It is Finished!

Reading: John 19; Psalm 74 28 Jesus knew that everything was now finished, and to fulfill the Scriptures he said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. 30 When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:28-30 NLT) In his account of Jesus’ crucifixion, John gives careful attention to the fulfillment of prophecies about the death of Jesus, the Messiah. He emphasizes more than once in his gospel that he is writing so that the reader will believe – believe God’s Word and believe in Jesus as the Messiah and Savior. It really struck me that even in the agony of crucifixion, Jesus was driven not by the survival instinct, not by the hope of rescue, not even by a martyr’s death wish. Jesus’ sole motivation was his submission to and full cooperation with what God had planned and foretold through the prophets. He was fully committed to the will of God for himself in the moment and for God’s Kingdom purpose for all time. While the other men crucified with him were instinctively using every bit of strength in their legs to push themselves up so that they could take one more gasping breath, as soon as Jesus saw that everything purposed by the Father – everything written about his crucifixion – was complete, he released his spirit. Jesus completed the task, then stopped. Can we be so clear on God’s purpose for our lives that we understand and accept unfolding events in our lives as part of the fulfillment of his plan for us? Can we be so free of the instinct to achieve for ourselves that when we have completed the assignment God has given, we simply stop?

I’m not implying that we stop breathing or stop working altogether, but that we learn to draw the line and say, “Task completed. Stop! Rest! Celebrate! Now, Father, what is the next assignment? When do we begin?” Prayer: Father, I really need help with this one. It’s hard for me to see the finish line. It’s hard to know when a job is really complete. I’m afraid I end up doing a lot of things that aren’t on your list and that I tend to keep things going after it’s time to say, “This one is completed.” Please teach me how to be so clear on your purpose that I not only know what you want me to do, but also that I know when it’s done. Amen.