FINISHED
By George W. Sinquefield
Advertise Your Business Or Website At
HomewithGod.com
By George W. Sinquefield
John 19:28 through John 19:30 (KJV)
28After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. 29Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. 30When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
Jesus spake many important words; Father, love, mercy, wrath,service and many more but none as important as this one, "finished".
It was Jesus word of completion. It was not a cry but a pronouncement. It was not just the sigh of an exhausted sufferer, it was the shout of a conquerer. It proclaimed that his work of atonement on our behalf was now complete. And since it is complete, there is nothing whatever to add to it.
So vital was it that He be understood, He took a sip of the sour wine offered him that the word might emerge from his heart unhindered by his parched throat and swollen tongue.
"Finished", all that God could do for man's salvation had been done. There is nothing to add to his finished work in order for a person to be saved. The first recorded words of Jesus were spoken when He was about twelve years old, "Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" (Luke 2:49) The last was uttered on the cross when He cried, "Finished".
I. His Suffering Is Finished.
Thirty-three years before He left heaven's glory to dwell upon the earth, born in poverty and obscurity, reared in despised province of Galilee and more despised city of Nazareth. He lived on earth less than half the span of normal human life, was criticized, threatened, misunderstood, despised, rejected, and opposed. At last He was rudely captured in the garden where He had gone to pray. He was bound like a criminal and let to the judgment hall. Here He was beaten, spit upon, slapped, abused and condemned to die. He was led away and crucified as a thief and murderer. Cruel nails were driven through his hands and feet and a crown of thorns wa put on his head. His back was bruised as they hung him between two malifactors. We do not hear him complain but surely no one ever suffered as He did.
Isaiah 53:3 through Isaiah 53:9 (KJV)
II. Prophecy Which Concerned His Humiliation And Suffering Was Finished.
From Genesis where the Savior would bruise the serpent's heel and on through the books of Moses and the prophets were predictions concerning:
As Jesus hung on the cross, He was aware of every single word which had been uttered about him in all the scriptures, and He would not die until the last one had been fulfilled. The cry, "finished", was uttered just after they gave him vinegar and He had tasted it. "They gave me also gall for my meat, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." (Psalm 69:21)
Jesus knew that this was the only prophecy which had not been fulfilled and He cried, "I thirst." It was not because He was thirsty but that the "scriptures might be fulfilled."
John 19:28 through John 19:30 (KJV)
III. His Work Was Finished.
He had reached his goal and is now complete as the world's Savior.
Matthew 5:48 (KJV)
Now many misunderstand what Jesus meant when He told us to be perfect. Some believe that He meant we were to live above sin, we were to be perfect morally. But this statement has no moral connotation at all. "Perfect" means "that which is at the end." It means the goal toward which one is moving.
What was the goal, Jesus was moving toward? It was the cross upon which He would die to pay our sin debt to satisfy the demand of the righteous law of God. Jesus was sinless but He was not perfect until He died on the cross.
Hebrews 2:10 (KJV)
Hebrews 5:9 (KJV)
Jesus is not complete or the world's Savior. When He said, "Finished", He declared a truth so glorious and so wonderful that Satan has been busy ever since trying to hide the meaning of this last cry of Jesus from the minds of men and women.
Regardless of what the devil wants us to believe, there is nothing left for the lost sinner to do in order to be saved except receiving by faith the gift of God.
Romans 6:23 (KJV)
Ephesians 2:8 through Ephesians 2:9 (KJV)
8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9Not of works, lest any man should boast. When one tries to do something in order to be saved he denies the finished work of Christ and he places himself under the law and thereby under its condemnation.
IV. God's Will For Him Had Been Done.
Jesus made it clear that his coming into the world to die on the cross was the Father's will.
Hebrews 10:7 (KJV)
Matthew 26:36 through Matthew 26:46 (KJV)
Notice in verse 39 He said, "Not as I will, but as thou wilt." And again in verse 42, "Thy will be done."
Dr. Leon Macon, past editor of the Alabama Baptist state paper said, "We sometimes draw back from doing the will of God. Jesus had this shrinking feeling for the cross was a terror. It was hard to bear. That which Jesus came to do was a must. It was imperative that He do what He came into the world to do. This declares that what He came to do would be difficult, that it would have its hard places and that he would have to compel himself to pursue the completion of the will of God."
Then Dr. Macon gives us this good word; "We ought to realize that there will come moments in our lives when our wills will be greatly strained in making the right decisions. Doing the business of the Lord is not a constant flow of spontaneous actions. We often have to will to do in order to serve God. We declare many times that we must do certain things. Often when we are tempted to relax, we must do his business." May the doing of God's will be our main concern.
Psalm 40:8 (KJV)
Psalm 143:10 (KJV)
Colossians 4:12 (KJV)
1 Peter 2:15 (KJV)
1 Peter 3:17 (KJV)
1 Peter 4:1 through 1 Peter 4:2 (KJV)
1 John 2:17 (KJV)
V. To Whom Was The Word "Finished" Spoken?
It was addressed to the Father. Jesus was sent by the Father on a mission and now that mission has been accomplished. Many times Jesus said the Father had sent him.
John 4:34 (KJV)
John 5:23 through John 5:24 (KJV)
John 5:30 (KJV)
John 5:36 (KJV)
John 6:44 (KJV)
John 6:57 (KJV)
John 8:16 (KJV)
John 8:18 (KJV)
Notice again in John 4:34 and 5:36 Jesus said He was sent to "finish his (the Father's) work". Now Jesus says to the Father, "I have finished the work you gave me to do".
John 17:4 (KJV)
Father I have reached my goal, that of providing a way of salvation for the lost. I have reached the goal that was set for me before the foundation of the world.
1 Peter 1:18 through 1 Peter 1:20 (KJV)
Revelation 13:8 (KJV)
Yes, Jesus finished all that was necessary for man's salvation. The devil blinds people to this truth.
2 Corinthians 4:3 through 2 Corinthians 4:4 (KJV)
He tries to hide the truth from the minds of the lost. His lie is that the finished work of Jesus is not enough. You must join the church, be baptized, do go works, etc. The very moment a lost person tries to "do" something in order to be saved, he denies the finished work of Jesus. It was a message to the believers in the world of the departed. It was to all those who before the crucifixion of Jesus had died in faith -- looking forward to the coming of the Messiah to pay their sin debt. Before Calvary there was no putting away of sin, nor forgiveness in the absolute sense. God passed over, covered up, hid his face, suspended sentence until the time that payment should be made. The Old Testament saint was saved from hell but could not go to heaven.
Here then is the picture. Before the cross there could be no forgiveness of sin in the absolute sense, because only the shed blood of Christ was acceptable. So God did pardon and forgive on the promise of the Coming One. But in the meantime these saints went into Hades described as Abraham's bosom in Luke 16. Then when Christ died He paid the price and brought the good news to these souls, and emptied the saved division of Sheol -- Hades -- and since that time every saint who dies does not go to Hades but goes immediately into the presence of God because sin, the only thing that can separate from God, has been fully met by Christ. The death of Jesus was necessary for the salvation of these Old Testament saints.
The blood of Jesus was shed to take away the sin of the whole world, those who lived before and after his crucifixion.
John 1:29 (KJV)
Abraham, Moses, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and all who had faith in God's promise of a coming redeemer, were saved by the blood of Jesus. Let me say again that Jesus died to take away the sin of the world, all people included. The devil tried to get Jesus to come down from the cross.
Luke 23:35 through Luke 23:37 (KJV)
If the devil and his crowd had succeeded, if Jesus had come down from the cross all who had died in faith would have been lost forever. While Jesus hung on the cross, the devil, through others said, "Come down." These departed saints watched as the struggle raged on Calvary. They flinched at every suggestion that Jesus come down. They waited to hear the word, "finished" and when it came, oh, how they shouted for their sin debt had been paid.
Hebrews 11:13 (KJV)
VI. "Finished" Was Jesus' Message To The World.
It was the good news that salvation is now available to all who will accept him as Lord and Savior. The power of sin is broken, the law of God is satisfied. Soon the veil of the temple will be rent so that man may come boldly to the throne of grace. God is now offering salvation to all who will accept it.
1 Timothy 1:15 (KJV)
3He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5But 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. 6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7He 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 shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8He 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. 9And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
28After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. 29Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. 30When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
48Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
10For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
9And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
7Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
36Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. 37And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. 38Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. 40And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? 41Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. 42He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. 43And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. 44And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.
8I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
10Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
12Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.
15For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
17For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.
1Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 2That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
17And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
34Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
23That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him. 24Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
30I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
36But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.
44No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
57As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
16And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.
18I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.
4I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
18Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
8And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
3But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
29The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
35And the people stood beholding. And the rulers also with them derided him, saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he be Christ, the chosen of God. 36And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, 37And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself.
13These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
15This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.