The Tree Between Two Tress - The Cross of Christ

• What is finished?

  • John 19:30, Jesus cries out from the cross, “It is finished.”

  • Which begs the question, “What is finished?”

    • His Life?

    • Sin’s Outstanding debt?

      • 1 Corinthians 15:3

      • Galatians 3:13

      • Hebrews 9:15

  • “Yes” to both options, BUT the remedy must match the severity of the problem.

• Learning to Count

  • To answer the question “What is finished?” we need to learn to count.

  • The Seven Signs of John:

    • John 2:11

    • John 4:54

    • John 5:1-15

    • John 6:1-15

    • John 9:1-34

    • John 11:1-44

    • John 19:30

      • “Seven,” in Jewish literature, is a number of completion usually attached to creation (Genesis 1:1; cf. John 1:1 —“In the beginning”)

      • Jesus dies on the 6th day (John 19:31), rest on the tomb on day 7.

• Understanding the Problem to Understand the Solution

  • We are "one flesh" with Death

  • These present two significant obstacles if God wants to redeem us:

    • God doesn't have direct access to Death/

    • God can't obliterate Death without destroying humanity as well.

  • God's Solution = the incarnation (Philippian 2:6-8)

    • Christ became flesh, gaining access to Death.

    • By entering Death and surpassing Death's reach (1 Peter 3:19), Jesus repurposed Death for union with God.

• The End of Old Creation and the Beginning of New Creation

  • What is finished? Old Creation. Death's reign of tyranny - in Christ alone.

  • John 19:41 - a new tomb in a garden.

Discussion Questions for Video 4:

• How has the chart expanded your understanding of the problem (p. 121 in between two trees)?

• What are some things we believe “save us” other than Christ? What do we entrust ourselves to?

• What do you gravitate towards on a daily basis? You are in your house—what is it that you choose to do? How does this reinforce your union with Death or teach you to speak the language of love?

• The cross is foolishness to those who are perishing (1 Cor. 1:I8ff.). So how do we teach on the significance of death leading to life?

• The cross is humiliating, even at times to Christians. So how do we encourage believers to live in the shadow of the cross—to die in order to live?

• To lose our selfishness isn’t popular. How do we show the beauty of “dying to ourselves daily” in a culture that is self-centered?

• How do we apply the solution (the cross and God’s method of redemption) in our lives? What does this change, challenge, or confirm?

• Why do you think we run from God by worshiping other idols in our lives? Why do we often feel like Christ’s sacrifice isn’t enough?

• Do we often look at ourselves as products of new creation? If not, why?

• How would your life change if you lived every moment with the realization that Christ’s death and resurrection defeated Death and brought us back into unity with God›

• What are practical ways to live every moment with this realization?

• How can we teach the cross of Christ to someone that is suffering and communicate to them that the power of sin has been crushed?

• What is revealed about God’s character in his willingness to unite with us even in Death?

• If every person’s story is part of the “falling action” of God’s story, how does this change the way we approach life with its opportunities, decisions, and challenges?

• If Jesus' work has truly repurposed death, how should the believers' perspective on the pain and decreased vitality near the end of life change?