It is Finished

Happy Sunday! Don't you love it when a plan comes together? I attended a birthday party the other day for a dear friend, and everything just went splendidly. You could tell that there was a lot of planning done for the great day. Maybe it's a business plan or a vacation or even something as simple as a meal plan; it's great to see everything fall into place.

I have followed with great interest the James Webb Space Telescope. The discussion for an infrared space telescope began in 1989. Construction began in 2004. It launched on Christmas Day 2021. It has traveled a million miles from home.

I love the pictures from mission control of all the scientists, engine and engineers and programmers celebrating after a successful launch. Some of those people have spent their entire working careers on this one project. It is great for a plan to come together.

With that said, today we look at the sixth word from the cross. We go to the Gospel of John, chapter 19, verse 30. There we're told, "When Jesus had received the wine, he said, 'It is finished,' and then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." What's Jesus talking about here? What is finished?

To explain what is finished, we need to start at the beginning of the book, not the book of John. We need to go to Genesis 1. There we are told that God created the heavens and the earth. We're also told of the creation of man. Jesus was there at creation.

You know the story. While on the cross, Jesus must have been looking at the whole story. It all came together. You know what happened as the story unfolds: the devil, as a serpent, enters paradise and causes Adam and Eve to fall. This act of rebellion set into motion the greatest story ever told, the courtship of God and man.

After the fall, God sends a constant message to his creation: I love you, I want you back, follow me. This happens for a long time. You know many of the players that God used. I'll name a few: Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Ruth, Saul, David, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Gideon. The list goes on and on.

Of the names I just mentioned, there are thieves and liars and murderers and adulterers, and God still used them to do great things, sending the message. And oh, the things God did to get creation to listen to him! A flood blanketed the earth. The Red Sea split in two. A donkey talked. Bread fell from the sky.

A giant was outdueled by a shepherd boy half his size. A great fish swallowed a reluctant prophet and kept him for three days. There are more great stories; I could spend the rest of the day talking about more. After this Old Testament period, God does the most amazing thing: he becomes a man.

In a great mystery, he came to earth as a baby, describes himself as a carpenter, and lived in a dusty Judean village. Determined to prove his love for his creation, he walked through his own world. He became one of us. Listen to how the book of Hebrews begins. It says, "Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets, and now in these final days he has spoken to us through his Son."

The ultimate message of love came on that cross. I know it's hard to fathom: God on a cross, the creator being sacrificed for the created. I wonder, if while he was on that cross, did Jesus let his mind wander back to the beginning? Did he think about creating the earth and the heavens, and finally Adam and Eve? Did he think about the prophets who came before him to pave the way?

We don't know. We do know what he said: "It is finished." The mission was finished. His creation could now come home. What does that mean today?

It is finished. You're struggling to be good enough? It's finished. Your doubt of your self-worth should be finished. You're questioning if God loves you should be finished.

When Jesus said, "It is finished," it's one simple Greek word to tell us die. It's an accounting term. It means paid in full. The debt for the sin of the whole world was paid in full on the cross.

It was not a debt that Jesus owed. It was my debt, your debt. Paid in full is a beautiful phrase. The plan came together, and the creator went home.

He's not resting, though. Word has it, John 14, that he's preparing a place for us. Considering what he has done so far, that's one creation I plan to see. Don't you love it when a plan comes together?

Pray with me. Father, from Genesis through Revelation we see your love for us, and Father, at this Easter season it really should hit home. Thank you for the plan that included us. We are listed. Thank you for each one watching; you meant for them to.

Father, let us hold on tight to you and follow your plan. Thank you so for including us. In Jesus' name, amen. God bless.