“Redemption Accomplished” John 19:30
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
It is finished may sound like a final consolation. It may sound like a desperate resignation to the enemy of death. But when Jesus cries out, “It is finished,” it is a shout of victory!” It is a statement of triumph not tragedy. For though this cry does signal His imminent death; it communicates far more than that. And the implications of this statement are profound for you and me.
Jesus speaks every word on the cross very meticulously and purposefully. He speaks this way throughout His ministry on earth, but especially in these last hours and minutes before death.
After Jesus fulfills the prophetic word regarding His thirst and takes a drink of sour wine, He makes one word supremely clear. Jesus likely shouts one profound word: Tetelestai (Greek)! Mark 15:37 states, And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. One word that means so much and has such far reaching implications.
Most translate this word, “It is finished!” It means to accomplish, to finish, fulfill, bring to a close, or complete a process. It can also mean to make a payment, as in paying taxes. This is the exact same word that is used in verse 28, where we learn that “After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished (tetelestai), said, ‘I thirst.’”
What does Jesus mean intend for us to understand from this one simple word? Is it as we stated, purely a statement of his demise or death? The answer is an emphatic no! This is a statement of eternal significance, for in this simple word, Jesus is shouting that His work to redeem man has been “accomplished”. In fact, “It is accomplished” might be a better translation than “It is finished.”
As opposed to the Roman Catholic doctrine of the Mass, in which Jesus is essentially sacrificed endlessly…John Murray States, “Protestants rightly contend that the satisfaction of Christ is…so perfect and final that it leaves no penal liability for any sins of the believer.” Murray, Redemption Accomplished and Applied, 51.
Calvin states, “this word, which Christ employs, well deserves our attention; for it shows that the whole accomplishment of our salvation, and all the parts of it, are contained in his death.”
How can we be sure of this?
First, the word itself is in the perfect tense which signifies a full completion, with nothing further to be done.
Second, The meaning of the word is often used to speak of the completion of or satisfaction of a requirement or task.
Third, Christ’s nature assures the payment for sin is finished. Because Christ is both sinless man and infinite God, His payment must be sufficient. Otherwise, His nature is either less than perfect, or less than infinite.
Fourth, God’s nature assures this payment for sin is finished. God put forward His Son to be a propitiation by His blood (Rom 3:24-25). This means that God sent His own sacrifice to satisfy His own wrath and justice. God’s justice and wrath demand a perfect and sufficient sacrifice.
Fifth, the Scriptures confirm that Christ’s sacrifice is finished.
1 Pet 3:18, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit”
Hebrews 10:11-12, “One simple word means life for all who believe that Jesus is indeed the perfect and sufficient Lord and Savior, who has completed the work of satisfying the justice and wrath of God, in our place.”
This Jesus has done willingly, giving up his spirit, as He said He would in John 10:17-18.
For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
So, “It is finished” is a cry of victory over the power of sin and darkness. The work is complete, now all that remains is for those in darkness to respond by submitting in faith and relying upon what Christ has accomplished.
