By Rev Charles Seet

Preached at / Published Life BPC, Good Friday Service, 2000-04-21

Text: John 19:25-30

You will notice that the title of our message is, 'It Is Finished!' These words can take on several different meanings, depending on how it is used. Sometimes it is used negatively to mean that something has been brought to an untimely end.

One instance of this took place 15 years ago in the Peace Process of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. There seems to be no end to the rounds of negotiations between the Jews and the Palestinians and no solution to the terrible violence. But a glimmer of hope emerged in 1993 when Norway hosted a series of secret meetings between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators and the Oslo Peace Accord was signed. Yasser Arafat led the PLO to cease all forms of violence and recognize Israel's right to exist. The Israeli Prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin led his people to agree to the withdrawal of their forces from the Gaza strip and the West Bank so that a new Palestinian state can be set up there. All this was to be accomplished by May 1996. Everyone's hopes and expectations were raised to a high level as it really looked like the conflict would now come to an end. Never before had the dream of peace seemed so attainable. In fact, the optimism was so great that Rabin, Arafat and the Israeli foreign minister Shimon Peres who had worked so hard to forge the agreement were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts. 

But unfortunately peace did not materialise because Yitzhak Rabin was suddenly assassinated in November 1995 by a radical Jew who opposed the agreement. The whole world was shocked by his death. People threw up their arms in despair and said, 'It is finished!' The peace process which was going so well was disrupted by the untimely death of Israel's Prime minister and soon the conflict resumed with a vengeance. There would be no peace now for a long, long time, and this is true even till this day.

But this morning we will consider another death - a death that was very different from the death of Israel's Prime Minister. It was the death of Israel's King. It was a death that was not untimely at all, but was specially planned and even foretold hundreds of years before it happened.

And it was a death that did not disrupt any process of political peace, but rather fulfilled and completed the process of divine peace that reconciles men to God. This death was the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. For Him, the words 'It is finished' had a very wonderful meaning. It was not a despondent remark but rather, a shout of divine victory - to celebrate His great triumph over our sins at Calvary. I trust that as we take a close look at the events that led up to our Lord's death, we may gain a deeper appreciation of what Jesus endured for us on the cross. 

The passage from John 19:25-30 plus the other gospel accounts tell us that Jesus uttered a total of 7 sayings on the cross. The first 3 utterances were made in the first 3 hours. His first utterance was: 'Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.' (Luke 23:34). A little later He spoke to the repentant thief who was crucified beside Him 'Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with Me in paradise.' (Luke 23:43). And then, according to vv.26,27 of our text, when Jesus saw His mother and His disciple John standing at the cross, He said His third utterance: 'Woman behold thy son' and to John He said, 'Behold Thy mother.'

After this, the whole sky became strangely dark from noon till the time that Jesus died. In those 3 hours Jesus uttered His last 4 sayings. He said, 'My God, My God why hast Thou forsaken Me?' (Matthew 27:46). The next thing He said was, 'I thirst.' (v.28) And someone gave Him vinegar mingled with gall to drink. The two final utterances that come from our Lord on the cross were, 'It is finished!' (v.30) and 'Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit' (Luke 23:46) 

Each of these utterances of Christ was filled with deep significance. They reveal to us that His death was planned and purposeful. Jesus was lovingly enduring for our sake, the intense agony of being separated from God. In our passage we can find at least 3 wonderful things revealed in Christ's death. The first is-

I. The Amazing Extent of His Love (vv.25-27)

Let us look at vv.25-27: 'Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple standing by, whom He loved, He saith unto His mother, Woman, behold thy son! 27 Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.' 

This was a very touching moment. As Jesus hung from the cross He saw Mary, His mother weeping there with intense grief. He was moved with tremendous love for her. As a filial son He wanted to comfort her and care for her. But being unable to do these things now, He asked His closest disciple, John, to do it for Him. The words, 'Behold thy son' were meant to point His mother not to Himself, but to John, who was standing right beside her. And with the words, 'Behold thy mother' Jesus committed His mother to John's care, so that he would take her to his home immediately, and she would not have to bear the anguish of seeing her son suffer and die like this. How unselfish Jesus was to do such a thing. I think most of us would like our loved ones to be very near to us when we are in extreme distress. Their presence brings some comfort to us. But Jesus was willing to give up this kind of comfort, because of His tender concern that His mother should not be overly distressed. 

And this is not the only way that our Lord showed His love while He was suffering on the cross. From Luke's account we learn that He also had great compassion on the dying thief who was crucified beside him. When the thief said, 'Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.' Jesus replied, 'Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with Me in paradise.' (Luke 23:42,43)

But that is not all. It may be easy to feel love and compassion for those who are feeling distressed for you like the mother of Jesus, or for those who are feeling distressed with you, like the dying thief. But how can it be possible to feel love and compassion for those who are the cause of your great distress? This is where Christ's love is shown to surpass any human love. On the cross, He loved even those who were crucifying Him, and those who still continued to revile and mock Him. In His very first utterance on the cross Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.' (Luke 23:34) It is amazing that Jesus could love even those who do not deserve to be loved by Him. He did not utter a single unkind word against them while He was on the cross. He did not harbour any ill feeling or desire for revenge against them. What amazing love it must take, to be able to do this. 

Is our own love like that? No. I think that we must honestly admit that it would be most difficult for any of us to love like that, without God's help. And when such love is shown, it should never fail to melt the hearts of its recipients. Do you know that we have received such love? 

God's Word tells us that when Jesus died on the cross, He did it because He loves sinners like you and me. Do we deserve that love? No. By our sins, we had hurt Him as much as those who crucified Him. He should rightfully have left us as we were, destined for the eternal death we deserved for having done these things against Him. And yet His great love for us compelled Him to bear the judgment for our sins on the Cross, to die in our place, so that we may be saved. As Romans 5:7-8 tells us, 'For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.'

We must never cease to be amazed at the extent of this love. Do you know that Jesus came into this world for only one important purpose? He came to die for sinners! And when Jesus prayed on the cross to forgive those who crucified Him, His prayer was heard and answered, because it was His own death that brought about that forgiveness of sins. That death on the cross was not an accident. It was not an unexpected turn of events in God's plan. His death had been planned right from the very beginning of time, long before this world even existed. And this is why it was foretold in the Bible centuries before it even took place.

In fact the Bible foretold almost every detail of Christ's death. Everything that happened at Calvary fulfilled all that Scripture had predicted even to the very smallest detail. This brings us to the next wonderful thing we can see in Christ's death, which is:

II. The Accurate Fulfilment of His Word (vv.28-29)

Let us look at v.28,29 'After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. 29 Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.' Matthew's gospel provides an additional detail: the vinegar they gave Jesus also had a substance called gall mixed into it (Matthew 27:34). Gall is actually bile, extracted from an animal's gall bladder.

Why of all things was gall mixed in it? It was done by the Roman soldiers for their own amusement. They seemed to take delight in making their victims suffer, and so when Jesus asked for a drink, one of them added gall to make the cheap sour wine they offered Him taste unpleasantly bitter. 

What a horrid prank it was to offer what seems to be a refreshing drink to someone who is extremely thirsty, only to have him discover that it tastes absolutely horrible. But even this crude prank had already been known and revealed in the Scriptures long before it happened. The passage of Scripture which had foretold this is Psalm 69:21 'They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.'

Besides this, there were many other prophecies most accurately fulfilled in Christ's death, including the nailing of His hands and feet (Psalm 22:16), the dividing of His garments and casting lots for his coat (Psalm 22:18), and the fact that none of His bones were broken (Psalm 34:20).

But what is the point of knowing that Christ's death and even the little unusual details of how He would die had all been prophesied long before He was crucified? Why do the gospel writers stress so much the fact that these prophecies were fulfilled so accurately? I believe that these fulfilments are recorded to bring out the great significance of this whole event. The death of Jesus was unlike any other death. It was an extraordinary death that accomplished the most glorious results. This brings us to the third wonderful thing that we can see in the death of Jesus Christ.

III. The Accomplishing End of His Suffering (v.30)

Please look at v.30 which says, 'When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.' Of all the utterances Jesus made on the cross this is surely the one that has the deepest significance: 'It is finished!' What did Jesus mean by this? Why did He say it? 

To some people who were there at the cross and who had witnessed the whole event of Christ's crucifixion, the words, 'It is finished!' may have reflected their own feelings of disappointment. It meant that everything had come to an untimely end! Just 5 days earlier, when Christ entered Jerusalem in His triumphal entry, these people had joined the throng shouting, 'Hosanna to the Son of David! Hosanna in the highest!' They had all been very excited, because they mistakenly thought that their Messiah was about to deliver the Jews from Roman oppression and establish His glorious rule over them as their King. But alas, all their messianic hopes were dashed when Jesus was crucified. 

Thus, to them, the words, 'It is finished!' describes all their hopes that had come to an unexpected, untimely end. Three days later, as 2 of them were walking to Emmaus they bewailed this unfortunate end and said, 'But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel.'

Some of us may have felt like that before: Especially at times when you had to endure loss or disappointment. You might have thrown up your hands in despair and said, 'Gone case!' (Habis!) 'It is finished!' All that you had hoped for is gone forever! Dear friends, if you have been feeling like that because of some recent setback or disappointment in your life, you can gain encouragement by looking to Jesus!

For Him, the words 'It is finished' did not mean that everything had come to an untimely end. At the very least it meant that all His sufferings had come to an end. Earlier on, in the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ had prayed with deep sorrow as He anticipated the cup of bitter agony that He was about to drink. And now, about 18 hours later, He had finished drinking every drop from that cup! He had come right to the end of His suffering, and had successfully completed His whole trial! This means a lot to us. How comforting it is to know that when we have to endure bitter experiences in life, we have a Saviour who can understand exactly how we feel. 

The Bible tells us that Jesus is able to succour those who are tempted, because He Himself has suffered, being tempted (Hebrews 2:18). 'We have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.' (Hebrews 4:15). So through His sufferings on the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ has given us the greatest encouragement to endure all our trials. And now we ought to look 'unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.' (Hebrews 12:2,3)

This morning the Lord wants you to learn that with His help, you can endure any difficulty or grueling trial you may be in. There is no better encouragement for you in your journey through all the difficult paths of life, than to know that your Lord Jesus has walked on these paths before, and has persevered to the very end. And as you follow in His footsteps you will be able to testify when you reach the end, 'It is finished! Thank God I was able to go through it!'

But that is not all that this wonderful utterance of Christ means. It was not merely an expression of relief from suffering. It was much more than that. The words 'It is finished' were actually uttered as a triumphal shout of victory. It was a proclamation of the great victory Jesus has accomplished over our sins which He bore on the cross. According to Luke's Gospel Jesus cried out His last words with a loud voice (Luke 23:46). Therefore this utterance, 'It is finished!' was shouted out from the cross with all the strength He could muster before He died. It probably startled the crowds who were there at Calvary. What a fitting way to announce His great victory! And what a powerful victory Jesus has accomplished on the cross! It was first of all, a-

A. Victory over the Power of Sin

Before Jesus died on the cross, sin had full reign over the whole world. And what great havoc this reign of sin wrought in this world! It brought disobedience. It brought broken relationships, violence and abuse. It brought grief, pain and bitterness. All these awful things would not exist if sin had not come into this world. And as long as sin reigned, all men were under its terrible slavery. Some time ago I spoke with a young man who was seeking after the truth. He told me very frankly how he had come to realize that there is both good and bad inside him. He said that no matter how hard he tried, he could never overcome the bad. And so he had resigned himself to accept this dominance that sin had in his life. 

Dearly beloved, are you also resigned to accept the dominance of sin in your life? Well, we would all have had to do that if sin had been allowed to continue to reign. But we do not have to do that any more, because of the good news that there is now victory over sin! By His death on the cross, Jesus Christ not only took the full penalty for our sins, but He also released us from our slavery to sin. 

Romans 6:6 tells us that, 'our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.' The death of Christ has set us free from the power of sin. From this deliverance, righteousness has begun to reign instead of sin. It reigns in the lives of all who belong to Christ. And righteousness will one day fill the whole earth! 

The time is coming when there will be no more sin. The reign of sin will be completely finished from this world. The words, 'It is finished' triumphantly proclaim that wonderful truth! And these words are also a proclamation of:

B. Victory over the Devil

The devil's power is finished! And what a terrible power it has been. From the time that Satan gained the upper hand over man in the Garden of Eden, the world has been ravaged by him. Jesus calls Satan, 'the prince of this world.' But God gave the promise that the time would come when the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15) - referring to Jesus - will bruise the serpent's head. That means that Jesus will defeat the devil. 

Before going to the cross, Jesus foretold that His death would bring an end to Satan's rule: 'Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.' (John 12:31). Thus, when Christ died, Satan's power was destroyed. And although Satan still exists and is still causing trouble, he exists only as a defeated enemy. His doom is certain and already foretold in God's Word!

Please take note that Jesus did not have to fight with the Devil physically in order to defeat him. There are some who teach a strange doctrine that after Jesus died on the cross, He descended into hell to engage the devil in strenuous physical combat until He emerged as victor. They say that this decisive encounter took place during the three days between Christ's death and resurrection. This teaching is not based on the Scriptures at all, but on some fanciful imagination. The truth that Satan was defeated at the cross itself and not at some subsequent event, is found in Hebrews 2:14. This verse tells us, 'Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.'

How thankful we ought to be that through His death, Jesus has destroyed the devil. Now we no longer need to live in fear of the devil. And if you still have any apprehension of Satan's power, or of evil spirits, please do not fear them anymore. If you are a child of God for whom Christ died, there is absolutely nothing that Satan can do against you. For, 'Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.' (1 John 4:4)

Thus we have seen what tremendous victory Christ has wrought for us - a victory over sin and over Satan, a victory that was triumphantly declared with the words, 'It is finished!' A victory that is also permanent! It is finished, and it will remain finished forever and ever! Nothing can ever undo or change that victory.

How Should We Respond to These Wonderful Things?

And now we come to the most important part of our message. It is not enough to merely contemplate the significance of the words that Jesus uttered on the Cross. It is not enough to see that they reveal the Amazing extent of His love, the Accurate fulfillment of His Word, and the Accomplishing end of His suffering. These things must now lead us to make a proper response. 

And I would like to suggest that we should use the words, 'It is finished!' for our response. Because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross, we should now say with full conviction, 'It is finished!' What is finished? Our old self-centred life of sin and rebellion against God - all that is finished! Our association with the world and all its sinful attractions - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - all that is finished! We are done with them and will never return to them! The apostle Paul was essentially saying, 'It is finished' when he said, 'what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord' (Philippians 3:7,8) 

Dearly beloved, as you reflect on all the blessings that are yours through the death of our Lord Jesus, won't you surrender your life to Him afresh? Since Jesus has died on the cross to save you, won't you die to self, and live your life for Him alone?

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