Calvary Lutheran Church

It Is Finished

Oh, Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us and grant us your peace. Amen

John 19:30

Dear Good Friday worshippers:

            “It is finished,” three short, simple, words in the English. But in the original Greek it is only one long word, “tetelestai,” “It is finished.” This is the sixth of the seven words or sentences from the cross. And I’m sure when Jesus spoke them various observers around the cross interpreted them differently. For the enemies of Jesus, those who had him murdered, these words, “It is finished,” were an admission to defeat. They exulted in the thought that their plot to kill him was successful, that they had gained a decisive victory over him, that this was the last they would see or hear of this trouble-maker named Jesus of Nazareth.

            On the other hand, for Jesus’ mother Mary and his disciple John who were at the cross, and for all those who loved him, who had set all their hopes upon him for themselves and for the restoration of Israel; those words, “It is finished,” meant a great sense of despair. For them it meant that Jesus’ role as the Messiah, the Christ, was now abandoned. He was now forsaking the world and giving in to the powers of evil.

            I say, this is how various people interpreted Jesus’ words, “It is finished.” But what did Jesus mean by them? What thoughts were going through his mind when he said them? Those of us who now live in the New Testament era, those of us who have the benefit of the new Testament writers and interpreters, those of us who know what happened 36 hours after these words were spoken, we have better insight as to what Jesus meant when he said, “tetelestai,” “it is finished.” And that’s what I want to speak to you about this evening. What did Jesus himself mean when he said from the cross,

“IT IS FINISHED”

            The Scriptures use the word “finished” in two ways. First of all, it can mean simply that something is brought to an end. We read in Matthew, for example, that “Jesus had finished saying all these things, (Matthew 26:1). It means his teaching for the day had come to an end. Saint Paul in his letter to Timothy wrote, “I have finished the race” (2 Timothy 4:7). Paul was speaking of “finishing” as “ending” his life. And this is what Christ first meant when he used the word “finished.” It was the end of his suffering. He would no longer feel the pain from the scourging and beating and crown of thorns and the nails from hanging on the cross. The physical agony and verbal scoffing of his persecutors had come to an end.

            But not only was it the end of his suffering, the words, “It is finished,” also marked the end of his earthly life. His body was about to truly die, as we all will some day. The eyes would no longer see, the limbs no longer move, the heart would cease to beat; all speech, thought, feelings or his physical body were extinguished at once. Jesus died a physical death. His human life had truly come to an end. These were the first thoughts that came into Jesus’ mind when he uttered these words, “It is finished”—that his suffering and life were ended.

            But there is another and higher meaning in which the word “finished” is used in Scripture. We read in the book of James, “Perseverance must finish its work” (James 1:4). Here the word “finished” does not mean “brought to an end,” rather it means “brought to completion or to perfection.” And this is also how Christ used the word. “It is finished” means, “It is completed.”

            So what was completed? Well, first of all, everything that was written about him in the Scriptures. At the end of those three hours of darkness, John’s Gospel tells us that Jesus, “knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scriptures would be fulfilled, he said, ’I am thirsty’” (John 19:28). So wine vinegar was lifted to his lips to drink. And then Jesus immediately said, “It is finished.” In other words, Jesus knew that the whole Old Testament from the first book to the last was now completed in him.

            There was not one promise in Scripture in Scripture—whether it was the first promise in the book of Genesis to the devil that his head be crushed, or the promise to Abraham that all nations on earth would be blessed through him, or the last promise in the book of Malachi that the Son of Righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings—there was not one promise that was not completed in Christ.

            There was not one type—whether it was the type or Mechizedek who was both a priest and king at the same time like Jesus, or the type of  the bronze snake lifted on the pole in the wilderness so that all who looked at it were healed of their snake bite, or the scape goat that was led out into the wilderness on the Day of Atonement to represent their separation from sin —there was not one type that was not completed in Christ.

            And there was not one prophecy—whether it was that Jesus would be born of a virgin in Bethlehem, or that he would enter triumphantly into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, or that his hands and feet would be pierced—there was not one prophecy that was not completed in Christ. Someone once counted 332 distinct prophecies in the Old Testament which were all fulfilled in Christ. Who would have thought that all these many promises, types, prophecies, which when spoken appeared so different, so unrelated to each other, would all be accomplished in one person, Christ Jesus. Take away Christ from the Old Testament and it becomes a hodge-podge of isolated texts. But with Christ, the Old Testament becomes a beautiful picture of the one Savior to come.

            But what came to Jesus’ mind foremost when he uttered these words, “It is finished” was that his work of redemption was now completed. His redemption is how he bought back our holiness that was lost already when our first two parents sinned. His work of redemption involved both his active and passive obedient. You see, it was necessary if mankind was to saved that God’s law be kept perfectly. He told us in no uncertain terms, “Be holy because I, the Lord, am holy” (Leviticus 20:26). But no human being could accomplish such a feat. It would require perfect love for God with all our hearts, souls, and minds. It would require perfect love for others, yes, even those we cannot get along with or who hate us. So Christ undertook the task to keep God’s law for us—to obey every commandment, every mandate, every statute ever written—to be our perfect substitute. This was Christ’s active obedience.

            But not only did Jesus have to be perfect in our stead, but someone had to pay for all our sins. God’s justice, his holiness, required punishment for all those who were not holy. And this Christ also did by his passive obedience. It started in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus told his heavenly Father, “Not as I will but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). It continued before Caiaphas, then before Pilate, and it concluded on the cross. Yes, Jesus allowed his Father’s will to be carried out in all its gruesome detail. He didn’t lift a finger to stop it, he offered no resistance, just like those lambs and sheep who were sacrificed in the Old Testament. In doing so, he became the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

            Yes, Jesus saw his entire work of redemption, both active and passive obedience, both the fulfilling of the law and the bearing of the punishment on the cross, as having been completed. And he expressed that completion with the words, “It is finished.”

            This is what these words meant for Christ. But what do they mean for us. I’ll tell you first what they do not mean. They do not mean that our struggle with sin is finished, that we can sit back in our spiritual rocking chairs, thinking that Christ’s redemption is complete so we don’t have to think about our sin. No, the battle raging between man and the devil is fiercer now than ever before. That struggle will not be finished until Christ returns and the whole world is judged.

            But the words “It is finished” for us mean that there is nothing to be added to that perfect sacrifice that Jesus made for our sin. “It is finished” annihilates all attitudes of self-righteousness—that we have to help Jesus somehow in our salvation, as though he did his part now we have to do our part.

            No. Christ told you, “It is finished,” everything has been taken care of. Why try to improve on what is already perfect? That would be like trying touch up Michelangelo’ painting of the Sistine Chapel. That’s like trying to improve the lyrics to John Newton’s Amazing Grace.” Leave it alone. It is perfect the way it is. Adding to it only detracts from it. It is by grace alone that you are saved.

            And yet, that is what we sometimes try to do, especially when we say things like, “I don’t know if I am good enough to be saved.” No, listen to Jesus’ sixth words from the cross, perhaps the three (or one) most important words ever spoken, and know that your sins are completely forgiven, that your redemption is totally secured, that your salvation is already accomplished. After all, it is finished. Amen. 

May we pray:

Dear Savior Jesus Christ, with your triumphand cry of victory from the cross, "It is finished," you brought to a close your blessed work of redeeming us from our sins. Mortal tongues can never express all the praise due to you for this gift of your love, namely, your body given into death and your blood shed for our sins. Oh, what joy, what hope, what comfort is ours in the midst of sin and affliction, knowing that our sins are forgiven and that we are redeemed through your sacrifice. May our hearts never stray from you and may we never cease praising you. Sprinkle our sins with your blood and blot out our many transgressions from God's sight forever. As long as we live, shower us with your grace, bestowing every needful blessing upon our souls and bodies. In your name we pray. Amen.