April 7, 2023

John 19: 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (NIV)

While Jesus submitted to death on the cross, he was always in control.*

In the movie, Little Big Man, the elderly Indian, called Old Lodge Skins, decides it is his time to die. The viewers get sucked into the old man’s mysticism as we watch him go out into a field to die. He lies there all day. It starts to rain. At the end of the day, he is still alive – and wet. Apparently it wasn’t his time to die after all. 

Jesus knew when it was his time to die. After he said, “It is finished,” he died. And even while dying, Jesus uttered profound meanings with few words. “It is finished,” meant so much more than, “Time to die.” 

• His suffering was finally over 
• No more putting up with his enemies 
• The end of the Law and sacrifices that couldn’t save us 
• He had fulfilled all the prophecies (Luke 24: 44) 
• He was victorious over Satan, sin, and death 
• He had accomplished his mission 

As someone has said, his final words from the cross were “the cry of a winner.”* We use words like victorious, accomplished, overcame, fulfilled to describe his death because his time to die led to our time to live. He has finished his work on our behalf and now we have our work to do – not to save ourselves but because we are saved. And because a lost and dying world is counting on us.

In a final sovereign act, he demonstrated his authority by yielding up his spirit at the exact moment of his choosing.*