IT IS FINISHED!

"When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost" (John 19:30)

IT IS FINISHED! THE SACRIFICE IS NOW ACCOMPLISHED!

Every year on the Jewish holiday called The Day of Atonement, the High Priest would enter into the temple and make a special sacrifice for the sins of the people of Israel. As soon as the priest had killed the animal, he would emerge from the place of sacrifice and declare to the people, "It is finished."

In this sacrifice, all the sins of Israel were symbolically placed on the lamb that was killed and punished in their place. This sacrificial system was never really completed or finished, because the sacrifice of that lamb was imperfect and just a temporary fix. But when Jesus died upon that old rugged cross, He became the perfect and final sacrifice for all mankind's sins. Jesus was the ultimate Lamb of God, and by His sacrifice and the shedding of His blood, the work of forgiveness was finally completed. It is finished!

IT IS FINISHED! THE WORK OF JESUS IS COMPLETE!

When an employee has completed a day's work or finished a project, they would let their supervisor know that, "it is finished." That is to say, that whatever they were assigned to do or whatever they were working on is now complete.

When an artist completes a work of art, they too would say, "it is finished." This means that their masterpiece is now completed. There is no need for any additional adjustments or touch-ups, because the masterpiece is completed.

When Jesus came to this old sinful world, He told us what He came here to do. He said that His job was to provide salvation to the lost, and to this broken cruel world. So in His last words, Jesus was telling us that His work has been completed and no more additions, touch-ups, or adjustments are needed and necessary. Salvation is now completed. "It is finished!"

IT IS FINISHED! OUR DEBT HAS BEEN PAID IN FULL!

It is finished in the debt collecting department. When you finally pay off a loan, the debt is stamped paid-in-full. This is the verification that you are no longer responsible for that debt and the debt is completely paid off.

Our sins created a debt to God and it was one that we could never afford to pay back, especially on our own. When Jesus died on the cross, He was paying off our debt. What debt? Our debt of sin, and it was for once and for all. "It is finished."

IT IS FINISHED!

All of these, converged together to reveal to us the truth, the absolute and beautiful truth, that Jesus completed His work of salvation, once and for all. He left His regal room in heaven and He walked this sinful dusted earth, to pay a price for us. He came to clean up a mess that we created to ourselves. Only He could do it and no one else. This means we can't add nothing, complete nothing, nor finalize nothing, when it comes to our salvation. JESUS did it all! IT IS FINISHED!