This is my eighth post, joining fellow Christian bloggers in reading Christian Classics. In this series we are reading Dr. A.W. Pink's, "The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross".
Today we come to the sixth saying of Christ on the Cross:
John 19:30, "When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."
I used to think that "It is finished" meant that this was when Jesus succumbed to death on the cross. How far was I from the truth. Jesus bowed his head and gave up His spirit. He didn't succumb to death. "It is finished" meant that He had accomplished what He came to do!
Please read on...
These are my notes from Dr. A.W. Pink's, "The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross".
In the opening comments in this chapter, Pink immediately sets us straight in our understanding of "It is finished":
"It is finished." This was not the despairing cry of a helpless martyr; it was not an expression of satisfaction that the termination of His sufferings was now reached; it was not the last gasp of a worn-out life. No, rather was it the declaration on the part of the divine Redeemer that all for which He came from heaven to earth to do was now done; that all that was needed to reveal the full character of God had now been accomplished; that all that was required by the law before sinners could be saved had now been performed; that the full price of our redemption was now paid."
But just exactly was finished?
Here we see the accomplished fulfillment of all the prophecies that had been written of Him ere He should die.
Pink points out that the Hebrew Canon was full of prophecies about the coming and death of the Messiah (Jesus Christ). He wants us to understand that the set of prophecies concerning Christ's first advent were "literally, actually, and personally fulfilled".
I have been studying the book of Matthew of late. Matthew's audience is primarily the Jewish people of the day and all throughout the book, Matthew points out that; this or that happened so that the scriptures may be fulfilled. The early Jewish leadership knew their Hebrew Canon well. Matthew was pointing out to them that this WAS the Messiah and using the fulfilled prophecies to make his point.
Here we see the completion of His sufferings.
Jesus, the Incarnate, suffered tremendous physical pain on the cross on our behalf. This suffering was now over. We shouldn't forget that His greatest suffering was the separation, the turning of God away from Him during this moment in time as well. "It is finished, signaled that all this pain was now over. Victory was indeed His.
Here we see the goal of the incarnation is reached.
Why did God the Son become Man? To fulfill the Father's will (John 17:4) and to "seek and save the lost" (Luke 19:10). The incarnation was now fulfilled.
Here we see the accomplishment of the atonement.
Volumes could, and have been written on this subject. But the heart of the matter is that Christ has imputed to those with saving faith, all that is necessary to have a relationship with the Holy God. Through Jesus Christ's sacrifice and His atonement (a process of forgiving or pardoning) we are reconciled with God. We can stand in the holy of holies and cry "Abba, Father"!
Here we see the end of our sins.
Although sin is still "in" me, sin is no longer "on" me. My (our) sins were transferred to Christ on this day of days. If you give this the consideration that it is due, you must understand how truly remarkable this is.
Here we see the fulfillment of the law's requirements.
Jesus came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17). In His sermon on the mount Jesus went on to describe what He meant by this. Essentially moving the law from outward living to inner living (the heart).
Here we see the destruction of Satan's power.
On the day of the fall of man, death was the penalty of sin. This sin was imputed on all mankind. We are all born in sin and live in the worldly, fleshly, evil realm of Satan. Through Christ's death, Satan no longer has power over us (Hebrews 2:14).
I continue to be amazed at all that lies under the words of Jesus on the Cross. There is a lifetime of study in these 7 words. And yet, I have one more to accomplish!
This book will certainly be a treasure to me for many years and one that I will keep close to drive me to the heart of all matters.
See you soon in my last post on this wonderful book.
