"It is finished."
A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:29-30, ESV)
The final cry of Jesus on the cross, “Tetelestai (it is finished),” is not a cry of defeat. It is a resounding proclamation of victory. The scene of the cross, while violent and grisly, stands out as a deeply impacting portrait of God’s sovereignty. We often make the mistake of looking at the cross and considering only how it impacts us. In doing so some people tend to think that the crucifixion is entirely about us above all things. Such is not the case. Consider the opening words Jesus’ final prayer in John 17, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you…” The cross is not about us. Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. The necessity of the cross cannot possibly be overstated, for the reconciliation of our sinfulness through the imputed righteousness of those whom God has chosen for adoption in Christ is inexorably tied to the actions of the cross. (Romans 8:15-17) So yes it is true that our salvation is tied to the manifested grace of Christ which flows from the cross, but there is a higher definition beyond “us” and how the cross benefits “us”. The cross, above all things, is about the glorification of God. It is about the righteousness of God. It is about the holiness of God. It is all about God’s plan. It is all about God’s will. If not, Jesus would not have said, “…glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you.”
God’s will is firm, fixed, immutable, changeless, inalterable, inevitable, irreversible, permanent, resolute, steadfast, strong, and unmodifiable. God’s plan is certain, definite, ironclad, settled, clear, distinct, indisputable, undeniable, unequivocal and unquestionable. The cross was decided before time. God was always going to prevail. God has always prevailed and God will always continue to prevail. There is nothing anywhere in the universe that stands as equal and opposite to our great God. The cross echoes out this message across the centuries and all over God’s creation.
Let your mind be fixed, today and everyday, on the absolute and unchangeable nature of God’s enduring plan. There is nothing above God’s plan or God’s will. He ruled before time, He rules now in all time, and He will continue to rule when time is but a distant and insignificant memory. TETELESTAI!!! This is one of the most glorious words of our age. “It is finished”… “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit”… “Glorify the Son that the Son may glorify You”…
The moral of the story: God triumphs and is glorified forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever………………………….
[Devotional thought written by Chad Dodson]
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