It is Finished!
John 19:30
John 19:28-30 reads, "After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, 'I am thirsty.' A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop, and brought it up to His mouth. Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, 'It is finished!' And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit."
What was finished? What was this mission that was now finished? Why did Jesus come? Let's look at how Jesus defined his mission -- and later, how his apostles understood it. We read about His commission to "preach the Gospel to the poor" (Luke 4:18, 43), "to bring life" (John 10:10b), "to destroy the devil's work" (1 John 3:8b), "to bring fire upon the earth," (Luke 12:49), "to testify to the truth" (John 18:37). But each of these seems like a means or aspect of the ultimate purpose and that is : to save us from our sins.
Consider these purpose statement verses:
"Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)
"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Luke 19:10)
"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)
Look again at the passage. It is remarkable in how it repeats one singular idea -- completion, fulfillment, finishing.
"Later, knowing that all was now completed (teleo), and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled (teleioo), Jesus said, "I am thirsty" ... When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished (teleo)." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." (John 19:28, 30)
It is clear from Matthew and Mark that just before Jesus breathed his last, he "cried out again in a loud voice" (Matthew 27:50, cf. Mark 15:37). John gives us the content of this loud cry: "It is finished!"
Those who are defeated go out with a whimper, but the victor announces his victory loudly and broadly: "It is finished!" The victory shout of Jesus echoed across the small flat hilltop and to the world beyond. It is finished!
Let's reflect for a few moments on the man who spoke those words from the cross, "It is finished!"
What made Jesus uniquely different from any other man who was ever executed on a Cross?
Jesus chose to go to the cross and die for mankind. John 10:11, 15, 17, 18 makes it clear that Jesus chose to die for His sheep. "I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep . . . I lay down my life for the sheep . . . . For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father."
You can't get much clearer than that. This is the way Jesus explained His own death.
Peter, preaching his finest sermon on the day of Pentecost after Jesus rose from the dead declared in Acts 2: 23– 24; 3:18 God's grand plan of redemption. "Just as you yourselves know—this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power . . . . But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled."
Now at the cross the body of Jesus was dehydrated from the hot Jewish midday sun and physical suffering during the six hours He hung on the cross. He revealed the burning physical thirst when He said, "I thirst." A sponge was filled with cheap sour wine and placed on a hyssop branch and shoved up to his lips. Jesus sucked some of the wine to sooth his fevered raw burning throat. He then gathered up his strength and gave a victorious shout,
What did the incarnate Son of God say that is so important?
Let it be clearly and emphatically stated that Jesus did not say, "I am finished." He did not say, "I am done––it is all over with Me; men will have to bring their own merit as a supplement to Mine in order to be saved" . Jesus said "It," not "I." "It is finished!"
It is a cry of victory. Jesus was not dying as some pathetic Jewish martyr. It is the victorious cry of our Substitute, our Representative, accomplishing a task on our behalf that we could never accomplish for ourselves.
The work He came to do was finished. The work that His Father had sent Him to do was accomplished. Jesus accomplished all He came to do. He declared at the end of the day––Finished, Done, Completed! The death of Jesus perfectly finished His redemptive work. The Lamb of God made His great sacrifice for the world. All that we must do is believe it and rely upon it.
The sixth statement from the Cross is actually one word in the original: tetelestai. It means, "It was finished and as a result it is forever done."
At the cross, Jesus accomplished seven things.
First, he died for sinners. Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities.” As a result, Jesus died for those who transgressed His law. He took their place even though He is perfect so that sinners could have eternal life.
Jesus physically felt the pain of nails going through his flesh. He agonized in misery before giving way to suffocation.
Second, Jesus satisfied God’s wrath against sin. Since God is a good judge, he loves holiness and hates sin. Therefore, God rightly has a controlled wrath against our sin. When Jesus went to the cross, God placed him there “as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith” (Romans 3:25). Propitiation means to satisfy. With his sacrifice, Jesus paid the penalty for sinners through His perfect atonement. Being God, he had the quantity and the quality of payment to satisfy the Father. Since he is man, he had a human nature which could die as a sacrifice.
Third, Jesus’ death gives us His righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” This is the great exchange. Christ traded places with sinners. He took the sins of His people and died a condemned man. Yet, condemned sinners receive the reward for Christ’s perfect life which is eternal life.
Fourth, for those who believe in Jesus, there is no fear of hell. Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Christ’s sacrifice accomplish redemption once and for all. “It is finished” (John 20:30). Therefore, if you repent of your sins and trust in Jesus alone, then you have peace with God. Your sins will not be brought forward as evidence against you on the judgment day.
Fifth, Jesus’ sacrifice sets us free from the power of sin. Romans 6:6 says, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” The cross broke the links in the chain of sin for Christians. We have been set free to serve the Lord.
Sixth, Jesus’ death on the cross reveals God’s love and glory. He sent His son to die for ungodly sinners. On the tree, Jesus shows the glory of God’s wisdom, power, and holiness for accomplishing his plan. However, this good news is not for everyone. It is only for those who have faith in the finished work of Jesus. The Bible does not teach universalism. Many people will perish in the fires of hell, because they reject the gospel. There are only two choices. Either Jesus bore your sin on the cross or you will bear your sin forever and ever in hell.
Seventh The veil of the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Consider the general layout of the Tabernacle in the wilderness as well as the Temple in Jerusalem. Both basically were the same. As one approached its front, the first object encountered would be the altar of sacrifice, the brazen alter by which atonement was made. The Hebrew word translated as atonement means "by which we draw near." In other words, by sacrifice, represented by the brazen altar, we draw near to God, seeking Him.
After the brazen altar comes the laver. It could be described as being like a big bathtub. Here a person was to wash himself before proceeding any farther.
Once inside the sanctuary, light came from the candelabra, representing Christ as the Light of the World, as well as the light of God's truth spread from activity of the seven churches.
On the table was the shewbread, representing Christ as the Bread of Life. Directly in front of one who entered the Holy Place, past the table of shewbread, stood the altar of incense, representing the prayers of the saints. Barring one's way into the Holy of Holies, into the very presence of God, was the veil. Once behind it, a person would be before the Mercy Seat, in the very presence of God.
All three Synoptic Gospels record the rending of the temple veil at the moment of our Lord’s death; only John’s account omits this. The rending of the veil signified the end of the Old Covenant, under which people had to keep their distance from God, and the commencement of the New Covenant, under which men and women may draw near, through the shed blood of Jesus ( Hebrews 9; 10:19-24).
The veil being torn apart at Christ's death symbolizes that the way was now open into the very presence of God and that a personal relationship with God can now be established. The way had been opened by the sacrificial death of our Savior. This intimate relationship with God is the key to our being transformed from glory to glory (II Corinthians 3:18).
If we cannot enter God's presence, if we are far away, there is not much hope of transformation. This is why the Bible so frequently urges us to seek God. Seeking God is part of "dressing and keeping" the relationship, helping it to grow.
Jesus had paid the price of human redemption with His own precious blood, God can now receive the repenting, returning sinner both as a loving Father and as a just God.
How can God remain a holy and righteous God and allow sinners in His presence? The apostle Paul gives us the answer in Romans 3:19-26; 5:6, 8; Galatians 2:16; 3:13, 22.
All of these Scriptures stress the fact that man is justified by faith in the death of Christ alone There is no other way to stand right in the sight of a holy and righteous God. Galatians 2:16 is very clear when it says, "a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified."
