It Is Finished Series

It Is Finished John 19:23–42

Introduction

John 19 takes us into the last moments of Jesus’ earthly life.

John 19:28-30)

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

It is finished. Chris Wright: “In his dying moments, the mind of Jesus is filled, not with hopeless despair, but with a sense of accomplishment. His imminent death was not merely something others had inflicted on him, but something he himself had achieved!”

And if you think about it, almost everybody had tried to stop Jesus from getting to this moment of giving His life.

-At the start, Herod tried to kill Him as a baby. The whole story could have stopped there.

-When He began His ministry, the devil tried to lure Him away from obedience with attractive alternatives in the wilderness.

-His own mother and family tried to pull Him back from a mission that was offensive and dangerous.

-At Caesarea Philippi, when Jesus spoke about His coming suffering, Peter tried to block Him: “No, Lord, this shall never happen to you.”

Pilate tried to release Him.

A criminal crucified beside Him urged Him, “Save yourself and us.”

It was only because Jesus was determined to go all the way to death that He reached this final point of victory. Everything was now finished.

John sums it up with one word from Jesus’ lips: “It is finished.” The saving work the Father gave the Son to do has reached its decisive goal. What exactly did Jesus finish? And who was there to see it?

1. What Jesus Finished: The Plan of God

The plan of God was to deal with all the guilt of human sin, so that God’s own justice would be vindicated. At the cross, Jesus bore the guilt and punishment of our sin. “The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24).

The plan of God to defeat all powers of evil/demonic forces. “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:15).

The plan of God to destroy death, the great enemy of human life in God’s world. Through His death, He destroyed “the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14). He “brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:10).

The plan of God is to remove the barrier between Jews and Gentiles, and ultimately to remove all forms of enmity and hatred between human beings. “He himself is our peace… that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace… through the cross” (Ephesians 2:14–16).

The plan of God is to heal and reconcile His whole creation. Colossians 1:20 says that God’s purpose was “through him to reconcile to himself all things… making peace by the blood of his cross.”

All of that was accomplished at the cross and affirmed, vindicated, and guaranteed by the resurrection. When Jesus cried, “It is finished,” He meant that this great saving plan of God had reached its climactic moment.

So when Jesus says, “It is finished,” He is crying out that everything the Father gave Him to do for our salvation has been fully accomplished.

2. Who Was at the Cross: John’s Perspective from the Ground

Not his twelve chosen disciples (except John). Jesus is not surrounded by His band of disciples. He had handpicked them. He believed in them. He instilled in them a vision of who they could become. He instructed them in discipleship. He prayed for them and with them. He washed their feet. But in the moment of conflict, they deserted Him.

Those Who Ignored Him: The Soldiers

John 19:23–24 When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, 24 so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says, “They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

So the soldiers did these things. Barclay comments that no picture shows the indifference of the world to Christ more than this. There on the cross, Jesus is dying in agony; and there at the foot of the cross, the soldiers are gambling for His clothes as if nothing of consequence is happening. It is just another day’s work, another criminal, another execution. Psalm 22:18: “They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”