"Is It Finished?"

EASTER SERMON by Pastor David Layman

April 8, 2007

John 19:25-30, 20:19-23

There is no darker week in all history than Holy Week. It is painful to remember those events: Judas selling Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. The disciples closest to Jesus falling asleep, when he'd asked them to stay awake with him while he prayed. The disciples denying that they would betray Jesus, yet scattering and running when Jesus was arrested by the authorities. Peter denying Christ 3 times. None of the disciples dared accompany Christ to the cross. He was crucified between 2 criminals.

According to the Gospel of John, the final words of Jesus at the cross were "It is finished." He then bowed his head and died. Christ's enemies probably breathed a sigh of relief when they heard these words at Calvary. Who were these enemies? Super patriots called Zealots, respected citizens, wealthy businessmen, leaders of the religious establishment. To believers today, they appear as bad guys. But to those who lived 2,000 years ago, they were community leaders, the kind we find in a Kiwanis Club or the Chamber of Commerce. Christ said from the cross "It is finished", and his enemies breathed a collective sigh of relief. "Whew! Glad that's over. He practically caused a revolution. Tried to turn the temple upside down. A dangerous man! But crucifixions are horrible things. Necessary in this case, but disturbing. I'm glad it is finished. Now I can go home, and life can begin to get back to normal."

When Mary, John, and a handful of close friends heard Jesus say "It is finished", their minds undoubtedly swept back over their memories of Jesus. Mary, Jesus' mother, must have thought of his birth and childhood. What a heart-rending conclusion he reached! The sword which Simeon prophesied would pierce Mary's heart had pierced Jesus as well. John might have reflected back to the day Jesus first called him to follow. The good times, the warmth and excitement, the crowds, the electrifying teachings and miracles. Now, it was finished!

What, we might ponder, did Jesus mean by saying "It is finished"? Jesus didn't say "I am finished." Christ didn't say "He is finished", meaning God. "It is finished." What is 'it' that is finished?

The Greek word used in John's gospel, tetelestai, does not mean "washed up" or "done in", as we sometimes use the word "finished". Instead, it means to make perfect, complete, accomplish. The New English and Jerusalem Bibles accurately translate this "It is accomplished." God sent Jesus into the world on a mission. Jesus had work to do, a mission to accomplish. When Jesus said "It is finished", he was saying "My life purpose has been accomplished." >From the manger in Bethlehem to a cross outside Jerusalem, and along the way, a childhood in Egypt and Nazareth, years of growing up, learning the carpenter's trade, increasing in stature with God and humankind, being baptized by John the Baptist, tempted in the wilderness, calling the disciples, casting out demons, healing the sick, forgiving sinners, teaching the multitudes, feeding the 5,000, overturning the tables in the temple, offering his life that others might live--looking over it all, Jesus could say with a sense of accomplishment, even from that tortuous cross, "It is finished!"

It is interesting to note that Jesus announced "It is finished", or "accomplished", from the cross, before His resurrection Easter Sunday. From our human perspective, nothing but a great tragedy had been accomplished. Jesus knew that he had accomplished the perfect life. Christ's work for God on earth was finished; the redemption of humankind had been made possible. All that God had for Jesus to do was done; all that Jesus had to give was given. There were no flaws or omissions. In triumph Jesus said "It is finished!"

You and I in our own small way may comprehend the triumph of Christ as he spoke these words. Perhaps we have completed a project--painting a house, giving birth to a baby. Completing a lengthy assignment at school or work. Graduation, or retirement day. "It is finished." We rarely have perfect efforts to look back upon, as Christ did, but we can still sense some of the accomplishment. At the moment we completed our task, we might have been too exhausted to smile and rejoice--but inwardly, we felt the satisfaction. There! It is finished!

But we left Christ's opponents walking away from the cross thinking that Jesus was finished, not that his mission was accomplished. Some think of themselves as very religious, yet live like the Pharisees, filled with judgmentalism and self righteousness. Some live like the rich fool, building bigger barns, and die like the unrepentant thief--cursing God. There are opponents of Christ's today, that think Jesus died on a cross 2,000 years ago, and that's all she wrote.

As John and Mary stood before the cross 2,000 years ago, thinking their dreams and the living presence of Jesus were finished, some take the same stance today. They'll say Jesus really was a great teacher, one of the greatest that ever lived, but he's dead now, and that's what often happens to good guys. They get nailed. They read Jesus' words "It is finished", and don't comprehend what he said. They'll pay their respects at a cross, but refuse to visit an empty tomb. Superstition to believe in life after death, they say.

A four year old boy was taken to church for the first time. It was a Roman Catholic Church, and in Catholic churches, the crosses have a likeness of the suffering Christ on them. Protestants normally have an empty cross to remind us that Christ is risen. But this 4 year old was quite taken by the image of Jesus on the cross. The priest talked about Christ's sufferings for us. At the conclusion of the service, the boy's parents began to file out with the rest of the congregation. But the boy gripped the pew tightly and refused to go. He began to cry and say "No! Aren't they going to do anything about that man on the cross?"

This 4 year old instinctively knew Good Friday was no place to stop. There has to be something more! The earthly Jesus' work was accomplished, but God was not finished. On Easter Sunday, God the Father raised Jesus the Son from the grave. And in his resurrection appearances, Jesus made it quite clear that our work is not finished! "Go into all the world and make disciples", Jesus said. We can't just walk off and leave Jesus on the cross. For while Jesus' earthly work is finished, our work as the body of Christ is not! Our work as followers of Christ begins as he is born anew into our lives. We need to do something about that man on the cross, now raised from the dead!

Jesus' cross and empty tomb can empower us to witness in His name. One of the greatest sins today is that of apathy and resignation. Like the 4 year old boy's parents, we tend to casually walk out of our sanctuaries after worship concludes. But we need to hear the 4 year old who's got his hands glued to the pew, saying "Aren't they going to do something about that man on the cross?"

Jesus is no longer on the cross. He is risen, and he charges us to go and make disciples! We live in a very self-centered generation. Many people seem to take the attitude that the purpose of life is to acquire salvation for ones' self. Once we're assured, and convinced we're saved from the fires of hell, we tell ourselves "It is finished. I've got salvation for myself. To hell with the world." Jesus did not suffer and die on the cross to make us smug, or merely to give us a nice place to go on Sunday mornings. Christ didn't die on the cross to save a few souls from the world, but to bring about God's new creation, and include us and others within it! God is not finished, and our work is not finished! Don't leave Jesus on the cross! Don't let your life be resigned to tragedy and gloom! Visit the empty tomb! Talk with the risen Christ! Listen to his commission to go and make disciples!

The rule and reign of God is not finished. It's only just begun!

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