No more, Nothing more :: It is finished

Jesus’ sixth saying from the Cross is recorded in the gospel according to apostle John in chapter 19 verse 30. It reads, “When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.“

Jesus said, “It is finished” to not only imply but also affirm that, that which was needed was indeed completed. The price that was necessary to redeem mankind from the power of sin and its wages, which is death, was paid in full. There is no more debt remaining. This also meant that there is nothing more necessary to save one’s soul because Jesus’ willing sacrifice was pleasing to God and was accepted by God, once and for all (Hebrews 10:12).

Points to ponder:
It is finished means there is no more debt; it means there is nothing more needed. In other words, it means it is all grace and no works that is necessary to save mankind (Ephesians 2:8-9). All works and no grace will keep the state of man’s soul unredeemed. All grace and no works will redeem the soul of man. We can confidently sing “Jesus paid it all” because he victoriously declared “It is finished.”

John 19:30 (KJV)
³⁰ When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV)
⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Professional Speaking :: Jesus The Cost Estimator

In Luke 14:28, Jesus poses a vital question, which may seem rhetorical, but it provides the basis for anyone involved in starting any project, be it in their professional or their personal life. The question posed was “For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” As effective managers of resources (temporal or physical), we are expected to ensure that we can finish what we begin, lest we are ridiculed.

Even though, Jesus Christ, was ridiculed and mocked, by his crucifiers (Mark 15:15-20), he successfully finished the work of redemption that God began in and through him. When he estimated the cost for man to be reconciled with God, he knew that it would cost God “all of God” and “nothing of man” for that work to be completed. And when his estimation was complete, he agonized over that fact that it would cost him his very own life to pay this cost, and hoped that this cost would be passed from him, but not willing his own but instead willing to submit to God (Luke 22:41-44), and out of his love for his people, he joyfully endured the Cross, despising its shame (Hebrews 12:2), and humbled himself willingly, becoming obedient to God the Father unto death, even death on the Cross (Philippians 2:6-8) from where he declared that the work of God’s redemption was finished, or in other words, the estimated “Cost” of man’s redemption was now “paid in full” (Tetelastai) (John 19:30).

Points to ponder:
Jesus, The Cost Estimator not only estimated the cost for man to be reconciled with God but he also paid it to finish the work that God had sent him to accomplish. As disciples of his, are we merely counting the cost of being his followers or are we paying the cost of being a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God (Romans 12:1)?

Luke 14:28 (KJV)
²⁸ For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

Let’s talk business :: From the Cross – 6th Saying

When Jesus was twelve years old, he questioned, “Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49) and on his crucifixion, he spoke seven sayings that are often expanded upon on Good Friday services, all over the world. This series, ‘Let’s talk business’ is a look at the seven sayings of Jesus Christ from the Cross, from a business perspective. Today we shall look at the sixth saying from the Cross, “It is finished” as recorded in John 19:30.

According to BusinessDictionary.com, the term “Paid in full” is used to describe the situation when debt is satisfied in its entirety.

When Jesus prayed, he prayed that he had finished the work that God had anointed him to do (John 17:5) and now on the Cross, he reaffirmed it by stating “It is finished.” But what is it that has been finished? The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), but Jesus’ death satisfied our debt of sin in its entirety. This means there is no longer any lien on our soul if we believe in Jesus.

Points to ponder:
Does your soul have a lienholder or have you believed in Jesus Christ? In business terms, Jesus paid in full; he paid for us all with his life. Now can we in response, offer and pay our lives in full back to him. 

John 19:30 (KJV)
³⁰ When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

Christian Acronym :: T.G.I.F

The Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines the abbreviation TGIF as “Thank God It’s Friday” highlighting the celebration of the completion of the work week.

Many years ago, on one Friday (Luke 23:54), Jesus Christ, the innocent and sinless Son of God was murdered on a cruel Cross to pay for the redemption of mankind from their sins. On that Friday, Jesus affirmed to God the Father, by crying out “It is Finished (Tetelastai)” indicating that His sacrifice was the completion of God’s work of providing for man, The Way of redemption. Those who awaited the Salvation of the Lord could finally say, “Thank God It’s Friday (T.G.I.F)”

Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Master?

Luke 23:39-54 (KJV)
³⁹ And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
⁴⁰ But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
⁴¹ And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
⁴² And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
⁴³ And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
⁴⁴ And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
⁴⁵ And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.
⁴⁶ And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.
⁴⁷ Now when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, Certainly this was a righteous man.
⁴⁸ And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned.
⁴⁹ And all his acquaintance, and the women that followed him from Galilee, stood afar off, beholding these things.
⁵⁰ And, behold, there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just:
⁵¹ (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God.
⁵² This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.
⁵³ And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid.
⁵⁴ And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.

John 19:30 (KJV)
³⁰ When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

The CROSS Examination :: Place of Settlement

The CROSS on which Jesus Christ was nailed is the place of divine settlement. When one is born into the world, they are born into a world that is sinful and subject to its power.  They are born into a world with the overarching arm of the law that aims to penalize those who are guilty of breaking it.

Sin aims to gain mastery and rule over the residents of this world but the Bible prescribes that we must rule over it (Genesis 4:7). Yet we sin and become guilty according to the law. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The law obligates that the wages of our sin be paid. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). But thanks be to God, that on the Cross, the sin-debt was paid in full (John 19:30) and nailed to it (Colossians 2:14). When Jesus said from the Cross, “Tetelastai”, it is rendered as “It is finished”, but this word is used in business transactions to mean “Paid in Full”. In other words, Jesus Christ took the letter of the law; the obligations that were imposed on each of us, and nailed it to the cross, blotting it (settling the sin-debt) once and for all.

The lyrics of one of the stanzas of the song, “Before the throne of God Above” beautifully accentuates this fact that our sin-debt has been nailed to the Cross and blotted out in its entirety. The lyrics go as “Because a sinless Savior died, my guilty soul is counted free. For God the just is satisfied. To look on Him (Jesus Christ) and pardon me.“

The Cross is the place of divine settlement. Our sin-debt was paid for in full. So when the Just God and Holy Father, looks at me, He does not see in my sinful state or my past sins, but instead as one that is pardoned and set free from the ordinances of the condemning law.

Has you sin-debt be dealt with? In other words, have you believed in Jesus Christ, who settled our score paying the wages of our sin with his life, dying on the Cross, wherein He nailed our sin-debt. Let us cross examine ourselves and settle with Him, who settled for us, so that we may be able to settle with God eternally.

Colossians 2:13-14 (KJV)
¹³ And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
¹⁴ Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

Christian Verbs :: F is for Finishing

Two times, before Jesus affirms the words of finality “It is finished”, he expresses in the book of John that He was sent by God the Father to finish the work that God had ordained for Him (John 4:34, John 5:36). Then when Jesus prays for Himself, He states that He has glorified God the Father on earth and that He has finished the work, that God the Father had given Him (John 17:4). Then on the Cross, Jesus’ sixth saying was “Tetelastai” meaning it is finished; meaning that the access to the throne of God was opened and man could be restored into a relationship with God by simply believing in Jesus.

God has in deed finished the work of redemption for all mankind, by offering His Only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as a perfect offering for our sins, but His requirement (will) which is for all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4), i.e., to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), is still pending. It is commissioned to all those who have come to the knowledge of the truth about Jesus; to you and me. As Christians (Christ-ones), we are called to finish the assignment (commission) that God has bestowed upon each one of us. There is no unfinished business with God. He is the author AND he is the finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

Like Jesus, can we be determined as well to finish the work that is assigned to us; in glorifying God (John 17:4), in calling all to repentance (2 Peter 3:9); in the great commission (Matthew 28: 19-20). Imagine for a moment, as to what our state would be when we meet Jesus face to face and He asks us about our work on earth. Would it be plight or pleasure? Today, can you/I say that “I have finished the race!”

John 17:3-4 (KJV)
³ And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
⁴ I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

2 Peter 3:9 (KJV)
⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

It is finished

The sixth saying of Jesus as He hung on the Cross, living up to His Name, which was to save His people from their sins was a word of accomplishment and completion. His saying was ‘It is finished’. The scripture records ”When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” (John 19:30).

What was it that Jesus said is finished? Did He say this anytime else? Once earlier, Jesus identifies that it was He who was the finisher. In John 5:17, Jesus answered those who sought to slay him saying “My Father has been working hitherto, and I work” and in John 5:36 he expresses that His witness is greater than that of John; for the works which the Father had given him to finish is the very works he did which was to bear witness of Himself and that the Father sent Him. Soon after, in John 17:4 he tells God the Father “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”

What was the work that Jesus finished? Rather than speculating, we need to look at the scripture for the answer. Jesus answered those who sought him and asked as to what the works of God was, that the work of God is that we believe on Him (Jesus) whom God had sent (John 6:28-29). Jesus’ work was to give life (eternal life) to those who had been overcome by death (all of us) which resulted from sin finishing its course (James 1:15). Knowing God and believing in Jesus whom God had sent is the definition of eternal life (John 17:3). Jesus was named ‘Jesus’ because He will save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). When Jesus started his work on earth, his name was affirmed by John the Baptist, that Jesus is the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world (John 1:29) and since without the shedding of blood, there is no remission (Hebrews 9:22), when Jesus’ blood was shed on the Cross of Calvary, his purpose was accomplished and the work He came to finish was finished. Jesus in his death finished the work of living up to his name and there is no other name given under heaven or earth, whereby we can be saved (Acts 4:12).

So why does this matter? Genesis 2:2 records that God finished the work of creation after which He rested. But man sinned against God and death entered into the world through the sin of one man (Romans 5:12). God could not rest any longer, until His redemptive work was finished by the act of His Only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, so that all who believe in Him will also be able to rest (Hebrews 4:3), have eternal life. On the Cross, Jesus said it is finished. The act of God reconciling man to himself was finished. However, he entrusted to those who believe in Him, a ministry of reconciliation and apostleship so that no one may perish (2 Peter 3:9) without knowing the completed work of Christ Jesus. So our work is still not done. Paul writes, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7). Can this be said of us as well? We need to keep the faith until the very end and He who endures till the end, not waxing our Love for God and man, and wanning sin and self,  the same shall be saved (Matthew 24:12-13). In Revelation we read “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.” (Revelation 11:7) but at the great battle of God Almighty in the place called Armageddon, we hear from the throne of heaven, the same words “It is done (or finished)” (Revelation 16:17).

In Genesis, the work of God is finished (Genesis 2:2);
In the Cross, the work of God is finished (John 19:30);
In Revelation, the work of God is finished (Revelation 16:17).

From Genesis to Revelation, it is finished and we need to finish our testimony as well and that testimony is “It is finished”.

Lessons from the Lamb – one for all

God created man to have a relationship with him; Man disobeyed (sinned against) God; This separated man from God; For man’s sin, a price had to be paid! God wanted to punish sin, and not the sinner (man) and so He had to come up with a way;
This is where the lamb comes in -  As a payment for sin, a lamb (that is perfect without any blemish) had to be sacrificed; But this payment (sacrifice) had to be paid every year;

Man continued to sin and sacrifice, sin and sacrifice ad infinitum;

God had to do something and his love for man was so great, that he took the form of the son of Man, and became the Lamb of God;
He came to earth in the form of a baby, named Jesus, which means that He will save His people from their sins; (Note : His people, their sins)
But when John the Baptist, a harbinger prophet, who was pronouncing God’s redemptive plan that will break the circle of sin and sacrifice saw Jesus, He did not call him Jesus, but instead, recognized Jesus to be the Lamb of God (that taketh away all the sins of the world). He said, Behold Jesus (look at Him)  – the Lamb of God (withouth blemish, perfect in all)

This Lamb of God (Jesus) was slain, and his vesture dipped in blood, a blood that purifies you and me from all our sinfulness. Before Jesus died on the cross, where he was crucified so that we (man) may not be punished, he said – Tetelastai, meaning It is finished, paid in full. The payment for sin was complete and no other sacrifice is necessary for man to be restored into the relationship with God. His sacrifice is one for all.

Are you in relationship with this God, who loves you dearly? Do you know the the Lamb of God?

If not, let me reiterate
the cry in the wilderness by a prophet (John the Baptist)  - Look at Jesus, the Lamb of God, who can take away all our sins.
the call of a messianic prophet (Isaiah) -  Come reason with Jesus and he will make us clean (righteous) before God.

John 1:29
²⁹ The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Isaiah 1:18
¹⁸ Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

P.S: The image in this post is a photo I shot in Brazil and the inscription in it is in Portuguese, which states God’s promulgation to mankind, that Jesus (pictured as the Lamb of God) is His Son with whom He (God) is well pleased. Click on the picture for a clearer view.

It is Finished – Genesis to Revelation

The Word of God (the Bible) is a compilation of hidden treasures and the more we search, the more it comes alive.
Most of us are familiar with the seven sayings of Jesus, when he was crucified to the the Cross for our sins, to make the payment to God so we can be restored back into a relationship with God. The sixth saying on the Cross is “Tetelastai” which means “It is Finished“

It is Finished is recorded 3 times in the Bible.
First, it is in Genesis (first book of the Bible) – Genesis 2:2 – where it is recorded that God had finished the work (of his Creation)
Second, it is on the Cross (central core of the Bible) - John 19:30 – where Jesus says, it is Finished, meaning that “It have been paid in full”, “The debt is no more”.
Thirdly, it is in Revelation (last book of the Bible) - Revelation 16:17 – where from out of the temple, came a loud voice saying “It is Finished” meaning Evil no longer has a chance against God.

Interestingly, the Genesis, this saying is at the end of the sixth day and beginning of the seventh. On the Cross, it is the end of the sixth saying and the beginning of the seventh and in Revelation, it is at the end of the sixth bowl of wrath and the beginning of the seventh.

Truly from Genesis (alpha) to Revelation (omega), It is Finished because of what Jesus did on the Cross.

MERCY – what is it?

Mercy is often used to describe an act in which someone in power was kind and lenient to forebear the punishment that was due someone. The Bible uses ‘Mercy’ in a couple of ways – firstly, it uses it as to how most of us understand it. The punishment (wages) of sin (and we all are sinners) is death, but God’s mercy is that while we were sinners, God in the personhood of his son, Jesus Christ was kind and lenient to forebear the punishment due us, by intervening and taking our place and paying the debt (wages), being crucified for our sins. In other words, God was punished for man. Mercy in this case is “forebearance”, “lieneancy in punishment”, “paying the dues” and so on.

Another usage of the word ‘Mercy’ is that it is used interchangeably with “loving-kindness” which the Bible describes as better than life itself. The loving-kindness of God is unexplainable and can only be experienced. The Psalmist who experienced this writes – O taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8). 

Irrespective of  what ‘Mercy’ is defined as, I like to think of Mercy as the MERit + Christ + You a.k.a., it is the MERit of Chirst for YOU. Isn’t that really cool?