“When He had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, He bowed his head and gave up His spirit.”-{John 19:30}
The death of Christ looked like defeat for the self-proclaimed Savior. Like many more before Him, to snuff out the life would silence a voice. Why should He be any different?
The cross would silence and put an end to Him… at least it looked like that to all who cried out “crucify Him.” It looked like that to the religious leaders threatened by His love, authority, and righteous life as opposed to their hypocrisy, self-love, desire to be praised, deluded by sin, blinded by their cruelty towards those whom God created in His image, loading them down in laws, self-made tyrant traditions. It looked like that to the soldiers, and political leaders, it looked like that to the disciples who fled from Him… it looked like that.
But things are not always what they look like for there is a “ BUT GOD…” who is always working, always exercising His plan, always bringing about His will in accomplishing His purposes and the cross was no exception but central through initiating the promise and then sending of His Son to do His Will and resurrection to stamp His approval on His righteous life offered as the perfect sinless sacrifice …that would satisfy His PERFECT RIGHTEOUS STANDARD FOR FELLOWSHIP with HIM TO BE ACHIEVED through The Righteousness of Christ’s offering-once for all-sufficient sacrifice for the sinfulness of people, to be totally forgiven and a new standing with God, through the righteousness of Christ placed to the repentant sinner’s life! The GREAT GOD PROVIDED EXCHANGE!
Jesus said “ It is Finished,” NOT “ I Am Finished” as He breathed His last and offered up His life to satisfy God’s demands and make a way for sinful people as their perfect once for all sacrifice to forgive ALL of their sins, to reconcile them to God for all who repent and believe. -( John 19:30)
Death was not the end. But the beginning of His once for all forever sacrifice to open the way to God.
“It is finished” is one word in Greek.
“TETELESTAI” It is in the perfect tense and means to bring something to a successful end to or to its intended or destined goal. To fully complete the assignment. His to do the will of the Father as God’s through His righteous sinless substitute death to make THE perfect and indeed the exclusive way to be reconciled to God through Jesu who is not “a” but “THE Way. THE Truth THE Life and no one comes to the Father except through the LORD Jesus Christ- {John 14;6}
“It is Finished.” = “Tetelestai”–The idea is “It is finished, it stands finished, and it always will be finished!” “PAID IN FULL!”
It Speaks of the full completion of a given task, or assignment. It in a specific time was completed and remains completed and forever remains completed. Nothing else to be added can be added “- for salvation.
Jesus defeated the evil one, satisfied the law and all of its demands, and satisfies the wrath and righteousness of God- a new and living way opened up for sinners through the eternal work of the Son… “it is finished” was not a cry of relief that the suffering is finished but of fully completing the Father’s assignment so people can be reconciled to God, fully forgiven adopted into the family of God…justified peace with God, access to God, accepted, empowered by the gift of the Spirit, standing in the grace of God- the favor and smile of God upon them. -{Read Romans 5:1-2; Eph 1:6}.
The all-sufficient Righteous life of Christ given in EXCHANGE for the sinfulness of my sin, your sin, accepted. We who once were helpless to be right with God, ungodly, sinners who could never reach the perfect standard of Holiness, righteous in our lives, sinners by birth and choice, outside of God, rebels trapped in sin and manifesting it in selfishness, without Hope, without Christ, rebels against God, enemies of the cross of Christ, rejecting the Creator substituting Him with the worship of self and creation, opposed to God, suppressing the truth of Scripture, defiled in our minds and hearts by sin, spiritually dead, incapable of desiring God, deceived by the evil one drunk on the world’s system as though it is the ultimate goal in life, pursuing lusts of various perversion, self-righteous, boasters of self and sin, using people for selfish means rather than loving people, we were lost, dead in our transgressions.
“ BUT GOD demonstrates His love towards us in while we were yet sinners CHRIST DIED FOR US…. The just for the unjust… to bring us to GOD!” He did it. What the law could not do- save us GOD DID -( Read Romans 8:2-3)
“ IT IS FINISHED” Because JESUS FINISHED IT!-“PAID IN FULL!”
Nothing can be added or taken away -“ He- His Work alone is sufficient- it is finished! Paid in full and fully accepted by God!
- AMEN. IT’S EASY TO FORGET! “It is finished” and end up “adding” to it as did those in Colossians 2 with vain philosophies, legalism, mysticism, asceticism- days and diets etc, “self plus Christ” to make up for His supposed “deficiency” as part of salvation…A good prayer would be to ask that He helps us remember “It is finished- paid in full” because He finished it and to present His sacrifice as all-sufficient to sinners and remind saints alike!
“TETELESTAI” What a beautiful word translated in our three English words “IT IS FINISHED” Because JESUS FINISHED IT– And though death looked like the end. It was the end of the old system of the continual offering of sacrifices, that could never satisfy to a new and living way of the one all-sufficient way of access to God through the EXCLUSIVE LORD Jesus Christ!
“IT IS FINISHED…PAID IN FULL!” Jesus paid it all. Wonderful news! He finished all that we would need to make us right with God and bring us to God. It is Finished!:)