It Is Finished

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” (John 19:30, KJV).

We have to ask ourselves this Resurrection Sunday, as with any day of our Christian lives, “what was finished”? We know that Jesus’ earthly ministry was done, as He had given up the ghost, or His spirit. But was it that simple? Many atheists and followers of other religions would surely like to think so. They would love to believe that Jesus was entombed and rotted away like the nice man that He was. But was He more?

…It is finished…

First, we should note, is that Satan’s reign was finished. In Genesis 3 God said to the serpent “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (3:15). Since man’s fall in the Garden of Eden it was prophesied throughout the Old Testament that there would be a Savior. Sin is the poison the Satan serves us. We are born in it (Psalm 51:5, Romans 3:23). And the wages of sin are death (Romans 6:23). So how can we be saved from this imminent death that is guaranteed to us, the sinner? “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10). If we believe that Jesus is the Christ and has indeed risen, and confess that we are a sinner in need of saving, and that only Christ can save (John 14:6), then we shall be saved from Satan’s “death grip”. “For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.” (Romans 6:20-22). “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” (Romans 6:18). Lots of great theology in the book of Romans.

Second is that religion was finished. What? Isn’t Christianity a religion? It is classified as one, but it is really a faith that draws upon the work of the Holy Spirit and not a system of laws and rules in order to gain righteousness. In John 8 we find the scribes and Pharisees bringing a woman to Jesus who was caught in adultery. They said “Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?” (8:4-5). Jesus’ response was “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.” (8:7b-9). Jesus caused the self-righteous religious elite to turn their eyes inward. Their own system of laws that they strictly adhered to wasn’t enough to save them from their own sins. They had no choice but to drop each stone and walk away. Again, in Romans 6: “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (6:14). However, it is important to remember “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (6:15-16, ESV).

Third is that any debate of Jesus’ deity was laid to rest. Notice it says that “he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost”. The Greek term for “gave up” is paradidōmi, which means to surrender or deliver. Typically, one does not involuntarily surrender or deliver something. It is done by choice. Jesus said “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.” (John 10:17-18, emphasis mine). Jesus chose to die once His work was finished. Death did not defeat Him at the cross, He chose to draw His last breath. This leads us to…

…the resurrection. Notice in John 10:18 Jesus said “…and I have power to take it again.” Jesus made the decision to rise again. His earthly ministry was finished, but He was not. Satan was finished at the cross, as was death. Jesus also proved by His power that He was indeed who He said He was….

“When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 16:13-17).

In Christ Alone.