“When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”
John 19:30
The last words of Jesus before giving up his spirit to God the Father were, “It is finished.” What did he mean? What is “it” referring to?
The first and most important thing that “it” refers to is the once-and-for-all sacrifice for sin. As sinners, we are estranged from God in our sin(s), and Jesus’s death on the cross fulfills everything necessary for us to be restored to God and God to us. Because of Jesus, there is no sin, iniquity, trespass, or violation that stands as an insurmountable barrier between God and us. In other words, the once-and-for-all sacrifice that atones for all sin is finished.
However, what does it mean that Jesus’s sacrifice was “once-and-for-all”? For a detailed answer to that question, see Hebrews 10:1-14. The writer of Hebrews says there that every other OT sacrifice that was offered to take away sin was limited. Jesus’s sacrifice, however, was perfect because of who Jesus is. Jesus is entirely free from sin, and fully human, and fully God; no animal or even human fits in that category. Because he was the perfect sacrifice, his death is eternally effective and sufficient, unlike the limited atoning power of the blood of animals. Jesus is the divine logos incarnate! He is the second person of the Holy Trinity who is co-eternal, co-equal, and indivisibly united with God the Father and God the Spirit. He is the eternally pre-existent one who is holy, holy, holy. Because Jesus is in a unique category of his own, his blood has a power that no other blood has. The blood of bulls and goats just cannot compare with the lifeblood of the Son of Man!
Because it is His blood that is shed on our behalf, no more sacrifices need to be made to lift the stain of sin. Further still, nothing more needs to be done to reconcile us to God! Jesus’s work along proves everything necessary for us to be brought into a stored, intimate, and loving relationship with God. No further work is needed! No more sacrifices are needed. It [the perfect sacrifice] is FINISHED.
It is finished. Come home to God. Nothing can separate you from his love.
