A darkness fell upon the land. It was noontime. Three hours later, a cry: “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” No one would rescue him, his mouth so parched he scarcely swallowed. “I’m thirsty,” he pleaded, so they allowed a drip of vinegar – just enough to moisten his lips as he declared, “It is finished!”
He gave up His spirit. It was his last breath. He bowed his head and died.
But then the earth shook! Tombs opened! And all mankind gained the opportunity to interact directly with God as His children!
You already know this is about Jesus. He gave up His life when He proclaimed, “It is finished” (John 19:28-30). Some scoffed while He hung on the cross: “You were going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in 3 days. Come down from the cross and save yourself!” But they didn’t understand that Jesus spoke of His own body. They didn’t realize that Jesus invited them to destroy His body 3 years before they crucified Him (John 2:18-22).
This happened according to God’s well-thought, compassionate plan to unite us with Himself.
Jesus quoted Psalm 22, a psalm of David that resembled so much His own suffering on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish?” And, surely, He remembered David’s Psalm 69 where David, once again, cried to God for help. Up to his neck in enemy waters without cause, he declared: “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.”
Jesus suffered for our sake (Isaiah 53). “He was pierced for our transgressions” and “crushed for our iniquities.” Suffering. Exhausted. Dying. He spoke. He proclaimed, “It is finished!” This was it. Everything we read in God’s holy Word centers around the final words and breath of Jesus. “It is finished!” The Law and the Prophets relied on this once future event. All that we read in the Gospels, the Acts, the Epistles, and the Revelation hinge on this now past event. The scene was somber, but it was a victory! All the pieces of the puzzle were set in their predesigned spaces.
God’s plan of redemption was fulfilled. As Isaiah 53 concludes: “he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” He bore the penalty for our every sin, and we needed Him to do it because we will never be good enough for God’s holy standard.
Thankfully, we don’t have to be. It is finished.
If we have faith in the fact that Jesus hung on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, we are no longer condemned by our inability to keep God’s law and the shortcomings that come with it (Hebrews 10:19-22). With such faith, we are released from God’s Law! Free, without even an ounce of effort from ourselves. Not now. Not ever.
What a gracious, merciful, compassionate God!
——-♦——-
Does that feel right?
For some of us, maybe it does. No other way makes sense. But for the rest of us, we might feel compelled to earn the good stuff, work for rewards, climb our way to the top, climb our way to Heaven. Maybe we feel like it’s a better accomplishment when we work for it. It’s a pat on our backs. We can celebrate our achievements.
But, honestly speaking, our accomplishments will not serve us in the end (John 8:31-45, Galatians 5:3-10). Deep down inside, we probably know we will always fall short of God’s standards in some way, at some point. I miss the mark every day! God knew His people would fall short so He gave them instructions on how to make amends when they did (Leviticus 4:1-6:7, Hebrews 9:1-10:18). Simply put, we will sin and we can’t earn God’s approval (Isaiah 64:6).
That’s why Jesus finished the job. The perfect Son of God took our sins with Him to the cross. We can’t help our cause in any way (Ephesians 2:1-9), but we can worship our Savior for doing what we can’t do for ourselves. We can be grateful that He did all the work and finished it to save us. It’s a once and forever thing. There are no more pieces to the puzzle (Hebrews 9:25-28, 10:14-18).
——-♦——-
Have you accepted the free gift of eternal life from Jesus? If so, stop striving. Offer yourself to Him in grateful worship and trust in His sacrifice for all your shortcomings. Draw a giant, diamond milestone in your timeline and serve Him in God’s grace. Live in your freedom by stepping away from the letter of God’s Law and living with compassion in the spirit of His Law.
Some of us may not know Jesus firsthand. If you feel like you’re not good enough for Jesus and Heaven, understand that there’s no magic level of positive achievement or spiritual awakening. Jesus accepts you just the way you are in the same way He accepted the many Bible heroes who fell short, and so many who walk the earth today.
It is finished. His work is enough for us.
If you want to know more about Jesus and what He did for us, please email me at authordlv@att.net or visit the Good News page on my blog. Jesus did all the work. He is alive and preparing a place for us in Heaven while we serve Him until He comes back for us.
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THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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