“It is Finished!”
“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? Bur for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name….And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:27).
The heartfelt cry, “It’s finished!” could be taken in two different ways. It could be taken as a cry of defeat. It could reflect a life tragically cut short, and the admission that goals will never be reached. It could speak of a promising venture that goes bankrupt, and the CEO conceding to his team that the dream is dead. On the other hand, it could be a declaration of success. The surgeon stands at the operating table after a grueling procedure – the final stich is sown and the patient’s vital signs are stable—and he declares to the surgical team, “It is finished.” The builder puts the finishing detail on the new house, and with a glow of satisfaction he informs his boss, “It is finished.” Jesus Christ uttered these three words from the cross. Have you ever considered the meaning behind Christ’s words? Do they reflect a cry of defeat, or a declaration of success? Are these words relevant to humanity today? The Gospel of John provides answers to these important questions.
When Jesus declared, “It is finished” (John 19:30), He was making a declaration of victory, not a concession of defeat. The great surprise of the cross is that, although it looks like the most crushing disappointment for Jesus and His followers, it is actually the great moment of completion. To understand this important principle, we need only to consider what Jesus Himself said about the cross during His earthly ministry. Even from the beginning of the story, as Jesus anticipated being lifted up on the cross, He said: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14). Then, when Jesus speaks of His intention to lay down his life for His people, He explains, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me…and I lay down my life for the sheep…No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again….” (John 10:14). Jesus the Good Shepherd laid down His life willingly for His sheep that they may receive eternal life.
The three words spoken by Christ before His death echo down the centuries. They come to us today as good news. In fact, they come to us as the best news the world has ever heard. The Greek word translated, “It is finished” is tetelestai, an accounting term meaning “paid in full”. They tell us that all the work needed to pay the price of our rebellion against God – to deal with the problem of our sin, to reconcile us to our Maker, and to prepare us for the judgment to come – all the work is finished. Salvation was accomplished by Christ’s death, fully and finally. And we are invited simply to believe – to trust in that saving work – and to give thanks to the Suffering Servant.
It may be that you come to Easter this year with a heavy heart – a heart weighed down by guilt because of things you have thought or said or done. Perhaps you come in a spirit of trepidation, sensing that the Lord is displeased with you, and that you cannot make things right. Here is the glorious reassurance of Good Friday: the work is finished – the price is paid in full – and the requirements of a Holy God have been fully met by the victorious death of the crucified King, Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God!