The Power of It is Finished
By
Bishop Melvin Maughmer, Jr.
John 19 28 & 30 says “After this, when Jesus knew that all things were now accomplished, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, he said, ‘I thirst. Then when he received the sour wine Jesus said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up the spirit.”
Let me suggest to you today what is probably one of the most powerful phrases in all of scripture is mentioned here and that is “It is finished”.
Prayer: -
OPENING: - All of us have unfinished things cluttering up our lives rather it is the bed half made this morning, the unfinished garage that we started cleaning out months ago, the unfinished book sitting on the nightstand, the unfinished bottle of Keto diet pills in the cabinet that was part of the new you that was supposed to happen back on January 1. Maybe it is the degree we that was never finished because life got in the way, or the infamous honey dew list that is just as long as it was when you first received it. These are things that some of us have in our lives that are unfinished.
Unfortunately, there are some things that are much more serious than that, the abandoned child that is wondering where mommy and daddy are because any couple can have a child, but it takes parents to stick to it and raise them, the marriage that barely made it to the anniversary because the desire to see it through was not there once the honeymoon was over, the bills that are piling up on the kitchen table because you were laid off from your job because Covid interrupted your life, the trips never made, and the promises never kept are serious things that some people have in their lives that remain unfinished.
UNDERSTAND: - It is easier to start things than to finish them. As I already have stated any couple can have a child, but it takes a parent to raise the child understanding that birth is never the finished plan, it is only the beginning. It is sad to see people start something and not have the desire to finish it. It produces missed opportunities and broken dreams that can lead to anxiety, depression, illnesses and ultimately death.
I remember when I was in the 6th grade and I was school crossing guard. One day I just quit, and my father really seemed to be upset with the fact that I quit. He stated if I lacked the desire to finish what I had started, then I could fall into a habitual lifestyle of never completing anything. I didn’t understand it then, but as I grew, I began to understand what he meant by that.
The unfinished things in our lives can often bring frustration, intimidation and interruption to our daily activities anxiety, depression, illnesses and even to our desire and purpose of serving God. I truly do not believe anybody likes unfinished stuff hanging over their head. The Bible gives us the definitive example of completing things and shows us that God always finishes what He begins. He is the Author and the Finisher of our faith. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the first and the last. He is the beginning and the end.
When we hear the last words of Jesus on the cross “It is finished” do we really understand the power that is associated with that phrase. The questions become literally What did Jesus mean when he said, “It is Finished”? Was He simply saying that his physical suffering was over? Did He mean His ministry was over? I suggest to you that “It is finished” is a proclamation that all the work God the Father had sent him to accomplish was now finished, in particularly His work of bearing the penalty for our sins.
In our Western culture and our language, we lose the power and meaning of words so many times. In Greek, which is the audience which John was writing to he uses the word “Tetelestai” which literally means “It is finished” and is the same word that means “paid in full”. This word was written on business documents or receipts in New Testament times to indicate that a bill had been paid in full.
UNDERSTAND: - To the Hebrew people, “Tetelestai,” or, “it is finished” had a very ceremonial meaning. The Day of Atonement would come to serve as a day of special sacrifice for the sins of the people of Israel. The priest would kill an animal for sacrifice, he would take the blood of the animal behind the veil into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood altar in front of the Ark of the Covenant asking for the atonement of the people, he would and emerge from behind the veil and announce to the crowd, “it is finished” indicating the people’s sins were forgiven.
When Jesus, the Son of God, died on the cross He took on our sins and took the place of sacrifice.
No longer would it be required to yearly atone for sins through the sacrifice of a lamb, for Jesus atoned for our sins that day upon the cross. It is also chief to recognize that the lambs used for sacrifice before were imperfect and they did not last. The sacrifice Jesus gave in becoming the spotless lamb without flaw in sacrificing Himself was not for just a time, but for all of time.
Tetelestai is in the perfect tense in Greek. That is significant because the perfect tense speaks of an action which has been completed in the past with results continuing into the present. It is different from the past tense which looks back to an event and says, "This happened." The perfect tense adds the idea that "This happened and it is still in effect today."
The uniqueness about the way it was written is that the tense of the word indicates both a point in time that it was complete and that it would also continue to be complete or finished, it could never be unfinished, incomplete, or undone. This is the very essence of what Christ came to do. He came to “finish” God’s work of salvation in us. He came to “pay in full the price of our redemption, the entire penalty, or debt, for our sins is Tetelestai - it is finished. It is finished at Calvary and it is finished right now and in the future.
Tetelestai, then, is the Savior Jesus Christ’s final cry of victory. When he died on Calvary;s cross, He left no unfinished business behind. When He said, “It is finished”, He was speaking the ultimate and completed truth.
It has been said that Christ’s RESURRECTION is God’s “AMEN” to His Son's declaration “IT IS FINISHED.” Looking at the Cross we see the work of redemption completed. Looking at the open tomb we see Jesus’ finished work fully accepted by the Father. The payment required for sin is death and when Christ said TETELESTAI – It is Finished, He was saying that the sin debt was “PAID IN FULL! And it is now and forever Finished”.
WATCH THIS: - At the very moment Jesus said, “It is finished - Tetelestai,” the power of sin and the devil was finished. This means no longer would mankind have to suffer and be bound by the power of the devil but are now as Ephesians 6:16 says “able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked”.
Understand that the finished work of Jesus is the beginning of new life for those of us in Him for all who were once as Ephesians 2:1 & 5 says “dead in their trespasses and sins are now made alive with Christ”.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”.
Because Jesus said, “It is Finished – Tetelestai” You and I have full access to God. That division between God and man was finished. After Jesus said Tetelestai – It is finished He hung His head and died at that very moment the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom Mark 15:38.
The significance of this is the curtain was the physical representation between the holiest of holies and man a separation between man and God. Remember only the High Priest was allowed beyond the veil and only on the Day of Atonement to sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice on the altar, it was because of our sin we could not stand in the presence of God. When the curtain was torn it signified that we can now go before God because Jesus atoned for our sins.
We no longer need a priest to go and offer sacrifices for us; we go can directly to God with our prayers. We don’t have to go into a confession box and tell our issues to someone sitting on the other side divided by a panel wall. Jesus’ finishing work on the cross bridged the gap between us and God and I can, and you can go directly to Him saying Our Father who art in Heaven hallowed be thy name.
When Jesus Christ said “It is finished” he also got rid of the need for us to earn our forgiveness. Salvation is a free gift. We just need to ask for forgiveness, and we are forgiven. All the guilt and shame of our sin will be taken away and completely forgotten. Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit”.
It is finished means – You are no longer a slave to sin. Whom the son as set free is free indeed.
Because Jesus said “It is Finished:
You are no longer bound by Anger – It is finished
You are no longer bound by Hatred – It is finished
You are no longer bound by Gossip – It is finished
You don’t have to be bound by Depression – It is finished
You don’t have to be bound by Fear – It is finished
You don’t have to be bound by Homosexulaism – It is finished
WATCH THIS:- Because Jesus said it is finished the works of the flesh Arrogance, Gossip, Drunkenness, Fornication, Lying, Disobedience, slothfulness, Pride, Murder, Adultery, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, they are all finished in Christ Jesus.
CLOSING: - TETELESTAI – It is Finished is not a cry of defeat of a dying Man, but a cry of the Triumph Power of a Living, Life Giving Redeemer. It is a Divine Proclamation that the WORK OF REDEMPTION had been fully, finally and forever accomplished.
For us today and for generations to come after if the Lord tarries means that because of the work finished on the Cross Jesus has provided the solution to man’s sin and the way to God Himself.
John 14:6 Jesus said “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”.
Someone may say well Bishop if it is finished what about sin in the world. Yes - sin still exists and not one of us is beyond sin, but sin does not have the power to hold us any longer. Because Jesus taking our sin, paying our debt, and Finishing the work of our redemption and salvation we can be washed clean, forgiven, and granted access before God the Father Himself. We are no longer bound by the chains sin seeks to impose upon us.
Regardless of what people try to say if you end up in hell it is your choice because you willfully chose not to accept the finished work of Jesus Christ.
It is finished means that we can stop trying to clean up our act, stop trying to make ourselves good first which will never happen, stop procrastinating saying when I stop this or quit that then I will come to Christ and just come to Christ as broken sinners in need of salvation. Jesus Christ died for you, and he died for me and said it is finished.
We are free - no longer bound no more chains hold me and you because Jesus said It is Finished.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
