What Is Finished?

+ In the Name of Jesus +
What Is Finished?
Sermon on John 19:17-30
for Good Friday Midday
April 7, 2023

1. In the Good Friday Gospel from John we have three of Jesus’ seven words from the cross. “Woman, here is your son, … Here is your mother.” “I am thirsty” and “It is finished.” From the other gospels we have “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34), “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43), “My God, why have you forsaken me” (Matthew 27:46), and “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). “It is finished” might make us wonder, what is finished? There are many things that he could have meant with “It is finished.”  What does he mean?
2. Perhaps we should think of another word in today’s gospel. “Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” That verse has two words, finished and fulfilled, that are related to the Greek word John used for “It is finished,” tetelestai. The root of the word is telos which means the end of something or the goal of something. It’s a verb in the perfect tense—one of the past tenses, but with the idea that what is done continues on. Something is completed, it is done, now and for all time.[1] Imagine an architect, standing in front of a bridge he designed. The bridge’s construction is done. There’s an opening ceremony, a red ribbon is cut, and the designer drives the first car across. It is completed—and it will stand and many other people will use it to cross over for years to come.
3. Now think of God’s promises, going back to the very beginning. God’s plan of salvation was in place, working toward fulfillment from the moment he said to the devil, “He will crush your head and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15). To Abraham God said, “Through your seed all nations on earth will be blessed.” Through Isaiah God said so many things about the coming Savior, “his form marred beyond human likeness, … despised and rejected, a man of suffering, … he took up our pain and bore our suffering, pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities.” That is what is finished, fulfilled and completed. God’s promise. God’s plan. “Everything had now been finished, and … the Scriptures … fulfilled.” And now it is finished for all time. In the letter to the Hebrews it says, “[By God’s] will, we have been sanctified once and for all, through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ” (Hebrews 10:10).
4. “Fulfilled” for you and for me. That is just as important as understanding what “It is finished” Isaiah said, “he bore our griefs and carried our sorrows.” “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:4, 5). St. Paul wrote, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). We know the facts we recite in the creeds: “He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.” The facts are meaningless to us if we don’t remember “for us and for our salvation.” For all humanity. Yes, Jesus died. He died for you and me. He died to make us his own. And that is what is finished. His suffering. The work of redemption. All that needs to be done to bring sinners to God. “It is finished.”

Amen.

[1] Nearly every English translation of the Bible renders the word as “It is finished.” A few alternatives were “It is completed” (CEB, LEB), “It is accomplished” (CJB, MOUNCE,), “Everything is done” (CEV), It’s done… complete” (MSG).