Triumphant Completion: The Significance of 'It Is Finished'

Now as we've taken this journey through the sufferings of Jesus on the cross I tell you I have really looked forward to speaking on these words today what we're seeing here is that Jesus came through the agony of his suffering that we thought about last week he endured all of the pains of Hell he cried out from the depths but now he is announcing his victory he moves into death not defeated but triumphant and as he breathes his last he says it is finished. [00:01:43]

The long night of our Lord suffering was finished and I put this first because John describes how someone had held up that sponge soaked in vinegar which must have been so awful to the lips of the Lord Jesus in his moments of agony and the Apostle says notice there when Jesus had received the drink the vinegar he said it is finished can you imagine what that vinegar tasted like to his lips. [00:03:36]

The full course of his obedience was finished now remember why Jesus Christ came into the world the Son of God became a man to live the life that you and I would have had to live in order to get into heaven and since we have not lived that life he came to live that life for us he did indeed live the perfect life there was no sin in him. [00:05:59]

The decisive battle with his enemy was finished right there on the cross now the life of Jesus was a life of suffering as the completion of his suffering it was a life of obedience he completes his obedience it was also a life of conflict he came to engage in a fight he came to overthrow a tyrant he came to deliver you and me from the power of Satan. [00:07:41]

Christ dies and in his death he breaks Satan's power now the scripture is full of this for example Colossians chapter 2 in verse 15 having disarmed the powers and the authorities Christ made a public spectacle of them how triumphing over them by the cross now you might expect it to say that Jesus triumphed over the devil by the resurrection and that's true but that's not what it says here Christ triumphed over the powers of darkness by the cross. [00:11:11]

The complete work of his atonement is finished remember that Jesus came to seek and to save the Lost he came he says to give his life as a ransom for many and on the cross he says it is finished it's done he has borne the guilt of our sins he has endured the punishment of our hell the divine wrath has been spent on him the Justice of God has been satisfied in him the perfect sacrifice has been offered the complete atonement has been made hell has been vanquished the condemnation has been removed and now the Redeemer says it is finished. [00:14:12]

Jesus completed the work of atonement that's what we've just said and so in Christ if you are in Christ you are forgiven you are accepted and you are loved if you are in Jesus Christ or if you come to be in Jesus Christ today you do not have to do something else to be loved to be accepted or to be forgiven all you need is in Christ and if he is yours because he has completed the atonement if he's yours then you have all that he has accomplished in the atonement which means that the love of God the forgiveness of God and the acceptance of God streams to you from the Father in Christ it's finished. [00:21:04]

Jesus completed the full course of obedience so some of us who are still killing ourselves with a tense of perfectionism that we can never quite manage here this Jesus completed the full course of obedience so in Christ you have already lived the righteous life because he has lived it for you think of this if your hope of heaven rested on your works your hope could never stand why because your works are never complete they're not finished so if your hope of heaven dependent even in the smallest degree on something that you had to do in addition to what Christ has done your hope would collapse instantly but when your hope of heaven rests on Christ's finished work that hope is secure because his work is complete he says it is finished. [00:21:28]

Jesus completed the decisive victory over Satan at the cross so in Christ the devil is a defeated foe now he's not a defeated foe outside of Christ he in Christ he is a defeated foe let me make one or two quick applications here some of you look at your family history and you can see the work of Satan the destroyer running over generations and so sometimes some of you wonder now is there some kind of curse that hangs over my family line and if that is so what does that mean for me and I say to you today on the authority of the scripture no curse against you can stand if you are in Jesus Christ how could it because he won the decisive victory right there on the cross. [00:24:06]

Jesus completed the long night of his suffering and so in Christ your suffering will lead to glory and someone in pain here today no suffering last forever the Bible says weeping endures for a night but joy will come in the morning and if you are in Christ then whatever you are suffering today the Bible would say to you and Christ would say to you look at what lies ahead there is a resurrection body there is a new creation there is no more sin there is no more pain no more tears no more death and all this is yours when Jesus Christ is yours. [00:27:49]

Christ finished you haven't but with him you will there is hope for every person in every circumstance of life in this room today in Jesus Christ he's not on the cross now he is at the right hand of the Father and he invites you to put your faith and your trust in him so in these last minutes let's try and make some application we've seen that this work of Christ on the cross it's complete and that simply raises the question now what do you do then with a completed work and let me offer these answers what do you do with a work that is already complete well the first thing you do is you believe it you believe it. [00:28:48]

Every religion in the world and every cult every religion and every cult basically says you need to do something to get yourself into heaven do the prayers do the good works observe the disciplines whatever it is the gospel alone says it is finished the gospel alone says Jesus Christ has won the victory and now he invites all those who will come to him to share the spoils of his battle that's the good news so our mission is not to go out into this community and to try and force people to do something for God our mission is to go out into this community and to tell people what God has done in Jesus Christ for them and to say make this yours believe on the Lord Jesus Christ enter into all the good that he has accomplished. [00:37:15]