` Good Friday - 2000

Good Friday - 2000



Rev. Todd A. Peperkorn
Messiah Lutheran Church
Kenosha, Wisconsin
Good Friday (April 21, 2000)
John 19:30

TITLE: “It is Finished”

In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Our text for today are the last words of Jesus, “It is Finished.”

On this solemn Good Friday I would like to speak to you about this last and great word of Jesus from the Cross. Tetevlestai. It is finished. With this word Christ announced to everyone—to the Father and the Holy Spirit, to Satan and his minions, and to the whole human race—that His mission to save the world from itself was accomplished. We have been saved from Satan, death and hell, and have been presented to God spotless, without blemish or sin. If one were to explore this incredible deed a little deeper, maybe we should ask the questions: Why did He say, “It is finished”? what did He mean by saying “It is accomplished”? To whom was He saying it, and why?

These questions bring this final moment of our Lord’s life into sharp focus. In fact, they bring the whole seen at “The place of the Skull” into view. Something was finished in the darkness, something completed at the crucifixion. What could be finished by death? This little word, “it”, carries such a force, doesn’t it? The fulfillment of all prophecy comes to its completion. The words of King David in Psalm 22 have become reality. That Psalm, so hard to understand for so many years, finally comes into full view: “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” God, who long ago promised reconciliation and forgiveness, was finally vindicated.

The separation between God and man because of sin was finally broken. The bridge between God and man was made. Jesus stood in our place, to suffer the punishment for our sin. God’s ultimate gift is given: the life of His own Son for our salvation. Because of this gift, we can now become citizens of heaven, and children of the heavenly father. All that is accomplished.

The mission is finished. Dying is still to come, but that comes of itself. The mission is finished. The Word, Jesus Christ, had become flesh to live among us. The Word had made the father known. The Word had bowed to the Father’s judgment and become obedient to death on a cross. Now, at the ninth hour, three o’clock, the only-begotten and beloved Son of God accomplished the mission. Freedom! Freedom from death and slavery to sin was won.

Jesus had stood in our place, and taken the punishment we deserved. The Church throughout the ages has often called this the Great Exchange. We deserve death and receive life. Jesus deserves life and received death. What a mystery! That God would exchange our frail, sinful lives for the life of His Son. What a miracle there is in the little word, “it”.

“It is finished”. The tense of the verb is present perfect. The victory is an accomplished fact. The purpose of his coming down to heaven has been completed. As it says in the creed, “Who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven . . .” With this word, the gulf between heaven and earth is bridged. Crucified thief, today you will be with me in Paradise, he says. Soldiers, priests, Pilate, Herod, angry crowds, today your forgiveness was won. The grieving are comforted, the sinner is forgiven, the dead are made alive.

The sour wine mixed with gall had freed the Savior’s tongue. He raised His voice to heaven, and cried, “It is finished!” The announcement was made by God to God. The Son tells the Father that all is done. Even as He yielded up His life, Christ claimed the victory.

Satan, too, heard that word and cringed. The hour of his power was over. Before long he would be cast into the bottomless pit. Very shortly Jesus would enter Hell, triumphantly, and announce his victory over Satan. In the words of the hymn:

On whose dear arms, so widely flung,

The weight of this world’s ransom hung

The price of humankind to pay

And spoil the spoiler of his prey.

At that awesome moment, all of the promises of old became a reality. Through the accomplished mission of Jesus Christ, the metaphors he so often delighted in suddenly made sense. The Shepherd, our Lord Jesus, gave His life for the sheep, and we who live by faith in Him have become His flock. We who were once aliens and foreigners have become citizens of the kingdom of God. We who were once no people are now the people of God. We have been adopted by His grace into the family of God.

What an amazing truth, that God would look at us through Jesus Christ, and love us as a dear father loves his dear children. To think that He would bring us into His family through the waters of Holy Baptism, and sustain us with His very body and blood shed on the Tree. Through those waters, and because of those words on the cross, you are now sons and daughters of God.

As we remember that wonderful day so long ago, let us pray that God would not look upon our sins, but see in us the work accomplished on the cross by our Lord Jesus Christ. “It is finished.” In the name of Jesus. Amen

Last Revised: April 25, 2000
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