It Is Finished!

Good evening. Good evening. Much better. Thank you. So, I want to start out with just talking a little bit about Good Friday and how we approach it before we get into our text. And over the last couple of years, what I've noticed with regard to the lead-up to Good Friday is it's become more cheerful. People are more happy. They're commonly saying, Good Friday is my favorite service of the year. And I don't have any problem with it being your favorite service of the year. As long as you also understand that it should also be one of the most painful services of the year. As David said at the beginning, it's a memorial service of sorts. It's a remembering of a death. And not just any death, but the death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And so it's not a light thing that we should delight in and go, oh yes, this is so wonderful.

Because of the nature of his death requires us to look to ourselves and to look at why was it that he was put there? Why did he have to suffer? Why did he have to die? And so it's a time that brings eventually joy and contentment and praise and worship. But it is something that's supposed to stir the... The things that we don't want to talk about, we don't want to think about, we don't want to admit in our own hearts and in our own lives. Because those are the things, and so far as those things are the sins that we struggle with, those are what Jesus had to die for. And so as we come to meet together as God's people to remember and to meditate on Jesus' death, we ought not to forget why he had to die. And so, Good Friday is a good time for us as Christians to be able to speak to other Christians, unbelievers, whomever you come into contact with, about the true nature of Good Friday. And I'm not opposed at all to us saying, Good Friday is my favorite service. But it ought to be bittersweet to us, and we ought not to shy away from telling them that part of the story. Our text this evening, rather.

is the last few verses of our Scripture reading from earlier in the service. I'm going to read it again to you, and then we'll jump into it. This is John 19, verses 28 through 30. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, I am thirsty. A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to his mouth. Therefore, when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, it is finished. And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. And so in this text, we hear, we see the final words that Jesus spoke before his death. And those words were, it is finished. And so this evening, in the time that we have, I want us to...

to be thinking and considering what was finished. And it's not as... There are many answers to that question, I think is what I would say. They're not terribly difficult answers, but there are many answers. It was to be the end of his life. It was to be the end of his suffering. It was to be our salvation. Our salvation is accomplished through his death and through his resurrection. And yet when Jesus says here, it is finished, What is it that he is referring to? Well, if you look back up at verse 28, as Jesus is hanging on the cross, it says that he knew that all things had already been accomplished. And so what were those things that had been accomplished? Well, if you're a student of Scripture, you know the Old Testament is full of prophecies and promises concerning Jesus' life and ministry. And it was veiled and it was hidden, some more than others.

in the Old Testament, but they spoke of what his life would be like, what he would look like, what he would suffer, how he would come, and how he would die. And so when it says that Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, he's speaking of the prophecies of the Old Testament and all of the promises that had pointed forward to saying this Messiah, this Son of God who's going to come to take away the sins of the world, everything that was said about him that he would do has been done. At that point in his life, it had been done. If that seems strange to you, I want you to recall there are times in Jesus' ministry where he actually retreats. He goes away from ministry. He hides himself for a time. And if you think for a moment, well, why would Jesus go hide? He tells us, well, at different times in his earthly ministry, he went away, he withdrew because it wasn't his time yet. Not all things had been accomplished yet.

And so he withdraws for a time and then he comes back. And this is actually what he does right before he comes into Jerusalem at the triumphal entry. He's withdrawn for a period of time because of the persecution of the Pharisees and their intention to kill him. He withdraws. And then he comes back when it's his time. And so at this point on the cross, he says all things have already been accomplished. And so to fulfill the scripture, he says, I am thirsty. And so what we learn when he says, To fulfill the scripture, he says, I am thirsty. We realize there's one thing left yet that is to happen for his death. And it's this. In Psalm 69, verse 21, we read, They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. And you might say, well, it doesn't say vinegar. It says sour wine. You can go read on it, but it's the same thing. You can read a different translation, and they don't translate it sour wine. They translate it vinegar.

And so there was yet one thing left as a sign or a memorial or a reminder to his people, to the disciples, to those who would come after him, that he did everything that was spoken of him. And so at the very end, when he sees everything else having been done and having been accomplished, to fulfill this one last scripture, he says, give me something to drink. I'm thirsty. And so they give him this sour wine. As I was studying and preparing, you can read about sour wine and you can consider whether you think it sounds like something you'd want to drink. And most of us would say, no, it's not something I want to drink. And if you read commentators, they comment from saying it was vinegar and it was a terrible, nasty drink. Even further saying it was meant to dull the pain. That's why it was there. It was a mercy to those being crucified that they gave them something that sped along their death.

All the way over to commentators saying it was an energy drink, essentially. That it's what men would drink when they went out to work to strengthen themselves so that they could continue to go on. It was better than water. It was better than Gatorade. And my point's not to get us wondering what did it taste like. We know that Jesus, when he spoke of his cup, we know that it was a bitter cup. And here he takes his final drink. And you would understand that if you were in his place and in the agony that he was enduring, vinegar would not be the thing you wanted. I don't agree with the energy drink folks. And yet he calls for it. I'm thirsty. Give me something to drink. And so what was finished? Well, the first way of thinking about what was finished was all of the prophecies, all of the foretelling that had gone on concerning him, all of that was finished. And so it now was time for him to die because everything that was to precede his death

had taken place. What else was finished? How else can we think of it? Well, we can think of it in terms of his father's will. Just not 24 hours before he's dead, he's put to death. He's in the garden and he's praying. And what does he pray to his father? He says, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Yet not my will, but yours be done. And so what does he declare finished, completed, accomplished? When he cries out his final words, it is finished. It's his father's will. His father's will has been accomplished. He came to do his father's will in this world, to save us. And when he cries out his final words, he says, it's done. I've done it. I've finished my course. I've completed all that there is for me to do. So when he says it is finished, he's not exclaiming his defeat, but rather his triumph.

He's not saying it's finished. I can't take anymore. Uncle, take me out of the game. No more can I bear. No, what he's saying is I've done all that you've required of me. I've fulfilled everything that you require of your people. And I've fulfilled it. I've accomplished it for them in their place. It is finished. Even my suffering and now my death. It is finished. Paul says something similar to this at the end of his life. When he writes 2 Timothy, it's right toward the end of his life. He's about to be put to death. And when he's writing to the young pastor Timothy, what he says to him is this. He says, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. So did Paul view his death as a failure, as a loss, as a defeat? No. He understood that he had done all that God had set before him. You remember when Paul was converted?

Ananias was told, go to him and I'll tell him how much he'll have to suffer for my namesake. And Paul says there at the end of his life, I've completed it. I've done it. I'm prepared. And so neither Jesus nor Paul were declaring their failure as they died. They were declaring their victory, their triumph, their preparation for the life to come. They had been faithful with little things. Speaking of Paul, he was now prepared for bigger things, better things. I want to note about these men's lives, particularly Jesus' life and his work. You should think of Jesus' earthly ministry as having a project to do and work to accomplish. And all of the work was laid out for him. And in all of the prophecies that came before him, here are the standards, here are the expectations, here are the features, here's what's got to happen for it to be finished, for it to be accomplished, for the salvation of mankind to occur. Here's what has to happen.

And so Jesus comes to earth to do his Father's will, to do all this work. And he doesn't leave any of that work undone. He does every bit of it, even down to requiring a drink at the end to fulfill the scripture. I want you to note that he did not stop early, that he didn't cut any corners in his work, that he didn't squander his time and leave a portion for someone else to do. Now, it may seem silly to say that about Jesus, because how could... who else could do what the work that he was given to do? And the answer is no one could. He had to do it. It was his alone. But when we think of Good Friday, not only is it to be a meditation to us that we come around to once a year or however often you come across these texts in your devotions, the question is, how do I remember the death of Jesus Christ? What do I have in my life that reminds me of his suffering?

And the thing that you have in your life that's to remind you of his suffering is the work that you have to do. Each one of us in this world has been given work to do, just like Jesus was, just like Paul was. And we're to do our work the way they did it, faithfully, completely, thoroughly. For the joy set before us, we're to do our work. And that work extends up until we die. And death, if you've been around people who are dying, is work, and it's a very sad work. This past week, there are a number of people, a few people in my life that are dealing with death. Death of loved ones, the coming death of loved ones, and it's difficult work. And yet the reason each of, you know, as long as you and I and they are here, we can be reminded and comforted that we still have work to do and that the Lord hasn't called us home.

And that when our work is done, he will call us home. And we ought to look forward to that day. But until that day comes, we ought to do our work. And we ought to remember that that's what Jesus was here doing. On the cross, the work that was set before him. It was not an easy cup. It was not a light thing. And so when you go from here, and we meditate on the death of Jesus Christ, I want you to not just have a sorrowful thought only. I'm not opposed to that. I'm not telling you you shouldn't feel sorry or sad that your sin is what's put Jesus Christ on the cross and held him there. I'm not trying to discourage us from those thoughts. I'm also not trying to get you to be overwhelmed by those thoughts as though there's no hope because Good Friday is in preparation for what comes this Sunday, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But those two things go together in such a way as they cannot be separated.

And so even when Jesus is coming into Jerusalem and they cry out to him, Hail, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Even the king of Israel, he said, it is finished. They're speaking beforehand about something that is to come. He says it is finished, but he hasn't died yet. And he hasn't been raised yet. And if he only died and wasn't raised, then we're still in our sins, is what Paul tells us. And so he speaks, you know, he speaks, in the past of something that will happen in the future. And he speaks as though that thing in the future is already completed. And so when you think of Good Friday and you think of the death of Jesus Christ, the goal is not to overwhelm you with guilt and despair. This is the path of Judas in all of this. We were reading that passage in Family Devotions earlier this week. And one of my sons says, well, Judas felt bad and he went and repented. And I said, no, no, he didn't. Judas is in hell.

Because he didn't come to Jesus Christ. He went to try to make amends for his sin on his own. He felt remorse and went and hanged himself. And so the goal is not for you to feel remorse and have the end be despair. The goal is for you to feel remorse and to draw nearer to God and come closer to the cross of Jesus Christ. For that's where you'll find help and that's where you'll find healing and that's where you'll find strength. And so that's what I want to call you to. And part of the path to the cross of Jesus Christ, and to the mercy and grace of God that's promised to us through his death, is remembering who we are and why he's there. And so as we go away from here, consider the work he did. He completed it. When everything was accomplished, he said, I'm thirsty. And then he declared his work done. It is finished. And then he bowed his head in submission to his Father, and he gave up his spirit. And so I want you to remember that you have work as Jesus had work.

Not the same work, but you have work. Each one of us has work. The young, the old, the married, the single, the men, the women, the children, the feeble. You have work to do. God's put you here to do it. And so Jesus' death is an indication and a reminder to you that you ought to be about that work. One of the difficult things of Good Friday for me is that it's only half the story. And here I want to start preaching my Easter servant. because I want to tell you the rest of it. So if you go to church here, come here and hear their Easter sermon. It'll be the rest of the story. But if you don't, come to our church and you'll hear the rest of the story about the fruit of it and what our response ought to be to all of this so that we're not left in hope and so that we don't trivialize the death of Jesus Christ because we go, well, if I start feeling bad, that's a slippery slope. I don't know how far I'll slide. I don't want to start feeling bad. We ought to mourn the death of Jesus Christ.

And we ought to rejoice at it too. How do you explain that? How do we understand that except spiritually? These things are spiritually appraised. They only make sense to those who have the Spirit of God. Otherwise, it just seems like foolishness. In the same way that we kneel for a prayer of confession and then we stand up and get told that all of our sins are forgiven. Well, to the Christian, to the one who knows his heart and knows he's a sinner, those things mean something. But to those who are blind, they go, what's all this about? I don't understand. You say you're bad and then you say it doesn't matter.

These things are spiritually appraised. And so I exhort you in the next day and a half until you come to worship God and the resurrection of his son, that you remember why he was nailed to a cross, what you did, what you're doing, what you want to do, and then work to repent of it. Let's pray.