It Is Finished

It Is Finished

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“It Is Finished”

I love these words! These are the words Jesus said with conviction just before He died upon the cross! These words ushered in a new hope for us, a new covenant with us, and a new freedom given to us. These words signified the end of Jesus’ ministry here on earth and that He had accomplished all that He was sent to do. Jesus came to be the perfect sacrifice for the payment for our sin. He shed His blood to cover once for all our faults, our shortcomings and need for atonement.

What a breath of fresh freedom this should have been to every Jewish man and woman. To the Jew these words meant an end to the need to daily offer sacrifices and the need to have the mediator priest present their offerings to God. No longer would the high priest be the only one able to enter the presence of God and meet him at mercy seat in the Holy of Holies. Matthew 27:51 tells us that the moment Jesus died “the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.”  There was no better sign to impress upon the Jewish people that Jesus’ death, as the perfect Lamb, put an end to the daily sacrifices and the following of the letter of the Law. Jesus ushered in a new personal relationship with God that no priest had to mediate.

What about us today though? What weight do the words, “It is Finished!” hold for us? I love what Romans 8 says.

            “And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.” V. 2-3 NLT

This chapter in Romans starts with the statement that there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Why? Look back in chapter 7 where Paul laments about the real struggle with sin we have.

            “I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.” V. 18-19 “Oh, what a miserable man that I am!” v. 24 NLT

So many times, in my life before I allowed God’s grace to completely envelop me, I cried and was ashamed of who I was because I was not able to stop doing things I struggled with. I was certain that God was utterly disappointed in me. I was sure that God was even disgusted by the person I was. I tried, through my striving for perfectionism and my achieving, to give God a reason to not turn His back on His child. I was caught in a web of shame. I doubted that I was loveable by the One who said He always would love me.

Romans 8 reminds me that Jesus’ words, “It is Finished!” speak to me directly. I no longer need to remain in the pit of shame, depression, and anxiety brought on by my fear of not measuring up for God. Just as His words put an end to the Jews need to offer daily sacrifices and have a priest navigate their relationship with God, His words signaled an end to my striving for perfectionism and my attempts to influence His degree of love for me. His words ushered in the ability to throw off doubt that He is a good God. I can shed doubt despite any circumstance and have complete trust that there is nothing that can separate me from God’s love. There is no one that can condemn me or accuse me of not being enough because my identity and life are found in what Jesus did on the cross for me as uttered, “It is finished!”

Romans 8:31-39 ask the questions: “Who can be against us?” “Who can bring a charge against those whom God has chosen?” “Who then can condemn us?” “Who can separate us from the love of God?” The answer stated in these versed is an emphatic, “No one!”

What an amazing breath of freshness to my soul when I truly began to believe this and to live by these truths. What a transformation in my intentions and reasons for doing what I do on any given day. I no longer live in shame or let doubt consume me. What an amazing freedom for me. I had lived my entire life fearful of not being good enough, striving to let others think I was more loveable by what I accomplished, and afraid that God would be disappointed in me.

As we contemplate Jesus on the cross today on Good Friday, let us consider everything that his words, “It is finished!” mean. No more striving. No more thinking that pursuing perfectionism can gain me favor with God. No more shame, doubt or fear is needed. I can now live with a deep contentedness and trust in my Savior.