1. When our Lord hung on the cross, as our Substitute, He said: "It is finished" (John 19:30).
2. The great hymn-writer, P. P. Bliss, put it this way:

Lifted up was He to die
"It is finished," was His cry;
Now in heaven exalted high;
Hallelujah! What a Saviour!

3. "It is finished." These are three of the most precious words ever spoken. The next time you see a man climbing up some church steps, whipping himself, having ashes rubbed onto his forehead, repeating the same prayers over and over – remember the words of our Saviour, "It is finished."
4. The next time you hear some SDA tell you that you must keep the Jewish Sabbath, or follow the strange teachings of Ellen G. White, or observe the Mosaic laws, remember the words of Jesus Christ, "It is finished."
5. The next time you see our Jewish neighbors walking home from their synagogue on Saturday, remember the words of our Lord, "It is finished."

I. CHRIST’S SUFFERING WAS FINISHED.

1. It is interesting to compare the four Gospels, as each writer gives an account of our Lord’s death.

• Matthew writes: "Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost" (Matt.27:50).
• Mark’s account is similar (Mark 15:37).
• Luke says: "And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost" (Luke 23:46).
• John writes, "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).

2. We see here that all four writers tell us Jesus spake "and gave up the ghost." Only John tells us what those last three words were.
3. Did you notice that Matthew, Mark, and Luke all say that Jesus cried with a loud voice? And we know from John 19:30 that He cried, "It is finished."
4. His suffering was now finished. This was a cry of relief and a shout of rejoicing, because His horrible suffering was now over.
5. You will recall He was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, denied by Peter, and struck on the face by several people (cf. John 18:22-27; 19:1-3).
6. Then after their phony trial, they nailed Him to a cross. So when our Lord cried out, "It is finished," He meant His suffering was finished.
7. Let us remember that Jesus Christ came into this world for one primary purpose, and that was to go to the cross to die for our sins (cf. I Tim.1:15).
8. As we read through the NT, we see that our Lord was always anticipating that moment when He would be crucified for the sins of fallen mankind. Remember what John the Baptist said (John 1:29).
9. And then we recall our Lord’s frequent references to His impending death (John 2:19-21; 10:11,15,17,18; 12:27,32).
10. In Luke 12:50 Jesus said, "I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!" Apparently our Lord could not relax even for a moment as He looked ahead to the cross. The word "straitened" means "under pressure, pressed in."
11. He said, "And how am I straitened till it be accomplished!" With holy resolution and with infinite concentration, our Lord forged through the many ordeals that led to the cross.
12. And then He hung there for three hours, while wicked sinners walked by and wagged their heads, mocking Him. He was surrounded by two jeering thieves. 700 years before Calvary, Isaiah said they would pluck the hairs off His beard and spit in His face (Isa.50:6,7; cf. Ps.22:7,13,16; Isa.53:3-7).
13. Many OT prophecies were fulfilled that day on Mount Calvary (cf. John 19:28,36,37).
14. Then when it was all over, He could cry out, "It is finished." His sufferings were finished. And the better we are acquainted with His sufferings, the deeper will be our love and gratitude. Do you love the Lord Jesus? Not only were His sufferings finished…

II. THE DISPENSATION OF LAW WAS FINISHED.

1. We touched upon this several months ago, and I will touch upon it once more, and will preach it till Christ takes me home to heaven. When Jesus cried out, "It is finished," He meant the entire dispensation of law was finished.
2. The OT animal sacrifices were finished. The priesthood was finished, and the temple worship was finished.
3. When our Lord cried, "It is finished," it must have been a very loud cry, loud enough for all the Jewish leaders to hear that their entire religious system was finished. The temple worship was finished, the entire sacrificial system was finished, the priesthood was finished.
4. There is a detail left out by John, but recorded by the other three Gospel writers, and that is "the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom" (Mark 15:37,38). That veil separated the holy place from the holy of holies. Only the high priest could enter into the holy of holies, and only on the day of atonement.
5. But beloved, since Christ cried out, "It is finished," the veil was rent in two and now every believer has access to the holy of holies, i.e. the presence of God.
6. When Christ died on the cross, He paid the debt in full for our sins. It was a debt we could never pay ourselves. And when He cried out, "It is finished," man’s debt to God was canceled.
7. The law of God with its ceremonial sacrifices and ordinances stood as God’s statement of man’s guilt and indebtedness. It reminded man of the infinite gulf between wicked, sinful men and a holy God.
8. And the Bible says Christ blotted out "the handwriting of ordinances (the Mosaic law) that was against us" (Col.2:14-17). Our Lord "blotted" them out and then He replaced them with something far better.
9. Remember, the law "was against us" and "was contrary to us" (Col.2:14). It was like an unpaid bill turned over to an unforgiving and merciless bill collector. The law pronounced the guilty verdict: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die…For the wages of sin is death."
10. Beloved, remember, the law could only condemn guilty sinners. No one could ever be saved by the law.
11. I am amazed at the spiritual blindness of lost religionists who insist that they are going to be saved by keeping the law. What foolishness! (cf. James 2:10; Gal.2:21; 3:10,11).
12. Please read carefully Galatians 2:21. Anyone who attempts to please God by keeping the law is guilty of frustrating the grace of God. To these people, "Christ is dead in vain."
13. But thank God, Christ did not die in vain. When He cried out, "It is finished," it was not in vain. His shed blood washed away the sin debt. His blood was sufficient to "blot out" the handwriting of ordinances that was against us" (Col.2:14).
14. "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). Under the law God demanded righteousness. Now, under grace, God gives righteousness (Eph.2:8,9).
15. There are many misguided people who are trying to put themselves (and others) under the law. But the Bible plainly says, "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" (Rom.10:1-4). Beloved, do you believe the Gospel? If you do, then you cannot be under the law. "It is finished" means Christ’s sufferings, and the law was finished.

III. GOD’S PERFECT SALVATION IS FINISHED.

1. Men like a religion that teaches them they have to DO something to get saved. This appeals to man’s pride.
2. "I took all these lessons." "I lit all these candles." "I kept all these rules and I observed all these rituals." "I..I..I..I…" (cf. Luke 18:9-14).
3. Beloved, when Christ cried out, "It is finished," He was saying His death on the cross was a perfect atonement for sin and no one can add a thing to it.
4. The Philippian jailor asked Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" If that poor jailor was to walk around Elmont and ask some of these so-called ministers that same question, you can imagine the various answers he would get.

• "Believe in Jesus and get baptized."
• "Believe in Jesus and speak in tongues."
• "Believe in Jesus and keep the Saturday Sabbath."
• "Believe in Jesus and keep the Ten Commandments."
• "Believe in Jesus and do the best you can."
• "Believe in Jesus and keep the Golden Rule."
• "Believe in Jesus and Mary and the pope, etc."

5. That poor jailor would probably pull his sword back out! (Acts 16:27-31). "It is finished."
6. When Jesus said: "It is finished," He meant God’s perfect salvation is finished. It is free, you cannot earn it. It is instantaneous the moment you trust Christ and receive it. It is eternal, not temporary.
7. Many years ago, a Christian farmer was trying to witness to an unsaved carpenter. Every time he would give him the Gospel, the unsaved carpenter would insist that he had to do something in order to be saved. He could not understand the finished work of Christ. Then one day the farmer asked the carpenter to make him a gate. After he made it, the farmer paid him and put it in his truck, and asked the carpenter to come by his farm later on. Later on, the carpenter dropped by and saw the new gate and the farmer standing next to it with a big axe in his hand.
8. "What are you doing?" the carpenter asked. "I am going to add a few cuts and strokes to your gate," the farmer said. "But that is unnecessary," the carpenter said, "the gate is fine the way it is.
9. But the farmer paid him no mind and started whacking away at the gate. Soon it was completely ruined. "Look what you’ve done," cried the carpenter, "you have ruined my work!" "Yes," said the farmer, "and that is exactly what you are trying to do when you try to improve upon the finished work of Christ!"
10. The object lesson worked and the carpenter was soon saved. Jesus said: "It is finished." Why is this so hard for the carnal mind to comprehend? Too much religion? Too much pride?
11. Some people think salvation is like buying a car. They go in and put a down payment on a car, and then make monthly payments. They think being a Christian is the same thing. But beloved, JESUS PAID IT ALL. And when He said, "It is finished," He was saying: "Paid in full." He was not saying, "I finished my part, now you will have to do the rest."

CONCLUSION:

1. I was driving in my car the other night and heard a rather silly commercial on the radio. A man was weeping because he wanted to buy a car but was too deeply in debt.
2. Then a man says to him, "Don’t worry. Come to our dealership and we guarantee that you can get a car from us, despite your bad credit."
3. As I was driving, this thought occurred to me. In order to get saved, a sinner has to realize he is spiritually bankrupt. He may weep; he may not weep, but he has to realize that he is a hopeless, helpless sinner and has absolutely no credit with God. His good works and his religion mean absolutely nothing to God. All his righteousnesses are as filthy rags.
4. Then he looks to Calvary, and sees Jesus hanging there, saying: "It is finished." Now he can put his faith in Christ, and not in himself.
5. Those that are trusting in themselves to get to heaven, will be very disappointed when they wind up in hell.
6. But those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ will never be disappointed.
7. Unsaved friend: Jesus said, "It is finished." Do you really believe this? Or are you trying to add something to His finished work on the cross?