It is Finished

If you are tempted to interpret our Lord’s words today, as a declaration that all has ended badly,

…or that the mission is done, dead in the water with no hope of rousing itself to fulfillment;

…or even that as good as the drama was, the last scene has nonetheless brought about the final curtain;

…then you run the risk of misreading the entire thrust of the Christian life.

“It is finished” is what Jesus said, and that is a far cry from the defeat we hear from many who give up on the narrow path just as it turns uphill.

(Tire of reading? Watch the video instead. Click on the image.)

Yes, the passover sacrifice is complete with the death of this lamb of God.

Yes, the messianic prophecies stretching back millennia have reached their most unexpected and glorious conclusion.

Yes, the Word of God has done precisely what He was sent to us to do.

All of that is finished.

But make no mistake.

For Christians agonizing over the death of the One they love, and remembering yet again Jesus’ own words concerning His being lifted up.

This is only the beginning.