It is Finished

It is Finished

By Apostle Felix

28  Jesus knew that his mission was accomplished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said: “I am thirsty.”  29  A jar of sour wine was sitting nearby, so they soaked a sponge with it and put it on the stalk of hyssop and raised it to his lips. 30  When he had sipped the sour wine, he said, “It is finished, my bride!” Then he bowed his head and surrendered his spirit to God. John 19: 28 – 30

The Greek word for finished is ‘Teleo’ which means, ‘To bring to an end, to complete, discharge a debt, accomplish, expire.’ The word used when Jesus cried ‘It is finished’ is teleo. He brought to an end of something that we need to know about. What did He bring to an end? John, the apostle gave an account of Jesus’ last words on the cross. His last words were, ‘It is finished.’ Jesus said those words in fulfillment of scripture.

He understood His mission very well and the script He came to fulfill. He had to ask for water before He finally gave up the ghost and instead He was given sour wine which was bitter to taste. When He tasted the bitter wine, then Jesus cried ‘It is finished. Bitter wine was also part of the fulfilling of scripture.

22  So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.  23  And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24  And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? 25  And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them. Exodus 15: 22 – 25

Israel was in the wilderness for three days without water. They found the water but it was bitter and they called the place as a result, Marah. Marah simply means, ‘bitter.’ The Israelites found the bitter water on the third day, whilst Jesus was given bitter wine on the first day. Jesus came to put an end to man’s misery by offering His life as a ransom. He had to taste the bitter wine on the first day so that He would be able to offer the living water on the third day. Though God provided water from the rock for the children of Israel, it did not quench their thirst permanently or rather take away the bitterness from their souls induced by the Egyptian slavery.

The people were still empty and kept on craving for more. There murmuring did not end with the miraculous provisions because of the inner emptiness. Jesus tasted bitterness on the first day so that we could taste the gift of life on the third day. The third day is the day of sweet testimonies. Testifying of the goodness of God. We are living in the third day of our lives, not in the first day. The first day was a day of bitterness and gloominess. Jesus was in pain and carrying the sins and curses of the entire humanity.

The sun even had to shut down for hours because it was a dark moment for God to be condemned. But on the third day, all the bitterness, the pain, sin and curses were a thing of the past. It was dealt with permanently. Jesus put an end to it. Israel celebrated on the first day when they crossed the Res sea and were murmuring on the third day. Your case is different. Jesus carried it all on your behalf. Rejoice!