Finished

John 19:30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

Last Sunday, Pastor Herk of the Little Church in the Pines preached how Christ’s finished work on the Cross at Calvary was just the beginning for what our Christian faith means. A number of things were finished at that Cross. All the Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled, Christ’s earthly life was over, and the work of redemption was completed. The price of sin was paid in full because of what Jesus did on the Cross.

John 17:3-4 “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.”

Jesus gave Himself as the ultimate sacrifice so that all of mankind could be redeemed. Our Savior is our “Blessed Redeemer”. Jesus made seven recorded sayings that He spoke from the Cross; the last being: “It is finished”. We all have unfinished work in our lives and a trail of unfinished business of what we set out to do and accomplish; all except Jesus. In Greek, the word for the term “It is finished is (Τετέλεσται) “Tetelestai”, which was used to mean that something has come to an end, to complete, to accomplish or to finish. It is an important word because it signifies a successful end to a particular course of action that we’ve undertaken. It can also mean that we survived or did exactly what we set out to do. But, notice that Jesus did not say, “I am finished”. He said, “It is finished.”

Luke 19:10 “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Jesus had successfully completed the work that Father God sent Him to do. “It is finished” is the Savior’s  final cry of victory from the Cross. Jesus left no unfinished business behind. Everything He came to do was fully accomplished. His life and His mission came to an end together at that moment. But, what exactly was finished? God’s High Priest had laid down His life for His people; one sacrifice for all people for all time. At that moment, the work of redemption was complete. The death of Jesus provided (1) full satisfaction of sin, (2) a fatal blow to Satan, (3) a fountain of grace being opened that flows forever, (4) a fountain of peace was laid. But, that word Tetelestai is also a commercial word which means “the debt is paid” Jesus said, “It is paid.” Romans 6:23 tells us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Jesus tells us in Matthew 26:28, “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” With His own blood on the Cross, Jesus secured a place in Heaven for His own people. Ephesians 2:1,4-5 explains, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins. God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)." The price of sin was paid in full. Jesus paid the price for our sin by His death. If you accept and trust Jesus as your Savior, every sin that you’ve committed has been paid. It is finished!

In Christ, Brian