What Do You Mean, “It is Finished”

by Pastor Bob Rasmussen

“What Do You Mean “It Is Finished?”

This morning I wanted to speak a little bit on the 7 sayings when Jesus was on the Cross. It is not what I planned, we just celebrated resurrection Sunday.

Last year I believed 3 of us shared some perspectives on the 7 sayings on the cross. I thought it was worth revisiting the 7 sayings this morning. We know several things before these were said. Jesus was crucified even though Pilate found no fault.

Luke 23:18 But they [loudly] shouted out all together, saying, “Away with this Man, and release Barabbas to us!” 19 (He was one who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection that happened in the city, and for murder.) 20 Pilate addressed them again, wanting to release Jesus, 21 but they kept shouting out, “Crucify, crucify Him!” 22 A third time he said to them, “Why, what wrong has He done? I have found no guilt [no crime, no offense] in Him demanding death; therefore I will punish Him [to teach Him a lesson] and release Him.”  23 But they were insistent and unrelenting, demanding with loud voices that Jesus be crucified. And their voices began to prevail and accomplish their purpose. 24 Pilate pronounced sentence that their demand be granted. 25 And he released the man they were asking for who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, but he handed over Jesus to their will.

The next hours were agonizing. Beginning before 6:00am, Jesus was subjected to harsh interrogation, beaten, spit on, mocked, brutally whipped, and finally convicted and made to carry His cross to His own crucifixion. He was nailed to the cross and left hanging for hours before He died.

The first saying on the cross was this:

Luke 23:33 When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. 34 And Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing His clothes among themselves.

By interceding for His transgressors through this prayer, Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy that was foretold by Isaiah, hundreds of years prior.

Isaiah 53:12 Therefore, I will divide and give Him a portion with the great [kings and rulers], And He shall divide the spoils with the mighty, Because He [willingly] poured out His life to death, And was counted among the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore and took away the sin of many, And interceded [with the Father] for the transgressors.

This prayer, from upon the cross where he was pouring out His life, was a confirmation of His identity to those awaiting their beloved messiah, as described by the prophets of God throughout the Old Testament

And even on the cross, going through all that he was bearing, the weight of our sin upon him, not to mention all of the very real pain He felt as a man, he interceded.

I know that we have all heard that phrase, “practice what you preach”, but Jesus really epitomized that when He prayed for those that were literally torturing and killing him.

Luke 6:27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, 28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

Even though he had all the power, He chose to show us who he was and what our character should be

That no matter what we are going through, there is one thing we can always do – PRAY.

Luke 18:1 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

That whatever we are facing, to stay the course, and lean on the power of Jesus within us to accomplish whatever it is that He may have for us. He demonstrated that on the cross, when He said –

“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.”

The second saying on the cross can be found in Luke 23.

Luke 23:39 One of the criminals who had been hanged [on a cross beside Him] kept hurling abuse at Him, saying, “Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us [from death]!” 40 But the other one rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 We are suffering justly, because we are getting what we deserve for what we have done; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he was saying, “Jesus, [please] remember me when You come into Your kingdom!” 43 Jesus said to him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

Jesus was blameless, without sin, wrongfully convicted, and was not guilty of such a horrific death. But there were two men who were guilty of their crimes hanging on crosses next to him. Both men spoke to Jesus, but only one would die to be greeted into the promise of Heaven.

The response of Jesus in this instance was very personal to the thief, as He promised that this thief, this sinner, that he too would enter the gates of Heaven to live in Paradise that very same day.

For me, the biggest take away that I have from this is a reminder that no matter what you have done, no matter how bad you think you are

No matter how bad the world thinks you are, Through Jesus, there is forgiveness of sin and a promise of heaven. That Jesus is God, and He has the final say in each and every one of our lives, that He is the judge.

I see Jesus as being merciful, even while hanging on the cross, showing us exactly who He was dying for – you, me, us – for sinners! And I thank God for that every single day. Amen.

The next saying can be found in the book of John.

John 19:25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! 27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

Again, despite the excruciating pain that He was experiencing, Jesus was concerned with the well being of His mother and the pain that SHE was experiencing.

That even on the cross, Jesus was showing His character by fulfilling a commandment made in Exodus.

Exodus 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

It is not for sure, but her husband Joseph was probably no longer alive, and it was customary that if a son was dying, they would engage someone in the family to take care of their mother.

Jesus did have some half-brothers – they all shared the same mother – but rather than have one of them take care of His mother Mary, He chose John.

And I think he picked John because He was not just concerned about mom having a roof over her head and having something to eat. I think he was concerned for her spiritual self as well, and who better than a disciple of Jesus, who knew Jesus, who had learned from Jesus.

This statement showed a deep and profound love for His mother, and a definite concern for her spirituality.

Another saying on the cross can be found in the book of Matthew.

Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, a-lee, a-lee, lama sabaktoni? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Pastor Jeff gave a good message on this a while ago. It really helped me get some clarity on this.

All the excruciating pain that Jesus was going through, was nothing – compared to bearing all of our sin on that cross

But everything that Jesus says, and particularly on the cross are said intentionally, and I don’t think he was creating some new way to describe all that he was going through, rather, he was quoting Psalm 22.

Psalm 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer.

Psalm 22 prophesied what Jesus would go through.

Psalm 22:14 I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax; It is melted [by anguish] within me. 15 My strength is dried up like a fragment of clay pottery; And my [dry] tongue clings to my jaws; And You have laid me in the dust of death. CLICK 16 For [a pack of] dogs have surrounded me; A gang of evildoers has encircled me, They pierced my hands and my feet.17 I can count all my bones; They look, they stare at me. 18 They divide my clothing among them. And cast lots for my [b]garment.

Jesus knew this psalm and quoted its first words to identify with us in our suffering, since He bore on the cross our agony and suffering and our sin and our shame.

Hebrews 2:14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

Psalm 22 is not all doom and gloom either, in that very psalm that talks about all that pain and suffering, all that feeling like that God is not near, David then changes the tone of that psalm to something else.

Painful prayer turns to significant praise. The psalm becomes filled with praise: “In the midst of the congregation I will praise you” (Ps. 22:22). He calls on his brothers to join him in praise: “You who fear the Lord, praise him!” (Ps. 22:23).

This great praise is for the success of God and His will. The failure, the pain, the looming defeat at the beginning of the psalm seemed written in stone. It was the end, it was over, there was no hope, but is now celebrated in victory.

This success will not just be personal or individual but encompass the world.

 Psalm 22:27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down and worship before You, 28 For the kingship and the kingdom are the Lord’s. And He rules over the nations.

Even as Jesus suffered, he reminds us of the upcoming victory over death and sin and hell.

And there is a profound lesson for me there, because many times in my life I have said My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? – well, without the thou part.

The truth that I need to take away is in the second part of the psalm is that the very real problems of this life, the challenges of this life, the pain of this life should lead us to prayer and to praise, amen?

Prayer and praise will lead us to remember the promises of God, promises that may not yet have been fulfilled, and that will lead us through whatever He would have us do.

Okay, the next saying from the cross can be found in John 19.

John 19:28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.

Now I see that John is referring to a couple of scriptures. We kind of covered Psalm 22 but there is also a reference in another scripture.

Psalm 69:19 Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee. 20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. 21 They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

I can see that, but the thing that hits me the most is to remind me that Jesus, both man and divine, that while on the cross, made sure to remind us that he was also man.

I sometimes forget that Jesus knows what it is like to be human, to experience betrayal, experience joy, experience pain, all the things that every one of us feels. It is not foreign to Him, it’s familiar.

He had been through so much, it was so hot out, he was suffocating on that cross, and He was thirsty. And in showing us that he experienced thirst like we all do at times, he experienced all the other things that we do by being born and living the years of His life, right up to His death.

Jesus can quench the deepest thirsts of our souls because He understands them. And because He is God, his love can reach us in whatever situation we are in. Because He is God, there is nothing outside of His power in Heaven and on earth.

And I thank God for that.

The next saying on the cross is also in John

John19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

So what was finished, it is a 3 word statement that Jesus made that has significant meaning for each and every one of us.

The life and death of our Savior Jesus Christ completed many prophecies which are throughout the Old Testament. Even when Jesus was suffering and in pain and so very close to death, he remembered those prophecies and made sure that they would be fulfilled. He had the presence of mind where I do not think I could have done it. No, I know I could not have done it.

Because of our sin, a price needed to be paid to satisfy the judgment sin requires. A sin debt. When Jesus was on the cross, and on him were all the sins of the world – – –  by doing that, it fulfilled the requirement of judgment. We are reminded of this in Isaiah 53:5-6

Isaiah 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was crushed for our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]; The punishment [required] for our well-being fell on Him, And by His stripes (wounds) we are healed. 6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, We have turned, each one, to his own way; But the Lord has caused the wickedness of us all [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing To fall on Him [instead of us].

So we know that all of our iniquity was laid on Jesus, all of our sickness was laid on him, and he became the once and for all sacrifice needed to meet the demand of God’s justice. It is finished.

Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

By Jesus dying on the cross and shedding his blood, offering Himself as a sacrifice, Jesus provided the forgiveness of sin. Because the judgment of sin (which is death) and the payment of sin (which was His blood) were both complete, Jesus could say “it is finished.”

The last saying on the cross is in Luke

Luke 23:44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”[e] When he had said this, he breathed his last.

There is so much here in this last statement for me.

First and foremost is the fact that Jesus was fully God and fully man. He had all authority and could have taken himself off of that cross as I mentioned earlier. He could have remained alive, but he CHOSE not to do so. He intentionally chose to surrender his life.

It was also a reference again to another scripture found in Psalm 31

Psalm 31:3 For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me. 4 Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength. 5 Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.

Worship Team Worship Team

Jesus last statement was so profound for the world that day, and for generations. When He rose up out of that grave there was restoration between God and Man. A new relationship that included being filled with His Holy Spirit

Powerful, intimate, and forever. Amen?

It Is Finished

I know that It is finished referred to the work of Jesus and all that it entailed, but it is one of those scriptures that gets my mind going. To me, when He said it was finished, it was more the beginning to me. The beginning of the victory in defeating the enemy, the beginning of defeating death and the grave.

Talk about what the people heard vs what Jesus meant.

Talk about where we might hear it is finished:

Relationship

Health

Job

Finances

Remember the One, Jesus, who finished it, who said “It Is Finished” is the greatest champion for you and your life. He is the most powerful and strongest force in the Universe and if you take it to Him, who knows what can happen. He is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 112:2)