It is Finished

It is Finished

John 19:30

We come to our sixth saying from the cross. The great preacher Leonard Ravenhill said it’s “The greatest words uttered by the greatest Man that ever lived.” We have attempted to show that each of these brief statements is full of great truth for the believer. It would be difficult for me to put them in order of importance. They all speak volumes of necessary truth.

Father forgive them- We need forgiveness

Today you will be with Me in paradise- We all long to be with Him.

Woman behold thy son- We need the care and comfort of Christ while on this earth

My God My God why hast Thou forsaken Me- if He wasn’t forsaken we would be

I thirst- He thirsted so we don’t have to eternally thirst.

It is finished- This is where we are today.

We have turned a corner in the crucifixion. The clouds of God’s judgment are parting. Matthew tells us that at 3:00 the sun comes back out. We are moving from suffering to celebration. The last two cries from the cross illustrate that truth. Both Matthew and Mark say that Jesus shouted His last words from the cross (Mark 15:37, Matt 27:50).

This wasn’t the shout of a victim. It wasn’t the shout of a martyr. It wasn’t the shout of a guru or one of many spiritual leaders trying to help us all heal our inner selves. This was the roar of the Lion of the tribe of Judah. This was a shout of victory. I want to share with you who this shout of victory was directed to.

Let’s read our text- John 19:30.

I. It was a shout of victory to the Father.

A. The prophecies are fulfilled. Certainly there are prophecies that haven’t been fulfilled yet. What I mean is that the prophecies up to this point have all been fulfilled.

1. The prophecies about His birth.

The seed of a woman would enter into combat with the serpent in the garden. Gen. 3:15

A virgin would conceive a child. Is 7:14

A child would be born whose name would be Immanuel “God with us”. Is 7:14

The Eternal God would be born in a city called Bethlehem. Micah 5:2

Babies would be slaughtered in an attempt to kill the child. Jer. 31:15

The child would have to take flight into Egypt for protection. Hosea 11:1

2. The prophecies about His life.

A voice crying in the wilderness would prepare the way for Him. John Baptist (Is. 40)

Little children would praise His name Psalm 8:2.

He would bring light to the region of Galilee. Is 9:1-2

He would teach in parables. Psalm 78:2-4

He would preach to the meek. Is 61

He would bind up the broken hearted. Is 61

He would proclaim liberty to the captives. Is 61

3. The prophecies about His death.

He would be betrayed by a friend. Psalm 41:9

He would be rejected by His own people. Is 53:3

He would be falsely accused. Ps. 35:11

He would be silent before His accusers. Is 53:7

He would be slapped and spit on Isa 50:6

He would be crucified with criminals. Isa 53:12

His hands and feet would be pierced. Ps. 22:16

His garments would be gambled away. Ps. 22:18

He would be forsaken by God. Ps. 22:1

Put all this together and you’ll see Christ’s victory shout to the Father is:

I have been forsaken

My garments have been gambled away

My feet and hands have been pierced

I’m crucified with criminals

I’ve been slapped and spit upon

I’ve been silent before my accusers

I’ve been lied on and rejected by My own people

I’ve been betrayed by Judas

I’ve proclaimed liberty to the slaves of sin

I’ve bound up the brokenhearted

I’ve preached to the meek and been a light in Galilee

Little children have sung my praises in the Temple

I’ve taken shelter in Egypt

Innocent children have been slaughtered in an attempt to take my life.

The virgin has conceived and God has become man

I have fought tooth and nail with that old serpent the devil.

“Father, the prophecies are fulfilled! It is finished.”

B. The law is fulfilled. In Matthew 5:17 Jesus said

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets : I am not come to destroy but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you Til heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled.” How did Christ fulfill the law?

1. By obeying it perfectly. In the sermon on the mount He even elevated the Law through a series of “You have heard…but I say unto you” statements. He kept the Law even when it was elevated above the current interpretation of it.

He never had unrighteous anger.

He never looked in lust on a woman.

He never lied

He never sought revenge

He didn’t just love those who loved Him, He loved His enemies.

He never played the hypocrite.

He always put the will of God first.

2. By bearing its penalty.

Deut. 27:26 says “Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of the law to do them.”

The curse of God’s judgment is upon us if we don’t keep all the commands of God.

The Law demands justice. Sin must be punished. Christ steps into our place and is cursed so we can be blessed.

Father, the Law is fulfilled. I have obeyed it perfectly and I have borne its penalty!”

C. The cup is empty.

1. The cup caused Jesus to tremble. He prayed that it would pass from Him if it were possible (Matt. 26:39). It was a cup of suffering He had yet to experience.

2. Jesus drank the dregs of that cup.

Isaiah 51:17 says “Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of His fury; thou has drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling and wrung them out.”

Dregs is what settles to the bottom. It’s tea grounds, soot, that piece of food you accidentally dropped in your drink. It’s nasty. In this case it’s strong.

Jesus drank the whole cup dregs and all.

Christ is saying to the Father “It is finished! The prophecies are fulfilled, the law is fulfilled and the cup is empty!” It’s a shout of victory to the Father!

II. It was a shout of victory to His foes.

A. Satan thought Jesus was finished.

1. He had been pursuing Jesus. He pursued Him through kings, religious leaders, greedy disciples and the demon possessed. Jesus had always stepped right through the crowds, slipped through his fingers. He started pursuing Him in Bethlehem and continued all the way to Golgotha. Now Satan had Christ cornered on the cross.

2. It appeared as if Jesus was finished. The only ones rejoicing at the cross are the enemies of Christ. It looks like it’s all over for Jesus. Maybe Satan even thought when Jesus said “It is finished” that Jesus was giving up. Maybe he saw this as words of surrender by Jesus. I don’t know.

B. Jesus knew Satan was finished.

1. Satan has been disabled. He will never touch Jesus again. Satan won’t slap him, punch Him, torture Him, and drag Him to the cross ever again. In fact, Christ will throw Satan into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:7-10). That’s the closest Satan will ever get to Jesus again.

2. Satan has been disarmed. He is called the accuser of the brethren (Rev. 12:10). Satan knows our name, he knows our sin. He accuses us constantly. But he has been disarmed because our sin has been paid for and righteousness has been given to us.

3. Satan has been defeated. He lost. The game is over. We’re just waiting on the victory party. We are all warming up for that grand day when Christ returns.

It is finished! is a victory shout to all of Jesus foes.

III. It was a shout of victory to the fallen.

A. Christ shouts these words to the lost.

1. To be fallen means that we are morally and spiritually ruined. We are lost and we cannot help ourselves.

2. To die lost means that it is never finished. The suffering of the lost continues forever. Those in hell wish it were finished but it never is and it never will be. If we die lost we continually cry out “Is it finished?” the answer is always no.

3. Christ assures the lost who turn to Him.

Illust.- When I was younger I used to love my granny’s cooking. I could never do what she did in the kitchen. Her cooking was perfect. When I was around I would hound her, follow her around the kitchen “Is it done yet?” There was a mutual understanding- She cooked and I ate.

When I asked “is it ready?” for the final time she would often respond with “All it needs is eating.” I loved to hear that. I know how to eat. “All it needs is eating” meant “It is finished!”

See the fallen world pacing back and forth feverishly. Anticipating, hungry, unable to do it for ourselves.

Hear the shout of Christ “It is finished!” all it needs is eating.

You can’t keep the law- but you can eat.

You can’t earn heaven- but you can eat.

Christ shouts to a fallen world “I’ve done it all for you. The table is set, the plate is full! Come eat!” It is finished!

B. We shout these words to the world.

1. We say it definitively. There is no other way. The door to salvation has been fashioned and hung by Christ. There is only one way. It doesn’t come through your goodness, your religious works, your suffering or your sacrifice. It is finished. You can’t create your own way.

2. We invite the world to some. You say “I have some loose ends to tie up; I have some things I must do to prepare myself for salvation.” It’s finished friend. You don’t have to read the Bible before you get saved. You don’t have to get baptized before you get saved. You don’t have to take communion, join a church. Come to Christ! It is finished!

3. We take no credit for what Christ has done.

Christians can’t save you.

Church can’t save you.

Only Christ can save you.

He has finished the work!

Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe!

C. The Bride of Christ shouts these words to the Father.

1. The Father is well pleased with the Son.

The Father has told the world “this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. The Father teaches us that to reject the Son is to reject the Father. He is well pleased with the Son.

2. It brings the Father joy to hear the world praise His Son.

We enjoy praising our child but we really enjoy it when others do. If you have ever had a child play a sport you may understand this. When the game is on our child’s shoulders and our child saves the day we are happy. But what a joy it is to see others praise your child. When others see what you see in your child, you are filled with joy.

Please know that we are horrible players on an awful team. We’re not winning a game. Spiritually speaking we are the Bad News Bears. Thank God the Bad News bears have a Lion on their team. We were all stranded base runners. Not one of us could make it home. Some made it to 1st. Maybe some did a little better and made it to second. But it didn’t matter because we couldn’t score a run period.

Then the Son of God came to bat. It was late in the ninth. Our eternity was at stake. Christ hit it out of the park. He hit a walk off at Calvary that will bring every blood bought saint home.

We know why we won.

We know why we get the crown.

We know why we get to go home.

The sons and daughters of Adam must praise the only begotten Son of God! We praise Him!

The drunk says “It is finished!” thanks to the Son

The religious person says “It is finished!” thanks to the Son

The money lover says “It is finished” thanks to the Son.

The adulterer says “It is finished” thanks to the Son!

We put Him on our shoulders, we lift him up, we shout His name! We sing

“Victory in Jesus my Savior Forever!”

“Jesus paid it all and all to him we owe!”

For all of eternity we say to the Father “He did it! He did it! It’s over. It’s finished.” A shout of victory to the Father, a shout of victory to His foes and a shout of victory to a fallen world.