It is finished

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“Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” 
(John 19:30)

Crucifixion was a profoundly painful experience. It is deeply unsettling to think about the suffering that Jesus went through for us on Good Friday. The Romans used crucifixion only for the most shameful criminals because it was so barbaric. The pain was excruciating (literally, because the word comes from crucifixion) and it was usual for those suffering to be unable to speak.

That makes Jesus’ words from the cross all the more powerful and important. Jesus speaks few words during his crucifixion but each of them are packed with significance. None more so than his final words as recorded by John: “It is finished.”

You might expect a dying man to say “I am finished.” But not Jesus. “It is finished” shows that the work that Jesus came to do has been completed. His mission has been fulfilled. His salvation is won and his rescue is complete. There can be do doubt about whether Jesus did enough: he did. It is finished.

We can often find so many things in our lives left incomplete and unfinished. That DIY project we started and never quite got finished. The novel we began to write years ago, left half completed. The work to-do list that is never ending.

We never get to the end of our to-do lists, we are never finished. But Jesus is. He has completed the work he came to do. It is done. It is finished. Let’s rejoice in that this Good Friday.

Lord Jesus, thank you that you are the only one who gets his to-do list completed. Thank you that you have completed the work you came to do and finished my salvation. Amen.

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