“It Is Finished”

“He said, ‘It is finished.’ And bowing His head, He yielded up His spirit.” — John 19:30

At about twelve o’clock, in the middle of the day, darkness came over the whole land. For three hours, from noon until three o’clock in the afternoon, it was as dark as night.

At about three o’clock, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

On the cross, Jesus was carrying the sin of the whole world: all the wrong things that everyone has ever done. Sin separates people from God. And for the first time ever, Jesus felt that separation. He was taking the punishment that we deserved, so that we would never have to be separated from God.

Then Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” Someone dipped a sponge in sour wine, put it on a stick, and lifted it up to His mouth.

When Jesus had received the drink, He said, “It is finished!”

Then He called out in a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” And He bowed His head, and died.

“It is finished!” wasn’t a cry of defeat. It was a shout of victory. Jesus had done everything He came to do. The work of rescuing us was complete. Nothing more needed to be added. The price for our sins was fully paid.

At that very moment, something amazing happened in the temple. The temple had a huge, thick curtain that hung in front of the Most Holy Place, the room where God’s presence was. Only the high priest could go in there, once a year. The curtain showed that sin kept people out of God’s presence.

When Jesus died, that curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom! It was torn from the top, as if God Himself had ripped it. The way into God’s presence was open. Because of Jesus, anyone can come to God now.

The earth shook, and rocks split apart.

A Roman centurion was standing in front of the cross, the officer in charge of the soldiers who crucified Jesus. When he saw how Jesus died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

The women who had followed Jesus from Galilee were watching from a distance, with broken hearts.

Jesus’ friends thought it was all over. They thought it was the end of everything.

But it was only Friday.

The promise kept: Jesus’ cry “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46) were the first words of Psalm 22, the same psalm that spoke of His clothes being divided. And John tells us that not one of Jesus’ bones was broken, just like the Passover lamb’s (John 19:36; Exodus 12:46).

Read it in your Bible: John 19:28–30; Mark 15:33–41; Luke 23:44–49

Dear Jesus, thank you that you finished everything needed to rescue me. Thank you that because of you, the way to God is open, and I can come to Him. Amen.