Paid in Full! (March 26, 2024)

So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. (John 19:30)

After dining at a New York City restaurant in 1949, American businessman Frank McNamara discovered that he had forgotten his wallet. Fortunately, his wife picked up the tab, but the frustrated McNamara resolved that he would never face such an embarrassing situation again. In February of 1950, McNamara dined at the same restaurant and paid the bill with a small cardboard card that became known as the Diners Club Card. Widely viewed as the first credit card, McNamara’s invention paved the way for the multipurpose charge card we use so often today. The flashing of plastic credit cards by consumers has become an American way of life.

Just as many consumers are overburdened by excessive credit card balances, we are all born mired in debt spiritually as a result of our sinful nature. To ignore our sins would violate the very nature of our just and righteous heavenly Father. But He is also loving and gracious, and the LORD offers everyone His mercy before having to judge us. God gave His Son Jesus Christ to fully pay a sin debt that we could not afford. Dying for our sins, Jesus cried from the cross, “It is finished!” or in Greek “Tetelestai” also translated “Paid in full!” By faith in Christ, our sin debt is completely satisfied, and we receive as precious gifts of a gracious God—salvation and eternal life!

This Holy Week brings to mind the words of the traditional American hymn “Jesus Paid It All,” written by Elvinia M. Hall about Jesus’ sacrificial death to pay our sin debt in full. As the story goes, on a warm summer day in Baltimore in 1865, the pastor of Elvinia’s church was preaching a lengthy sermon when her mind began to wander as she thought of Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. Elvinia, who sang in the choir, had no paper, but began writing a poem on the flyleaf of her hymnbook that became the beloved hymn, the refrain of which states the Easter message: “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.”