It Is Finished
By Rev Charles Seet
(Preached at Life BPC, Good Friday Service, 21 April 2000)

Dearly beloved, we are gathered this evening to remember how Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Let us recount the events that took place from the time that Jesus Christ was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. According to the biblical account, Jesus went through a total of six trials in Jerusalem on the night before He was crucified - Three of them were Jewish trials: The one before Caiaphas the high priest, the one before Annas, the father in law of Caiaphas, and the one before the Sanhedrin council. This was followed by three Roman trials - twice before Pontius Pilate, who was the Roman procurator of Judea, and once before King Herod Antipas.

During these trials our Lord Jesus was mocked, beaten, scourged with whips, arrayed in a purple robe, and crowned with thorns. Then he was led away to Golgotha, carrying His own cross. There He was crucified between two thieves. This began at about 8.00 to 9.00 in the morning and ended when Jesus died at about 3.00 in afternoon. The gospel accounts tell us that the whole sky was dark from noon till the time that Jesus died, and that He said several significant things just before He died. He said, "My God, My God why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Matthew 27:46). The next thing He said was, "I thirst." 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!" and "Father, into Thy hands I commend My Spirit"

Each of these utterances of Christ is filled with deep significance. They reveal to us that His death was planned and purposeful. He was lovingly enduring the intense agony of being separated from God, for our sake. Of these four final utterances, the one that probably has the deepest significance are the words, "It is finished!" What did Jesus mean by these words? Why did He say them?

I. It Was Not an Untimely End.

To some who were there at the cross and had witnessed the whole event of Christ's crucifixion, the words, "It is finished!" may have reflected their sad feelings of disappointment. It meant that everything had come to an untimely end! Earlier on, 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 been very excited, because they mistakenly thought that their Messiah was about to deliver the Jews and establish His glorious rule over them as their King. But six days later 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 two 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."

Many of us may have had such feelings 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!" "It is finished!" All that you had hoped for is gone forever! Dear friends, if you have been feeling that way because of some recent terrible setback in your life, you can gain encouragement by looking to Jesus Christ!

II. But An End to Christ's Suffering.

For Him, the words "It is finished" did not mean that everything had come to an untimely end. At the very least what it meant was 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 to the end of His suffering, and had successfully endured the whole trial to its very end! How comforting it is to know that when we have to endure bitter experiences, we have a Friend and Saviour who can fully sympathise with us.

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). And so through His sufferings on the cross, the Lord Jesus Christ has given us the greatest encouragement to endure all our trials. And 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)

Let us learn from the Lord, that with His help, we can endure whatever difficulty or trial we may be in, till we reach the very end. There is no greater encouragement we can have for our pilgrimage through all the difficult paths of life, than to know that our Lord Jesus has traveled through these paths before, and has persevered to the very end. And as we follow in our Saviour's footsteps we will be able to testify when we reach the end, "It is finished! Thank God I was able to go through it!"

III. And an End to The Power of Sin and Satan.

But that is not all that this wonderful utterance of Christ means. It was not merely an expression of great relief from suffering. The words "It is finished" were actually uttered as a triumphal shout of victory - to proclaim His great victory over our sins, which He bore on the cross for us. According to Luke's Gospel account 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. The sound of it must have reverberated loudly through the darkness, and probably startled the crowds who were there at Calvary. This was a fitting way to announce a great victory. And what a powerful victory Christ has accomplished on the cross! It was first of all:

A. Victory over the Power of Sin

 Before Christ died on the cross, sin had full reign over the whole world. This awful reign of sin wrought great havoc in this world! It brought disobedience. It broken relationships. It brought grief, pain and bitterness. All these things would not exist if sin had not come into this world. And as long as sin reigned, all men were under the terrible slavery of sin. Just last week 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 to resign himself to accept this dominance that sin had in his life.

Dear friends, are you also resigned to accept the power of sin over 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, because of the good news that there is now victory over sin! By His death on the cross, Jesus Christ not only took the 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 now begun to reign. 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 proclaims 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 Satan. Christ Himself called 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 Christ - will bruise the serpent's head. That means that Christ 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.  And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me.  This He said, signifying what death He should die." (John 12:31-33). Thus, when Christ died, Satan's power was destroyed. And although Satan still exists and is still causing trouble in this world, he exists only as a defeated enemy. His doom is already foretold in God's Word!

It is important for us to observe that Christ did not have to physically fight with the Devil in order to defeat him. There have been some who teach a false and strange doctrine that after Christ died on the cross, He descended into hell to engage in strenuous physical combat with the devil 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 given 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 should be that through His death, Christ has destroyed the Devil. When we know this, we need no longer 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 anymore. Remember that 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 Satan, a victory that was triumphantly declared in 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.

IV. And the Beginning of New Life!

Now we come to the most important part of our message this evening. It is not enough just to contemplate the significance of the words, "It is finished" that Christ uttered when He died for us: It is not enough to understand that it is not at all an utterance of despair, nor merely an expression of relief from suffering, but it is a shout of permanent victory over the power of sin and Satan. These things must now lead us to a proper response.

And I would like to suggest that our response can also be found in the words, 'It is finished!' Because of what Christ has done for us on the cross, we too should say with full conviction, "It is finished!" Our old self-centred life of sin and rebellion against God 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 - is finished! 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 we meditate tonight on the great blessings that are ours through the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, let us rededicate our lives to Him. Since Christ has died to save you, won't you die to self, and live for Him alone? Let us listen to the words of the Hymn "When I survey the wondrous cross" and read the stanzas:

When I survey the wondrous cross, On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ my God;
All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.

See, from His head, His hands His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down --
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all!