"It Is Finished"

 

"When he had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.' With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."

 

            Have you ever tried to complete or resolve a business matter or an obligation or a relationship and it just would not end? For all your efforts, you could not seem to finish the task. Maybe you found a mistake in your bank account, or perhaps you were overcharged on a utility bill, and the more phone calls you made the more confused it became. Maybe you completed a term of office for the church or a community organization, and then discovered that the calls continued to come, the issues did not go away. Maybe you tried to help someone in a time of need but then one problem led to another and another. You wanted to say, "It is finished," but there was no end to it.

            I think in our text for today Pilate is trying to say, "It is finished," but he cannot seem to break loose from Jesus. He did not want to get involved in the first place, but the leaders kept after him to judge Jesus. He held a trial for Jesus, but after talking with him, he wanted to distance himself. He cuts the conversation with Jesus off abruptly by asking "What is truth?" and then walks out with no basis for a charge against him. He tries to get Jesus free but the leaders bring up his loyalty to Caesar."If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar."  "Friend of Caesar" may have been a title of privilege given to some. Pilate held this special place of favor. But Tiberius was known to be harsh with those who exhibited disloyalty. He was hypersensitive to any disrespect, and if word got back to him of Pilate's lenience with one claiming to be a king, then Pilate might have been in for a thorough investigation of his many shortcomings. Pilate does not answer their charge. He sits Jesus down on the judgment seat.

            Again he tries to distance himself: "Here is your King." "Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate wants the Jewish leaders to be responsible for Jesus. But again it does not work. So he crucifies Jesus, hoping he would be finished. It was often the custom for a Roman official to write a prisoner's name and his crime on a board and then hang it on the guilty person's neck, so people could read it as the man made his way to his crucifixion. Pilate does not do that, but waits until Jesus is on the cross and then writes "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" and hangs it on the cross for all to see. He even writes it in three languages so that everyone will know the Romans are not responsible. He turns his back. He walks away, hoping that will finish the matter. But even as he does, his Roman soldiers are gambling for the clothes of Jesus.

            Then, the leaders come to him again, with a request to take those being crucified off their crosses, and break their legs, because the Sabbath is near. After Jesus dies, Joseph of Arimathea comes to him and asks for the body of Jesus. Then he has to secure the tomb and post guards. And of course in a few days he will hear reports of resurrection. He wants so much to say "It is finished," but it never seems to end for him. In the Gospel of Mark, the Roman centurion, looking at Jesus on the cross, says, "Surely this man was the Son of God." That, no doubt, will get back to Pilate as well. I think he went to his death thinking about what he had done. For Pilate, the matter with Jesus is never finished.

            It is Jesus who is able to say, "It is finished." Jesus dies with the sign hung above his head proclaiming his kingship in three languages, for all the world to see. Raymond Brown suggests that his death is an enthronement rather than a defeat. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. He completes the mission given to him by the Father. Salvation is extended to all who will believe. Leon Morris writes, "Jesus died with the cry of the victor on his lips. This is not the moan of the defeated, nor the sigh of patient resignation. It is the triumphant recognition that he has now fully accomplished the work that he came to do."

            Because John wants us to see the victory of Jesus on the cross, he tells of the actual death of Jesus with very little detail. He does not describe the pain and agony of the cross, other than to point out the thirst of Jesus. He does not mention Simon of Cyrene, who carried the cross of Jesus. He does not relay the conversation of the two robbers being crucified with Jesus. He keeps our attention entirely on Jesus and the completion of the Mission God gave his son.  The hour has come. Jesus is lifted up. His return to the Father begins in the completion of his mission to all people. Through the death of Jesus forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God is accomplished. Through faith in Christ and his death on the cross, we are saved; the lost sheep found, the prodigals welcomed home, sinners and rebels cleansed and renewed. In chapter 20 John writes, "These things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."

            "It is finished." In his dying Jesus looks down and sees his mother Mary, and gives her to John, to take her into his home, to give her a place. At the wedding at Cana in chapter 2, Mary tried to make a place for herself in Jesus' ministry, managing his life, instructing him to provide wine for the wedding. At that time he told her that his hour had not yet come. But now, in the hour of his crucifixion, in being lifted up, beginning the journey to the Father, he gives to Mary a place, a family. He is concerned about her care. Jesus does not abandon his family or his disciples. He provides for them even as he departs. In chapter 17 he has prayed for the protection and unity of his disciples. Now he provides a home for his mother. And Jesus places us in his family. He cares for us. He does not abandon those who follow him. You are secure when you place your trust in Christ.

            "It is finished." Jesus, in his dying speaks of his thirst. In the extreme pain of crucifixion, the one pain that rises to the top of the senses is that of thirst. To speak of thirst is to speak of the entire agony of the cross. Jesus is the Lamb of God, bearing the sin of the world. His pain is physical and spiritual. He feels the distance from the Father. He is thirsty. The soldiers take a sponge full of the common, diluted vinegary wine that they and the common laborers often drank, and they give him a drink. He accepts what they have offered. It helps him complete his mission. He bears the pain of the cross, and of the sin of the world. What happens in that moment is something of a mystery. We only know he is faithful to the end.

            "It is finished." Jesus then bowed his head, said his last worlds, and gave up his spirit. His life was not taken from him. He gave it up when it was complete. To say that he "gave up his spirit" is not the usual way of referring to death.  Gary Burge says that this phrase, "gave up his spirit" is not used anywhere in Greek literature to refer to death, but rather it means "to hand something on to a successor." On the cross, Jesus is giving his Holy Spirit to those he has died for. In the cross it is not only forgiveness we receive, but God's Holy Spirit. The Spirit is poured out at Pentecost in a very powerful way, but the giving of the Spirit is not separate from the cross. Jesus, in completing his mission, "gives up" or "hands over" his spirit. We receive the Holy Spirit when we receive Christ in personal faith.

            In the death of Jesus we see the completion of God's plan. Raymond Brown writes, "The death of Jesus is the beginning of a great triumph. It is a victory cry, the victory of obediently fulfilling the Father's will." And God did not abandon his son to death, but raised him on the third day. Pilate did not say, "It is finished." The religious leaders who plotted his death did not say, "It is finished." Jesus alone said, "It is finished." The Mission is accomplished. The battle is over.

            You can trust in Jesus and put your complete confidence in the finished work of God.

            "Lifted up was he to die; 'it is finished' was his cry. Now in heaven exalted high: Hallelujah, what a savior."

            Amen.