Episode 2010: On the Cross: It is finished - Part 21

This is the 21st of the 22 last statements of Christ before His death.

"It is finished." (John 19:30)

Why did Jesus say, “it is finished”? Sometimes many words aren’t necessary to say what we mean and this was one of those times. Jesus tells us a lot in these three words. It is interesting to note that the phrase “it is finished” only appears in John’s gospel.

So why did Jesus say, “It is finished”? We say we are finished when we are done with something, right? As a teacher, I’ve said those words over and over, every day. You ask your students when they are working on something, “Are you finished?” For me, it was important that the students knew they could only be finished if they were satisfied with their work. I would tell them, “Don’t turn it in, if you’re not completely done.” I wanted them to realize the necessity of completing an assignment in the best way possible; so when turning it in, they had to be sure they were turning in their best work. I would often say, “If you are finished, you need to make sure you did everything you were supposed to do.”

Being up on the cross, Jesus felt it was necessary to tell us things were finished - He had done everything He needed to do.
For one thing, the prophecies of scripture had been completed.
In (John 19:28-30) we read, “Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
The judgment of sin was complete
Another work Jesus had finished on the cross was the judgment and punishment of sins which was necessary for our redemption.
Because of our sins, a price was needed to be paid to satisfy the judgment sin requires. When Jesus was on the cross, God placed on him the sins of the world, and by doing that, it fulfilled the requirement of judgment. We are reminded of this in Isaiah 53:5-6, where we know that all of our iniquity was laid on Jesus, and he became the once and for all sacrifice needed to meet the demand of God’s justice.
Another way Jesus’ work was finished - The forgiveness of sin was made available through the shedding of blood.
Hebrews 9:22 tells us, “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
By Jesus dying on the cross and shedding His blood, he provided the forgiveness of sin. Because the judgment of sin and the payment of sin were both complete, Jesus could say “it is finished.”
Bishop Fulton Sheen says it so beautifully in his book, The Last Seven Words.
From all eternity God willed to make man to the image of His eternal Son. After having painted the heavens with blue and the earth with green, God then made a garden, beautiful, as only God knows how to make a garden beautiful, and in it placed man made to conform to the image of His Divine Son. In some mysterious way the revolt of Lucifer echoed to earth, and the image of God in man was blurred and ruined.
The Heavenly Father in His Divine Mercy willed to restore man to his pristine glory. In order that the portrait might once more be true to the Original, God willed to send to earth His Divine Son according to whose image man was made, that the earth might see once more the manner of man God wanted us to be. In the accomplishment of this task, only Divine Omnipotence could use the elements of defeat as the elements of victory. In the divine economy of Redemption, the same three things which cooperated in our fall, shared in our Redemption. For the disobedient man, Adam, there was the obedient man, Christ; for the proud woman, Eve, there was the humble virgin, Mary; for the tree of the garden, there was the tree of the Cross. The Redemption was now complete. The work which His Father had given Him to do was accomplished. We were bought and paid for. We were won in a battle fought not with five stones with which David slew Goliath, but with five wounds - hideous scars on hands and feet and side; in a battle fought not with armor glistening under a noon day sun, but with flesh hanging like purple rags under a darkened sky; in a battle where the cry was not "crush and kill," but "Father, forgive;" in a battle fought, not with spitting steel, but with dripping blood; in a battle in which he who slew the foe lost the day. Now the battle is over. For the last three hours He has been about His Father's business. The artist has put the last touch on his masterpiece and with the joy of the strong He utters the song of triumph: "It is finished."

G.K. Chesterton wrote in his book, The Everlasting Man, “Jesus stated from the cross, ‘It is finished’. Nothing more need be done, or could be done, for God’s love to be shown and for the work of redemption to be completed.”

Pope Benedict XVI said in his final audience in February of 2013 when he returned to what was supposedly one of his favorite biblical images, that of Jesus asleep in the boat, an image both troubling and consoling:

He said, “The Lord gave us days of sun and light breeze, days in which the fishing was good. There were also moments when there were stormy waters and headwinds…as if God was sleeping. But I always knew that God was in that boat and I always knew that the boat of the Church is not mine, is not ours, but is His and He will not let it sink.”

To wrap things up, I found a beautiful quote from St. Catherine of Siena, “We are of such value to God that He came to live among us … and to guide us home. He will go to any length to seek us, even to be lifted high upon the cross to draw us back to Himself. We can only respond by loving God for His love.”

I wish you a happy and Blessed Easter and thank you for listening.