A Cry of Victory

Some people have a way with words. They just have such a grasp of language and an eloquence of speech that they are always saying things that are deeply profound.

Jesus was a Person like that. All through the years of His recorded ministry, one thing about Him kept the people spellbound, and that thing was His ability to say things in a manner in which they had never been said before.

Just a brief glimpse into the Gospels proves this beyond question. In Matthew 7:28-29, the Bible says that the people were astonished at His doctrine, because He had taught with power and authority.

When we take a few minutes to consider some of the things Jesus said, we can see why the people were astonished. Jesus made some truly great statements! For example:

"Before Abraham was I am...", John 8:58.

"I and my father are one.", John 10:30.

"...he that hath see me hath seen the father...", John 14:9.

"...I will come again, and receive you unto myself...", John 14:1-3.

"Verily, Verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath ever lasting life.", John 6:47.

Ever single one of those statement is a goldmine of theological truth and is absolutely necessary in our understanding of just who Jesus Christ really is.

Yet there is a statement that is made by Jesus that may just be the single greatest thing He ever uttered. I know that is a big statement, but everything else He said and did either stands or falls on the truth of the statement that He made on the cross.

He made this simple statement. "It is finished!" I believe that these are the greatest words Jesus Christ ever spoke.

I read these words and wonder what a relief it must have been for our Savior. After enduring the betrayal of friends, the shame and mockery, the beatings, the ridicule, the nails, and the exasperation of breathing, he can utter “it is finished.”

The Sanhedrin was probably thinking, finally, we have gotten rid of this thorn in our side. Even the demons were probably celebrating, thinking we wouldn’t be cast out anymore. Little did they know.

I think we all hope that one day we can say we have finished the work that God has given us to do, but only Jesus could say those words with absolute truthfulness.

Jesus died with the assurance that His assignment was completed perfectly and eternally. He died without a single regret. He didn’t need more time to preach another sermon, heal one more person, or create another loaf of bread. He was only thirty-three but had finished His responsibilities down to the letter. Anything more would have been beyond His calling.

In these words lies the assurance of our own salvation, the sure knowledge that our personal debt to the Father was paid by Another.

Yes, of course Jesus had yet to be buried, rise again, and ascend into heaven. But the difficult work of suffering, the difficult work of being separated from the presence of His Father, the difficult work of being treated like a sinner was over. There was nothing left in the flesh that He could do for God.

We know that this word was not defeat but a word of victory.

It is important for us to realize that Jesus didn’t say he was finished for that would have meant He died defeated. No, this was not the end for Him but the beginning of a new age, while dying was creating something new out of nothing once again, creating ex nihilo, making a home in our sin-scarred world.

This is the great long-awaited apocalyptic moment. Here the powers of this world are forever subverted. Time is now redeemed through the raising up of Jesus on his cross. The kingdom of God is here born, a new regime is inaugurated, creating a new way of life for those of us who worship and follow Jesus.

That is why “it is finished” is such good news. Jesus is the one that epitomizes all that God has done on our behalf until the final end. But that means that in Christ and through the Body of Christ that is us, we continue the good work.

It is finished, but it is not over.

God remains at work making us, his creatures, his masterpieces on earth. That is why we can always sing God still working on me, to make me what I ought to be.

What is over though is our vain attempts to be our own creators.

Finally it is possible for us to live at peace, to be God’s agents of reconciliation, in a violent world. We are able so to live not because we have all the answers to the world’s troubles, but because God has given us a way to live without answers.

To live like this does not mean life will be free of suffering, but it means that we can now live knowing it is through suffering that God’s kingdom is manifest. We can endure the sufferings of this world because the work of the cross is finished. Christ is triumphant.

God has finished what only God could finish. Christ’s sacrifice is a gift that exceeds every debt. Our sins have been consumed, making possible lives that glow with the beauty of God’s Spirit.

What great news: “It is finished.’ But it is not over.”

It is not over because God made us, the church, the “not over.” We are made witnesses so the world, a world with no time for a crucified God, may know we have all the time of God’s kingdom to live in peace with one another.

Teletesti!