It is reported that when Queen Elizabeth 1 of England lay dying she said, “My God, my God it is over. I have come to the end! In her wardrobe, she had 2,000 costly dresses and gowns yet she called out, “All my possessions for just one more day.” Pathetic words from a dying monarch.
How wonderful then, by contrast, are the words of the dying Saviour who declares from the cross—IT IS FINISHED!
In those three words, we learn that salvation has been completed, accomplished and perfected. Notice, there is not a hint of worry, anxiety, or despair. How unlike the words of the dying Queen who said, “My God My God it is over, I have come to the end.” See how Christ’s words, “It is Finished”, are filled with glorious victory.
When He said, ‘It is Finished’ it means it is done and completed. But, what is done and completed? It means that redemption is both done and completed. Salvation has been obtained and accomplished! You see, this English phrase of ours, this little sentence, is not in the Greek at all. In the Greek, it is just one word: FINISHED! And Christ cried it out with a loud voice (Matthew 27:50). He wasn’t finished. He wasn’t the victim, He was the victor. But how was Redemption finished? It was finished by the doing and dying of the Lord Jesus Christ alone.
He finished and fully completed the work He had been sent to do! It is Finished! When we look at the tense of the Greek we discover that it is the perfect tense which means that although the action has been completed in the past, the results continue into the present. So, when Jesus cried out, “It is finished,” he meant, “It was finished in the past, it is still finished in the present and it will remain finished in the future.”
Listen to Paul as he tells the Hebrews of the Christ who finished His work, “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;” Hebrews 1:3.
It is finished! That means, Justice was satisfied and is still satisfied. That means, the Father was satisfied and is still satisfied. The righteous demands of the law were satisfied and are still satisfied. That means, the Old Testament sacrifices were finished and are still finished. That means, the Prophets were fulfilled and are still fulfilled. It is Finished. What a wonderfully grand and glorious statement by the God/Man, the amazing Prince of glory! When a work is Finished, it is Finished, there is no need to add anything to it!
So, neither man nor angel needs add anything to His finished work. And a good thing too. Wouldn’t it be just dreadful if our salvation was based on any of our efforts! Our efforts at best are incomplete. We haven’t served God perfectly and we have left things undone. There’s so much we should have done but haven’t! But the Lord Jesus left nothing of our salvation incomplete! It Is Finished! He did not partially save or partially ransom—It Is Finished! Everything He did for us, He did perfectly—-It is Finished! There is no one like Christ Jesus in any of the World’s Religions.
This one expression—IT IS FINISHED explodes every other religion on earth! They are all fakes. They are all useless. Mohammed did not complete redemption for his people, Buddha did not atone for His people –only Christ Jesus ransomed, redeemed, and reconciled us back to God.
It is Finished! 'Lifted up was He to die It is Finished was His Cry. Now in heaven exalted high Hallelujah, What a Saviour.'
And that’s the Gospel Truth!