The Seven Last Words of Jesus #7 It is finished (John 19:30)
God set His plan into motion at the beginning of time. The Word spoke, and mankind came into being. Then, in the confines of earthly time, God set out to complete what He’d begun. Though God isn’t limited by time, His plan has taken time to reveal. And we, His creation, are limited by time and space. When “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,” Jesus accepted human limitations of time and space for His earthly lifetime. While living under human constraints, Jesus revealed and completed what was necessary for us to enter into God’s redemptive story. (John 1:14)
Mankind’s broken experiences have continued to this day. But God’s redemptive story has been completed. The choice that remains is ours. Making His choice to die, Jesus completed His task on earth. Over time God uses His Word and His Spirit to reveal the significance of that task. Over time, we know and experience His power of redemption in our lives.
Many who should have loved Jesus turned their backs on Him. And in this experience, like you and I, Jesus’ was heartbroken. This broken heart of God’s, slain on the cross, paid the penalty for our broken relationships: our sin. By relating to the broken experiences and relationships of mankind, Jesus, “who knew no sin, became sin Himself.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) Becoming a point of connection between God and man, Jesus’ life and death encounter with real people is our assurance that God can relate to, understand, and heal man’s experience. And because of Jesus, man can relate to, understand, and hear from God.
Even though Jesus had done nothing to violate any relationship in His life, whether divine or human, He was killed. And His sacrifice, innocent and perfect, was the final sacrifice to pay for the broken relationships of every human being who would choose a relationship with Him.
When Jesus died, God’s redemptive story was complete. His life creates a point of connection that is visible. By continuing in resurrected life, His Holy Spirit makes resurrection power accessible to all of us. Only through Jesus can we be reunited in healthy relationships as God had originally planned for all mankind.
And so He told us:
“I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father except by me.” John 14:6
John 19:30, John 1: 1-34, 2 Corinthians 5:21, John 14:6