Three Words

“It is finished.” John 19:30 These three words are the last words Jesus spoke before he died on the cross.  This weekend, people all over the world will be celebrating “Easter”.  I wonder how many of them are like I once was, not understanding what it is that Jesus finished.

 

To look at what Jesus finished let’s begin with what he started. John 1:1-2 (TLB) ¹ Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God. ² He has always been alive and is himself God. It is important for us to know that Jesus has always been and He is God. Philippians 2:6-7a (NLT) ⁶ Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. ⁷ Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. I don’t know about you, but I am in awe of what God the Son – Jesus, chose to do for us.  He gave up His “divine privileges” to come and live with us and to show us how to live in the midst of an imperfect, sinful world.  Hebrews 4:14-15 (NLT) ¹⁴ So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. ¹⁵ This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.

 

Now that we have established that God came to earth to show us how to live, let’s focus on the three words, “It is finished.” What exactly did Jesus finish? 1 Peter 3:18 (MSG) ¹⁸ That’s what Christ did definitively: suffered because of others’ sins, the Righteous One for the unrighteous ones. He went through it all—was put to death and then made alive—to bring us to God.  I am comforted with words like definitively, especially when they come from God.  At the cross Jesus was declaring that because of His sinless life here on earth He could “bring us to God”.  Who are the “us” Jesus is referring to? John 3:16 (NIV) ¹⁶ “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  I pray that you, the reader, are a “whoever” and that Jesus can say these three words to you:  “It is finished”, my mission for you has been accomplished.

 

Take comfort in knowing that God knows exactly what He is doing.  There is no “Plan B”.  He doesn’t need one! 1 Peter 3:22 (MSG) ²² Jesus has the last word on everything and everyone, from angels to armies. He’s standing right alongside God, and what he says goes.