It is finished

Q: What does the Bible say about Jesus' sacrifice?

The Bible teaches that Jesus' sacrifice was a complete and perfect atonement for the sins of His people, as expressed in John 19:30 when He cried, 'It is finished.' The sacrifice of Jesus Christ is central to Christian faith and is described as complete and perfect in the New Testament. As John 19:30 records, Jesus declared 'It is finished' just before His death, emphasizing that His atoning work was accomplished. This signifies that His sacrifice satisfied the demands of God's law and justice for the sins of His people, effectively reconciling them to God. Major themes within Scripture highlight that Jesus bore the penalty for sin, serving as a substitute for humanity, which underscores the eternal significance of His last words.

Q: How do we know the doctrine of Christ's substitutionary atonement is true?

The truth of Christ's substitutionary atonement is affirmed through Scripture, prophetic fulfillment, and its power to transform lives. The doctrine of Christ's substitutionary atonement is grounded in both the fulfillment of prophecies and the teachings found throughout the Bible. Jesus' role as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world is highlighted in passages like Isaiah 53, demonstrating a clear prophetic basis. Additionally, Jesus' actions on the cross fulfilled the requirements of the law, indicating He served as a perfect substitute for sinners. The transformative power of this doctrine is experienced in the lives of believers who find salvation and peace in Christ, offering further evidence of its truth in both theology and personal experience.

Q: Why is the phrase 'It is finished' significant for Christians?

'It is finished' signifies the completion of Christ's atoning work, ensuring that believers are fully reconciled to God without any further sacrifices needed. 'It is finished' is one of the most profound declarations made by Jesus on the cross. This phrase encapsulates the idea that all the requirements of God's justice and law have been fulfilled in Him. For Christians, this means that Christ's sacrifice was perfect and complete, removing the need for any additional works or sacrifices to gain salvation. It reinforces the assurance believers have that their sins are fully paid for, and they are accepted by God solely through faith in Christ's finished work. This message of grace provides believers with confidence and peace, affirming that their standing before God is secure.

Let's sing again also from Hymns for Worship, number 116. 116. And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Saviour's blood? Died he for me who caused his pain? For me who him to death pursued? Amazing love, how can it be that thou, my God, should die for me? Hymns for Worship, 116. that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood. Fighting for me, he who calls his name. For me, he who lived to death pursued. Amazing love.

♪ How can it be ♪ ♪ That thou, my God, shouldst come away from me? ♪ ♪ Amazing grace, how can it be ♪ ♪ Oh, my God should strive for me ♪ ♪ Tis mystery of a poor immortal dies ♪ ♪ Who can explain his strange desire? ♪ ♪ That firstborn son of joy ♪ ♪ To sound the dreams of love divine ♪ ♪ Tis blessed moon, let earth adore ♪ ♪ Let angel fighting choir ♪ ♪ He left his father's throne upon the hill ♪ ♪ Of reason in thy light it gleams ♪ ♪ Upon himself and out of love of me ♪ ♪ That man for his own chosen place ♪ ♪ Tis as he who him hath set free ♪ ♪ The world, my God, if thou canst be ♪ Oh, have I got it found out of thee? I am with you, Christian spirit, ♪ But fountains still and nature's pride ♪ ♪ Thine I defuse, the giving way ♪ ♪ I hope that angel-flamed way ♪ ♪ My heart was free ♪ ♪ I rose when forth ♪ ♪ And followed Thee ♪ ♪ My chains fell off ♪ ♪ My heart was free ♪ ♪ I rose when forth and followed Thee ♪ ♪ Contemplation of my dread ♪ ♪ Jesus hath called me in his pride ♪ ♪ Am I with him, my living head? ♪ ♪ And loving righteousness ♪ approach the eternal throne, and claim the crown through Christ my own. eternal fruit, and claim the crown through Christ my Lord. seeking once again the help of the Lord.

I'd like you to turn with me to the chapter that we read together, the Gospel according to John chapter 19 and the text you'll find in verse 30, the last words of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, it is finished, and bowed his head and gave up the ghost. As we come to this Good Friday, although the Church is always to remember the death and the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ as we are called by his people to continue to remember the ordinance of the Lord's Supper signifying his body that was broken for sinners and that his blood was shed as a token of the new covenant And then also in baptism, we see before us the open grave, the dying and rising again in newness of life. And so the church, the Christian church, is never to get away from the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the way by which God has chosen to save sinners, that there is no other way that a person may be made right with God. other than through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the Lord Jesus Christ with whom God was well satisfied with. It is his beloved Son and we are called to hear him and to look to him and here in the Gospel of John chapter 19 we have a demonstration really of the awfulness of sin. and the extent by which the human race rejected the Lord Jesus Christ and then we have the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross and we see the extent of the punishment by which God had to administer upon his beloved son in order to free people from the consequences of their sin which would be an eternal punishment in hell.

And so we have before us the extent that the human race will go to reject God. And then we have the extent of God going to redeem a people for himself. We see these Jews, those who were here on Sunday, we saw the Lord Jesus Christ going into Jerusalem upon the donkey, and we saw how the crowds were crying, Hosanna, save us, or salvation is come. And then a week later, we have the same people from the same city, swayed by opinion, swayed by peer pressure, rejecting their king. rejecting him and saying, crucify him, crucify him, crucify him. Even Pilate says, I find no fault in this man. There's no legal reason why I should be putting the Lord Jesus Christ to death. He has done nothing wrong against the law of this land. See ye to it. And they cried out, crucify him, crucify him, crucify him. We have no king but Caesar, and above the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ is written, the king of the Jews.

And so we have then the extent of sin, that what man, the human race, is capable of doing in their sinful condition, but also we have the love of God that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.

And we have a demonstration of the lengths that God went to to redeem his people from the cross. We saw on Sunday, the Lord Jesus Christ being carried on that donkey into Jerusalem, a beast of burden, being carried there as Christ sat upon it. But then a week later, we see Jesus Christ, the burden bearer, carrying his cross. He goes in as a king, and yet a week later, he is rejected as a criminal to be crucified. And so on the cross then we see the extent of sin and the extent of the love of God. That Christ was punished for the sins of his people.

He was executed upon the cross. Sometimes in other countries we hear of executions and executions are really the extent that the law can go. There is no greater punishment than to be executed. It is the power of the law at its most. And we see the Lord Jesus Christ being crucified with two criminals, the law righteously working or justly working to punish these two criminals. They were thieves upon the cross either side of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the extent of the law was working in its fullness to bring about the conviction or justice of the law that they had broken.

But in the Lord Jesus Christ, There was no law broken. It was an execution, and yet it was an unjust execution, for there was no fault found in him. It was no normal execution. It was the beloved Son of God being crucified upon a cross, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. But the Lord Jesus was also no normal man.

As we know, he is the the God-man, God revealed to us in the flesh that he came to do a specific work, that he was born not by natural way, he was born of a virgin. His father, God himself, beloved son of God. He was born under the law so that he could live perfectly under the law of God. He could fulfill every line and every dot of the law for his people.

Those criminals either side of the law, Jesus, they had broken the law and they were receiving the just punishment for their sins. But the Lord Jesus Christ came to be that burden bearer as he came to bear the weights of the wrath of God for the sins of his people. And he did so there upon the cross at Calvary, crucified between two thieves. So it was no normal sacrifice. It was no normal execution because it was no normal man. And Jesus there was performing the will of the Father to bring about the salvation of his people.

As John the Baptist said, behold, the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world, that the Lord Jesus Christ was there as a substitute for sinners, paying the penalty for the sins of his people. It should have been sinful men, women and boys and girls under the wrath of God. But the Lord Jesus Christ came to be a substitute, to change places. with sinful men, women and boys and girls so that he would absorb the anger of God that was due to his people for their sins. That all who would ever believe in Jesus Christ, Christ was being punished there upon the cross for them.

So he cries out, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me or why have you abandoned me? What is the wrath of God? What is due to sinful people? It is to fall under the anger of God for all eternity in hell, to be rejected by God, to fall under His wrath for all eternity, to be abandoned by Him.

And so here upon the cross, we have the perfect substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. But not only is he a perfect substitute, a perfect lamb, but he is the shepherd who gave his life for his sheep. He is the husband that gave his life for the bride, the church, to redeem her from all of her filth, all of her sin. He's the son of God who came to fulfil the will of the father so that he could adopt into his kingly family a load of orphans that had been abandoned by Satan. He was the king who came to redeem his people from slavery.

The Bible tells us that it is a slavery to be in the kingdom of Satan, to be in the kingdom of darkness, to be outside of Christ, that it is slavery. But to be in Christ Jesus, to be a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, there is freedom. That Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law. He has taken the full force of the law upon himself.

As we see as he rose again on the third day, justifying, demonstrating that God was pleased with his sacrifice, that the sins of all of the Lord's people are wiped away, they're done away with, the debt has been paid in full. And so as we come to the Lord Jesus here in his final moments upon the cross, as he asks for the vinegar, as he cries out that he is thirsty and they give him vinegar to drink, when he had received the vinegar, which was the last prophecy that had been spoken that should be fulfilled in his earthly life, when he had tasted that vinegar, he said, it is finished. Now in the language that Jesus spoke, whether he was speaking Aramaic at this time, the Bible doesn't tell us, or whether he was speaking Greek, but it is one word, one word, tetelestai. And that one word in other parts of the Bible is translated as paid, or made an end of, or accomplished. And so what Jesus is saying is that it is paid.

It is accomplished. The work that I have done has been finished. It has been accomplished. It is a perfect word. In the Greek, the writers tell us that it is a perfect tense word. That means that it has been done, and it cannot be undone. It will continue to be done.

If a debt has been paid, if you're in debt with somebody, maybe you owe them a million pounds, and somebody comes along and pays that debt for you, it can be stamped, it is finished. That debt that you owe has been dealt with. It can never be charged to your account again. Yes, you could go and take out another debt, but that one that you had has been paid.

You could say a victory. You've been in a battle and you had won the battle. The same word can be used. You have gained the victory. You have defeated your enemy. so Jesus as we've seen recently as we look through the look through the miracles of Jesus everything that he did was calculated and precise and so he used the perfect word to demonstrate exactly what he had done what he had just accomplished that he had paid in full the debt that his people owed to God, that he had received the full wrath of God upon him and had been charged to his account, that he had gained the victory, that he had redeemed his people from sin and from slavery, that he had put to death the power and authority that Satan had over his people. And so Christ, it comes now and he says, I've completed, I've completed it. It is done. It is finished.

And if you think of this word, you know, we say, don't we? Words have meaning. And sometimes our children may, you know, say something and words also, they have consequences. And so this word that Jesus used, it has great meaning, has great depth to it. And we could say that it's probably the most significant word that has ever been spoken in the history of this world.

For it has had eternal consequences for millions and millions and millions of people. By Christ crying out, it is finished. It signifies to the church that it is done, that Christ's sacrifice has been perfected, that all the work that the Father gave Christ to do was now complete. Now he could give up the ghost and wait there or go to glory and then return there in those three days' time to rise again.

But also it signifies prophecy. You know, there are over 1,000 prophecies regarding the Lord Jesus Christ. Some 4,000 years old, right there in the Garden of Gethsemane, right there in the Garden of Eden, where the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head. And here, waiting for 4,000 years for the seed of the woman, which is the Lord Jesus Christ, to come and to bruise the serpent's head.

It is finished. You think of the covenants that were made with Noah, with Abraham, with Isaac and Jacob and with David, all fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. that in him, in Abraham, should all the nations of the earth be blessed, that his children would be as the sand of the sea and the stars of the sky.

Here it is finished, that Christ's redeeming work was the fulfilment of those prophecies, that David, that your kingdom would have no end. Here Christ, triumphant as a king, claimed his authority, sits upon a throne. It is finished, it is done. David's kingdom is now established for all eternity.

And so it was a fulfilment, not just of the work that Christ came to do, but also of the prophecies spoken about himself, right down to that vinegar, something insignificant spoken in the book of Psalms. I thirst. They gave me vinegar to drink. Here Jesus says, I thirst. put vinegar to his mouth, and when he had received the vinegar, the prophecy being fulfilled, he said, it is finished.

But also, you think of what Jesus said about the cup. If it is possible, let this cup pass from me. John 18, it tells us there, in verse 11, Jesus says to Simon Peter, put thy sword into the sheath, the cup which my father has given me to drink, shall I not drink it? When Jesus cried, it is finished. We can say the last drop, the last drip of that cup had been poured out upon the Lord Jesus Christ. What was that cup? What was in that cup?

It was the anger of God for sin. The Lord Jesus Christ drank an eternal wrath of anger in those three hours upon the cross. That cup that you and I would take us in eternity to drink. God pouring out his anger upon us forever and ever and ever. The Lord Jesus says, The cup which the Father has given me to drink, shall I not drink it? Upon the cross, he cries, it is finished as he takes the last drop of that cup.

As we look naturally at the external sufferings of the Lord Jesus, and we see them as very painful and very hideous. that none of us like to experience pain, none of us like to experience abuse verbally or physically, that we see in the Lord Jesus Christ in his flesh, he suffered greatly.

We can say in his spirit, he suffered even greater, for it was his spirit that caused him to cry out in an agony. He says, my soul is near unto death. And being in an agony, he cried more earnestly. And so his soul troubles outweighed the troubles of the body, the pains of the body.

And we see something of the inner turmoil of Christ in the prophecy of Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53, we could read the whole thing, but just looking at some points, is despised and rejected of men. You think this is 500 years before the Lord Jesus even comes. We find this prophecy so precisely fulfilled in the last moments of the Lord Jesus Christ, it would be an impossibility, a total impossibility for it to be a coincidence, for it to be luck. It is not luck, it is a prophetic account of what is going to happen to the Lord Jesus Christ when he comes into this world, despised and rejected of men. A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, we hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised and we esteemed him not.

Surely he has borne our sorrows. borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And with his stripes, we are healed. He was bruised. The word bruised can be translated as crushed, as he was crushed for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed.

He goes on, he was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before her hearers is done, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment and who shall declare his generation for he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people was he stricken. Verse 10, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. to put him to grief.

When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his days, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. We see the inner sufferings of Christ. Upon the cross, we see a crucified savior, a man with a crown of thorns upon his head, with nails in his hand, and later, a wound in his side. We see his back torn by the whips that were put upon his back. But what we see deeper down, We see deeper down a crushing of the soul of the Lord Jesus Christ as he pays the debt that was owed to God by his people.

That debt is hell. The soul that sins, it must die physically and spiritually. The soul that sins, it must die. Therefore, if Christ did not fulfill all the law required, then there would still be something for you and I to pay. But because Jesus cries out, it is finished. There's nothing left to pay. There's nothing left to add to his sacrifice, for he was crushed under the mighty hand of his father. And as he cries out, my God, my God, why hast thou abandoned me?

And so there we have that perfect prophecy regarding the Lord Jesus Christ that was so detailed in its prophecy and also in its fulfilment. And so whatever the law required, was perfectly fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, both in what he did, but also what he suffered. As we saw the thieves, either side of him, receiving the full extent of what the law said, the crucifixion, the execution due to their sin, that we see the Lord Jesus Christ also being dealt with by God in the full force of his anger due to the sins of his people. And we see then also we can say the last of the ceremonial law, the temple curtain was dealt with and therefore upon the cross at Calvary is the last sacrifice that ever was needed and is needed. There is no need to go to Jerusalem and to offer up sacrifices. There is no need to go back to the law anymore because we have it all in the Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect, spotless Lamb of God who cried out, it is finished, and then he gave up the ghost. So what does that mean then for us? We've seen what it meant to the Lord Jesus Christ, but what about us?

It is finished. If I've done some work, say I've laid a patio for somebody, and I come and I say, look, I've finished. They may go and do an inspection. They may say, oh, this slab's a little bit wobbly, or this thing is a bit out of level here. And they may find some fault in the work that I have done. I can say that it's finished, but it's not finished to a satisfying satisfactory to the customer. They are unsatisfied. not with the Lord Jesus Christ. He says it is finished and it is perfect.

There will be no fault in the work that he has done. There's nothing to add to his sacrifice and there's nothing left to pay. If the debt has been paid, it has been cancelled out. There's nothing left to pay. salvation has been accomplished, that man and God are able to be reconciled through this perfect sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no fault in it and we know that because three days later Christ is risen again from the grave. If there was a fault in his work, Jesus Christ would have remained in the grave just like any other prophet, just like any other man. But because Christ rose again on the third day, we know that there was no fault in his work.

It is finished, it is done, it is perfected. Think of the temple. How many times was the temple built? It was built twice. Both times they had a dedication service. They said it was finished, but it was destroyed. twice and not with the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no need to repeat that work. It is a perfect work that spans eternity past and eternity future. It is done. It is finished.

But you imagine how it would be for you and me if Jesus hadn't said it is finished. You imagine how it would be that there would be something for you and me to do. How would it make us feel? Let's just say you come to your death. You know other religions, they lie on their deathbed and they don't know. They don't know if they're going to heaven or hell because they say, we give ourselves up to God. God will be the judge. And so they can't go to their deathbed in peace because they don't know what's going to happen to them.

But Christians can go to their deathbed in peace, believing and trusting in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ, that it was a perfect, completed work that has redeemed them from the consequences of their sins. Therefore, they can lay on their deathbed, knowing that Christ has removed the sting, and that they would pass from this world to the next, and that they would be with Christ, which is far better. And so here upon the cross of Calvary, the Lord Jesus Christ, he finished with sin. His power and his influence over each of his dear people, he did away with it. Scripture says he rose again for their justification. There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. And so do you know this morning, as you've come today to remember the death of the Lord Jesus, do you know today, do you believe today that your sin was there, your sin was dealt with upon the cross at Calvary? Because our lives will finish just like the Lord Jesus Christ's.

He says it is finished. And he bowed his head and gave up the ghost. You know, one day we will say it is finished. Our life is over. We'll bow our head and we'll give up the ghost. We will die. But then what? It wasn't the end of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it will not be the end of you and me. The Bible tells us after death, there's judgment. After death, it is eternity. This life that we are living now is just a small expanse of time. But after this life, there is an eternity. and our eternal state is fixed in this life by believing and trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ or rejecting him like the Jews rejected him. Crucify him, we don't want him, we don't need him, he's not my king.

And what does Jesus say to the man that came to him? Maybe you hear these words and you're a bit afraid, but Jesus says, be not afraid. only believe. Christ has been placed upon a cross for all to see. The gospel has gone forth into all the world for all to hear. And Jesus says, don't be afraid. It is finished.

Only believe. May the Lord grant us that faith and to receive this word as truth and to believe and trust in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ that it will be well with us beyond the grave. Amen. Let's sing our final hymn from Gadsby's number 143.

One, four, three. Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee. Let the water and the blood from thy riven side which flowed be of sin, the double cure, cleanse me from its guilt and power. Number 143, tune 505. ♪ O come, O come, O come, O come, O come, O come, O come, O come, O come, to Bethlehem.

♪ ♪ And sing from its filtered fan ♪ ♪ Underneighbor of my hands ♪ ♪ Can fulfill thine auspiring call ♪ O say can you see, by the dawn's early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's In my hand I bring, Simply to thy cross I cling. Make them come to thee, fortress, Helm that spoke to thee, ♪ How I do the fountain cry ♪ ♪ Hush ye, Savior, or I die ♪ ♪ While I draw this fleeting breath ♪ ♪ When my eyestrings break in day ♪ ♪ When I soar through tracks unknown ♪ ♪ Seeing on my judgment throne ♪ ♪ Rock of Ages, cleft for me ♪ After this service you're all very welcome to stay for refreshments after in the in the back room and I'll give thanks for the food now. Almighty God and loving Heavenly Father, we come before Thee once again, we do give Thee thanks for Thy beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as He said, the bread that came down from heaven. Lord, we pray that we may be granted that faith to trust in His perfect, finished work upon the cross at Calvary, thanking Thee, Lord, that there is nothing left for us to do but to live a life for Thy honour and for Thy glory. We thank Thee then, Lord, for this time that we can come together. We thank Thee for the food that has been provided and we pray for Thy blessing to rest upon it and help us, Lord, to consider those who are hungry this day. Lord, we pray that they may be blessed with Thy provision Lord, now dismiss us then with thy blessing, and now by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, with the fellowship and the communion of the Holy Spirit, do rest and abide with us each now and for evermore.

Amen.

It is finished

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about Jesus' sacrifice?

How do we know the doctrine of Christ's substitutionary atonement is true?

Why is the phrase 'It is finished' significant for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About James Gudgeon

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It is finished

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about Jesus' sacrifice?

How do we know the doctrine of Christ's substitutionary atonement is true?

Why is the phrase 'It is finished' significant for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About James Gudgeon

Comments

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