What Was 'Finished' at the Cross?

As I pondered the meaning of Good Friday, a phrase stuck in my mind—“It is finished!”

Jesus said those words—found only in the Gospel of John (19:30)—as He hung, battered and bloody, on the cross.

When I was younger, I thought those words meant, “I’m finished … I’m dying.” But Jesus didn’t say, “I’m finished.” He said, “IT is finished.”

What was IT? What was finished?

I thought of at least five things that were finished.

1. The sufferings of Jesus on earth were finally over.

In His obedience to the Father’s will (John 5:30; 6:38), Jesus suffered on the cross. It brought not only terrible pain, but also “separation” from God for our sake (Matthew 27:46). The holy Father could not look on His Son as He bore our sins.

But Jesus’ pain was finally over.

His “chastisement” on the cross brought us peace (Isaiah 53:5). The Father “crushed” Jesus for our sake (Isaiah 53:10-11).

Throughout His ministry He sought and taught the lost (Luke 19:10). He lived a sinless, righteous life (1 Peter 2:22). And Jesus said He had “finished the work” God gave Him to do on earth (John 17:4).

Jesus left no doubt why He hung on that Roman cross, and when He cried out, it was a final shout of victory.

Done. Accomplished. No unfinished business.

2. The debt of sin was cancelled for those who believe.

There is no more sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 10:1-18). When Jesus said, tetelestai—“It is finished”—He signaled to the Jews the end of temple sacrifices, because His work on the cross was the ultimate fulfillment of all the Jewish sacrificial system foreshadowed (Hebrews 9:12, 26).

Tetelestai is an accounting term. It means “paid in FULL.” It’s a Greek word, perfect tense, that speaks of an action completed in the past, but with results that continue into the present and future.

Jesus died for us "while we were still sinners" (Romans 5:8-9). The debt we owed God because of our sinful rebellion against Him (Romans 8:7)—rebellion that rightfully incurred His wrath—was wiped away.

Completely.

Forever.

Because God is holy and just, He had to respond to sin with punishment. Yet He also loves sinners and desired reconciliation.

It’s been said that the cross of Christ was the place where God's wrath and love met. When Jesus died for us, it saved us from the wrath of God.

Jon Bloom wrote,

“The death of Christ was real, and it was really terrible. He was an object of wrath.”

Jesus knew His mission (Luke 9:22; John 12:27), and He suffered the Father’s wrath—for us. At the cross, God could redeem mankind without compromising His character. And His mercy and grace were lavished upon us.

We must never forget all that Jesus suffered. And why.

2. The bondage to guilt was broken.

Our Lord’s death was the payment for our forgiveness. His righteous life and substitutionary death satisfied the Father.

We don’t need to beat ourselves up over past sins. We can come to God and confess our sins—admit them to God—but know they are “under the blood.”

They are forgiven! Totally! Never to be brought up again.

The Father looks at the sacrifice His Son made for us, and He is satisfied.

I love these words from the Getty song, “In Christ Alone”—

"Till on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied;

For ev’ry sin on Him was laid—Here in the death of Christ I live.”

We may feel our sins are too great, but the truth is, no sin is too great for His mercy. Feelings of shame and guilt may try to creep back into our mind to condemn us, but we are forgiven. We are no longer condemned (Romans 8:1).

(Friend—If you struggle with joy-robbing guilty feelings, look in the mirror and say, “Jesus died for my sins and I am forgiven. My guilt is ‘finished’!” Repeat it until that great truth sinks in.)

3. The first-coming Messianic prophecies were fulfilled.

It’s said there are more than 300 specific biblical prophecies that pointed to the coming of the Messiah, the Anointed One.

Many of these prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus—a great number of them on the cross. (See "How Many Prophecies Did Jesus Fulfill?")

4. Satan’s power was broken.

Genesis 3:15 prophesied the coming of the “seed” who would crush the serpent’s head. On the cross, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 dealt a death blow to Satan’s power.

Jesus came to “destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

No longer would mankind have to endure the “flaming arrows of the evil one” (Ephesians 6:16). Satan knows he is on borrowed time, and he tries to intimidate the saints.

5. Death no longer reigned for the believer!

The Old Testament believers looked forward to the cross; we look back to it.

Jesus came to draw all people to Himself (John 12:32)—a reality made possible at the cross. He died to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29), and become the “propitiation” (atonement) for our sins (1 John 2:2).

His finished work on the cross was the beginning of new life (2 Corinthians 5:17) for all who were “dead in trespasses and sins" ... now made “alive in Christ” (Ephesians 2:1,5).

His resurrection is our guarantee—Jesus told His followers, "because I live, you also will live" (John 14:19).

Praise God, death no longer reigns for the believer.

Christ-followers pass from the grave to glory in the presence of their Savior! Death has no more "sting" (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). We rise victorious from the grave!

When Jesus said, "It is finished," His words embodied a profound truth—all the Father intended for the Son on the cross, Jesus accomplished.

"It Is Finished!"

Our Lord’s words final words are precious.

They are words to treasure—a statement that continues to have great power and purpose for all who believe.

What does "It is finished" mean for you today? Can you take a moment to thank Jesus that He left nothing undone at the cross?

Dawn Wilson, founder and President of Heart Choices Today, is a speaker and author, and the creator the blog, Upgrade with Dawn. She is a contracted researcher/reviewer for women's teacher and revivalist, Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, at Revive Our Hearts, a blogger at TrueWoman.com, writes wiki-type posts at  Christianity.com, and is a regular columnist at Crosswalk.com. She and her husband Bob live in sunny Southern California, and Dawn has traveled with Him in Pacesetter Global Outreach. They have two grown, married sons, three granddaughters and a rascally maltipoo, Roscoe.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of Forgiven Photography at Lightstock.

God Chose You, Sins and All!

Janet Thompson is an accomplished author of many books on many topics that point us to the goodness and faithfulness of God. In this Easter-is-coming UPLIFT post, Janet reminds us of the reason for the cross, and the joy of being chosen by the Lord for redemption from our past.

"Imagine an opportunity," Janet says, "to write your past sins on a slip of paper and nail it to a wooden cross. A symbolic visual that the purpose of the brutal crucifixion and glorious resurrection was to afford you and m, the opportunity for repentance and forgiveness!

"Yet still, we can’t imagine that anyone, even Jesus, could forgive our past."

I (Dawn) once attended a women's conference where the women did exactly that. On a file card, we each wrote some sins the Lord was speaking to us about, and then we nailed them to a tall, rough, wooden cross.

I was a spiritual mess at that point, and I remember thinking, "How many cards can I have?"

Janet continues . . .

Mary Magdalene was a woman with a tortured past. People, especially in her own town of Magdala, knew this Mary as the woman possessed by seven demonic spirits.

We don’t know what kind of life she led before we meet her in Scripture or how she became demon possessed.

Was she part of the occult or witchcraft?

Was she addicted to mind-altering drugs like opium or alcohol?

Somehow, some way, evil spirits overtook her mind, body, and soul. Evil oppressed and possessed her.

And then . . . Jesus came to town.

He saw her wretched life and took pity and compassion on her as He called her to Him, surprising everyone trying their best to avoid her. But He wanted to do something miraculous for them to see.

At the sound of His voice, all seven demons that had made their home in her body vanished. What a transformation! How could anyone deny He was who He said he was with such a dramatic example of His healing and restoring powers!

Set free from spiritual bondage and oppression, her eyes sparkled and a joyous smile lit up her face as she felt the surge of good replace evil in her spirit.

How could she ever repay this teacher and healer who cared enough about her to give her a renewed life?

She would devote herself to serving and following Jesus wherever He went, sharing her story with others living a miserable life, as hers was before Jesus. They too could overcome their past and become a new person with the help of Jesus Christ.

As she stood in the crowds that surrounded Jesus while He was teaching, she frequently told her story to whoever would listen. There’s no more compelling testimony than that of someone attesting to the bondage of living a sinful, burdened, afflicted, hellish life before meeting Jesus and then joyfully celebrating the peaceful person they’ve become.

“Look at me now!”

Mary Magdalene never wavered in her trust and belief in Jesus during his ministry, and so it was that she woefully suffered and grieved, watching her cherished teacher and healer tortured and crucified.

How could this happen to the man who gave her life back to her, who healed and helped so many?

Sunday morning after the crucifixion, Mary Magdalene knew she must go with the other women followers to the tomb where they buried Jesus to see him one more time and anoint His body with perfumes and oils after He was so brutally tortured and murdered.

But wait? He isn’t there? The stone is rolled back and the tomb is empty? Where did they take Him?

The other women ran back to tell the disciples.

Mary Magdalene, all alone and sinking to her knees outside the tomb, crying bitter tears, hears a man—probably a gardener—ask her, “Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”

Thinking the gardener had taken him somewhere, she asks where he took Jesus so she can go get Him.

Then the “gardener” said to her, “Mary.” He called her only by her first name.

This once outcast-of-society, demon-possessed woman, who overcame her past afflictions and never wavered in her commitment to Jesus Christ, was the first person to see and hear Jesus’s resurrected body.

Then she realizes, “I have seen the Lord!”

He chose her.

Like Mary Magdalene, do you remember how it was when you first asked Jesus into your heart?

• When Jesus freed you from your past sins and spiritual bondage?
• How happy and grateful you were?

Your life radically changed. The old life exchanged for a new life in Christ.

If you suffered from effects of addictions or trappings of the past, people now saw joy on your face and a kick in your step. Your countenance was radiant and confident. You were a new creation and excited to tell everyone what knowing Jesus Christ did for you.

You’re still that new creation, so never lose your joy in Christ or tire of telling others about him.

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13-14).

He chose you!

How does knowing God chose you and redeemed you encourage you today? Does His great love and mercy inspire you to tell others about Him?

Janet Thompson is a speaker and author of 20 books. Janet’s new release is Everyday Brave: Living Courageously As a Woman of Faith. She’s also the author of Mentoring for All Seasons: Sharing Life Experiences and God’s Faithfulness; Forsaken God? Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten; Dear God, Why Can’t I Have a Baby?; Dear God They Say It’s Cancer; Dear God, He’s Home!; Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter; Face-to-Face Bible study Series; and Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry Resources. Sign up for her weekly blog and online newsletter at womantowomanmentoring.com. 

*Article includes excerpts from Everyday Brave.

Graphic adapted, courtesy of CongerDesign at Pixabay.