It Is Finished
Today, On Good Friday, we behold the Man on the tree. As we stare, the question arises over who was responsible for this cataclysmic injustice? Was it Judas who handed Him over? Was it the chief priests and elders, along with the Jewish people? Was it Pontius Pilate and the Roman authorities? Was it you and I as the crowning sin of the human race? The sentence over all of these perpetrators is overwhelmingly “GUILTY!” But the greatest truth is that the Son laid down His life, no one took it from Him, and the Father crushed Him. Oh, do not be mistaken – although wicked and evil men participated out of their own free will, the Father gave His Son and the Son gave Himself up for us all.
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." - John 10:18
He gave His life as a ransom for many. Jesus of Nazareth, the God-man, was born outside of the curse of Adam, lived a life in complete obedience to the Father, and then allowed men fueled by demonic rage to execute Him as a criminal to pay the price of our broken covenant by death on a cross. Because He was the fullness of God, He had unlimited capacity, and yet as fully man had total identification with the sons of man. The sinless One, the Second Adam, Jesus Christ, opened up His wounded side and took us into Himself on the cross. He not only died for us but died with us and as us. What you formerly were has died in Christ on a tree. Now you are in Him and He is in you forever.
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. – Galatians 2:20
I had a good laugh to myself when I asked, “What is the prophetic significance of Good Friday?” I suppose all the books in the world could not contain the amount of prophetic insight found in the events from sunrise to sunset on that Friday when God hung between heaven and earth. There were the trials of Jesus on Friday morning, where the rulers and kings who were in Jerusalem bonded together in unity against the Lord and His Christ as a foreshadowing of the rage of the nations at the end of the age.
And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other. - Luke 23:11-12
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed… - Psalm 2:1-2
There was the prisoner who was released an hour later as Jesus took His place before the crowd and Pilate. Barabbas’ name literally means “son of the father”. The perfect Son traded places with a prisoner who deserved the punishment so that the prisoner would go free. There, the only begotten Son laid down His life so that many would become “sons of the Father”.
For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. - Hebrews 2:10
Then we have Simon of Cyrene, who was pulled from the crowd to carry the cross with Jesus up the hill. He is the picture of discipleship as we all obey the call. It was not a special gifting or unique anointing that qualified Simon, only a heart that was willing. We are conformed into the image of Jesus as we embrace the very same path of the cross. We follow that example by obedience to the Father. Jesus’ cross paid the full penalty of sin, bore in its absolute form the wrath of God, and triumphed over the record of debt that stood against us. His surrender to the Father meant salvation for the world. Our cross declares our allegiance to Him above all else. The carrying of our cross conforms us to his image by that same kind of obedience. His cross makes sense of ours, and ours makes much of His.
And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? - Luke 9:23-25
Then we have the thief on the cross, who was sentenced to die. He simply believed and was invited by Jesus to join Him in paradise. He had no time left to perform religious duties or pray religious prayers. He simply believed. Here, we are confronted with the vanity of our own religious works in salvation. Jesus did not come to call the righteous but sinners; thieves, murderers, prostitutes, and evildoers would all be saved by the gift of God in His Son.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9
Shall I go on to the veil torn from top to bottom in the temple, the earth quaking under the power of the cross and many graves bursting open around the city of Jerusalem, and the shockwaves of power reverberated from the foot of the cross?
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His Spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the Holy City and appeared to many. So when the centurion and those with Him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!” – Matthew 27:50-54
Can you see it?
But as I meditated on the prophetic significance of Good Friday, my heart began to fixate on the word of Jesus as He hung on the cross. What is He telling us as He hung, bleeding on the tree?
Jesus quotes two Psalms written by David to give us insight into what He was meditating on suspended between heaven and earth. On the cross, Jesus pointed us to Psalm 22 and Psalm 31 as His meditation in the hour of His suffering. In Rabbinic tradition, when a verse from a passage is read aloud (especially the first verse) it signals to the hearers to bring to mind the entire passage.
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” – Matthew 27:46
Psalm 22 was a song that David wrote in the Tabernacle. It begins with the plea, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” (Psalm 22:1) It goes on to describe the scene Jesus would find Himself in at the crucifixion. Look at the stunning accuracy of David’s prophetic song.
But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. ... Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet-- I can count all my bones-- they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. - Psalm 22:6, 12-18
But Psalm 22 does not end with the suffering and death of the Messiah, it ends with the prophetic promise. Jesus entrusted Himself to the Father. On the cross, in His hour of suffering, Jesus was singing the prophetic promises of God. He was looking to the joy set before Him. Hebrews 2:12 tells us that Jesus is now walking out the rest of this Psalm. Jesus’ ministry would not end with His suffering, the cross was only the beginning.
I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: ... From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever! All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations. All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it. - Psalm 22:22, 25-31
At the foot of the cross, we meet the King who is the servant of all. On the cross, we see the Father, who was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself (2 Cor 5:19). There Jesus, through the Eternal Spirit (Heb 9:14), offered Himself without blemish to God. All three Persons of the Trinity were present on the Hill outside of Jerusalem that Friday, accomplishing the work that would redeem, reconcile, and recreate the cosmos. More happened in that six hours on Golgotha than we will be able to comprehend for billions of years.
All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. - 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Under horrific torture and indescribable pain, Jesus was fully aware of what would come from His sacrifice and He believed in the promises. By three o’clock in the afternoon, Jesus knew that He had triumphed. And calling out with a loud voice, He said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" (Luke 23:46). In His last breath, He uttered three words that are still ringing throughout the earth to this day.
It is finished.
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," [g.k. - teleo] and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. - John 19:30
Something had come to a close, and a work had been accomplished. What was that work? The debt for the sins of all mankind was paid. In that payment, He joined himself to all of creation and reconciled the world to God. He was now bringing forth a new creation through His finished work. The Son of God became the Son of David through the resurrection who would be the rightful King to inherit and rule over the earth forevermore. After the resurrection, Jesus told the disciples, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me”. The work of redemption was finished.
Now we live, on this Good Friday, as those who have been ransomed, prisoners who have been set free, many sons who have been brought to glory, laboring for all the nations to come into His presence and worship at His footstool. We are in between it is finished and it is done!
When the New Jerusalem descends to earth in Revelation 21 and Jesus takes His rightful place on the throne of His father David, another declaration will be made. The Father will declare “It is done!”
And he said to me, "It is done! [g.k.- ginomai] I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. - Revelation 21:6
The full manifestation of the authority that Jesus has received through the cross and resurrection will be realized on the earth. The word ginomai here in the Greek means to reveal, to begin, to appear. The work that Jesus finished on the cross will be fully revealed on the earth. Redemption was accomplished so that restoration will be done. We are living in the tension; in the patient endurance between what has been accomplished and what will be revealed. What shall we look at to give us confidence, peace, joy, and courage in this present chaos? Look at the cross. Trust the Father in the midst of the suffering and sing of the prophetic promises, just like Jesus did.
He is the author and finisher of our faith. He will finish what He started and all the promises of God will find their “yes” in Him. Even when they have not fully come into view on our timeline, we see them clearly in the face of Jesus, and we are assured of them on the cross of Calvary.