We all too often have a tendency to
leave things unfinished. We have unfinished books on our shelves. There are
unfinished projects around the house. We have unfinished goals for our lives.
And most of these things were started with great drive and passion only to
later fall by the wayside and simply be left undone. Thankfully Jesus is not
like us. He does not leave things unfinished, but completes every task that He
sets out to accomplish.
The
night before Jesus’ death on the cross He prayed to the Father and said, “I
have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given
Me to do” (John 17:4). As Jesus looked back at all He had accomplished and as
He looked forward to all He would do the next day, He was able to confidently
proclaim that He had finished the work that God had given Him to do. No last
minute regrets. No loose ends that needed to be tied up. No details left
undone. The work was complete; it was finished.
Soon
after Jesus prayed those words He was taken captive by the hypocritical
religious rulers of His day, given several unjust trials through the night,
condemned to die for claiming to be the Messiah and the Son of God (Luke
22:66-71), and turned over to the Romans for His execution by crucifixion.
After a severe beating the innocent Jesus was nailed to a cross to die.
The Bible
preserves seven things that Jesus said during the painful and torturous hours
He was upon the cross. He spoke words of forgiveness to God on behalf of those
that abused Him (Luke 23:34). He spoke to a dying thief and assured him that his
eternity was secure with Him (Luke 23:39-43). He made provisions for His mother
to be cared for after His death (John 19:25-27). He cried out in anguish as God
the Father punished Him in the place of condemned sinners (Matthew 27:45-46).
He fulfilled prophecy from the Old Testament by asking for a drink (John
19:28-29; Psalm 22:15; 69:21). And He entrusted His life to the care of the
Father as He died (Luke 23:46).
But there is one word that Jesus spoke on the
cross that victoriously proclaimed the completion of His work. Jesus said, “It
is finished!” and bowing His head he died (John 19:30). “It is finished” is the
translation of one Greek word: tetelestai.
This word was used by servants when they came to their master to declare that
their assignment had been completed. It was also a word that was used by
merchants and meant “the debt is paid in full.” The word simply meant that
everything that needed to be done or everything that needed to be paid had been
fully taken care of.
But what exactly was finished? What did
Jesus mean when He cried out those words? What
was completed at that crucial moment in history when the Son of God died?
Maybe He was
referring to His life. After exclaiming, “It
is finished!” He gave up His spirit and died. Jesus lived about thirty-three-and-a-half
years on this earth. He was born in a miraculous and supernatural way and now His
life had come to an end.
Possibly He was referring to the pain, suffering,
and agony of the cross. Crucifixion was the cruelest and most hideous form of execution
known to man. Jesus endured this torture, but as He exclaimed “It is finished”
His suffering and pain came to an end.
But while both of those things are true, that is
not what Jesus meant when He exclaimed it is finished. His was not a cry of
agony, or defeat, or even relief. His was a triumphant shout of victory!
Through Jesus’ death He had finished, completed, and accomplished the work of
redemption where He died for the sins of the world. When Jesus said, “It is
finished” He meant that the payment for mankind’s sins had been made and that
it was paid in full with nothing remaining. He meant that sins had been atoned
for and that the wrath of God for our sins had been borne. When he said, “It is
finished” He meant that now weak and wounded and lost sinners like us can be
reconciled to God because of what He did.
And if it is finished then there is nothing that
you can add to it. Anything that you would seek to add to the finished work of
Jesus actually minimizes His accomplishment. What could possibly be added to
something that was carried out with such precision and perfection?
Jesus left nothing undone, nothing unaccomplished,
and nothing unfinished when it comes to salvation. Now God simply calls us to
trust in the work of His Son because it is finished!
