"It Is Finished"

Sermon by Pastor David Layman

March 16, 2008

John 19:25 b-30

This is a wonderful time of the year! The snow, except for parking lot piles, has melted. The grass will start to green up. The birds are coming back. Until we had to move our clocks ahead an hour, it was starting to get light earlier in the morning! After over three months of periodic snow and ice, we know that the weather is getting better and will continue to improve. And besides all of this, there's so much good basketball to watch! One of the things basketball commentators love to talk about is that players need to be able to "finish" their moves to the basket. They can shake, bake and fake a defender out of position, drive to the basket, go up and take the shot. But then they have to "finish" by making sure the ball goes through the hoop! All the dribbling behind the back and shaking and baking in the world is of little avail, if the player can't "finish" by making the play that matters most of all.

We all know of people that start noble ventures, but fail to finish! How many times have you heard someone say "I've started several letters to you..." and you're thinking "I haven't gotten any of them, because you haven't finished and mailed them!" Have you ever had someone begin a remodeling project in your home? You had to wait a long time for them to finally get started, and at first, you were rejoicing, saying "Finally, we're going to get this done!" But then they take off at lunch and go to another job. Then there's this part they need that they have to order....and it's out of stock. Then they come down with the flu. Then they get busy on a big project that just has to get done!

Or there's a house you go by daily, that really needs painted. Every house around it is well kept up. Finally, finally, they start to scrape and paint. You think "This will be so good, such an improvement." But then a side of the house is half done, and remains that way. It almost makes you want to grab a can of paint and finish it yourself!

Simon and Garfunkel sang about a poor boy who went to the big city to follow a dream, but fell victim to the harsh life there. He spent his days "laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters where the ragged people go, looking for the places only they would go." The poor boy considers giving up and going home. But then

"In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade,

and he carries a reminder of every blow that laid him down

or cut him till he cried out in his anger and his shame,

'I am leaving, I am leaving' but the fighter still remains."

"The fighter still remains." Our human tendency is to quit too soon. To get discouraged. To lose patience. To give up.

Think of the patience and perseverance of Jesus! I never would have lasted through 4, let alone 40 days of temptation in the wilderness. The gospel of Mark tells of the tremendous energy of Jesus as he began his ministry. He called disciples, went to Capernaum, taught and healed in the synagogue, worked all day long, got up while it was still dark to pray, then immediately went on a campaign tour, proclaiming the message. That's the way Jesus' ministry went, day after day, teaching, healing, traveling, challenging, moving at the impulse of God's love. Along the way, there were many reasons for discouragement. People flocked to Jesus for miracles, but often failed to perceive the meaning behind the miracles. John 6:66 relates that many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. The scribes and Pharisees began to snipe at Jesus and looked for a way to arrest him and put him to death. People like the rich young ruler were attracted to Jesus but then turned away when they learned following Jesus would cost them something.

Today we celebrate Palm Sunday, with Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, where people hailed him as king, saying "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" But Jesus knew this warm welcome would soon turn cold. As the week progressed, Judas decided to betray Jesus. The crowds who hailed him as king Palm Sunday were crying "Crucify him!" on Friday. Yet Jesus had resolved in the Garden of Gethsemane that the ministry he began with such acclaim would be finished and completed, even if his rule must begin from a cross. John tells us that Jesus proclaimed from the cross "It is finished." Then, and only then, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

When we finish a job, we may raise our hands in exaltation. Jesus arms were already outstretched, nailed to a cross. Athletic heroes are at times lifted onto the shoulders of their teammates or ecstatic fans. Jesus was lifted up on a cross. Not an easy way to finish what he started. But the words coming from Jesus' lips were said not with resignation but a sense of accomplishment and triumph. "It is finished!"

Because Jesus finished the salvation work he started, we can find strength to continue to seek to serve him all the days of our lives. Paul wrote to the Philippians 1:6 "I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ." God has begun a good work in our lives. Perhaps some of us didn't begin to take God seriously until the middle of our lives. Perhaps we were a part of a church but just going through the motions before God became more real to us. God isn't concerned about the things that are past and we have no control over. He wants us now, and He wants to use us for the rest of our lives! The Apostle Paul was once a persecutor of the church and filled with pride and self righteousness. But the one who finished the work God laid out for him on a cross rose from the dead and appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus. The focus of Paul's life shifted at that point. As Paul wrote the Philippians "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own...Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:10-14)

A visitor to our church will notice that there are a number of gray haired people among us. Many of our children have grown up and sought greener pastures beyond Richmond. But middle age and beyond are vitally important times in God's eyes. Because it matters more what we can become than what we have been! Because as the years progress, with God's help we grow wiser, and more clearly see what matters most! The best start in life matters little if we veer off into a self centered ditch! It matters little if we let health challenges and disappointments turn our focus inward. If we don't have an abundance of days left on this earth, it matters a great deal what we do with them. If we're going to fall in life's battle, we need to make sure we go down looking up! And we don't want to limp off the battle field of life before that final battle. It's never too late to decide we'll never give up!

As the author of the letter to the Hebrews in chapter 12 (vs. 1) puts it, "Let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith!"

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