one of the first things that, so you encounter somebody, another guy, and you're making small talk if you do small talk. And so you ask this question, I wonder what question you think I'm gonna ask. But isn't it, what do you work? Isn't that what we ask? Well, what's your work? You see, there's so much hung to that. For us guys, a lot of times it is kind of our identity. You know, well, what do you work? Did you know that that question was asked of the Lord? What do you work? It is right here in John 6. After, as Terry so ably pointed out, how they were following him for the physical blessing of having something in their stomach, He says in verse 27, Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set his seal on him. Then they said to him, What shall we do that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he sent. You see, he had said earlier, let's see if I can find that. John 4, 34, he had said this, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. And so, here then, He says, "...they said, What shall we do, that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said to them, This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." In other words, what you need to do is come to rest with what God is working, what God has done, what God is doing. In him whom he sent, therefore they said to him, what sign will you perform then that we may see it and believe you? What work dost thou? What work will you do? I think the King James says, what work dost thou? You see, going on he says, There in verse 33, for the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. He says, then they said to him, Lord, give us this bread always. And Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger and he who believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe me. All that the father gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me, I will by no means cast out for I've come down from heaven. not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. This is the will of the Father who sent me, that of all He has given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life, and I will raise Him up at the last day. And if you go into the book of Ephesians, and you just start, go in your concordance, and I was kind of interested in doing that this morning, but for the sake, obviously for the sake of time, we don't have it, but just look up the word working, work, worketh, and see who it's speaking of. that it is God who works these things in us. And notice in Philippians 1 and verse 12 and 13, for it is, you know, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you. You see, and when we consider the great truth of our justification, it is that it is finished. It is done. It is accomplished. We must simply trust in the work of another. Because indeed, we are saved by works. But it's not our own. It is the works of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when He died, just before He died, He said, it is accomplished. What I have accomplished is now done. And it is over. Stop looking for it. Once you know what you have, you can stop looking for it. And so that's what I want to just simply call our attention to again, that it is finished. It is here accomplished. And if we then do not believe, it is as if we're telling God that we have a better plan. We don't need your perfect sacrifice. We disagree, and as I think it says in 1 John, we call him a liar. And so there is an absolute recompense for that. to reject this perfect sacrifice, this perfect and complete accomplishment of the Son of God on behalf of believing sinners. So let's, I thank you for your time. Let's consider this account and ask ourselves, are we truly trusting in this statement that it is finished, that it is accomplished? Are we trusting in that? Let's pray. Our gracious Heavenly Father, as we consider this narrative of our King on the cross, oh, Father, we're humbled. We're humbled at the plan that grace brought to fruitation, that the love and mercy that you have shown to us in Christ is enough for our salvation, that it is. very adequate for our salvation because of the perfect nature of the Lord Jesus. Father, we thank you for this great sacrifice. We pray that you would bless this narrative account to us again, a very familiar passage to help us to just truly in our hearts and minds again be refreshed and committed. to accepting and believing the sacrifice of your beloved son. Through his name we pray, amen.