“JESUS’ LAST WORD ON VICTORY”
JOHN 19:30

I. Introduction
I want to begin today with a question for you to ponder. The answer will set the stage for this morning’s sermon. What do you think are the most important words Jesus ever said? You might answer and say, “That’s a foolish question. Everything Jesus said was important – infinitely so.” That is true.

All right, let me rephrase the question. What would you say are the most profound words Jesus ever said? Again, you answer, “Everything Jesus said was profound – they were the very words of God.” That is also true.

So let me try it once more. What would you are the most wonderful words that Jesus ever said? You say, “I cannot answer such a question because every word that our Lord and Savior ever said was wonderful. It had to be. He said it!” That is true too.

The fact is that the most important, or the most profound, or the most wonderful thing that Jesus ever said is a great topic for discussion, if for no other reason than it causes us to think about His words. No one ever spoke more beautifully, more eloquently, or more powerfully than did Jesus of Nazareth. In John’s gospel alone, Jesus says some things that will, if we will just allow our hearts to absorb them, penetrate us to the very depths of our souls…
• “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God
(3:3).”
• “I am the bread of life (6:35).”
• “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life (6:47).”
• “I am the light of the world (8:12).”
• “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death (8:51).”
• “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am (8:58).”
• “I am the door of the sheep; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved (10:7, 9).”
• “I am the good shepherd (who) lays down His life for the sheep (10:11).”
• “I give eternal life to (My sheep), and they shall never perish (10:28).”
• “I and the Father are one (10:30).”
• “I am the resurrection and the life (11:25).”
• “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me
(14:6).”
• “He who has seen Me has seen the Father (14:9).”

And those are only some of the important, profound, and wonderful words of Jesus that John records for us in the gospel that bears his name. Listen, the richness, the beauty, and the depth of Jesus’ words cannot be contained or surpassed. He said…
John 6:63b
63b “…the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”

Philip Bliss was a prolific nineteenth hymn-writer. We often sing his music. In fact we’ll close today’s service with two of his works – “Hallelujah, What a Savior,” and “I Will Sing of My Redeemer.” Among his other hymns is one more that we’ve sung before. Listen to the words of the first verse…
“Sing them over again to me, Wonderful words of Life;
Let me more of their beauty see; Wonderful words of Life.
Words of life and beauty, Teach me faith and duty.
Beautiful words, wonderful words, Wonderful words of Life.
Beautiful words, wonderful words, Wonderful words of Life.”

Jesus’ statement that His words “…are spirit and are life” impacted Philip Bliss, didn’t it?
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II. Text
So what are the most important, most profound, and most wonderful words of life that Jesus ever spoke? We could debate that for days. But let me tell you what I think they are and then I’ll spend the rest of our time together this morning telling you why I think so.

I think the greatest words Jesus ever spoke were the three words He uttered from the cross shortly before He died. He said, “It is finished.” This was the sixth thing Jesus said while He was on the cross. The other five were…
• Words of forgiveness for His enemies. He said, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34).”

• Words of salvation for every lost sinner who will repent and trust Him. He said, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise (Luke 23:43).”

• Words of compassion toward parents and loved ones when He gave the care of His mother over to “the disciple whom He loved.” He said to Mary, “Behold your son,” and to John, “Behold, your mother (John 19:26-27).”

• Words of deep spiritual anguish when He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me (Matthew 27:46)?”

• Words of terrible physical suffering when He said, “I am thirsty (John 19:28).”

And now, words of victory. In Jesus’ words, “It is finished,” unbelief hears only the defeat of the one who said it. But the divine reality is the polar opposite. These three words – “It is finished” – signal Satan’s defeat and the defeat of his power over us. What at first glance seems to be Satan’s greatest triumph proves to be his ultimate doom.
Hebrews 2:14b
14b …through (Jesus’) death He might render powerless him who had the power
of death, that is, the devil.
Revelation 20:14
14 And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

If you are a Christian you will never experience that second death. Now Satan’s power over God’s people has ended. “It is finished.” In this alone we see that Jesus’ words are any-thing but a cry of defeat. On the contrary, they are a triumphant shout of jubilation and vic-tory. “It is finished” are the words of a conqueror. Or perhaps I should say the word of a conqueror. While it requires three words to say it in English, it requires only one in Greek. That word is “tĕlĕō.” It means, “To make an end or accomplishment, to complete anything, not merely to end, but to bring it to perfection or to its destined goal, to carry it through.”

In John 19:30 Jesus simply says “tĕlĕō.” “Finished!” All has been accomplished. All has been completed. All has been brought to perfection.

So I believe that Jesus’ words, “It is finished,” are the most important, most profound, and most wonderful words He ever said. I believe that because of what they mean. As His time on the cross was nearing an end, He was finishing a work that had begun in eternity past – a work that God had given Jesus to do before time began. That work was God’s plan for the redemption of His people – you and me. The price for our redemption was Jesus’ blood.
*Hebrews 9:12-14, 22
12 …not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh,
14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
22 And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Then the writer of Hebrews reminds us that, while animals’ blood is a symbol of this truth, it can only cover sins. In the end it can’t help us at all. Why?
*Hebrews 10:4, 11-14
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
11 And every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;
12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God,
13 waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.
14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
By the way, Hebrews 10:12 confirms for us that Jesus’ work was finished. The point is that you sit down when you have completed your task, whatever it may be. Jesus “…sat down at the right hand of God…” because His work of obtaining our redemption was finished. God accepted Jesus’ work as a propitiation (a satisfactory payment) for our sins. And because God poured out His wrath for those sins on Jesus, there is no wrath left for us. Therefore, the only thing left for us to do is have faith in Him and His finished work.

So you don’t have to work for your salvation. Jesus did all the “work” that was necessary.
Ephesians 2:8-9
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, (so) that no one should boast.

And you don’t have to try to be good enough to get to heaven. Jesus was “good enough.”
Titus 3:5
5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.

But you do have to have faith in Him.
Acts 16:30b-31a (the Philippian jailer asks – Paul and Silas answer)
30b “…what must I do to be saved?”
31a And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved…”

Have you believed in, put your faith in, and trusted Christ alone for your salvation? Then your redemption is complete. “It is finished!”
*1 Peter 1:18-19
18 …knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,
19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

But, as I said earlier, Jesus finished much more on the cross. I already mentioned Satan’s defeat. But it was more than a defeat. It was a death blow. It was Satan’s “bruise on the head” that God prophesied back in Genesis 3:15. At the cross Satan was tried, found guilty, convicted, and sentenced to death. His sentence will be carried out at the end of the age when he is cast into the eternal hell, the lake of fire. Satan is finished! But what else did Jesus finish at the cross?

1. Jesus has completely fulfilled all the OT prophecies of the Messiah’s first coming.
Matthew 5:17
17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come
to abolish, but to fulfill (them).”
Those prophecies and the age of the Law and the Prophets are complete. “It is finished.”

But there is something else that we should neither miss nor ignore when we speak of Jesus fulfilling every detail of every OT prophecy about His first coming. Since He did that very thing, why would we not expect Him to fulfill every detail of every NT prophecy about His second coming? And yet, how many Christians today know little or nothing of Jesus’ immi-nent return in power and glory? And how many Christians today know little or nothing of what this world is going to look like before He once again stands on the Mount of Olives?

Listen, Jesus’ second coming is as sure as the first coming. In fact, it is as sure as if it has already happened. The one is an historical fact. The other will be an historical fact. To believe that the literal fulfillment of the first coming has taken place while at the same time spiritualizing or allegorizing the second coming is theological folly that both disrespects and dishonors Scripture. So Jesus fulfilled OT prophecy. “It is finished.”

2. What else did Jesus finish? He put an end to His suffering at the cross. Never again will He submit Himself to His enemies. After Peter’s confession of faith, Jesus spoke to His dis-ciples and prophesied of His sufferings to come.
Matthew 16:21
21 From that time (on) Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.

Those sufferings would be great. The Prophet Isaiah spoke of them.
Isaiah 53:3-7
3 He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we our-selves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourg-ing we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shear-ers, so He did not open His mouth.

Jesus put an end to His suffering. He’d been through the agony of Gethsemane. The mock-ing, the scourging, the nailing of His hands and feet, the pain of the cross itself, and the inde-scribable anguish of being separated from His Father all came to an end.
Neither man nor demon would ever have control over Him again. All of that is behind Him.
So Jesus’ suffering is over. “It is finished.”

3. What else did Jesus finish? He accomplished God’s purpose for the incarnation. God’s plan for our salvation had to be carried out and Jesus was the only One to do it. It was the work that God had given Him. He spoke of it in His High Priestly prayer the night before the crucifixion.
John 17:4 (speaking to His Father)
4 “I (have) glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.”

Imagine the joy in such a statement. Listen carefully, please. There is a great lesson for every one of us in this. Imagine coming to the end of your life here on this earth and being able to say such a thing. Now imagine coming to the end of your life having done nothing for Him or His kingdom. If you are a Christian God has given you a work to do. What a tragedy it would be to end your life without doing it.

Here’s an example from history that addresses the futility of a life without meaningful work for God. I’m quoting from “The Seven Sayings of the Savior on the Cross” by A. W. Pink.

(1603) “Elizabeth, Queen of England, the idol of society and the leader of European fashion, when on her deathbed turned to her lady in waiting, and said: ‘O my God! It is over. I have come to the end of it – the end, the end. To have only one life, and to have done with it! To have lived, and loved, and triumphed; and now it is over! One may defy everything else but this.’

“And as the listener sat watching, in a few moments more the face whose slightest smile had brought her courtiers to their feet turned into a mask of lifeless clay and returned the anxious gaze of her servant with nothing more than a vacant stare. Such was the end of one whose meteoric course had been the envy of half the world. It could not be said that she had ‘finished’ anything, for with her all was ‘vanity…’

“How different with the end of the Savior!”

Jesus said to His Father, “I have accomplished (completed, finished) the work which You have given Me to do.” Jesus is always our prime example, but we can look to others as well. It was shortly before Paul was beheaded that he wrote to his beloved protégé, Timothy. He knew what he was facing, but he also knew he was ready, and he knew what awaited him in glory. He was at peace because, like Jesus before him, he knew he had accomplished the task that God had given him to do.
*2 Timothy 4:6-8
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished (tĕlĕō) the course, I have kept the
faith;
8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

It’s my prayer that God would grant each one of us the grace to say that when we come to the end of our lives here on this earth. Oh, to be able to say with Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.”

So Jesus has done His work and accomplished God’s purpose for the incarnation. “It is finished.”

4. What else did Jesus finish? He reconciled us to God by making atonement for our sins. This is what He came to earth to do. It is what He accomplished.
Luke 19:10
10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

Just a little bit of a side note here – the so-called “seeker movement” could take a lesson from this statement by Jesus. Lost men and women do not seek the Lord; He seeks them. The Bible tells us plainly, “…there is none who seeks for God (Romans 3:11).” It helps us with our “religious egos” when we remember that we didn’t find God; He found us. Jesus came to seek us. Listen again to Paul.
1 Timothy 1:15
15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.

Jesus came to save us, to make atonement for us, and to reconcile us to God. Why has He done this? He has done this because God loves us.
*Romans 5:8-11
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sin-ners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, having been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
10 For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God (“katallassō” – trans-formed from enemies to friends) through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Jesus has atoned for our sin and reconciled us to God. You and I can add nothing. “It is finished.”

5. What else did Jesus finish? He took all our sin upon Himself. He is our substitute. This is what Isaiah meant when he said, “…the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him (53:6b).” Notice that Isaiah didn’t say “in Him,” but “on Him.”

This is no minor distinction. It’s yet another glimpse into the perfection and detail in Scrip-ture. There was no sin in Jesus. God could not crush Him for His sin because He had no sin. So He became our “sin-bearer” when God put our sin on Him. He carried it and He was crushed under the weight of it.
1 Peter 2:24-25
24 …He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, (so) that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

Jesus has taken and absorbed the punishment for our sin. His (and our) punishment is com-plete. “It is finished.”

6. What else did Jesus finish? He completed God’s requirement of obeying His Law. If you and I could keep God’s Law we wouldn’t need a Savior. It’s as simple as that. But we can-not keep it. And so we break it. Yet the Law is good. The Law is righteous. The Law is holy. The Law reflects the nature and character of our good and righteous and holy God.

So when we break it, it is a reminder that we are not good and righteous and holy like He is. Rather, it is all the evidence necessary to prove that “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).” And if we are not like Him, and if we fall short of His glory, we will never be able to spend eternity in His holy presence. So the very Law that reveals God’s holiness condemns us.
*Romans 7:7-12
7 What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
8 But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me covet-ing of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead.
9 And I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive, and I died;
10 and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me;
11 for sin, taking opportunity through the commandment deceived me, and through it killed me.
12 So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

But try as we might, since God’s Law is so perfect, and we are such sinners, we simply could not keep it. And so God had mercy on us. And He did for us what we could never do for ourselves. He gave us the One who can keep His Law, and more importantly, did keep His Law. He kept it to perfection. He accomplished it. He finished it.
Galatians 4:4-5
4 But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,
5 in order that He might redeem those who were under the Law (us), that we might receive the adoption as sons.
6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”
7 Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

Thus Paul can say, in Romans 6:14, “…you are not under the law, but under grace.”
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III. Conclusion
Every single thing that Jesus came from heaven to do has now been accomplished. Nothing is left undone. It is finished. It is all finished. There is nothing for you to do but put your faith in Jesus’ finished work.

Are you trying to add some good work or some personal merit to what Jesus has already completed, perfected, and finished? Then stop it! Don’t you understand that you cannot embellish what is already complete? Don’t you realize that you cannot improve upon what is already perfect? Don’t you know that you cannot add to what is already finished?

Jesus did not say, while He was dying on the cross, “I’ve got most of this covered. Now you guys go out there and finish what I’ve started. I’m pulling for you.” How ludicrous is that? He said “It is finished!”
*Hebrews 12:1-2
1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us (the faithful believers spoken of Hebrews 11), let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter (finisher) of (our) faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

“Finished!”

~ Pray ~