It Is Finished.
John 19:28-30 NASB
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, *said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. 30 Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.
There is something about sin that demands a response.
It’s easy to point the finger at others that “sin more severely”.We tell ourselves, at least we’re not like _____ (fill in the blank).
Yet, Scripture won’t let us hide there. It tells the truth about us—about what we deserve. Here’s the reality, God would be completely just in responding to our sin with holy anger.
Darell Johnson in his book, It is finished says this:
“Our sin and God’s essential character create a huge problem for us, but also for God. God’s essential character demands that something be done.”
God cannot not look at sin and dismiss it. The One who is called Holy, Holy, Holy does not shrug at evil. His response is not petty or reactive—it is righteous, and just.
If we miss this, we’ll never understand the cross.
So what exactly was finished?
We still tell stories of rescue—movies, books, all of it. Deep down, we know we need saving.
Holy Week begins with celebration. Palms raised. “Hosanna!”
But it doesn’t take long for the crowd to turn: “Crucify Him.”
And there, on the cross—not after the resurrection, but in the moment of death—Jesus declares, “It is finished.”
In that moment, Jesus does what no one else could do.
He does not lose His life—He gives it.
And in that surrender, He wins.
Victory over sin.
Victory over death.
Our King comes to rescue us.
Romans 3:25 tells us what happened:
“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement [propitiation], through the shedding of His blood…”
Propitiation means to appease, to satisfy, to turn away wrath.
Others translate it as expiation—to rub away, to remove.
Both are true.
At the cross, sin is not ignored—it is dealt with.
Wrath is not denied—it is satisfied.
And our sin is not covered up—it is wiped away.
The problem that stood between us and God is gone.
Darrell Johnson goes on to write,
“God is then free to relate to us in mercy and grace.”
Do you see that?
Can you feel that?
It’s good news!
And we need to be clear about this:
God is not like the pagan gods of human imagination—angry, unpredictable, needing to be appeased.
It is Yahweh who takes the initiative in the gospel story.
It is God who sends His Son.
It is God who provides the sacrifice.
It is God that makes a way.
The story of old, of a King coming to rescue us is true!
In Jesus, our King is here. He has arrived.
To save you and me.
Today is Good because of Jesus.
Because of the finished work on the cross, God can relate to us not with righteous anger, but with mercy and grace.
So here’s the invitation:
Will you receive it?
Will you let this finished work be enough?
And will you respond—not with obligation, but with worship?
Today, take time to thank King Jesus.
For the cross.
For His mercy.
For His grace.
It is finished.
Hallelujah.
