IT IS FINISHED

“Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.”A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips.” – John 19:28-29.

“It is finished.” It’s one of the most famous and essential phrases in the Bible. It is the last phrase the Lord Jesus spoke before bowing His head in death. He was exclaiming to the universe that He had faithfully fulfilled the Father’s will and that the mission was now accomplished.

“It is finished!” This was the most significant victory in the history of the human race. At that moment, the sacrifices of the Old Testament could permanently cease, for the perfect Sacrifice had laid down His life for the salvation of mankind. Up until the time of Christ’s death, there was a system set in place where sacrifices had to be offered for sin. It was complicated, and it was difficult. Frequent sacrifices were required for all types of things. It was the only way people could be forgiven; it was the only way to be made right again.

People sin every day. They did, then, and we do now. And that sin costs us significantly. It separates us from God, it sets up a barrier, it leads to further drifting away from what we know to be right.  But the hope we have now because of Christ’s death on the cross and His ultimate sacrifice on our behalf is this: He completed the work. He paid the sacrifice in full on our behalf. No other payment is needed. He asks that we accept His gift of forgiveness and life.

Because Jesus was willing to offer His blood for the full payment of our sinful debt, we are forgiven and utterly debt-free. “Paid in full” has been stamped on our past sinful record because Jesus paid the price for our redemption with His blood. When Jesus cried, “It is finished,” all the Old Testament prophecies about Jesus’ earthly ministry were fulfilled. The Lamb of God had fully satisfied God’s justice.

So, what does your “it isn’t finished” narrative look and sound like? How does your “it isn’t finished” narrative lead you to feel and act toward God and others? Does your narrative sound like, “It isn’t finished, I’ll never be holy, I’ll always be a slave to my sin, why try?”  Romans 6:10-11 reminds us, “When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.”

That means it is not up to us to add anything, complete anything, or finalize anything when it comes to our salvation—Jesus did it all. So now, when we have put our trust in Jesus’s finished work, we can rest in confidence in our salvation and pursue God with our whole hearts.

Discussion Questions:

1. When Jesus said “It is finished,” He told us that His work on earth was done. The work of preaching the coming kingdom, living a life of perfect righteousness, and offering Himself as an appropriate sacrifice on behalf of humanity was complete. How does Jesus’ sinless human life uniquely qualify Him as our Savior?
2. What does “It is finished “ mean to your walk with God?