Download Jesus -- Alpha and Omega (Good Friday)

Names of Wondrous Love – Alpha and Omega
Vicar Holman
John 19:30
Alpha and Omega. Do you recognize these words? These are the first and last letters in
the Greek alphabet, just like A and Z are the first and last letters in ours. But Alpha and Omega
have greater significance than that, they are also one of the names which Jesus applies to himself.
In the last chapter of Revelation Jesus describes himself saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (Revelation 22:13).
Consider how we use the first and last letters together in our own culture. When a store
advertises, “We have everything from A to Z,” we know that they are claiming, “We have it all;
everything you need can be found here.” But this claim may or may not be true: a hardware
store may claim to have everything from A to Z, but it usually doesn’t carry a full-line of
Pharmacy products or have a complete grocery store. But when Jesus says, “I am the Alpha and
the Omega,” it is true, it’s wonderfully true. He has it all. He is all sufficient. There is nothing
missing. He is all we need for salvation.
I: Jesus Has All We Need for Salvation
Scarcely had the sponge soaked with sour wine moistened the parched lips of Jesus when
he spoke the words, “It is finished.” This simple sentence is only three words long. Yet, these
words are of great significance to the world. I am not exaggerating when I say these are the most
important words in history. “It is finished.” / Jesus didn’t whisper these words. No, he spoke
these words with a loud voice that all might hear, “It is finished.” Jesus wanted the whole world
to know what had happened. But what was finished? What is the “it” that was finished?
Was Jesus referring to his agony and pain? Was death now brining him relief from the
hatred, malice, and inhumane torture which broke his heart? / Was it his life to which Jesus was
referring? Were his words some salute to death and a goodbye to life? To find the answer we
need to listen carefully as our Savior speaks from the darkness at Calvary. We need to look
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closely at his face. Amidst the horror, his bruised and bloody face is bright and at peace. His
words are not the words of a man who is surrendering to death, but the words of a conquering
general. They are the words of the Savior whose mission has been accomplished. They are the
words of the Alpha and the Omega whose work is all-sufficient for our salvation.
With these three short words Jesus was telling everyone who would listen, “I have won.
My work of salvation is done. I have opened wide the gates of heaven for mankind. I have kept
the law perfectly for every person. I have paid for all sins, both big and small. I have suffered
the agonies of hell that were reserved for sinners. I have endured the full punishment and anger
of my Father for all sin. I have shed my blood to redeem all of mankind. And now, it—my
work of salvation—is completely finished.” From the cross the Savior could turn his gaze
from the Adam, the first sinner, to the last and see no one whose guilt he had not covered.
Jesus’ words, “It is finished” show his wondrous love for sinners. Just like when we have
a mortgage burning to show that the entirety of that large bill is paid, Jesus’ words, “It is
finished” declare “Paid in full! No more debt owed!” Now because of the wonderful sacrifice
we can declare with confidence, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Because of those words, we see that Jesus is truly the end of our
condemnation and the beginning of new life for all who trust in him. He is our Alpha and
Omega.
One day there was a man came to see a pastor. He sarcastically asked, “What must I do
to be saved?” Knowing that the man was not serious, the pastor answered, “It is too late.” The
man became alarmed and asked again, this time more seriously, “No, no what must I do to be
saved?” Again the pastor answered, “It’s too late,” but this time he added, “It’s already been
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done.” Thank God we know our salvation has been completed. Thank God we know that
because we call Jesus the Alpha and Omega that we know he is the only Savior we ever need.
II: Jesus Has All We Need for Heaven
After Jesus victoriously shouted, “It is finished,” he, “bowed his head and gave up his
spirit.” How different his dying is from ours. We die because we have to. Our lives are
snatched from us. We cannot prolong life for one second more. Jesus died not because he had
to, rather because He wanted to. He himself said, “I lay down my life—only to take it up
again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay
it down and authority to take it up again” (John 10:17-18). Now He has proven this to be
true. / Death stood near the scene of Calvary that day, not daring to approach until it was
summoned by Christ. With His work of salvation completed, Jesus was ready to return to
heaven, the place from which He had come. He confidently entrusted his soul to the hands of
His Father.
And what about us? We must die too. No, we cannot do anything about it. There is no
putting off death for one second. And perhaps one of the scariest things anyone faces in this life
is the realization of their mortality. For most people it is more than just the physical pain, it is
more than the fear of shrinking from the ordeal at hand, it is more than being apart from your
loved ones that makes death frightening. For many the biggest fear is the knowledge that a
person’s soul must stand before the judgment seat of God.
Yet, for we who stand a the foot of our Savior’s cross, death has lost its sting. It is like a
lion whose sharp teeth have all been pulled. Yes, that lion will still growl, but it can no longer
tear us to pieces. Our Savior has fully paid sin’s ransom. Now we can die in Jesus’ wounds
because we know that when our hearts fail we will at the last see God. And we will see Jesus,
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who stands at death’s gate greeting us, the Alpha of our eternal life. Indeed, Jesus is all we need
for heaven.
This Good Friday we sit beneath the cross of Jesus. Our Savior died on a cross like this
one. And there he has shown us how to die. When we, as God’s children, must give up our
souls, we hand them over to the One who is no stranger or enemy. Instead, we commend our
souls into the warm hands of eternal love. The Alpha and the Omega is all we need for heaven.
The Alpha and Omega will cradle us close and carry us home to the rooms he himself prepared
for us on the Cross. And as Easter followed that first Good Friday, so another glorious Easter
will dawn to bring our sleeping bodies the joyful resurrection of the dead and its endless glory.
Because of the all-sufficient, wondrous love of our Savior, heaven will be our home.
-We may have doubts about the hardware store’s advertisements when they say they have
everything we need from “A to Z.” But when Jesus says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the
first and Last, the Beginning and the End,” we can take him at his word. He is truly all we need
for salvation and all we need for heaven. May the Lord in his mercy keep this confidence in our
hearts. Amen.