It is finished!

Months ago, I attempted to answer the question of God feeling pain, not our pain but pain when people speak evil of Him or take His name in vain. Perhaps the best way to describe what I’m thinking is by analogy. When the kid next door beat my son over the head with a Tonka truck, I did not feel any pain myself, but I winced for the pain suffered by my child. This is the pain of empathy and compassion.

When Jesus died on the cross for the sin of the world, His agony was both. That is, He suffered physically as a man regarding His own body, but also the great pain of God’s wrath upon our sin, a pain that we who believe in Christ do not have to suffer.

“After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), ‘I thirst.’ A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:28–30)

His words, “It is finished” are an accounting term. When a debt was paid, these words were written across the bill or account. It was done, never to be charged or collected again. From my side of this event, this means that my debt of sin is paid, done, over with. All is written off because Jesus covered it on my behalf.

But what does it mean for Jesus? Does it indicate that His suffering for my sin, even the sin of the world, is finished, done, over with? The Bible says that for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross. It also says that He died for sin once, a suffering never to be repeated.

From that, I’m thinking Jesus suffers no more, nor does the Father or the Spirit. We can “quench” the Spirit and “grieve” Him, yet these are more like the Tonka truck thing. He is affected by our pain and foolishness because of His compassion, not because it hurts Him personally.

I could be wrong on this. Tozer says that when the soldier drove his spear into the side of Jesus, he believes that was felt in heaven. Was it felt like the Son of Man felt it? Or was it felt like I felt the clunk of the truck? God felt pain when His Son became a man and died for us, but does He still feel it? Or is it ‘finished’ for Him also?

Sometimes when a person sins, they feel bad because they “hurt Jesus” but I’m thinking this is backwards. Instead, when I sin God feels bad because I am harming myself.

^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, the more I know You, the more I realize that Your compassion and empathy are not bound by a personal reaction that is about Your own feelings. Instead, You felt my pain and sorrow and whatever else this means when You died on the cross and that became a done deal. However, this is more than my tiny brain can process. Show me how to think about it. I’m also interested in experiencing the same joy that You now enjoy because Your work is finished.

It is finished

In Bible days, when a bill had been paid, the creditor wrote “It is finished” across the invoice. This is significant because each sin is a debt to God. However, when Jesus died on the cross, He loudly declared, “It is finished!” The price or penalty for all sin was paid. At this amazing grace, I weep.

“For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:24–28)

Christ bore my sin. His sacrifice was made once — to cover it all: past, present, future. The debt is paid, it is finished. How can I respond to this? The psalmist poured out praise . . .

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:1–14)

As today’s devotional reading says, Jesus Christ came into the world for this express purpose: to redeem hopelessly sinful people and put away our sin. He came to establish peace between us and God by the sacrifice of Himself.

Do I realize the evil of sin? This morning’s news verifies its reality. Sin says ‘no’ to God and by doing so, sinners so easily slide from pride in their own righteousness into unspeakable evils. Read the headlines. Humanity tries to rule itself and what is happening with that?

It starts at birth with ‘I want what I want when I want it.’ Good parents try to train selfishness out of their children, yet it pops up again and again. Why would a child grow up to be a terrorist, or a rapist, or a drug runner? It is the sin that we are born into, and even if that child never goes that far, doing my own thing and ignoring God is still sin, no matter how I strain at self-righteousness.

All the costly sacrifices in the Old Testament could not finish sin. Religious zeal and devotion cannot finish sin. Not even repentance, faith and a holy life can do it, nor can suffering the wrath of God in eternity do it. But the Lord Jesus Christ did it! By His one all-sufficient, perfect and eternally sufficient sacrifice at Calvary, the Son of God has put away all sin forever! It is finished.

There is only one remaining sin, the sin of rejecting Jesus and what He has done. That one seems to prevail, yet it is possible to be finished with it also. All it takes is a simple ‘yes’ from a heart that wants its sin to be done with, totally finished.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus Christ, what can I say to this? You have removed my sin. I stand before God, not in my own righteousness, but in You, and in all that You are. My debt is paid, my sin is finished, even what I may do next week is already crossed off the ledger. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless Your holy name!

Resting

The word ‘rest’ has several meanings. The primary one, at least according to Oxford, is “cease work or movement in order to relax or recover strength . . . allow to be inactive in order to regain or save strength or energy.”

It can also mean to “lie buried” or “be placed so as to stay in a specified position” or “conclude the case for the prosecution or defense in a court of law” and “an interval of silence of a specified duration” in music.

The definition that intrigues me is “a motionless state” without any activity. I think that comes closest to what the writer of Hebrews is talking about in chapter 4.

That part of Scripture is about entering into the “rest of God” through faith and obedience. This ‘rest’ was missed by those who heard the gospel “but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.”

This rest is illustrated by the Sabbath. In the beginning when He created the world, “God rested on the seventh day from all His works” to set an example for His people. At the time, they interpreted this as a literal rest from their labors every seventh day. No work was allowed, and they ‘recovered strength’ for the days ahead. By the time of the New Testament, this ‘no work’ included rules about not lighting a fire to cook a meal and not walking any distance farther than a few meters.

However, the writer of Hebrews wants them to understand that the Sabbath regulations pointed to something far greater than just taking a once a week break. While important to us, the Sabbath points to a spiritual reality about a ‘rest’ that goes beyond the physical. It is about resting from their efforts or works to please Almighty God. Hebrews 4 says, “For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.”

Joshua led God’s people into the promised land, but this was only a place of earthly rest. Here they had to fight their enemies and work hard to live. By the time of David, a rest was still being offered (see Psalm 95), but because of their stubborn refusal to obey God, they had not entered it.

The rest promised in Hebrew 4 points to that eternal rest often mentioned at funerals as a euphemism for heaven. It also points to the spiritual rest that happens in the hearts of those who cease from their struggles to earn their salvation and by faith have found rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Verse 10 says, “For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.”

This is not like God and creation where He made the world, pronounced it “good” then rested. We cannot work at pleasing God for six days or any number of days and get to the point where we have arrived, God says, “Good job” and we enter our rest. We cannot be saved by works (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Instead, Hebrews 4:10 is about ceasing from our works, stopping all efforts to earn God’s favor because we realize the truth of the gospel; it cannot be done. Working for eternal life is like swimming from Los Angeles to Hawaii. I might get a few meters, or even kilometers, but the distance is too far. When it comes to pleasing God to get into heaven, the standard is too high; I cannot reach it.

Jesus did it for me. First, He paid my penalty for sin by dying on the Cross. Then He rose from the dead to conquer both sin and death. When I received Him, He came into my life and gave me His life, eternal life. In believing the gospel, I ceased from my own labors and entered into resting on Christ as my Redeemer and Savior. There is nothing more to add to that. My salvation is a done deed.

Every week, I go to church and celebrate with God’s people the fact that we are set free from our own works. This day of rest is a symbol and a reminder of what God has done for me in Jesus Christ. The icing on the cake concerning the good news of salvation is found in Jesus’ words at Calvary: “It is finished!”

Indeed, it is. Because He did all the work for me, I am at rest.

Another amazing gift from an amazing God!

Faith is such an odd thing. Sometimes I struggle to believe, and need to continually remind myself that God is able, but often faith just happens. Like a sudden insight, I just know that a will happen, or is true.

When I came to my Bible this morning, I’m thinking about our granddaughter and how impossible her situation. The problems are so enormous and seem to have no answers. Great sadness filled my mind and I bowed my head again and asked for help, help for this day and help for her.

Then God took me back to Joshua 14 where Caleb is described as still having full strength at eighty years of age. On that basis this man asked God, “Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the LORD said.”

These words echoed my thoughts, “Lord, the land is full of giants; but give me this mountain.” I don’t feel like I have the strength of Caleb, but nonetheless, a difficult challenge faces us too, and I want to conquer this mountain and its enormous giants, and find rest from this battle for our dear grandchild.

Then I read the verses after that. “Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel. . . . Then the land had rest from war.”

As I read them, something happened in my mind, like a light going on. Suddenly, and without any effort or self-talk on my part, I definitely believe that the mountain that seems so overwhelming today will one day be overcome, and instead of fears and fatigue, there will be rest from this battle. I know I must obey Him, yet also know He will give the victory. It does not depend on me.

The Bible constantly tells us to believe in God, but it also says faith is “not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” In one unexpected instant, He gave this gift to me concerning my mountain. One second I’m anxious and not sure; the next second I know.

As I read the passage again, I noticed that Caleb said, “it may be that the Lord will be with me . . .” and smiled. Even though faith just knows a thing is true, there is that sense of holding it lightly, not presuming that God will do a thing, realizing I could be wrong, realizing that my mountain is still huge, yet inside, deeply knowing that He will do it.

In fact, faith usually carries with it the sense that it has already been done. The mountain could loom large and threatening for a long time, and the battle is not over yet, but in my heart, faith already gives me rest. God, You are amazing—and totally faithful, but Your faith certainly is an odd thing.

For me, He finished it!

When I’m writing something, or working on a quilt, buying groceries, or even tidying up the house, I usually experience a sense of “I’m done.” The project or task may not be perfect, but something inside me says it is finished and time to move on to something else.

A friend of ours told her husband that she felt she’d done all she could as a mother. All her children were not grown up, nor finished needing her, but she had that sense of being done. Later, he thought that it was almost as if she knew what was going to happen. Within weeks of saying it, she had an aneurysm and died in her sleep.

Jesus had an even stronger sense of knowing He had completed the work God gave Him. He came to save sinners and knew that His death on the cross would be the final act needed to secure redemption for us. “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”

Some think that He was talking about His life being finished, but this is where a little history comes in handy. In those days, when a debt was owed and paid, they wrote “It is finished” across the face of the bill. Jesus was talking about a debt being paid.

The Bible says that "the wages of sin is death" and those who sin must die. To pay our own ‘wages’ we would have to die. But God so loved us that He sent His Son, and Jesus, by dying and by declaring “It is finished” wrote “Paid” across our bill. He took care of the debt we owe God by dying in our place.

Also, He was not thinking about Himself or talking about His life being over — because He wasn’t like that, and because His life wasn’t over. Even though He gave up His spirit, and actually died, He would not stay dead. How can the Giver of eternal life remain in a grave? How can someone who never sinned remain under the penalty reserved for sinners? He couldn’t and He didn’t. After three days, He rose again, fully alive, alive for eternity.

Because He lives, His work is actually not finished. Redemption is, but the Bible says Jesus lives forever to intercede for us. At this moment, He is at the right hand of God praying for His people, praying for me. When Satan accuses me of being a failure, a sinner, a messed-up loser, instead of making excuses or denying it, Jesus says, “No matter. I died for her. Her sins and failures are covered by my blood and she is redeemed. She is my child, forever.”

I’ve a strong sense about my life that says I’m not quite finished yet. Maybe it’s because my to-do list is always so long, but whatever happens there, I know one thing on that list is of no further concern. I no longer have to take care of my guilt before God. It is checked off, totally taken care of, paid up, paid in full, ‘finished’ — all because of Jesus’ completed work of redemption. He did it for me.