“It Is Finished!”
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit. Amen. The old spiritual asks, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?”
Tonight we gather to meditate on the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In our Lent services this year we considered the Seven Last Words of Jesus. Even as he was being nailed to the cross, Jesus prayed forgiveness for
his tormentors: “Father, forgive them.” To the criminal who hung beside him on another cross and begged,
“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom,” he promised: “Today you
will be with me in paradise.” Loving Son to the end, Jesus committed his mother to the care of the
disciple John: “Dear woman, here is your son.” All alone on the cross, Jesus suffered the torment of hell, separation
from his heavenly Father, at the moment he cried out: “My God, my God, why have
you forsaken me?” The excruciating physical torture of crucifixion causes him to cry out:
“I thirst.” And at the moment of death he declares: “Father, into your hands I
commit my spirit.” Our final meditation on Jesus’s Seven Last Words is based on the l9th
chapter of the Holy Gospel According to St. John: “Jesus said, ‘It
is finished.’ with that he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” Imagine you WERE
there in the crowd around the cross. Imagine you yourself heard Jesus cry
out, “It is finished!” What would those words have meant to you? What do
those words mean for you tonight? What did the words “It is finished!” mean to the murderous mob in the
crowd around the cross? They had cried out “Crucify him! Crucify
him.” Now they had their way. In cold blood they murdered the Son of
God. For the murderous mob the words “It is finished!” meant simply that
their crime was complete. What did the words “It is finished!” mean to the pompous priests in the
crowd around the cross? They had plotted and planned to have Jesus put to
death. They conspired with Judas, who betrayed him. They concocted
false charges against him. They pressured Pontius Pilate to crucify him.
Even at the foot of the cross the pompous priest sneered and jeered: “He
saved others, but he can’t save himself. If he really is the King of
Israel, if he really is the Son of God, let him come down from the cross.”
For the pompous priests the words “It is finished!” meant that this inconvenient
incident was over. What did the words “It is finished!” mean to the scornful soldiers in
the crowd around the cross? They made fun of their prisoner by dressing
him in a purple robe and crowning him with a painful crown of thorns. They
spit on him and beat him and laughed at his agony. They gambled for his
garments, and nailed him to the tree. For the scornful soldiers the words,
“It is finished!” meant only that another day’s work was done, another prisoner
executed. But, not everyone in the crowd around the cross was an enemy of Jesus,
like the murderous mob, the pompous priests and the scornful soldiers.
What did the words “It is finished!” mean to the friends of Jesus in the crowd
around the cross? What did the words “It is finished!” mean to the mournful mother Mary?
Long ago her life had been changed by the words of the angel: “You will be with
child and give birth to a Son, you are to give him the name Jesus, because he
will save his people from their sins.” Now the Son she bore, the Son she
cared for, the Son she loved, hung on a cross. For the mournful mother
Mary the words “It is finished!” meant the Son who changed her life was dead. Standing with Mary near the cross was a group of women who had followed
Jesus and taken care of his needs. What did the words “It is finished!”
mean to the woeful women in the crowd around the cross? For them it meant
the greatest sadness, for their beloved Lord was gone. Unlike the mournful mother Mary and the woeful women with her, most of
the disciples were not in the crowd around the cross. The disciples who at
the Last Supper only a few hours earlier all pledged they would never fall away,
had deserted their master in his hour of agony. What did the words “It is
finished!” mean to the dejected disciples? For three years they had
followed this great teacher from whom they expected great things. But now
he was nailed to a cross, and their odyssey was ended. For the dejected
disciples the words “It is finished!” meant the man they dedicated their lives
to was a failure. When they heard the words “It is finished!” the crowd around the cross
all thought the same thing. The murderous mob, the pompous priests, the scornful
soldiers, the mournful Mother Mary, the woeful women, the dejected disciples,
both Jesus’ enemies and Jesus’ friends, all thought “It is finished!” was a cry
of defeat. But, they were all wrong and they were proven wrong on Easter Morning.
“It is finished!” was not a cry of defeat, but a cry of victory. Jesus did
not fail, he fulfilled God’s plan of salvation. He willingly gave himself
as a sacrifice to pay for the sins of the world with his blood shed on the
cross. That is why we call this day Good Friday. It was for our good,
for our salvation Christ endured the cross. What do the words, “It is finished!” mean for you? The price for
your sins has been paid, the work of salvation is complete, Christ died for you,
your sins are forgiven, you are reconciled to God, through faith in Jesus
Christ. “It is finished!”—not a cry of defeat, but a cry of victory, the
victory we celebrate on Easter. Christ’s victory over sin, Christ’s
victory over the devil, Christ’s victory over death, Christ’s victory—your
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