Day Thirty Eight: It Is Finished
Death by crucifixion was ugly. Christ’s crucifixion was made even more offensive by the flogging and taunting at the hands of a Roman guard that took place beforehand.
As the last breaths of life slowly slipped out of him, we are told that he looked up to heaven and cried out, “It is finished.” In the original Greek manuscripts, this phrase is one word, tetelestai. It is a word that would be used by a potter after molding a new pot of clay on his spinning wheel, or by an artist when he stood back and admired his new masterpiece. But when Jesus spoke these words, one is forced to ask, “What was finished?”
On the one hand, we might say that the “it” was a reference to the entirety of his life. His was a worthy life. Christ perfectly magnified the Father at all times. Though he was fully God, he willingly submitted himself to all that it meant to be fully human.
He experienced the full range of human life and its emotions. He knew what it was to be a son, to be a brother, and a friend. He experienced what it was to live in the midst of a sin-filled and often godless world. He experienced the death of friends, the hatred of enemies, the slander of persecutors, and the general brokenness of the human experience.
On more than one occasion, we read of his weeping over the circumstances. He experienced the heartache of those who would abandon him and the dismay of those who would betray him. But he also experienced the wonder of intimate prayer with his Heavenly Father, the joy of friendship, the sweetness of the pursuit of God in the midst of community. Yes, his indeed was the perfect life.
A life with no error, nor proneness to error. His was a mind totally set towards pleasing the Father. His was a heart without deceit in any way. Jesus, upon knowing his final breath was upon him, stood back and looked at his life as an artist might his artwork, and saw the masterpiece in its entirety, and said, “It is complete.”
And yet, I suspect that there is another layer in this peculiar phrase of Christ’s. While certainly, his life was drawing to a close, so was the work he had to accomplish. Jesus came that he might be crucified.
The prophet Isaiah writing over 700 years prior said of the Messiah, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).” Christ’s death was an offering, not unlike the animal offerings that were made daily and annually by the Jews of the Old Covenant. Christ the Lamb was placed upon the altar of the crucifix, and his life was given as a ransom for many. The wrath of God was poured out on that single offering, in order that the love of God might be poured out on the redeemed.
As we reflect on these final words of Christ, “It is finished,” may we join with the master artist himself, and may we stand back and gaze upon the beauty of his life and death as one that is perfect and complete.
As the last breaths of life slowly slipped out of him, we are told that he looked up to heaven and cried out, “It is finished.” In the original Greek manuscripts, this phrase is one word, tetelestai. It is a word that would be used by a potter after molding a new pot of clay on his spinning wheel, or by an artist when he stood back and admired his new masterpiece. But when Jesus spoke these words, one is forced to ask, “What was finished?”
On the one hand, we might say that the “it” was a reference to the entirety of his life. His was a worthy life. Christ perfectly magnified the Father at all times. Though he was fully God, he willingly submitted himself to all that it meant to be fully human.
He experienced the full range of human life and its emotions. He knew what it was to be a son, to be a brother, and a friend. He experienced what it was to live in the midst of a sin-filled and often godless world. He experienced the death of friends, the hatred of enemies, the slander of persecutors, and the general brokenness of the human experience.
On more than one occasion, we read of his weeping over the circumstances. He experienced the heartache of those who would abandon him and the dismay of those who would betray him. But he also experienced the wonder of intimate prayer with his Heavenly Father, the joy of friendship, the sweetness of the pursuit of God in the midst of community. Yes, his indeed was the perfect life.
A life with no error, nor proneness to error. His was a mind totally set towards pleasing the Father. His was a heart without deceit in any way. Jesus, upon knowing his final breath was upon him, stood back and looked at his life as an artist might his artwork, and saw the masterpiece in its entirety, and said, “It is complete.”
And yet, I suspect that there is another layer in this peculiar phrase of Christ’s. While certainly, his life was drawing to a close, so was the work he had to accomplish. Jesus came that he might be crucified.
The prophet Isaiah writing over 700 years prior said of the Messiah, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).” Christ’s death was an offering, not unlike the animal offerings that were made daily and annually by the Jews of the Old Covenant. Christ the Lamb was placed upon the altar of the crucifix, and his life was given as a ransom for many. The wrath of God was poured out on that single offering, in order that the love of God might be poured out on the redeemed.
As we reflect on these final words of Christ, “It is finished,” may we join with the master artist himself, and may we stand back and gaze upon the beauty of his life and death as one that is perfect and complete.
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