Both phrases, ''It is finished'' and ''It is done,'' were spoken by Christ, and both were heard by John: the first when he stood near the cross and in the darkness of the ninth hour heard Jesus cry out with a great voice, ''It is finished''; the second when, in the vision of the Revelation, he stood before the throne of God at the end of the ages and heard the triumphant Christ say, ''It is done.'' The first cry, ''It is finished,'' proclaimed that the foundation for the salvation redeemed humanity had been laid; the second cry, ''It is done,'' proclaimed that the “glorious structure” had been completed. Between the two cries of Christ… stretches the history of the Church. It was the End of the Beginning… and the Beginning of the End.
''It is finished.'' The greatest proclamation ever made to man. Yet it did not seem so when it was spoken. Just a derided, mocked, forsaken, broken, thorn-crowned, wounded, bleeding, dying Man. Who cares what He has finished? And who cares what His last cry is? Yet the world has never forgotten it. That cry, ''It is finished,'' was heard by heaven, earth, and hell.
What had been finished? What is the meaning of that strange cry out of the silence and darkness that gathered about the cross as Christ died? It means, first of all, that the sufferings of Christ ended. A very real part of those sufferings, although not the greatest part, was His physical suffering, for God gave Him a body, and in that body He suffered pain just like we would.
The meaning is much more than his personal sufferings. “It is finished” is found only in the Gospel of John, the Greek word translated “it is finished” is an accounting term that means “paid in full.” When Jesus uttered those words, He was declaring the debt owed to His Father was wiped away completely and forever. Not that Jesus wiped away any debt that He personally owed to the Father; rather, Jesus eliminated the debt owed by mankind—the debt of sin.
Just prior to His arrest by the Romans, Jesus prayed His last public prayer, asking the Father to glorify Him, just as Jesus had glorified the Father on earth, having “finished the work you have given me to do” (John 17:4). The work Jesus was sent to do was to “seek and save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10), to provide atonement for the sins of all who would ever believe in Him (Romans 3:23-25), and to reconcile sinful men to a holy God. “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19). No one but God in the flesh could accomplish such a task.
Also completed was the fulfillment of all Old Testament prophecies, symbols, and foreshadowings of the coming Messiah. From Genesis to Malachi, there are over 300 specific prophecies detailing the coming of the Anointed One, all fulfilled by Jesus. From the “seed” who would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15), to the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, to the prediction of the “messenger” of the Lord (John the Baptist) who would “prepare the way” for the Messiah, all prophecies of Jesus’ life, ministry, and death were fulfilled and finished at the cross.
Finally... when He says from the Throne… “It is done” – The great drama of humanity will be finished, and what was intended from the beginning will finally be completed.
Life can sometimes only be endured in light of the destination. The destination is worth the trip. As John in Revelation 21:1-8 insists...
Life can sometimes only be endured in light of the destination. The destination is worth the trip. As John in Revelation 21:1-8 insists...
And he who sat upon the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true." And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the fountain of the water of life without payment. He who conquers shall have this heritage, and I will be his God and he shall be my son.
If you have placed faith in Christ, you know the final score. God wins. We win! In Christ... we have a glorious destination and eternal future. Thanks be to our Lord... who endured the cross for our sake.
