It Is Finished

"IT IS FINISHED!" - John 19:30 - ὅτε οὖν ἔλαβεν τὸ ὄξος [ὁ] Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν· τετέλεσται, καὶ κλίνας τὴν κεφαλὴν παρέδωκεν τὸ πνεῦμα. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. Introduction We are in the final moments of Jesus life looking at the His sixth saying from the cross: "It is finished." In Greek, this is one word: τετέλεσται. It might seem an easy task to limit a sermon on a single word to only seven minutes, but I assure you it's not. This is no ordinary word. It is without a doubt one of the most glorious words ever uttered. It's meaning reaches all the way back into the eternal plans of God and brings to a culmination thousands of years of human history. And it has defined human history since. There is more theology packed into this one word than entire books. In this brief message, I want to answer three questions: 1. What does the word finished mean? 2. What does the word it refer to? 3. How should this truth affect our daily lives? So let's get right into it. Jesus had just drunk some of the sour wine, and he said, "It is finished!" and bowed his head and gave up His spirit. 1. The Meaning of Finished What does the word finished mean? Its Definition and Translation The Greek word τελέω occurs 28 times in the New Testament and is translated finish, fulfill, end, pay, accomplish, keep, perform. It carries three basic meanings: 1. completing an activity or process, bring to an end, finish, complete 2. carrying out an obligation or demand, carry out, accomplish, perform, fulfill, keep 3. paying what is due, pay Its Usage Jesus used the word five times in the Gospels: ◆ In Matthew 10:23 He told his disciples, "You will not have gone through [τελέσητε] all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes." [mission] ◆ In Luke 12:50 Jesus said, "I have a baptism to be baptized with [referring to His death], and how great is my distress until it is accomplished [τελεσθῇ]!" [mission] ◆ In Luke 18:31 He told his disciples, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished [τελεσθήσεται]." [prophecy] ◆ In Luke 22:37 He said, "For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled [τελεσθῆναι] in me: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors.' For what is written about me has its fulfillment [τέλος]." [prophecy] ◆ The last occurrence is in our passage, John 19:30. We see that Jesus used the word to talk about accomplishing His God-given mission and fulfilling all of the prophecies about Him in the Old Testament. We get another clue as to this word's meaning just two verses earlier in verse 28: "After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished [τελέω], said (to fulfill [τελειόω] the Scripture), 'I thirst.'" So in excruciating pain, Jesus was consciously fulfilling all that had been prophesied about Him. One other place that sheds light on its meaning is Paul's familiar statement in 2 Timothy 4:7: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished [τετέλεκα] the race, I have kept the faith." The word can also mean to pay, as in paying a debt. I don't think it's reading into it to hear "It is paid in full!" in Jesus' statement. So Jesus finished it, fulfilled it, put an end to it, accomplished it, paid it, kept it, performed it. Transition: But what precisely was it that Jesus finished? 2. What Was Finished What does the word it refer to? Before we answer that, let's be clear what Jesus did not mean: 1. He wasn't merely saying that His life was over, as some unbelieving commentators argue. 2. There is no hint of defeat or failure. In fact, Jesus didn't weakly and quietly say, "It is finished." Rather, he cried victoriously with a loud voice (as Mt 27:50 and Mk 15:37 suggest), "It is finished!" That is perhaps part of the reason Jesus drank the sour wine. So what did Jesus mean? I'd like to briefly highlight ten things that Jesus finished. 1. His Incarnational Mission and Work I think the it can best be summed up in terms of Jesus' incarnational mission, the work His Father gave Him to do. He came to earth on a mission, sent by His Father. And completed it to the t. ◆ In John 4:34 Jesus told His disciples, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work." ◆ In John 9:4 Jesus said, "We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work." ◆ In John 17:4, as He approaches the end, He said to His Father, "I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do." So Jesus perfectly completed the mission and work His Father gave Him to do. 2. The Eternal Plan of God God created the universe to bring Himself glory, and He planned the cross, the death of Christ, to be the chief means of doing so. ◆ Acts 2:23 says that Jesus was delivered up "according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God." ◆ Acts 4:28 refers to Jesus crucifixion as something God's "hand and . . . plan had predestined to take place." ◆ 1 Peter 1:20 refers to the precious blood of Christ, the lamb without blemish or spot, who was "foreknown [foreordained] before the foundation of the world." So in His death, Jesus was accomplishing the eternally planned glorification of the Triune God. 3. Old Testament Prophecies All of the Old Testament with its types and shadow and prophecies pointed to the coming Messiah and ultimately to His atoning work. And Jesus fulfilled every last one of them. 4. The Old Covenant The final and ultimate sacrifice had been made "once and for all," doing away with the Old Covenant and its imperfect sacrificial system. ◆ Hebrews 9:12 says that Jesus "entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption." ◆ Hebrews 9:24-26 says that Christ entered into heaven, not "to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, . . . [but] once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." ◆ Jesus says in Luke 22:20, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood." Jesus by His death once and for all put an end to the Old Covenant with its ongoing sacrifices for sins that could not take away sins and inaugurated the New Covenant, in which we look back at the finished work of Christ. 5. Law Along with the Old Covenant went the Mosaic Law in its civil and ceremonial forms. Christ, whom the law foreshadowed, was the perfect fulfilled of it. He also perfectly kept the moral law in our place, earning for us a standing of perfect righteousness before the Father. ◆ Paul tells us in Romans 10:4 that "Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." 6. Substitutionary Atonement Jesus accomplished His atoning work, which included both expiation and propitiation. Expiation Expiation is the removal of our sin and guilt. God transferred our sin to Jesus, and Jesus, by His death, took it away, paid the full penalty we deserved, and made us white as snow. ◆ Isaiah 53:6: "The Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him." ◆ John 1:29: "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." ◆ 2 Corinthians 5:21: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin." ◆ Hebrews 9:26: "He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself." Propitiation Proposition is the satisfaction of God's just wrath. By paying for our sin and removing it, God's wrath was satisfied. Now, for the believer, there is no more wrath-only mercy. ◆ Romans 3:25-26: "God "displayed [Christ] publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith." ◆ Hebrews 2:17: Christ made "propitiation for the sins of the people." ◆ 1 John 3:10: "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 7. Cancellation of Our Debt (Objective Forgiveness) ◆ Acts 3:19 says that our sins are "blotted out." ◆ Colossians 2:13-14 says that God has "forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross." 8. Reconciliation (Subjective Forgiveness) Because of our sin, we were estranged and separated from God. Christ, by his death, accomplished our reconciliation. There was enmity and hostility, but Christ remove it and established a relationship of peace. ◆ Romans 5:10: "We were reconciled to God through the death of his Son." 9. Redemption/Ransom We were in bondage because of our sins, and Christ, by His death, paid the ransom and delivered us, setting us free from the curse of the law and the guilt and power of sin. ◆ Matthew 20:28 says that Jesus "came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." ◆ Galatians 3:13-14: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us." ◆ 1 Corinthians 6:20: "You have been bought with a price." ◆ 1 Peter 1:18-19 reminds us that we were "redeemed [not] with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your fathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." 10. Defeat of Satan and His Demons Thousands of years of human history, ever since the fall of Adam and eve in the garden, had been pointing toward and awaiting this event. ◆ Genesis 3:15 tells of the day when Jesus, the seed of the woman, will bruise the serpent's head. ◆ Hebrews 2:14-15 says that Jesus became a man so "that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil." ◆ Colossians 2:15: "He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him." Jesus won a decisive victory over Satan and all the powers of evil. Transition: This list is by no means exhaustive. The epistles unpack the significance of Jesus death in far more detail, but we must move on and consider the application of this glorious truth. 3. Why It Matters How should this truth affect our daily lives? There are many ways, but I want to suggest four: 1. Be confident in God's faithfulness and power to keep His promises. Jesus finished all that the Father sent him to do. There wasn't a single thing that He missed. Every last prophecy, every aspect of His incarnational ministry, every commandment needing to be obeyed, every sin needing to be paid-He finished, fulfill, completed, paid them all! Whatever God sets his mind to do, he accomplishes it. He doesn't know failure. What confidence this gives us in the promises of God that are still being realized or are yet to be fulfilled! His Present Work What does that tell us about Jesus' work that He daily undertakes for us today? You can be confident that He is interceding for everyone of us, that He is giving His Spirit to us beyond measure, that He is causing governing the entire universe to work for our highest good. ◆ Romans 8:34 tells us that Jesus "is at the right hand of God . . . interceding for us." ◆ Hebrews 9:24 tells us that Christ right now appears "in the presence of God on our behalf." ◆ 1 John 2:1 tells us that "we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." His Future Work What does this tell us about Jesus' future work? One of the things that God promises to complete is our final sanctification and glorification. Jesus as assuredly as Jesus completed our past salvation, He will complete our present and future salvation. * Philippians 1:6: And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. There is absolutely nothing that can keep God from bringing about our sanctification and glorification. 2. Rest and delight in Jesus' finished work. When you are tempted to earn God's favor, remember, "It is finished!" Christ completed His work and earned God's favor-both for Himself and for all those united to Him. As Spurgeon said, "The general religion of mankind is 'Do,' but the religion of a true Christian is 'Done.' 'It is finished,' is the believer's conquering word." Rest in the perfect merit of Christ. 3. Be empowered to do battle with sin. When you're in the midst of temptation and feel weak in the face of the world, the flesh, and the Devil, remember, "It is finished!" Christ was victorious over the powers of darkness. Sin's power is broken. Remember Jesus' cry of victory and the powerful teaching of Romans 6. 4. Fight against guilt and despair. When you're tempted to despair at your own sin, remember, "It is finished!" Christ bore all of God's wrath for all of our sins-past, present, and future-and they have been forgiven and paid in full. Don't wallow in your own sinfulness. Bathe afresh in Christ's atoning work and let it cleanse your conscience. I love verse 2 of "Before the Throne of God Above": "When Satan tempts me to despair and tells me of the guilt within, upward I look and see Him there, who made an end to all my sin. Because the sinless savior died, my sinful soul is counted free, for God the just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me." Conclusion "It is finished!" Jesus completed it. We have a completed salvation, victory over sin and death and hell, peace with God, and an unshakable confidence that God will finish all that He has promised. I close with the hymn "Hark! The Voice of Love and Mercy": Hark! the voice of love and mercy Sounds aloud from Calvary; See! it rends the rocks asunder Shakes the earth and veils the sky: "It is finished!" Hear the dying Savior cry. "It is finished!" Oh! what pleasure Do these charming words afford! Heavenly blessings without measure, Flow to us through Christ, the Lord: "It is finished!" Saints! the dying record. Tune your harps anew, ye seraphs! Join to sing the pleasing theme: All in earth and heaven, uniting, Join to praise Immanuel's name: Hallelujah! Glory to the conquering lamb!