‘When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, ‘It is finished.’ And he bowed His head, and gave up his spirit.’
‘It is finished!’ is a common enough expression which each of us will have used perhaps many times during our lives……. as when that tapestry or piece of embroidery we have been working on for years is finally completed!
‘It is finished.’ can be said with a sense of relief, as when after days, maybe weeks of hard work the re-decoration is done…it is finished.
That same ‘It is finished!’ can be said with a sense of elation and satisfaction, as when the last piece of a jigsaw has finally been put into place.
But these examples are as nothing when compared to the ‘It is finished’ uttered by Jesus from the cross.
We are told that Jesus gave a loud cry, ‘It is finished.’
A cry He made with all the strength He had left in His dying body.
It was a cry of positivity and completion.
It was a shout of triumph made from the cross.
The denial, the betrayal, the humiliation, the pain and the overwhelming feeling of abandonment were behind Him and He could shout with a loud voice, ‘It is finished!’
In these 3 words Jesus was proclaiming, ‘This is what I was born for….. to be the Saviour of the world…… AND IT IS DONE!’
Some words from a Good Friday hymn:
‘HE, ONLY, could unlock the gate of heaven, and let us in.’
And this is what he did!
Praise to You O Christ!