Complete Redemption

Tuesday, 22nd May 2007

We all know that the redemptive work of Jesus was completed on the cross.

That is why Jesus said "It is finished" just before He breathed His last.

But the redemptive work actually started before He went to the cross.

At the Garden of Gethsamane, Jesus sweat drops of blood (Luke 22:44). This happens when a person is under such extreme stress that his capillaries burst.

The first time sweat was mentioned was also in a garden -- the garden of Eden. In Gen 3:19, where God told Adam that "by the sweat of your brow you will eat your food".

Work itself is not a curse. Before Adam fell, "the LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. (Gen 1:15)."

The curse is therefore not work per se, but the stress that comes from work.

Stress first came about in a garden -- the garden of Eden. Redemption from stress also took place in a garden -- the garden of Gethsamane.

Sin entered the world because of a tree -- the first Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Redemption from sin also took place on a tree -- the last Adam was crucified on the tree at Calvary.

Isn't God's ways marvelous?

The finished work of the cross is a divine exchange that includes redemption from stress, diseases, poverty, anxiety, sins and generational curses...

When Jesus' sweat was mixed with His redemptive blood, God was redeeming us from the curse of stress.

When the stripes were laid upon the body of our Lord, God was redeeming us from the curse of diseases. (Isa 53:5)

When the Roman soldiers stripped Jesus of his garments to gamble over and He was left hanging naked and impoverished at the cross, God was redeeming us from the curse of poverty. (2 Cor 8:9)

When the crown of thorns were placed on Jesus' head, God was redeeming us from the curse of anxious and worldly thoughts. (Luke 8:7 and Luke 8:14)

When Jesus was crucified on the cross, God was redeeming us from our sins. (2 Cor 5:21)

When Jesus drank the vinegar, God was redeeming us from generational curses. (Jer 31:29)

And that was why when Jesus breathed His last, He said "It is finished".

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, and these are the reflections of one that says so :-)