Your Views?

[Anthony Pritchard]

A question:

"It is finished:" John 19:30.

What is your understanding? What do you see in Christ’s final cry?

~Tony

 

[Aaron]

I see the "It is done," in Revelation 21:6.

 

[Anthony Pritchard]

I see the "It is done," in Revelation 21:6.

A good observation and a good connection of completeness. I also see the ‘It is done’ in Revelation 21:6. Not that I disagree with the connection at all, but they represent two different times and two different accomplishments, one completing His earthly ministry, the other completing His eternal purpose. I see the completeness that I believe you are pointing to.

 

[37818]

A question:

"It is finished:" John 19:30.

What is your understanding? What do you see in Christ’s final cry?

~Tony

What was completed prior to John 19:28.

 

[percho]

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

My God My God why has thou forsaken me?

or what the law was not able to do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, His own Son having sent in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, did condemn the sin in [unto] the flesh, that the righteousness of the law may be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

 

[David Lamb]

A question:

"It is finished:" John 19:30.

What is your understanding? What do you see in Christ’s final cry?

~Tony

I believe it refers to the fact that the saving work Jesus had come to earth to do had been completed.

 

[Aaron]

A good observation and a good connection of completeness. I also see the ‘It is done’ in Revelation 21:6. Not that I disagree with the connection at all, but they represent two different times and two different accomplishments, one completing His earthly ministry, the other completing His eternal purpose. I see the completeness that I believe you are pointing to.

I see it as two views of the same time and accomplishment.

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.	But ye are come unto ... the heavenly Jerusalem, ... the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, - Hebrews 12:22-23
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.	In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. ... And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. - John 1:1, 14, 16
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes;	He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. - Isaiah 25:8-9
and there shall be no more death,	And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. - John 11:26
neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:	To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. - Isaiah 61:3 But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. - Isaiah 65:18-19 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. - Jeremiah 31:13
for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.	Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. - 2 Corinthians 5:17
And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done.	When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. - John 19:30
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.	Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. - Isaiah 55:1 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. - John 7:38
He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.	For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? - 1 John 5:4-5
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. - Revelation 21:2-8	For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. - Romans 8:15 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. - Galatians 5:22-24

 

[Martin Marprelate]

As I have posted elsewhere on this forum, the expression 'it is finished' comes from the Greek word teleo, which has a variety of different meanings. As well as to 'finish,' it can mean to 'complete,' and certainly His sufferings were complete when He spoke those words. It can mean 'perform' as in Luke 2:39, and 'accomplish' as in Luke 18:31. It can also mean 'paid' as in Matthew 17:24 and Romans 13:6.
I think we should bear in mind all these words when we consider the wonderful atonement that our Lord has accomplished for us.
Also, just before He spoke those words, He said, "I thirst,' and a sponge soaked in sour wine was raised to Him. By this, Psalm 22:15 and Psalm 69:21 were both fulfilled so that every prophecy made concerning Him that could be fulfilled before His death was fulfilled, and teleo is translated as 'fulfilled' seven times in the NT, most notably in Acts 13:29, so we can add that to our list: "it is fulfilled!"

 

[JonC]

A question:

"It is finished:" John 19:30.

What is your understanding? What do you see in Christ’s final cry?

~Tony

I view it as the fulfillment of Scripture.

My reasoning is John 19:28-29. Knowing that everything had been accomplished and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled Jesus said "I thirst" and when He recieved the drink He said "It is finished". The passage fulfilled is Psalm 69.

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

It seems logical to me because the passage begins with something needing to be finished and ends with "it" being accomplished. This would be the completion of everything Christ came to complete according to Scripture.

 

[Reynolds]

A question:

"It is finished:" John 19:30.

What is your understanding? What do you see in Christ’s final cry?

~Tony

The atonement is complete.

 

[Martin Marprelate]

I posted concerning the liberal theologian Albert Schweitzer a while ago.
In 1906, he wrote quite a famous book called The Quest of the Historical Jesus. In it, he suggested that our Lord was expecting God to take Him down from the cross, and when He realised that wasn't going to happen He cried out, "It is finished!" Meaning, it's over; I've failed. God isn't going to rescue me.
For that reason, I think that the translation 'It is finished' although perfectly accurate, is insufficient to express what our Lord meant.

 

[Anthony Pritchard]

I posted concerning the liberal theologian Albert Schweitzer a while ago.
In 1906, he wrote quite a famous book called The Quest of the Historical Jesus. In it, he suggested that our Lord was expecting God to take Him down from the cross, and when He realised that wasn't going to happen He cried out, "It is finished!" Meaning, it's over; I've failed. God isn't going to rescue me.
For that reason, I think that the translation 'It is finished' although perfectly accurate, is insufficient to express what our Lord meant.

Interesting, I have never heard of this. However, Schweitzer never taught that Jesus believed He had failed. The Greek word Tetelestai means ‘completed’ or ‘accomplished,’ not ‘I failed.’ Jesus repeatedly predicted His own death and said He laid down His life willingly. ‘It is finished’ is the declaration that His mission was completed, not abandoned.

 

[John of Japan]

The atonement is complete.

I agree completely. That's the whole purpose of His sacrifice on the cross.

 

[JonC]

The atonement is complete.

I agree...kinda.

This is what Paul says in 2 Corinthians.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.

This is the atonement - the reconciling of God and man in Christ.

This is what I mean by Christ, knowing that everything had been finished and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, said “I am thirsty.” And when He had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”

Everything Jesus had come to do in the flesh was done. And this reconciliation was why He came (from the Incarnation to the Cross...it is finished).

 

[Anthony Pritchard]

The atonement is complete.

When Jesus cried “It is finished,” He was not ending His earthly mission in the broad sense, because He still had work to do on earth after the resurrection and before His ascension. What He finished was His incarnate mission, the mission while He walked the earth, the work the Father gave Him to accomplish in the flesh as the obedient Son, the suffering Servant, the Lamb of God. Everything that required Him to be in a mortal body, under the Law, in the likeness of sinful flesh, was now brought to its appointed end. The obedience was complete, the cup was drained, the sacrifice was offered, the Scriptures were fulfilled, and the New Covenant was established in His blood. Nothing remained unfinished in the work of redemption. After that cry, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit, not in defeat but in completion.

 

[JonC]

When Jesus cried “It is finished,” He was not ending His earthly mission in the broad sense, because He still had work to do on earth after the resurrection and before His ascension. What He finished was His incarnate mission, the mission while He walked the earth, the work the Father gave Him to accomplish in the flesh as the obedient Son, the suffering Servant, the Lamb of God. Everything that required Him to be in a mortal body, under the Law, in the likeness of sinful flesh, was now brought to its appointed end. The obedience was complete, the cup was drained, the sacrifice was offered, the Scriptures were fulfilled, and the New Covenant was established in His blood. Nothing remained unfinished in the work of redemption. After that cry, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit, not in defeat but in completion.

In the same way our atonement was not complete. The Propitiation was set forth to be accepted by faith.

But the obedience - as He humbled Himself, was found in the likeness of human flesh, made like us, and was obedient even to death on a cross.

Mankind had been sold under sin, Satan became man's master and death reigned. But Christ redeemed man.

I was struggling to find a term when I wanted to say "earthly ministry" (His "earthly ministry" continues). I like your use of incarnate mission.

 

[Anthony Pritchard]

In the same way our atonement was not complete. The Propitiation was set forth to be accepted by faith.

But the obedience - as He humbled Himself, was found in the likeness of human flesh, made like us, and was obedient even to death on a cross.

Mankind had been sold under sin, Satan became man's master and death reigned. But Christ redeemed man.

I was struggling to find a term when I wanted to say "earthly ministry" (His "earthly ministry" continues). I like your use of incarnate mission.

Thank you, brother. Yes, the atonement accomplished at the Cross is applied to us by faith, but the work itself was finished in that moment. That’s why I find the distinction between His incarnate mission and His broader earthly ministry helpful. What He came to do in the flesh was completed, and what He continues to do as the risen Lord flows from that finished work.

 

[JonC]

Thank you, brother. Yes, the atonement accomplished at the Cross is applied to us by faith, but the work itself was finished in that moment. That’s why I find the distinction between His incarnate mission and His broader earthly ministry helpful. What He came to do in the flesh was completed, and what He continues to do as the risen Lord flows from that finished work.

I agree completely.

I wanted so bad to include "earthly ministry", but knew that wasn't right. Now, thanks to you, I have the right words. As long as you didn't copyright it.