“It is finished.”
These words of Jesus are recorded in John 19:30. His work on earth is complete. He was born to die. Each day of His life in this world was a step in His journey to the Cross.
Jesus came to earth with an assignment. He devoted His time here to being on task with His assignment. He was about His Father’s business. He knew who He was and He knew what He was called to do. There was purpose to His presence and He lived devoted to that purpose. He lived on purpose.
Consider these verses that remind us that Jesus CHOSE the Cross…
“The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10
“For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” John 6:38
“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.” John 12:27
The Cross was not something that was done to Jesus. He chose the Cross. He was obedient to the Cross.
He submitted to the pain, the shame, the separation from the Father. He endured the mocking and the taunting – the emotional abuse coupled with the physically excruciating torture.
He didn’t just take the punishment for our sin – He became our sin:
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. II Corinthians 5:21
The sins of the world were heaped on Jesus. Sins of pride, murder, rape, incest, lying, adultery–and, yes, sins of gossip and laziness and coveting and selfishness. All these despicable acts condemned by the Word of God were all loaded up on Jesus, as He willingly became sin for us.
And because of that loving act of obedience, you and I get our slate wiped clean. Our sins are erased, removed, deleted. At the Cross, Jesus declares, “It is finished.” His purpose for coming is completed. And at the Cross, you and I can hear God declare this about the debt we can’t pay, “It is finished.”
On this Good Friday, would you join me for some quiet reflection on the Cross. Take some time to acknowledge His completed work on your behalf. Express your gratitude and your love to the One who loved you first and best and proved His love on the Cross.
Thank you, Jesus. IT IS FINISHED!
photo attribution: soulshepherding.org
Amen!