It Is Finished
Scripture Reading — John 19:28-30
Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
John 19:30
Sometimes it is possible to see death coming. All the signs are there: the body is ravaged by cancer, or maybe it is simply weakened and worn out with age.
So we say, “It is finished.” In other words, the time is up. Life has run out.
Now, when Jesus said, “It is finished,” was he simply stating the obvious, or did he mean more?
Jesus meant much more. He was speaking about his mission, his reason for coming from heaven to earth.
“It is finished.” His mission was accomplished.
What was his mission? The same as for all of us— namely, to image God, to obey God, and to bring glory to God.
But Jesus’ mission was also different from ours. It was his unique task to reunite sinners to God. He was to defeat the devil and the powers of sin and death.
“It is finished.” There’s a whole world in that little word “it.” Jesus’ work was to lay a completely new foundation for a world, for humanity, and for relationships wrecked by sin.
When Jesus said, “It is finished,” he was saying that the new foundation-laying work was done. He laid the basis for the coming of a whole new heaven and earth.
Jesus saw all that he had done, and it was very good! (See Genesis 1:31.) His work on earth was finished.
Father, we thank and praise you for the finished work of Jesus. His enemies did not finish him! Rebuild our lives, we pray, on his completed work. In our Savior’s name, Amen.
About the author — Gordon Pols
Rev. Gordon Pols and his wife, Ann, have two married children and two grandchildren. After serving four congregations in Western and Central Canada, Rev. Pols retired from active ministry in 2007. He is currently doing parttime pastoral work with West End Christian Reformed Church, Edmonton, Alberta. He also works parttime for Crossroad Bible Institute, promoting a Bible study correspondence course for prison inmates.
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