John 19:29-30 "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."
Have you ever noticed how it is the simple words, the few words, that seem to be the most important in your life? Simple words spoken out loud that cause changes in who you are and what you will do with the rest of your life?
Simple words such as: "I love you." "Will you marry me?" "I'm pregnant." "He passed away." "The tests were negative." "It's cancer." "You're fired." "He's going to make it." Simple words,simple messages, but messages that always change our lives in one way or the other.
There is power in these simple words,these simple messages, and we have all experienced this power that comes from the spoken word in our own personal lives. But out of all the millions of words that have ever been spoken, none have ever carried as much power, as much meaning, as these final words of Christ from the cross of Calvary. "It is finished! It is finished!" As Oswald Chambers said, this was "the greatest note of triumph ever sounded in the ears of a startled universe."
Three little words, one little sentence, but they comprised a message that reverberated through eternity, that shook the very gates of Hell, and that continue to touch lives today. Three little words that summed up the life of a sinless Savior. Three little words that summed up the greatest event in the course of human history. Three little words that literally meant the difference between heaven and hell for the human race.
What exactly was Christ saying when He uttered these words from the cross? In the Greek, this term literally means "it is accomplished" or "It has been paid in full" or "It has been fulfilled." Jesus had come to earth to share in our humanity. He had ministered to us through His miracles and His teachings. He had suffered for our sins as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and as He was nailed to the cross. And now He announced the final victory from what should have been the instrument of His defeat.
With the finality of those three little words from the cross, Christ proclaimed the fulfillment of the law and all the prophecies of the Old Testament. He proclaimed the end of the need for animal sacrifice for the temporary forgiveness of sin. He proclaimed that the demands of justice for sin had been satisfied. And He proclaimed the end of sin and death in the life of man.
As those words left the lips of Christ and went forth to the ends of the earth, as He died on the cross as the perfect atonement for our sins, Jesus proclaimed the end of the curse and the dawning of a new age and a new life with Him.
With those three little words, "It is finished," Christ proclaimed that all those things that had held us in bondage -- the sin and the death that had made us slaves -- were forever defeated by Him through His death and resurrection. It was over! It was accomplished! Our debt had been paid in full!
But yet, we continue to live our lives as if we could improve on what Christ has done. Can you improve on a masterpiece? Imagine that you are walking through the Louvre in Paris. As you approach the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, would you think about taking a palette and brushes and touching up his work? Maybe put some more color on her cheeks? Perhaps change her nose a little?
"That's ridulous!" you say. For nearly 500 years, the Mona Lisa has been considered one of the greatest artistic works of all time. How absurd to think we could add anything to this masterpiece!
Yet that's what many people try to do with Christ's masterpiece of salvation. They think they must improve on it with some work on their own. But that masterpiece was completed when Jesus proclaimed from the cross, "It is finished"
When Jesus spoke those words, He meant what He said. The price for our sins had been paid. There was nothing else left to do. There was nothing else left to add, except to repent of our sins and accept God's gift of eternal life and forgiveness of sins through the death of Christ on the cross.
When Jesus spoke those words, He completed the masterpiece. All we can do is admire His work and receive God's gift of salvation as our own on this day when we remember the death of our Lord and Savior.
"Christ's work for my salvation is complete
No work of mine can add to what He's done
I bow to worship at the Master's feet
And honor God the Father's only Son" (Hess)
Amen!
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