Sermon Tone Analysis

Our text tells us that the life of our Savior is nearing its end.

He has already made six statements from the cross.

As the soldiers nailed him to the cross, as the Jewish leaders mocked scorned him, as the thieves reviled him, Jesus says, /"Father, forgive them."/

As one of the thieves repented, Jesus assured him /"Today you will be with me in paradise."/

As his mother pours out her grief for a dying son, Jesus tenderly commits her care to the

Apostle John.

/"Woman,"/ he says, pointing her to John, /"Behold your son."/

And to John he says, /"Behold your mother."/

As the hours go by and a supernatural darkness settles over the land, Jesus becomes sin for us.

As the Heavenly Father momentarily turns His face away from His son, Jesus cries out, /"My God, my God.

Why have you forsaken me?!"/

Knowing that in his crucifixion He has become the /"Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world,"/ Jesus reveals his humanity and fulfills the Old Testament Scriptures by saying, /"I thirst."/

In the final few moments before his death, Jesus utters a statement of confidence in God the Father when he says, /“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.”/

Now the moment of his death is upon him.

Jesus utters his last statement from the cross.

In the original language it is just one word.

We need three to properly translate it.

Jesus lifts his

head toward the heavens and cries out, /"It is finished!"/

In three hours Jesus has gone from a cry of desolation to a cry of jubilation.

He has gone from victim to victor.

!

I. WHAT JESUS DIDN'T MEAN WHEN HE SAID, "IT IS FINISHED"

#. when we read someone's word in print, we do not always know for sure the meaning behind those words

#. inflection, volume, facial expressions, body language, and even an emphasis on particular words in a sentence give various meaning to what we say

* ILLUS.

Mothers are especially good at this.

I know my mother was.

For example, all mothers have several special ways of saying the simple little phrase,"Did you hear me?"

In one form they, are asking a simple question.

A different inflection, with a little added body language, can make it a statement of fact.

Raise the volume a notch, add some Body English, narrow the eyes, and you have a threat to do bodily harm!

#. how did Jesus say this word?

#. let's consider the possibilities

!! A. WHEN HE SAID "IT IS FINISHED" DID JESUS MEAN THAT THE SINFUL WORK OF HUMANITY IN REJECTING THE SON OF GOD WAS NEARING COMPLETION?

#. that's what some bible scholars believe ...

#. perhaps these words were directed at the Jewish leaders with sarcasm

#. /"Well, you got what you wanted.

It's over now."/

#. perhaps Jesus was looking at his mother and the disciple John when He spoke these words with a note of frustration

#. maybe the message meant, /"I had hoped for so much more, but my dream of a kingdom is over."/

#. maybe these words were breathed in anger at the Roman political system that had crucified an innocent itinerant Jewish rabbi

#. maybe the message meant, /"It's over, a curse on you!"/

#.

Jesus may have meant these things—but I doubt it

!! B. WHEN HE SAID "IT IS FINISHED" DID JESUS MEAN THAT HIS LIFE WAS FINISHED?

#. that's what some bible scholars believe ...

#.

Jesus was a living, breathing human being

#.

He ate and drank, slept, walked, preached, and prayed

#. but now all that was finished

#.

His holy hands, which had healed so many and given strength to the lame and sight to the blind, would soon be cold and motionless

#.

His feet, that had walked on so many missions of mercy, would soon become rigid and unmoving

#.

His voice, that had spoken countless words of grace and love to so many, would soon become silent

#. when Jesus said, It is finished he may have meant that his life was finished—but I doubt it

!! C. WHEN HE SAID "IT IS FINISHED" DID JESUS MEAN THAT HIS MINISTRY WAS OVER?

#. that's what some bible scholars believe ...

#. the single word that Jesus spoke and that we translate as, It is finished was a common word

* ILLUS.

For those of you who like Bible trivia, this is actually the shortest sentence Jesus ever spoke.

* ILLUS.

It was a word often spoken by a slave to his master when he had completed an assigned task.

* ILLUS.

When you paid you taxes, it was the word the tax collector wrote on your tax receipt.

It was our equivalent of "paid in full."

#. is Jesus declaring that his ministry and life’s purpose is over?

#. for three years he had faithfully taught his disciples about the Kingdom of God

#. he had healed the sick, given sight to the blind, cleansed the lepers, and brought the dead back to life

#.

most importantly, he had preached the good news to the poor

#. when he uttered this cry, was he, like Paul, proclaiming -

#. that he had fought the good fight?

#. that he had finished the race?

#. that he had kept the faith?

#. when Jesus said, It is finished he may have meant that His ministry was over—but I doubt it

!

II.

WHAT JESUS DID MEAN WHEN HE SAID, "IT IS FINISHED?"

#. well, I've shared with you what all the scholars have to say, now let me tell you what the Bible says

#. in light of the Scriptures, we must rule out all of these previous postulations

#. what other Scriptures you ask?

* /“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ.

He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”/

(Colossians 2:13–15, NIV84)

!! A. WHEN JESUS SAID "IT IS FINISHED" IT WAS A WORD OF AFFIRMATION THAT GOD'S REDEMPTIVE PURPOSE HAD BEEN FULFILLED

#. the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell us that Jesus died with a shout on his lips

#.

It is finished was that shout!

#. in spite of Satan's plot to destroy the son of God and man's complicity in that plot, God's purpose of redemption was completed that day on Calvary

#. in the passage from Colossians, the apostle Paul writes about the handwriting of ordinances that was against us

#. the Apostle refers to the list of charges brought against an individual in a criminal case

#. every sinner has had charges brought against us

#. our accuser is God's holy law

#. the witnesses against us are The World, The Flesh and The Devil

#. the evidence against us is contained in our spiritual rap sheet and we each have an extensive one

* /“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.

Another book was opened, which is the book of life.

The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.”/

(Revelation 20:12, NIV84)

#. our list of offences is long ...

#. the Bible says we've all sinned and come short of God's glory—far short

* /“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”/ (Galatians 5:19–21, NIV84)

* /“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.