John 19:30
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
There is nothing like finishing a job. To build or fix something and be able to walk away with a sigh of relief and sense of accomplishment. But lots of our “jobs” don’t have a true ending. If you are an artist, many of your pieces may never be (in your own mind) truly done. As parents, we are never “finished” with our kids (or our kids finished with raising us).
On the cross, one of the very last things Jesus said was: It is Finished. His work on this earth, his perfection, his teaching, his steadfastness, his resistance to temptation, his miracle…ultimately his final sacrifice. And this “Finished” doesn’t just mean he’s done working. It means his work is utterly complete, perfect, unchangeable. There will never be any need for repair or additions or subtractions. It was so glorious that he would soon send the Holy Spirit to sink Jesus’ perfection deeper and deeper into our hearts and further and further out into the world.
This has extraordinary applications for us today:
1) There is nothing you can do to add to Christ’s gift of righteousness. It Is Finished. All of our behavior now is given because of the righteousness of Christ, not to get it or add to it. Christ has taken your burden of self-salvation off our shoulders and onto his back.
2) There is nothing you can do to reduce Christ’s gift of righteousness. It Is Finished. All of our sins of selfishness, betrayal and faithlessness have been fully, utterly and finally paid for. Nothing I ever to can reduce God’s love for me and the gift he’s given me.
Given this, the rest of my life is entails:
1) God perpetually finishing me into the man he’s made me to be:
Hebrews 10: 14
For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
2) Me learning how much greater Jesus’ sacrifice was than I thought possible, and how this sacrifice frees me to ENJOY him and EXPRESS it to others:
Philippians 3:16
Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
Brian
Thanks for these thoughts. It seems i /we need to be reminded that it is indeed finished. There is such a sense of contentment and fulfillment when a piece of art is done or a work is finished that is well done. The Lords finished work is something I need to embrace daily.