The work of Good Friday began at the beginning and is a story told and proclaimed throughout the whole Old Testament. The Story of Cross begins in the Garden of Eden. It is a story that starts with these words from God to Adam: “ The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:15-17)
Theological Significance
Why Did Jesus Say ‘It Is Finished’? Tetelestai Meaning
The term “it is finished” only appears in John’s gospel. So why did Jesus say, “it is finished”? After all, wasn’t there more to do—for example, the resurrection? When Jesus uttered these words, he could say them confidently because three things were finished by his death on the cross.
1 – The prophecies of Scripture had been completed
“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.” (John 19:28-30)
Jesus’ life and death completed many prophecies, which we find throughout the Old Testament. Even when Jesus was in a place of agony and close to the point of death, he remembered every prophecy written and made sure each one would be fulfilled. When he was certain all the prophecies were fulfilled (excluding the ones about the resurrection that he would fulfill in three days), that aspect of his work was finished.
2 – The judgment of sin was complete
Another work finished on the cross was the judgment and punishment of sin necessary for our redemption. If you go back to the garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve sinned, God covered them with garments made from the skin of an animal (Gen. 3:21). The last time I checked, to remove the skin from an animal, you must kill it to do so. By doing this, God established a principle that something or someone had to die for sin to be covered or dealt with. The killing of the animal to cover the sin of Adam and Eve foreshadows the sacrifices required in the law to cover the Israelites’ sins. Ultimately, this pointed to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to cover our sins and remove them.
Because of our sin, a price needed to be paid to satisfy the judgment sin requires. When Jesus was on the cross, God placed on him the sins of the world, and by doing that, it fulfilled the requirement of judgment. We are reminded of this in Isaiah 53:5-6, where we know that all of our iniquity was laid on Jesus, and he became the once and for all sacrifice needed to meet the demand of God’s justice.
3 – The forgiveness of sin was made available through the shedding of blood.
“In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22)
By Jesus dying on the cross and shedding his blood, he provided the forgiveness of sin. Because the judgment of sin (death) and the payment of sin (blood) were both complete, Jesus could say “it is finished.”
You might wonder how this could be a finished work if he still had to be raised from the dead. The work Jesus did on the cross paid the full price for our redemption and provided a remedy for the forgiveness of sin, and thus he conquered sin. That part of the work was finished, and the payment for our redemption was forever satisfied. In Hebrews 9:24-26 we learn that not only did Christ shed his blood, he only had to do it once, and that was enough. His one sacrifice offers a path of forgiveness for everyone who seeks it. That’s why Jesus could say, “it is finished.” The work necessary for our salvation and forgiveness was complete.
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