This devotional was originally published on March 28, 2016.

Jesus’ final statement on the cross was “It is finished.” I have known this for some time now, but it wasn’t until last night that I developed a deeper connection to these words. Jesus paid our penalty. My penalty.

In Jesus’ time, the statement “It is finished” carried a financial meaning. It signified that a debt was paid in full. You see, sin comes with a price. We have always had the free will to sin and, as much as we might think our sin doesn’t affect others, it surely affected Jesus. From the beginning of time, God knew Jesus would be the only way to atone for the sins of the world. Our brokenness could never be mended by another. Jesus, the perfect lamb, paid our debt in full.

So, in a nutshell:

  • We are broken and lost, separated from the Father.
  • Jesus died for our sin.
  • We acknowledge our brokenness and receive Jesus’ payment for our debt. (salvation)
  • We are no longer slaves!

Ahh, number 4! Jesus rose three days after his death. He conquered death! And we too can receive that life — death of our old self and life eternal. Sin no longer has us in chains. Death no longer stings. We now get to live the life Jesus offers: abundant life.

So let us celebrate that this week. Let us celebrate that Jesus rose. And for us, his resurrection means that we, as believers, have been given a new life. Let us walk in that new life out of a thankful heart!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
— 2 Corinthians 5:17–21