Finished
Our text for today is found in the gospel of John chapter nineteen - verse thirty. Please follow along with me as I read:
Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
John 19:30 (NASB)
We have spent the last five Sunday mornings considering the seven sayings of Jesus as He hung on the cross. He gave Himself as the ultimate sacrifice so that fallen mankind could be redeemed.
This morning we come to the greatest of the sayings. Each saying is important and they reveal much about our Lord and God's plan for our redemption - but of the seven, this one rises above the rest. Here we find - just prior to His death - that Jesus cries, "It is Finished."
How many of you have left things unfinished?
This past week I was looking through some books in my library and I noticed that some of the books had book markers in them. It seems that at one point or another I had been reading the book and for some reason I never finished reading it. It was unfinished -
A few years ago my wife and I went to Mount Rushmore. We visited there and saw the four president's faces cared into the mountain. But did you know that they were never finished. Sure - the faces are there but the person who designed them had every intention of carving the presidents down to the waist. It was unfinished -
We all know what it’s like to have unfinished business, don’t we? All of us have things unfinished cluttering up the highway of life.
— the half-read book
— the letter started but never sent
— the phone calls never returned
— the degree we never finished
— the promises never kept
All of us go through life leaving behind a trail of unfinished projects and unfulfilled dreams. How few there are who can come to the end of life and say, “I finished everything that I set out to do.”
In fact I would be so bold to say that there has been only one person in history to never leave behind any unfinished business. His name is Jesus Christ. He is the only person who could come to the end of his life and say—with absolute and total truthfulness—"I have finished everything I set out to do.”
In the Greek there is only one word for "it is finished". It can mean “to bring to an end", "to complete", "to accomplish”, "to finish". It’s a crucial word because it signifies the successful end to a particular course of action. It’s the word you would use when you reach peak of Mt. Everest - it’s the word you use when you cross the finish line of a 10K race - it’s the word you would use when you make the final house payment. The word means more than just "I finished" it can also mean - “I survived” - "I've succeeded" - “I did exactly what I set out to do.”
Note that Jesus did not say, “I am finished,” for that would imply that he died defeated and exhausted. Rather, he cried out “It is finished,” meaning “I successfully completed the work I came to do.” It is the Savior’s final cry of victory. When he died, He left no unfinished business behind. When He said, “It is finished,” He was speaking the truth.
But we must ask the question, "What was finished?"
This week as I prepared for this message I looked up what other ministers had said about this verse. The ideas were varied. But then I looked up what Matthew Henry had to say on this verse. He lived over 300 years ago. But I turn to him time and time again to listen to his wisdom. He lists several things that were finished when Jesus cried out, “It is finished.”
1. The MALICE of his enemies was finished.
By nailing him to the cross, they had done their best to do their worst. They wanted Him punished. They wanted Him killed. They got their wish. There was nothing more they could do to the Son of God. It was finished.
2. The SUFFERING of Christ was finished.
“The storm is over, the worst is past; all His pains and agonies are at an end, and He is just going to paradise, entering upon the joy set before Him.” He is going to a place where there will be no more pain or sorrow - all the tears will be wiped away. The suffering of Christ was about to be finished.
3. All the Old Testament PROPHECIES were fulfilled.
Matthew Henry lists a number of examples—He had been given vinegar to drink (Psalm 69:21), He had been sold for 30 pieces of silver (Zechariah 11:12), His hands and feet had been pierced (Psalm 22:16), His garments had been divided (Psalm 22:18), and His side was pierced (Zechariah 12:10). There are many other prophesies surrounding His death. All those had been or very soon would be fulfilled.
4. The CEREMONIAL LAW was abolished.
All the Old Testament rules concerning animal sacrifices are set aside. All the rules and regulations concerning the priesthood are fulfilled since the Great High Priest has now laid down His life for His people. Those laws pointed to the cross. But once Jesus died, they were no longer needed. The Mosaic economy is dissolved, to make way for a better hope. The book of Hebrews tells us this:
Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD. Hebrews 10:11-12 (NASB)
5. His EARTHLY LIFE was now finished.
When Jesus cried out “It is finished,” He had only a few seconds to live. All that He had come to do had been fully accomplished. His life and his mission on earth had come to an end at exactly the same moment.
Will He return to earth again? The answer is, "Yes!" He will not come as a suffering servant - but He will come as a judge - to judge the living and the dead. But at this point - His ministry on earth was finished.
6. The work of REDEMPTION was now complete.
This is undoubtedly the major meaning. Matthew Henry expands on what Christ’s death accomplished in four statements, each one beginning with the letter F.
The death of Christ provided a …
A. Full satisfaction for sin
B. Fatal blow to Satan
C. Fountain of grace opened that will flow forever
D. Foundation of peace laid that will last forever
7. The price of SIN was paid in full.
Do you remember the words of John the Baptist when he saw Jesus? He called him the lamb of God. Look at our verse from John chapter one:
The next day John saw Jesus coming to him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29 NASB
What does the Lamb of God do? “The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” That “taking away” of sin was accomplishment by the death of our Lord.
How far does He take away my sin? As far as the West is from the East. Look at what the Bible tells us:
"As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us." Psalms 103:12 NASB
How far east to you have to go - until you reach the west? How far west do you have to go - until you reach the east? You can never reach the east by going west - and you can never reach the west by going east. It is impossible. That is how far God has removed our sins from us. If you have trusted in Jesus as your savior - every sin has been paid for. Every sin has been taken care of. You don't have to worry about your sins any more.
So let me ask you a question: "What sin is keeping you from God today? Is it anger? Is it lust? Is it a hard heart of unbelief? Is it alcohol abuse? Is it an uncontrollable temper? Is it cheating? Is it stealing? Is it adultery? Is it abortion? Is it pride? Is it greed?"
Let me tell you the best news you will ever heard. It doesn’t matter what your sin is - it doesn’t matter how many sins you’ve piled up in your life - it doesn’t matter how guilty you feel - it doesn’t matter what you’ve been doing this week - it doesn’t matter how bad you’ve been - it doesn’t matter how many skeletons you have in your closet. All of your sins have been taken care of.
Anger - taken care of.
Sinful ambition - taken care of.
Gossip - taken care of.
Drunkenness - taken care of.
Fornication- taken care of.
Embezzlement- taken care of.
Lying- taken care of.
Disobedience- taken care of.
Slothfulness- taken care of.
Pride - taken care of.
Murder - taken care of.
Anything and everything you can think of - has been taken care of. "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." - "It is finished."
If that is the case let me give you:
Three Abiding Principles
1. Since it is finished - the work of SALVATION is now complete.
That is what “It is finished” means. The debt was paid, the work was accomplished, the sacrifice was completed. Jesus died - he died for my sin. The sacrifice was sufficient to pay for the sins of every person who has ever lived—past, present or future.
And that explains what theologians mean when they talk about the “finished work” of Jesus Christ. That’s not just a slogan; it’s a profound spiritual truth. What Jesus accomplished in his death was so awesome, so total, so complete that it could never be repeated. Not even by Jesus himself. His work is “finished.” There is nothing more God could do to save the human race. There is no Plan B. Plan A was good enough.
2. Since it is finished - all my efforts will not SAVE ME.
You can’t add anything to the value of what Jesus did on the cross.
You are doomed to failure if you try. Let me put it very simply. If Jesus paid it all - you can't add anything to it. If you try to pay for your salvation - it means you don’t think He paid for it.
God is not trying to sell you salvation. He’s not offering salvation at half-price. He’s not offering to go “Dutch Treat” with you. He’s not offering salvation on an installment plan.
God is offering you salvation free of charge. Jesus paid in full so you wouldn’t have to pay anything. The Bible says it this way:
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Ephesians 2:8 (NASB)
It's not a gift if you think you have to do something to pay for it. It's not a gift if you think you have to earn it. Jesus paid it all - it is finished.
3. Since it is finished - the only thing I can do is ACCEPT or REJECT.
I ran across an old hymn this past we entitled: "It Is Finished". It was written by Ira Sankey (D. L. Moody’s song-leader) almost a hundred years ago. It speaks of how Jesus has finished the work for my salvation - there is nothing I can do to improve on it. All I can do is either accept it or reject it. The lyrics of the song goes like this:
Nothing either great or small—
Nothing, sinner no.
Jesus did it, did it all,
Long, long ago.
“It is finished!” yes, indeed.
Finished every jot:
Sinner, this is all you need—
Tell me, is it not?
When He, from His lofty throne,
Stooped to do and die,
Everything was fully done:
Hearken to His cry.
“It is finished!” yes, indeed.
Finished every jot:
Sinner, this is all you need—
Tell me, is it not?
Weary, working, burdened one,
Wherefore toil you so?
Cease your doing; all was done
Long, long ago.
“It is finished!” yes, indeed.
Finished every jot:
Sinner, this is all you need—
Tell me, is it not?
Cast your deadly “doing” down—
Down at Jesus’ feet;
Stand in Him, in Him alone,
Gloriously complete.
“It is finished!” yes, indeed.
Finished every jot:
Sinner, this is all you need—
Tell me, is it not?
There is a lot good theology in this song. How often we try to improve on God's work for our salvation. "Cease your doing all is done - Long, long ago." Trust God for what He has done for you. Accept His gift - He gives it to you. He has left nothing unfinished. Trust Him. Believe in Him. Accept Him. Live for Him.
