It is Finished

"It is finished"

John 19:29-30

When Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem one week prior to His crucifixion the crowd shouted "Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest." Just one week later, many in this same crowd may be found crying of the same man their desire to "crucify him!"

There, just outside of Jerusalem they hung on a cross the Son of God. If ever an innocent man died, one died on the cross of Jesus Christ. There He willingly took my pain, my suffering, my punishment, my penalty, my death on my cross. There He did the same for you.

“Man, of Sorrows,” what a name

For the Son of God who came

Ruined sinners to reclaim!

Hallelujah! what a Savior!

There after hanging in darkness for 3 hours being separated from God because He became our sin, when the darkness lifted His agonizing cry was heard with tears in His eyes "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" There on the cross with a broken body and a broken heart He asked for something to quench His thirst so that He may speak the last words of His earthly life. There on the cross, in place of thirst quenching water, He was given sour vinegar to wet His lips and moisten His throat. There on that cross after receiving the vinegar Jesus uttered His next to final cry, look with me at verse 30

Proposition: I sincerely doubt many of us fully understand the impact of this simple phrase, "It is finished".

Interrogative: What exactly did Jesus' sacrifice on Calvary "finish"?

TS: To understand the meaning of this cry we must understand the meaning and application of the word in its original language and is usage in Christ's day. "It is finished" is translated form just one Greek word, Tetelestai. This word was used by a variety of people and it had a broad application. One usage was by…

A Servant

A master would assign a task to a servant to accomplish

The servant was to begin work immediately and not return until the job was done

When the task was finished, the servant would return and utter this word "Tetelestai" - it is finished to completion

John 17:4, Jesus said, " I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do."

As a humble servant to the Father, Jesus had fulfilled all He was required to do

"It is finished"

Another usage of the word was found in the…

Priesthood

When a priest would examine an animal, and find no fault, no blemish he would declare "Tetelestai"

The meaning here would be that the animal was completely finished

There was not spot, no blemish to defile or to prevent this animal from being used as a sacrifice for sin

It was complete, or whole, perfect

When John the Baptist saw Jesus Christ he declared "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."

Jesus Christ could declare "Tetelestai", "It is finished" because HE was the perfect Lamb of God

Pilate declared in John 18:38 "I find in Him no fault at all."

Tetelestai - Jesus Christ was without sin and as the sinless Son of God He could declare the payment for sin was indeed finished

Bearing shame and scoffing rude,

In my place condemned He stood;

Sealed my pardon with His blood;

Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Another place this word was used was by an…

Artist

When the painter applied the final stroke of his masterpiece he stepped back and declared "Tetelestai"

When a sculptor chiseled the last bit of marble from a perfect bust, he declared "Tetelestai"

The implication being that there was nothing else to be removed or added

The work was perfect

When Jesus spoke the world into existence we read in Genesis 2:2 "And on the seventh day ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which God created and made."

When God in the person of Jesus Christ, finished His work of Creation He declared it "very good" and we are told that His work was ended, there was nothing else to do - Tetelestai.

When Jesus, on the cross had fulfilled all the OT prophecies concerning the Messiah, came to the end of the ordeal He declared "Tetelestai"

One final, and important usage of this word in Christ's day was when it was used by a…

Merchant

The usage here meant that a debt was paid in full

When a debt was paid, the debtor declared "Tetelestai"

Today when we purchase something large such as a house the bank collects your mortgage until it is paid in full

Once the debt is settled you then receive a "Deed" to your home when that happens the bank declares "Tetelestai"

When Jesus gave His life on the cross He declared "Tetelestai"

The meaning being that the debt for man's sin was satisfied to the full

The tense of the word in this verse is very important

The root word means to "Complete, to execute, or to conclude"

The tense of the verb, however, means "It is finished, and as a result it is forever done.

Guilty, vile, and helpless, we,

Spotless Lamb of God was He;

Full redemption—can it be?

Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Lifted up was He to die,

“It is finished!” was His cry;

Now in heaven exalted high;

Hallelujah! what a Savior!

Conclusion:

There was once a rather eccentric evangelist named Alexander Wooten, who was approached by a flippant young man who asked, “What must I do to be saved?” “It’s too late!” Wooten replied, and went about his work. The young man became alarmed. “Do you mean that it’s too late for me to be saved?” he asked. “Is there nothing I can do?” “Too late!” said Wooten. “It’s already been done! The only thing you can do is believe.”

My friends, with all the compassion in my heart I want you to know that if you are here in need salvation, it is too late for you to do anything about it. Jesus Christ did all the work 2,000 years ago, as He hung on Calvary's cross. If you're here this morning and you don't know Him as your Savior, all you must do is believe.