SIXTH WORDS OF JESUS CRIST ON THE CROSS|Mr.JIJJO JOHN|JORDAN|KANYAKUMARI|JF-MEDIA PRESENTS.

SIXTH WORDS OF JESUS CHRIST ON THE CROSS
"When he had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.' With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." (John 19:30)

Jesus' journey had begun in a simple stable in the City of David thirty some years before. Now it was finished.

What Did Jesus Come to Accomplish?
What was finished? What was this mission that was now finished? Why did Jesus come? Let's look at how Jesus defined his mission -- and later, how his apostles understood it. We read about his commission to "preach the Gospel to the poor" (Luke 4:18, 43), "to bring life" (John 10:10b), "to destroy the devil's work" (1 John 3:8b), "to bring fire upon the earth," (Luke 12:49), "to testify to the truth" (John 18:37). But each of these seems like a means or aspect of the ultimate purpose, to save us from our sins. Consider these purpose statement verses:

"Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)

"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Luke 19:10)

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45)

"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." (1 Timothy 1:15)

"But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins." (1 John 3:5)

The Cup and the Baptism
Jesus had a very clear view of what lay ahead of him. He used two metaphors: "To drink the cup," to partake fully of an event, and "to be baptized," to be immersed fully in the event.

"Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" (Mark 10:38)

"But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! (Luke 12:50)

"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." (Luke 22:42)

"Jesus commanded Peter, 'Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?'" (John 18:11)

The cross in all its horror -- and in its redemptive power to bear the sins of the world -- hung heavily on Jesus during his last days in the flesh. His struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane was the climax, the point at which he surrendered ultimately to the Father's will. And now the cup had been drunk, the baptism completed. It is finished.

It Is Finished!
Look again at the passage. It is remarkable in how it repeats one singular idea -- completion, fulfillment, finishing.

"Later, knowing that all was now completed (teleō), and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled (teleioō), Jesus said, "I am thirsty" ... When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished (teleō)." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." (John 19:28, 30)

These three words derive from the same Greek root, telos, which means "end" -- primarily a termination point, then by extension, the end to which all things relate, the aim, the purpose.53

"Completed / finished / accomplished" in verses 28 and 30 is the related verb teleō, "to complete an activity or process, bring to an end, finish, complete something." With regard to time, it means, "come to an end, be over."54 Moreover the tense of this verb is important to us -- perfect tense (tetelestai). In Greek the perfect tense signifies a past action, the effect of which continues into the present. It has been completed and is still complete. The effect of the tense in this verb is a sense of finality.

In the last couple of centuries scholars have found thousands of papyrus scraps with Greek writing on them. Many of these are mundane commercial documents in which we find this word. Moulton and Milligan pored over many of these receipts and contracts to better understand New Testament Greek. They observed that receipts are often introduced by the phrase tetelestai, usually written in an abbreviated manner indicating that the bill had been paid in full.55 The obligation has been completed. The debt has been paid off. Tetelestai -- it is finished.

A Cry of Victory
It is clear from Matthew and Mark that just before Jesus breathed his last, he "cried out again in a loud voice" (Matthew 27:50, cf. Mark 15:37). John gives us the content of this loud cry: "It is finished!"

Those who are defeated go out with a whimper, but the victor announces his victory loudly and broadly: "It is finished!" The victory shout of Jesus echoed across the small flat hilltop and to the world beyond. It is finished!