It Is Finished

Jesus was not known for earthly wealth or a position of power. Jesus was a teacher. With simple words, Jesus taught the profound truth of God. Jesus also spoke words of healing and transformation with great authority. Jesus came to give all people a relationship in him where we are restored to God. It is a relationship where we have God’s peace and presence and power.

For a man of peace and a peace-bringer, Jesus’s death was the greatest irony. This death was why he came to this earth. Jesus knew that in his life and death we would be healed from the brokenness of our sin and that we would be reconciled to God. It is in the sacrifice of Jesus that we know forgiveness and restoration, redemption and renewal.

This all meant Jesus needed to suffer and die. This was not just physical pain but also the emotional pain of rejection. The crowds that had called him King now jeered him. The disciples who had pledged their ultimate loyalty to Jesus now ran away, betrayed him, and denied him. It was also spiritual pain as Jesus became sin for us and experienced the alienation from God that sin brings. Matthew 27:45–46 states, “From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’)” (NIV).

The suffering of Jesus was your suffering and my suffering. Jesus bore our penalty. Jesus took upon himself the sins of the world, becoming sin on our behalf. Jesus died for us so we would not need to die in our sins and be lost forever. John 19:30 reads, “When he received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’” It goes on to say in Luke 23:46, “Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last.” What is finished? God’s salvation plan is finished. The sacrifice is finished. Jesus died in our place.

Let’s make sure we do not let the busyness of our lives and schedules cause us to neglect what God finished for us. Do you need to know his forgiveness and his healing touch?

Print