Sixth saying: It is Finished (John 19:30)

This sermon was preached on Sunday 1st November 2009

The words, ‘It is finished!’, are actually only one word in the Greek. Commenting on this, C. H. Spurgeon said that it ‘would require all the other words that were ever spoken, or ever could be spoken, to explain this one word’. I suspect this is the greatest single word ever spoken by man.

Jesus did not say, ‘I am finished,’ but ’It is finished!’ The difference between the personal pronouns ‘I’ and ‘It’ makes the difference between this cry being a cry of defeat and a cry of triumph. It is the same word that is translated ‘fulfilled’ in verse 28. The work that Jesus did at the cross was a success.

Luke indicates that this cry was made with a loud voice. Krummacher suggests that Jesus previously asked for the drink so that his parched throat and mouth would be able to shout this saying. The words point to the reality that this saying of Jesus was a cry of triumph, of victory. ‘His shout of accomplishment was the cry for which creation had been waiting since the fall of Adam’ (Johnston).

It is interesting to note that the word for ‘It is finished’ was used by the Greeks for financial transactions. A shopkeeper would use this word to indicate that something was ‘paid in full’. It meant that no debts were outstanding and that no further payments were required. This is what Jesus wrote from the cross. This is why Paul can say that believers ‘were bought with a price’ (2 Cor. 7:23).

It was also used by a workman, such as a carpenter, when he had finished a task that he was asked to do. Jesus had already said in John 17 that he had finished the work that the Father gave him to do, that is, make atonement for sinners. Jesus had come as the servant of God in order to complete a task.

Who spoke this triumphant word?
I want to answer this question by reflecting briefly on what Jesus had said previously on the cross. First, he was a man who forgave sinners. Second, he was a man who had the authority to let sinners into heaven. Third, he was a man who took care of his family commitments, who obeyed God’s law. Fourth, he was a man who had a particular relationship with God, for he was his eternal Son. Fifth, he was a man about whom many predictions had been made. This is a reminder that he was a unique man, the man who was also God, the one who was full of love.

‘It is God’s Son, the world’s Redeemer, in fulfilment of eternal counsels of love divine, which overshadows a world of sinners, and reaches forward to the glory of eternity beyond – it is God’s Son made a curse on an accursed tree, with outstretched arms, as if pointing to the eternal past and the eternal future, and open wide to embrace in his heart of love a world of sinners – it is God’s Son, just ere he dies, crying with a loud voice, meant for all ages, and the very ends of the earth, and its echo for heaven and hell and eternity – this, and far more than I can possibly express, is in the word, “It is finished!” ’ (Ireland).

What was finished?
Several answers can be given to this question. First, the physical sufferings of Jesus were about to come to an end. As we know, crucifixion was an extremely painful way to die. It was a means of death designed to cause the most pain. Jesus had endured the agonies of crucifixion for over six hours. In addition, he had suffered at the hands of the soldiers before he had been condemned to death. So we can regard his cry as one of relief from his sufferings. All these sufferings were from the malice of men.

‘The malice and enmity of his persecutors had now done their worst; when he had received that last indignity in the vinegar they gave him, he said, “This is the last; I am now going out of their reach, where the wicked cease from troubling” ’ (Matthew Henry). Again Henry comments, ‘his sufferings were now finished, both those of his soul and those of his body. The storm is over, the worst is past; all his pains and agonies are at an end, and he is just going to paradise, entering upon the joy set before him. Let all that suffer for Christ, and with Christ, comfort themselves with this, that yet a little while and they also shall say, It is finished.’ Never again will he know the taunts of humans or demons.

His sufferings also included what he experienced from God. These sufferings were his enduring God’s wrath against sin. As John Owen put it, ‘The sufferings of his soul were the soul of his sufferings.’ They were far more severe than his physical distress. His humanity had experienced the abandonment of God as he became a curse on behalf of his people. But these sufferings, too, were coming to an end.

Second, the prophecies connected to the death of the Messiah were about to be completed. Many predictions had been made concerning this death, beginning with the promise of a future Saviour given in Genesis 3:15.

Third, the conflict with the powers of darkness was coming to a conclusion. Jesus had been battling these hostile powers on the cross, and his death, instead of being a sign of his defeat, was the means by which he climaxed his victory, for it was through death that he destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. This saying of Jesus sent a shiver down the spine of Satan, the announcement that his doom was guaranteed.

Fourth, the necessity of Old Testament Levitical rituals had come to an end. All the many types and symbols detailed in the Mosaic law were no longer needed. In a sense, this was illustrated by the rending of the curtain in the temple that barred the way into the Holy of holies.

Fifth, Jesus was about to complete his fulfilment of the law of God. He had kept that law for his whole life, from the early days of childhood, through adolescence into adulthood. He had kept in the home, in the school, in the workplace, in the synagogue, in daily interaction with others. He had kept it outwardly and inwardly perfectly. And he had kept it on the cross, for they he showed that he loved the Father and his fellowmen.

This is an important aspect of Christ’s righteousness. For the sake of argument, let us imagine that Adam had not fallen, that as our representative, he has lived a perfect life since his creation. But even if he had done so, he could not give us a perfect righteousness, because he might fall tomorrow. There is no security for us, even in unfallen Adam. But there is security for us in the righteousness that Jesus has provided for us.

Connected to his overall life of obedience was his particular compliance with the Father’s purpose for him as the Sinbearer. He told his disciples when they were puzzled at his speaking to the woman of Samaria that ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work’ (John 4:34). And in John 17:4, He states, ‘I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.’ Jesus was obedient unto death (Phil. 2:8).

‘It was a work for God with men, and a work for men with God’ (Stalker). Firstly, he revealed God to men. His revelation of the Father was now completed. He had come into the world to reveal the Father, to show to humans what God was like. In all his acts of compassion we see the heart of God. But on the cross we are given greater insight into God’s character. There we see the holiness and justice of God, and there we see the love of God. Secondly, ‘he was bringing men back to God, and he had to remove the obstacles which stood in the way’ (Stalker). We have seen the obstacle of our lack of righteousness, which he removed by his life of obedience; we will now consider the other obstacle, the penalty due to us for our sin.

Sixth, the penalty for sin had been completed. Jesus had endured God’s wrath against sin and had exhausted its fury against those he represented on the cross. He has paid the price that was demanded of him. The lost in hell cannot pay this price, which is why their punishment is eternal. But ‘Christ has paid the debt which all the torments of eternity could not have paid’ (Spurgeon).

Application
In this saying we see the confidence of Jesus. He said these words as death was approaching. But he faced it knowing that the darkness was over, over because he had paid the penalty for sin.

These words are a reminder of the conquest of Christ, that he had overcome all the barriers to sinners being saved. It was not merely a victory for himself, but was also achieved on behalf of his people.

This saying of Christ was also confirmation to the inhabitants of heaven regarding their security. They had gone there because it had been anticipated that the Son of God would come and make atonement for their sins. The assurance they needed came from the same place as ours does – from the cross of Calvary.

Again, this statement by Jesus is a word of comfort to Christians needing personal assurance. This is how we get to heaven. We will not get there by what we do. While a changed life does bring a measure of assurance, it is also essential that we consider the words of Jesus, his promises. But it is also a word of comfort for those who are concerned about the future of the church and who are apprehensive as they see the strength of the forces raised against it. At any time of assessing the power of the enemy, we are to view it through the lens of this statement by Jesus. When the end comes, it will be seen that a number that no-one can count will have experienced salvation. His work on the cross has secured it.

Finally, this declaration of Jesus is a word of challenge to each of us regarding how we expect to get to heaven. We cannot add to his work, for if we could we would spoil it. But we must respond to it. The only appropriate response is grateful trust and genuine repentance. We see the sins that caused him to die as the substitute for sinners; we see the divine estimation of what these sins deserved; and we not only see the futility of these sins but also the selfishness that was exhibited and the defiling that resulted. But the Saviour’s word should bring repentance. Did he do this for sinners? We look at Jesus and, as we do, we see his outstretched arms welcoming us to him. What a welcome he will give you if you commit your soul to him!