NYUBF | New York UBF

2009 Easter Bible Conference
Message III by James D. Kim

IT IS FINISHED!
John 19:1-42

”When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”
With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (19:30)

Happy Easter!

Tomorrow is the day when Jesus, the Son of God, was resurrected from the dead two thousand years ago. It is the day when Jesus overcame the power of death and brought us the hope of resurrection. It is truly the most glorious day. However, without Jesus’ suffering and horrible death on the cross, there would have been no glorious resurrection. No cross, no crown. No death, no resurrection. I pray that through tonight’s message, we may understand why Jesus, the Son of God, had to die on the cross and what it means to us when Jesus said, “It is finished.”

First, Jesus suffered under Pontius Pilate (1-16)

Chapter 18 describes that Jesus was arrested and tried all night first by Annas and by Caiaphas before the Sanhedrin. Although Jesus was innocent, the Jewish religious leaders convicted him with false accusations. They also handed him over to the Roman governor, Pilate, for they did not have the right to execute criminals. After examining Jesus, Pilate found no basis for a charge against him. Therefore, he should have dismissed the case and let Jesus go. But he didn’t.

Look at verse 1. “Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.” He thought that by flogging Jesus he could appease the Jews and release Jesus. At that time, some of the whips the Romans used for flogging could not only cause bruises but also cut the body severely. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. Pierced by thorns, his face was stained by blood. They clothed him in a purple robe and mocked him, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him in the face with the fist. Jesus was innocent and had done nothing wrong. He didn’t deserve any of these terrible treatments. But, he didn’t complain. He endured such pains, and humiliation. Isaiah 53: 7 says, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”

Pilate took him out and stood Jesus in front of the Jews and said, “Here is the man!” Pilate thought that by showing wounded and bruised Jesus the Jews would be satisfied. Look at verse 6. The religious leaders were not satisfied by looking at the wounded Jesus. Instead, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” They were inhumane and brutal. Pilate became angry and said to them that they should take him and crucify him.

Look at verse 7. The Jews insisted that Jesus had to die because he claimed to be the Son of God. According to the Law of Moses, anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord must be put to death. (Leviticus 24:16) They accused Jesus for violating their law because Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. But that was a false accusation because Jesus indeed was the Son of God.

Look at verse 8. When Pilate heard this, he became more frustrated than before. So he took Jesus back inside the court and asked, “Where do you come from?” meaning “Are you really the Son of God?” But Jesus gave him no answer because it was not necessary. In John 18:37, Jesus already told Pilate that he was a spiritual king from heaven, the Messiah of the world.

Look at verses 12-16. Although Pilate tried his best to release Jesus, he only failed because he was a man of fear. When Pilate asked, “Shall I crucify your king?”, the Jews said to him, “We have no king but Caesar.” Jesus, the Son of God, King of kings and Lord of lords, was rejected by his people. Isaiah 53:3 said, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” When feared evil men rather than God, Pilate also became evil and handed the innocent Jesus the Son of God over to the Jews to be crucified. Jesus was crucified according to God’s will. But Pilate was responsible for the death of Jesus. Here, we learn that we must fear God, not men. The fear of God is not a negative thing. In fact, the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge and faith. The fear of God is to love God more than anything else.

Second, Crucifixion (17-22)

Look at verses 17 and 18. Let’s read verses together. Carrying his own cross, Jesus went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). The place of the Skull is also called the hill of Calvary. On this hill, they crucified Jesus the Son of God and with him two others, one on each side and Jesus in the middle. Crucifixion is the cruelest way of executing prisoners men have ever invented. It was so cruel that Romans did not crucify Romans. During the French Revolution, they used a guillotine. A big and sharp blade was raised high and was allowed to drop very quick, cutting the victim’s head. The victim died immediately. But the crucifixion was to kill the condemned man as slowly, shamefully and painfully as possible. Generally, after flogging, the criminal was nailed to the crosspiece by the wrists and to the stake by the ankles. Criminals screamed when nails were driven into them, and blood gushed out. Explosive pains and shocks paralyzed criminals’ consciousness. Their bodies were twisted and torn, barely hung by nails. They fainted thousands of times due to severe pain and thirst and finally died. The crucifixion was the symbol of endless shame, pain and curse.

Then why did Jesus the Son of God have to die in such a horrible way? It was not just because of Pilate’s fear of the Jews. It was not because of the religious leaders’ false accusation. It was because of our sins, our terrible sins which we committed not knowing how serious the consequence would be. Isaiah 53:5 prophesied concerning the suffering Messiah, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed.” Jesus suffered endlessly and was cursed on the cross in our place so that we might be forgiven and all curses of sin be removed from us. In John 1:29, John the Baptist said, “Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

Do you think that our sins are such terrible? Yes. However, many of us don’t recognize how serious our sins are and take sin so lightly. Sometimes, we think that we are good compared to others who look really bad, killing people, stealing from others and deceiving people, or selling drugs or robbing others for money or for sexual pleasure. But, Bible clearly says that all men are under the sin, and there is no one righteous, not even one. (Romans 3:10) Even though we are full of sins, because of our corrupted mind, we don’t recognize that we are terrible sinners. Even some of us who know that they are sinners are afraid of standing before God through prayer and Bible study because they feel piercing pain in their hearts.

Whether we acknowledge our sins or not, we all are sinners. Because of our sins, we are suffering and agonizing knowingly or unknowingly. Some of us are hurting each other because of their selfishness. They cannot trust each other. Whatever they do, they cannot find true satisfaction. It is hard for them to find peace and they are full of worries and anxieties. Look around ourselves. There are full of hatred, lies, deceptions, selfishness, jealousy, perversion, violence and sexual immoralities in this world and we are part of it. We are affected by other sinners and also affecting others by our sins. In this world, we all become sin sick. We are becoming ill both physically and spiritually. Everybody is suffering because of sins. There is no exception. How sad it is! But, that is not all. There is more to come. What is it? After all these suffering, we are going to face death sentence. Romans 6:23a says, “For the wages of sin is death.” We are the ones who were supposed to be flogged, mocked, crucified and die in the extreme pain.

However, our God who is full of love and mercy didn’t want it happen to us. He wanted to save us from our sins. He wanted to take our sin penalties by himself and set us free. Therefore, He sent His one and only son Jesus Christ who is without sin as a sacrificial lamb, and Jesus obeyed God’s will fully to the point of his death. To obey God’s will, our Lord Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42) Being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

In fact, it was not the Roman soldiers but our sin that crucified our Lord Jesus the Son of God. And it was God’s will to crush his son and cause him to suffer endlessly so that we might be forgiven. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus suffered and died on the cross to forgive all our sins and give us eternal life. Jesus’ crucifixion was a genuine expression of God’s love toward sinners like us. Praise Jesus and praise our God.

Look at verse 19. Pilate posted a sign to the cross that read, “JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.” The sign was written in Aramaic, Greek and Latin. Since it was right before the Passover, all pilgrims from all over the world could read it. Obviously, the Jews were offended and protested. They demanded Pilate to change it from the king of the Jews to This man claimed to be the king of the Jews. But Pilate refused and said, “What I have written, I have written.” Pilate realized that Jesus was the King of the Jews but failed to worship him as his own king. He had to repent but couldn’t because of fear of men and losing his position as a politician.

Third, It is finished! (23-42)

In verses 23-27, the author describes what happened beneath the cross. Look at verses 23-24. There were a bunch of soldiers who crucified Jesus. They divided Jesus’ robes into four, one for each of them. But they did not divide the undergarment. Instead, they cast lots to decide as to who would take the garment. The soldiers’ behavior was heartless and thoughtless. They didn’t care about the pains and sufferings of dying people. They only cared about what they could get. John saw it as the fulfillment of Scripture, which said, “They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” (Ps 22:18)

Look at verses 25-27. However, near the cross of Jesus were several women. They were Mary the mother of Jesus, her sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. They were the ones who loved Jesus so dearly. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Dear woman, here is your son”, and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” Even though he was in pain and suffering right before his death, he didn’t care about himself. He cared about his lonely and suffering mother.

Look at verses 28 and 29. “Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the 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.” It was the fulfillment of Psalm 69:21, which says, “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.” Jesus said “I am thirsty.” not to quench his thirst but to fulfill the Scripture.

Look at verse 30. Let’s read it together. “When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” The word ‘finished’ in Greek means ‘fulfilled’, ‘completed’ or ‘paid in full.’

What does it mean when he said, “It is finished”? First of all, it means that Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies and promises of the Scripture concerning the Messiah. It also means that he had completed God’s mission for the salvation of mankind. Although Jesus lived a short life on earth, he had accomplished God’s redemptive work for mankind by becoming the Lamb of God for our sins. He had accomplished God’s mission 100 % and brought glory to God. This means that everything needed for our salvation has now been accomplished. Nothing more is needed. No other sacrifice is required. “It is finished.” Jesus has accomplished our salvation. There is nothing, absolutely nothing we can contribute to His work of redemption. If only we believe in Jesus, then nothing is lacking for our salvation. Salvation is a gift from God, our Father.

A young man came to a pastor, earnestly asking, “What can I do to be saved?” The pastor responded, “Young man. You’re too late!” “Oh, don’t say that. I really want salvation; I’d do anything or go anywhere to obtain it. What should I do?” However, the pastor shook his head, saying, “I’m sorry. There is nothing you can do. Your salvation was already completed two thousand years ago at Calvary. It is finished! All you need to do is just believe that Jesus died for your sins.”

“It is finished,” said our Lord. Jesus, the Son of God, laid aside his majesty, gave up everything for us, suffered, wounded, bruised and died on the cross. He took all our guilt and shame when he died on the cross. Through his death on the cross, Jesus completed God’s redemption for our sins. There is nothing we need to do to complete this work of redemption except acknowledgment of our sins and putting our trust in the blood of Jesus Christ.

When I was a young teenager boy, I was a wandering sinner in the dark street due to my lustful desire. To people whom I know, I was known as an honor student and good boy. But, in reality, I was a terrible sinner who was full of sinful desire. I wanted to become a noble man. But, I couldn’t. I lost my dignity due to my sinful nature. Even though nobody knew my dark side, I couldn’t talk freely with others, even with my classmates because I was afraid of them to know my secrets during the conversations. I couldn’t have true friends. I was always alone and lonely. Just to become a normal person and to control my sinful nature, I made a much effort but failed. I cried out loudly in my dark room to unknown God to save me from this wretchedness even though I didn’t believe in any god.

However, God the Creator listened to my cry and sent me a Bible teacher when I was a freshman in Korea University. Through several years of Bible study, I came to realize how serious my sins were and Jesus the Son of God had to die on the cross after terrible suffering to cleanse my sins. When I heard Jesus shouting, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” my hardened heart melted down because I could feel Jesus’ endless love toward sinners. When Jesus said on the cross “It is finished!” I could feel free from the deep heart. “It is finished!”. It was Jesus’ voice to me, saying “James, from now on, you are free. There is nothing for you to do to be cleansed because I finished everything for you. Just remain in me. You will be my disciple and lead many dying souls to eternal life.” What an amazing grace it is! Jesus took all my guilt and shame. He cleansed all my dirty sins and made me a new person. Furthermore, He gave me a new meaningful mission which is the best I can find. He called me as His disciple. He used me as a shepherd for campus students in Korea University and Choong Ang University. After that he called me to be a shepherd for New York campus students as a missionary. In Jesus, I could have peace and true freedom. I could experience true love of Jesus day by day. Jesus became my Savior, shepherd, protector and friend. I was not lonely at all because Jesus was always with me and in Him I could live a meaningful and noble life. Thank and praise Jesus who saved me and used me for his life saving ministry.

In verses 31-37, Apostle John gave a detailed description of Jesus’ death. Look at verses 38-42. Jesus was buried by two prominent Sanhedrin members, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus. In the past, they were secret disciples of Jesus because they loved their lives in this world than following the gospel truth. But when they saw how Jesus died on the cross, they realized that he was indeed the Son of God. Their fear was gone. So Joseph went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body and buried him in his tomb (38). Nicodemus brought seventy-five pounds of a mixture of myrrh and aloes (39). The crucified Jesus changed these two fearful men into courageous followers of Christ.

In today’s passage, we learn that Jesus suffered and died on the cross as the Lamb of God. He took up all our iniquities on his shoulder and died in our place so that we can be forgiven and set free. Someone might ask why Jesus had to die in such a horrible way. Was it because our sins were so much terrible? Then why don’t I feel that much serious about my sins? Yes. That is true. We don’t feel that serious about our sins. Sometimes, we want to enjoy our sinful desires longer and come to God later. However, we should know that how serious our sins are through Jesus’ crucifixion and we cannot control our sin problems by our own strength. We should know that Jesus didn’t die for us because we were good and lovable. We didn’t have anything good to please God rather we were ugly due to our sins. However, Jesus died for such ugly sinners. Romans 5:7-8 says, “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus’ death was truly the expression of God’s amazing love.

Someone might ask if the death of Jesus on the cross can really solve our sin problems. How do you think? How could such a powerless death of Jesus solve our most important problems? In the Old Testament time, people sprinkled the blood of goats and bulls so that they can be clean. The blood of animals was very limited and couldn’t solve our sin problems completely. However, the blood of the Son of God is different. Hebrews 9: 13, 14 says, “The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” Through crucifixion, Jesus sprinkled the blood of God for the sins of all the human beings. Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies and accomplished all requirements for our salvation. Jesus said, “It is finished.” There is nothing we need to do for our salvation because Jesus finished everything. We don’t need to wash our dirty sins by ourselves. We don’t need to kill the lambs or goats each time we sin. We don’t need to wait until we reach to some high level of morality or righteousness before we come to God. We can come to God as we are anytime and our sins will be cleansed by the blood of Jesus. Then, we will be happy and serve God without fear forever and ever.

May God richly bless you and help you to come to Jesus as you are and be saved by faith through sincere repentance.

[Download "It is Finished" sermon]