One of the greatest delights in this life is to study the Word of God. It is an inexhaustible book that contains Godโs message for mankind. Recently I have been contemplating the power of words. We see it evidenced daily. A leading economist can speak, and the stock market will move in response. A news reporter can mention a possible shortage of some commodity, and a rush to the local store will result. Words have great power. This is likewise true of the Word of God. โFor the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged swordโ (Hebrews 4:12). And the Word of God has great power as we allow it to enter into our lives.
Iโm particularly interested in the words of Christ. Jesus said, โThe words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are lifeโ (John 6:63). And in the Gospels, we have recorded for us many of the words spoken by Christ during His earthly sojourn. I want to consider some of these words spoken by Christ and recorded in the latter chapters of Johnโs gospel.
Letโs begin by considering โThree Precious Words for the Soul.โ I hear these words coming from the lips of the Savior at the climax of His greatest trial but also the moment of His greatest triumph. โIt is finishedโ (John 19:30). With these words, the Savior gave up the ghost and slipped into the cold embrace of death. But He would remain there for only three short days, then up from the grave, He arose, triumphant over death, hell, and the grave. Of what was He speaking when He uttered those words?
First, I believe He spoke of the Consummation of Prophetic Scriptures, which had been finished. Throughout the era of time, from the days of Adam to the time of Malachi, the prophets had described step by step the humiliation and suffering that the coming Messiah would undergo. And one by one all of the prophecies had been fulfilled. Finally, knowing the remaining Scripture to be fulfilled, Jesus said, โI thirstโ (John 19:28). Now it was finished. All had been fulfilled, just as was prophesied.
Secondly, I believe when He said, โIt is finished,โ He spoke of the Completion of His Personal Suffering. He was rightly called โa man of sorrowsโ (Isaiah 53:3). From the very beginning of His life on earth, the shadow of the cross had marked every step. โI am afflicted and ready to die from my youth upโ (Psalm 88:15). This is a prophetic statement concerning the coming Messiah. If we were to trace it out, we could clearly see how the coming cross was always before Him. While the anticipation of the cross brought suffering, the reality of the cross brought far greater agony. Think of all that this included: the hours in Gethsemane; the betrayal by a kiss; appearances before Caiaphas, Pilate, Herod, and again before Pilate. The journey down the Via Dolorosa, the piercing of His hands and feet, the reviling of those who gathered round the cross. Perhaps the greatest agony of it all, the turning away of His Father as Christ, โbecame sin for usโ (2 Corinthians 5:21). Well might the Sufferer ask, โIs it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce angerโ (Lamentations 1:12). But that is now ended โ the Lord has bruised Him; man and the Devil have done their worst. The bitter cup has been drained. The storm of Godโs wrath has spent itself. The darkness is ended, and the sword of Divine justice is sheathed. The wages of sin have been paid, and Divine holiness has been fully satisfied. With a voice that reverberates throughout the universe, the Savior cries out, โIt is finished!โ
Finally, I believe our Savior spoke of the Completion of a Perfect Sacrifice. From the Garden of Eden forward, there had always been the demand for a blood sacrifice, for โwithout shedding of blood is no remissionโ (Hebrews 9:22). The coats of skin for Adam and Eve, Abelโs lamb, the lambs slain at Passover, the morning and evening sacrifices offered by the Jewish priests, and on and on โ but it was never enough. For โevery priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sinsโ (Hebrews 10:11). But all of that changed at Calvary, for โthis manโฆ offered one sacrifice for sins for ever,โ and โby one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctifiedโ (Hebrews 10:12, 14). The Scriptures tell us that โHe put away sin by the sacrifice of Himselfโ (Hebrews 9:26). As Elvina Hall expressed it, โJesus paid it all, All to Him I owe; Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.โโIt is finished!โ Truly, three precious words for the soul!
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Craig Burcham, GSBC Chairman of the Bible Department
Bro. Burcham serves as the Chairman of the Bible Department at Golden State Baptist College. Before coming to GSBC, he served as a missionary with his family in Japan for several years and then pastored in Missouri.
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