The central words from the Calvary’s Cross took place amidst great “darkness.”

“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. ⁴⁶ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matthew 27:45-46 (KJV)

As Jesus Christ hung there in those three hours of darkness, He loudly cried out so that there could be no question about what was taking place in that darkness. He directly quoted Psalm 22:1. The first half of this prophetic Psalm of David is a description of the events of the Cross;

“My God, my God, WHY hast Thou Forsaken Me? why art thou so far from helping me…” Psalm 22:1a (KJV)

The answer to His question is seen in verse 3, … because “Thou Art Holy.”

It was in that darkness that God the Father “made Him to be Sin for us.” (2Cor. 5:21). In those agonizing moments God set forth His Son to be the “propitiation” for our sin (Rom. 3:25), to bear the eternal consequences of our sin. Then and there He “bare our sins in His own body on the tree” (1Peter 2:24) and He “put away [canceled, rendered void or of no effect] sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Heb. 9:26).

Isaiah 53 tells us “the Lord [The Father] laid upon Him [The Son] the iniquity of us all,” and “He [The Father] shall see the travail of His [Jesus’] soul and shall be satisfied. (v 6, 11). It was in these dark moments that our Lord Jesus was literally experiencing the transformation of His soul that is “the second death.”

Amazingly, in those moments a meeting place being prepared between a Holy God and a sinful man, in the person of and through the blood of His Son dying “the just for the unjust, that He [Jesus] might bring us to God” (1Peter 3:18).

After the darkness lifted, there are more words from the Cross of Christ. These three words demonstrate what was accomplished, as seen in John 19:28. “After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, [so] That The Scripture Might Be Fulfilled, saith, I THIRST.” John 19:28 (KJV)

This is a direct reference to Psalm 69:21.

“They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst They Gave Me Vinegar To Drink.” Psalm 69:21 (KJV)

“And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh [gall mixture]: but he received it NOT.” Mark 15:23 (KJV)

When He said “I thirst,” it was evidence of the depths of His physical suffering. Psalm 22 speaks of Him being “dried up.” All the moisture had gone out of His body because of the intense suffering. But there is more here. He rejected the gall that would mute some of the pain.

Notice Jesus’ statement in John 19:28 (above); “Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, [so] That The Scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I Thirst…”  Note the words “THE Scripture,” NOT ‘the Scriptures’ plural, not all that God had ever said, but rather “THE Scripture” – the specific one in Psalm 69:21 needed to be fulfilled. Jesus said, “I THIRST,” only so they would give Him Vinegar To Drink because Psalm 69:21 said they would! The Psalm does not say He would speak those words; it simply says they would provide Him with vinegar to drink. He said “I thirst” to prompt them to do what the Scripture said they would. Jesus was still alert and intent upon fulfilling every prophecy.

Then came the grand pronouncement of John 19:30. “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, IT IS FINISHED: and He Bowed His Head, and Gave Up The Ghost [His spirit].” John 19:30 (KJV)

With this, Jesus turns the tragedy of Calvary’s Cross into triumph. Christ’s work of the Cross is done, the suffering is over, the all-sufficient Payment for the Sins of the World Is Made! One needs only to believe.

Jesus did not say all prophesies were fulfilled, there were more to come. In the next verses of John 19 we have the words about His bones not being broken; this was yet to be fulfilled. No. He was saying that there is AN END TO SIN because – “He put away [Grk. athetesis, canceled] sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”

The ‘propitiation’ (the full sin-debt payment) was completed. With His Cross-work completed, Jesus then chose to bow His head and dismiss His spirit. His head did not collapse to His chest.