It Is Finished

“It is finished”. Imagine it. You are there at the moment Jesus speaks these words as He takes His last breath. There you are standing in the crowd on the hill, three crosses rise above the horizon holding three bloody and beaten men. Beyond the horizon you can see the brown, dirt streaked walls of the city of Jerusalem. You can smell the electricity in the air as your body shakes from the rumble of the thunder as lightning streaks across a suddenly darkened sky. The ground moves beneath your feet. You feel the wind blowing violently across your face, tears streaking away from your eyes as they struggle to take in the horrific scene. The coppery stench of blood and sweat permeates your nose. In the distance, you hear the screams of the High Priests of the temple of David as they witness the curtain in the holy of holies torn in half. You can see the horror on the  faces of the Romans who have no idea what they have done, trembling with fear at what they are witnessing. You can hear the soft whimpering of Mary as she kneels before the bloody corpse of her son. 

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

John 19:30

Flash forward to the next day. It is Saturday. You stand back on the hill staring at the empty cross which is now laying on the ground, the body of Jesus having been removed to Joseph’s tomb. You walk up to the cross as it lay there and wonder, what do I do now?. Did I not hear Jesus say, “It is Finished?”. Does this mean that everything He talked about and commanded me to do is over? Do I really believe that He will be alive again, rising from the grave to defeat death as He foretold? 

Staring at that dirty, bloody cross you suddenly remember what Jesus told you. He said, :“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭9:23-24‬). 

You watched as Jesus laid down His life for you. He told you that you must lay down your life each and every day just as He did. The gift of salvation was paid for by Him on His cross. This grace accepted by you must be shown to the world by the cost of your own life, by the bearing of your own cross in order to bring others to Him. It is not a decision to pick it up once and just hold it but to pick it up and move with it, to do something with it every day. He is calling you at this moment to truly become His disciple. Jesus’ first words to the early apostles echo in your mind…. “Come, Follow Me”. You see, it was finished for Jesus. However, it is just beginning for you. He is now calling you to pick up your cross and follow Him. Will you?

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it”

Luke 9:23-24