Day 34 :: Job Done
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.
John 19:28-30
Have you ever had a long-standing plan to complete something like a DIY project and then had the satisfaction of being able to say at the end ‘it is finished’?! Me neither… No matter how hard you try there is always more to do right? Especially if you have a very creative & ever practical wife!
But in our passage today Jesus utters those immortal words ‘it is finished’ because it was. The work he had come to do had been done.
It is interesting that here in his last moments on the cross Jesus took a drink of sour wine whereas at the start of his crucifixion he refused to drink the wine mixed with myrrh. What is going on here? Well, the initial wine mixed with Myrrh was offered by his friends as a means of pain relief. It would have dulled, albeit only slightly, the excruciating pain he was in on the cross. It would have been a tiny shortcut. But Jesus didn’t take it! He knew this was what he came to do and the pain he felt in his body was nothing compared to the wrath of God he was facing in his soul. But he knew it had to be done, he knew that was why he came, and so he rejected the shortcut and faced the pain head on.
But at the end of his life, he took a sip of the sour wine, and this time it was different. This wine was widely used as a cheap refreshment that worked quicker than water, so the effect would have been to prolong the pain, not lessen it. Yet when Jesus died, he then simply said ‘it is finished’ and breathed his last.
What was he doing here? He was simply visualising that his work was now done. In the OId Testament God’s wrath was usually symbolised by a ‘cup’ and so here, with his last ounce of strength, he drank from a cup to symbolise that he had drank the cup of God’s wrath down to the dregs. He had taken the punishment that was due his people. He had paid the price to secure their redemption. There was nothing else that was needed to be done. His work was truly finished.
And that’s the key message that marks the gospel out as different from every other form of man-made religion. It’s been said that religion says ‘do do do’ whereas Jesus says ‘done done done’.
There is NOTHING we can do to earn forgiveness for our sins, and yet Jesus has already done it on the cross. Now all we can do is recognise our sinful state and throw ourselves in the open arms of our crucified saviour. And since his work is done, through faith our sin is ours no more, and we can know forgiveness and life because of the finished work of Christ.
Following rules and trying to be good enough to earn the forgiveness of God is like our doomed DIY projects, we can never do enough so it will never be done. But coming to Christ and trusting in what he has already done on our behalf provides the hope, joy, and life we need. He drank the cup till it was empty so we can now live life to the full because ‘it is finished.’ The work is done.
Passages to read: John 19:28-30, Matthew 27:50, Mark 15:37
A thought to remember: Jesus finished his work.
A question to ask: What will it mean to truly trust that Jesus has finished the work on the cross today?
A song to sing: Man Of Sorrows