From Pastor Ken Regarding This Sunday…
Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, He bowed His head and gave up the spirit. (John 19:30)
With several statements of Jesus from the cross documented, the “beloved disciple” has now expressed what stands as the key phrase of everything he has written: “It is finished.”
When you journey through the entire Gospel of John, you see Jesus speaking to His mother Mary at a wedding, and to the Samaritan woman at the well. You notice Jesus speaking to His disciples at the feeding of the multitude; in that same scene you notice Jesus speaking to God asking for His blessings upon the loaves and fish.
Jesus spoke to the woman caught in adultery, and He spoke to her accusers. Jesus spoke to the blind man. Jesus spoke to Mary and Martha in their grief, and He spoke to Lazarus literal words of life.
Jesus spoke to His disciples in the upper room, and He spoke to God in the Garden. He spoke to the arresting party, to Annas, and to Pilate during his trial.
Jesus spoke again and again; He even spoke from the cross to His mother, to John, and to a thief. Every word from our Savior’s lips deserves the most attentive consideration; but when He spoke, TETELESTI (It is finished), this saying eclipsed them all. “It is finished.”
To whom was Jesus speaking when He said, “It is finished”? This statement was made as a vividly pronounced proclamation. This was not a tired resignation or conclusion. Jesus cried out to the entire universe – He cried out in timeless fashion to you and me – that His work of saving man from sin was perfectly completed forever.
The words “it is finished” should fall as sweet as honey on the bruised and tattered soul of the sinner. These words commemorate the entire life and ministry of Jesus, explaining the necessity of the cross. These words speak of the concluding principle of salvation: Jesus had done all that needs to be done; you can be free.
This Sunday, September 16, I will be sharing a final message from the Gospel of John Series, Real Life. Our one focus of study will be Jesus’ statement: “It is Finished.” Come and engage with the truth of John 19:30, and be changed forever.