Jesus said, “It is Finished!”, but He never said, “I am Finished.” Interesting note: the statement, “It Is Finished” is actually one word in the Greek: tetelestai. And, that word is an active present tense verb – which means it includes the past, the present and the future all at the same time. The word deals with wholeness and completeness, nothing missing and nothing lacking! But, nonetheless, when Jesus said, “It Is Finished!” It was, but the assignment He had been given wasn’t totally completed. He had shed His blood, but He had not yet died and came back to life. He was God’s agreement in the earth, but He also had not yet sealed the mercy seat in heaven (eternity) and He had not received His glorified body, in which He would appear to His disciples. However, Jesus is the only one who had the authority to declare that something was finished, before it was totally completed and He is the only who had the power and authority to accomplish what needed to be fulfilled. In realty, it was finished because it had already been settled in heaven and all of God’s promises are “yes” (definite affirmation) and “amen” (so be it) in Christ Jesus. So, what that meant was, it had already been settled by saying, yes! (definitely) amen! (so be it) in heaven, but it still had to be fulfilled in the earth and that’s what Jesus did. But, the good news is, although it is finished, Jesus is still not finished today! As a matter of fact… ^He is still working today – to save, to heal, to deliver and to restore. ^He will never give up on you or me. ^He will never give in to defeat, because He is victory! ^He who began a good work, will complete it! ^His blood will never lose it’s power. There is power in His blood to save us and to heal us and to set us free. And, because He conquered death, hell and the grave, we will never die, but we have been given the opportunity to have eternal life with Him forever in heaven, if we choose to believe that He is the Son of God and that God raised Him fromthe dead on the third day – we do this by grace through faith, not by or from anything that we have done, but by and through everything that He has done. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. He is our redemption! And, the redemptive story of mankind and the Gospel of Good News is this – the first creation, Adam and Eve had sinned, but Jesus became the second Adam, He was born of a virgin – He walked among men and new no sin – He was betrayed, beaten and crucified. He willingly laid down His life, He was laid in a tomb, but on the third day He rose again! He is now seated at the right hand of God the Father making intercession for you and I and one day soon He will return again and take us home to be with Him forever! Therefore ,what began in one garden through the sin and disobedience of Adam and Eve was reversed in another garden through the obedience of Jesus Christ, the living son of God! Jesus shed His blood and died on the cross for all mankind once and for all – and He declared, “It is finished”, but He never said, “I am finished.”
Therefore, I want to look at the symbolic significance of what Christ did after He said, “It is Finished!”
1. He Tasted Death.
– The wages of sin was death – but the gift of God was eternal life through Jesus Christ.
– Life conquered death – so that we might live.
– No more rituals, no more blood shed and no more animal sacrifices.
– The veil had been torn and we now have access to God.
2. He Came to Life.
– He got up and death was swallowed up.
– Christ came to life and we became eternal beings.
– We will spend eternity somewhere, either in the presence of God or separated from God for eternity.
– For those that are in Christ – to be absent from these bodies… is to be present with Christ!
3. He Appeared to Mary.
– Mary came to the tomb first and Jesus appears to her first in the Gospel of John chapter twenty.
– John 20 shows us many things:
– The stone was rolled away.
– The tomb was empty.
– The grave clothes that remained.
– The angels that were present and spoke.
– Peter and John seeing for themselves: the grave clothes and empty tomb.
“Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.” Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ ” Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.” – John 20:1-18 NKJV
John 20 Shows Us Many Things, But Here Are 3 Things That I Want to Look at: (remember, this is all after Jesus said, “It is Finished!”)
1. The Grave Clothes Remained Untouched and the Cloth That Covered Jesus’ Face Was folded. V. 6-7
2 Things In Regard to the Grave Clothes of Jesus:
1st – THE HEBRIAC TRADITION OF THE FOLDED NAPKIN:
– A crumpled or loose napkin meant that you were through or done.
– Death had been defeated and had been done away with.
– Jesus had defeated death and the grave clothes were no longer relevant.
– The were loosely laying there because He was done!
*Sometimes you just have to been done in order to move on. You cant keep putting on the past, if you desire to walk in a new preferred future. You can’t put on hopelessness and expect to walk in a new found hope. You have to leave behind what you no longer need, so that you can experience what Christ has provided.
– A folded napkin meant you weren’t done and you would return.
– Jesus will return and you will see His face again.
– He is the King of King’s and Lord of Lord’s.
– Jesus will return again and we will see Him face to face.
2nd – GRAVE ROBBERIES WERE VERY COMMON IN JESUS’ DAYS:
– Mary ran to get Peter and John and she was yelling that they had stolen the body of Jesus.
– The soldiers already made an agreement to say that this was what had happened to Jesus’ body.
– BUT! John left no doubt that He got up!
– The grave clothes were untouched.
– The cloth that covered Jesus face was folded.
– If they would have stolen the body of Christ – nothing would have been in the tomb.
*Jesus got up! He conquered death. He shed the grave clothes and He folded His face cloth neatly and He walked out of the tomb alive and victorious!
2. There Was an Angel That Was Seated At the Head of Where Jesus Had Been Laid and There Was an Angel That Was Seated At the Feet of Where Jesus Once Laid. V. 12
– The Ark of the covenant represented the presence of God. (Ex. 25)
– The lid was gold and had 2 angels on each end facing each other.
– the lid was the mercy seat.
– A lid is what gives you access to something.
– Jesus became the living lid.
– Jesus gives us access to the presence of God.
– God’s mercy provided a way through Jesus.
– The veil has been rent from top to bottom.
– We can approach the throne of God and obtain mercy
3. Jesus told Mary not to touch Him. v.17
– Jesus was God’s agreement in the earth.
– Jesus was the eternal high priest.
– Jesus became our high priest.
– Jesus made the sacrifice on the earth. (in time)
– Jesus sealed the mercy seat in Heaven. (for eternity)
Jesus said, “It is finished… but Thank God He didn’t say, “I am finished…”
- He descended to the lower parts to free the captives, making His atonement known and confirming the words of the prophets.
- He came out of the tomb and appeared to Mary.
- He ascended to God the Father as the High Priest.
- He appeared to His disciples to prove His resurrection.
- He ascended to Heaven to prepare a place for us.
- He sent The Holy Spirit to indwell us, to empower us and to equip us.
- He sits at the right hand of God the Father making intercession for us.
And, some day soon He is coming back to take us home to be with Him forever… Thank God He didn’t say, “I am finished!”
He is not through – He wants show up and work in your life today… It is finished, but He is not finished… the statement “It is finished” is one word: tetelestai – that is an active present tense verb – which means includes the past, the present and the future… and, it includes right now!
– He wants to save you.
– He wants to heal you.
– He wants to help you.
– He wants to comfort you.
– He wants to give you peace.
– He wants to restore your relationships.
– He wants to save your family and love ones.
– He wants to refresh you.
– He wants to talk to you.
– He wants to lead you and guide you.
– He wants to show you what you don’t know.
– He wants to have a relationship with you.
