THE WORD OF VICTORY
"When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished."
John 19:30
The last two weeks we have been occupied with the tragedy of the cross; we turn now to its triumph.
"It is finished." The ancient Greeks boasted of being able to say much in little. "It is finished" is but one word in the Greek, yet in that word is wrapped up so much. Here is the greatest single Greek word ever spoken.
"It is finished." This was not the despairing cry of a helpless martyr; it is the declaration on the part of the divine Redeemer that all for which he came from heaven to earth to do, was now done.
"It is finished." The great purpose of God in the history of man was now accomplished.
"It is finished."
I. The CONSUMMATION OF THE PROPHETIC SCRIPTURES
Here we see the accomplished fulfillment of all the prophecies which had been written of Him before He should die.
This is the immediate thought of the context: "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished" (John 19:30). Centuries earlier, the Old Testament prophets of God had prophesied many things about Him. It had been prophesied that He would be born of a "virgin" (Isa. 7:14): it was literally fulfilled (Matthew 1:18).
It was prophesier that He should be born in Bethlehem of Judea (Mic. 5:2); it came to pass as it was foretold
Prophecy made mention of one going before Christ to make ready the way (Malachi 3:1); it is fulfilled in the person of John the Baptist.
Prophecy announced that his person should be despised (Isa. 53:3); that He should be rejected by the Jews (Isa. 8:14); such was precisely the case.
Prophecy painted the whole picture of His humiliation and crucifixion; it was vividly accomplished. There was the betrayal by a familiar friend, the forsaking by his cherished disciples, the being led to the slaughter, the being taken to judgment, the appearing of false witnesses against him, the refusal on his part to make defense, the unjust condemnation, the sentence of capital punishment passed upon him, the literal piercing of his hands and feet, the being numbered with transgressors, the mockery of the crowd, the casting lots for his garments - all predicted centuries beforehand, and all fulfilled to the very letter.
The last prophecy of all which remained before He committed His spirit into the hands of His Father had now been fulfilled. He cried "I thirst" and after the tendering of the vinegar and gall all was now "accomplished"; and as the Lord Jesus reviewed the entire scope of the prophetic word and saw its full realization, He cried, "It is finished."
Just as we see the actual fulfillment of those which had to do with His first coming to the earth, so we may look forward with absolute confidence and assurance to the fulfillment of those which have to do with His second coming.
II. The CULMINATION OF HIS PERSONAL SUFFERINGS
O the unutterable anguish, physical, mental, and spiritual sufferings which He endured!
Appropriately was he designated "the Man of Sorrows." Sufferings at the hands of men, at the hands of Satan, and at the hands of God. Pain inflicted upon him by enemies and friends alike.
You have to only read through the gospels to learn how the awful cross was ever before Him. At the marriage-feast of Cana, where all was gladness and merriment, He makes solemn reference to "His hour" not yet come. When Nicodemus interviewed him at night the Saviour referred to the lifting up of the Son of man. When James and John came to request from him the two places of honour in his coming kingdom, he made mention of the "cup" which he had to drink.
When Peter confessed that he was the Christ, the Son of the living God, he turned to his disciples and began to show unto them "how that he must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day" (Matthew 16:21). When Moses and Elijah stood with him on the mount of transfiguration it was to speak of "his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem."
We are unable to estimate the sufferings of Christ due to the anticipation of the cross. The physical sufferings were agonizing but even this was as nothing compared with the anguish of His soul. The better we are acquainted with His sufferings, and the more we meditate upon them, the warmer will our love be and the deeper our gratitude.
Now the closing hours come. There had been the terrible experience in Gethsemane followed by His appearance before Caiaphas, before Pilate, before Herod, and back again before Pilate. There had been the scourging and mocking by the brutal soldiers; the journey to Calvary; the fastening of his hands and feet to the cruel tree. There had been the reviling of the priests, the crowd, and the two thieves crucified with him. There had been the awful time when He was forsaken of the Father as he cried, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
Now the suffering is ended. The awful storm of God’s wrath has ended. The darkness is ended. The wages of sin have been paid. The prophecies of his sufferings are all fulfilled. The cross has been "endured." Divine holiness has been fully satisfied. With a cry of triumph - a loud cry, a cry which reverberated throughout the entire universe - the Saviour exclaims, "It is finished." The shame and the suffering are past. Never again shall He experience pain. Never again shall He endure the contradiction of sinners against himself. Never again shall He be in the hands of Satan. Never again shall the light of Father’s countenance be hidden from Him. “It is finished!”
III. The COMPLETION OF A PERFECT SACRIFICE
The mission upon which God had sent his Son into the world was now accomplished.
"It is finished." The mission upon which God had sent his Son into the world was accomplished. The plan of God had been fully carried out.
Here we see the accomplishment of the atonement.
The Son of Man came here "to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Christ Jesus came into the world "to save sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15). God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, "to redeem them that were under the law" (Galatians 4:4). He was manifested "to take away our sins" (1 John 3:5). All this involved the cross. Sinners could only be saved by one taking their place and bearing their iniquities. They who were under the law could be "redeemed" only by another fulfilling its requirements and suffering its curse. Our sins could be taken away only by their being blotted out by the precious blood of Christ. The demands of justice must be me; the requirements of God’s holiness must be satisfied; the awful debt we incurred must be paid.
On the cross this was done; done by none less than the Son of God; done perfectly; done once for all.
"It is finished."
God has furnished at least four proofs that Christ did finish the work which was given Him to do. First, in the rending of the veil, which showed that the way to God was now open. Second, in the raising of Christ from the dead, which evidenced that God had accepted his sacrifice. Third, the exaltation of Christ to his own right hand, which demonstrated the value of Christ’s work and the Father’s delight in his person. Fourth, the sending to earth of the Holy Spirit to apply the virtues and benefits of Christ’s atoning death.
"It is finished." To the sinner, it is a message of glad tidings. All that a holy God requires has been done. Nothing is left for the sinner to add. No works from us are demanded as the price of our salvation. All that is necessary for the sinner is to rest now by faith upon what Christ did.
IV. The CONQUEST OVER THE POWER OF SATAN
To human appearances it looked like the moment of Satan’s greatest triumph, yet in reality, it was the hour of his ultimate defeat. It is true that Satan has not yet been chained and cast into the bottomless pit, nevertheless, sentence has been passed (though not yet executed); his doom is certain; and his power is already broken so far as believers are concerned.
For the Christian the devil is a defeated foe. He was defeated by Christ at the cross - "that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil" (Heb. 2:14).
For the believer, Satan should be treated as a defeated enemy . No longer has he any legitimate claim upon us. Once we were his captives but Christ has freed us.
"It is finished." Here was the triumphant answer to the rage of man and the enmity of Satan. It tells of the perfect work which meets sin in the place of judgment. All was completed just as God would have it, just as the prophets had foretold, just as the Old Testament ceremonial had foreshadowed, just as divine holiness demanded, and just as sinners needed.
"It is finished" cried the Son of God - who then would dare to doubt or question it.
"It is finished." Are you foolishly trying to add something of your own to the finished work of Christ?
The Father is satisfied with the work of Christ, why are you not? Believe what God’s word says about Christ’s death.
Conclusion:
Some years ago a Christian farmer was deeply concerned over an unsaved carpenter. The farmer sought to explain how that the finished work of Christ was sufficient for his soul to rest upon. But the carpenter persisted in the belief that he must do something himself. One day the farmer asked the carpenter to make for him a gate, and when the gate was ready he carried it away to his wagon. He arranged for the carpenter to call on him the next morning and see the gate as it hung in the field. At the appointed hour the carpenter arrived and was surprised to find the farmer standing by with a sharp axe in his hand. "What are you going to do?" he asked. "I am going to add a few cuts and strokes to your work," was the response. "But there is no need for it," replied the carpenter, "the gate is all right as it is. I did all that was necessary to it." The farmer took no notice, but lifting his axe he slashed and hacked at the gate until it was completely spoiled. "Look what you have done!" cried the carpenter. "You have ruined my work!" "Yes," said the farmer, "and that is exactly what you are trying to do. You are seeking to nullify the finished work of Christ by your own miserable additions to it!"
“It is finished.”
It was not a whimper of a victim but the shout of a victor.
