It is finished

"It is finished" was the final cry when Jesus died on the cross. Now I ask myself: What is finished? Jesus lived thirty-three years and throughout his life he always did his Father's will perfectly. The divine commission was to reach his disciples and all the people with God's love so that they could all live in a personal relationship with God. How is this possible? Jesus served people in word and deed and in love. However, since all people sin, it was necessary for Jesus to offer himself as an atoning sacrifice for us, bearing all guilt. Jesus, the Son of God, was betrayed, arrested, decried by the authorities and the people, flogged, crowned with thorns, mocked and spat on. When the demand to Pontius Pilate sounded: Crucify! Crucify him, Jesus was condemned to death innocent and crucified. A darkness came over the land. This is probably a cosmic sign of God's judgment on sin and the people who rejected his Messiah, the messenger of God who took sin upon himself. Jesus hung on the cross in unspeakable pain, suffering, thirsty and burdened with the sins of all people. Jesus spoke seven sentences that have been handed down to us.

Jesus was Lord of his life at every moment of his passion. He confided in his father even at the hour of his death. Jesus died on our behalf as the greatest sinner. So his father had to leave him alone. Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me" (Mark 15,34). In these words "My God, my God" Jesus expressed his unshakable trust in his father, the loving Abba, as he used to address him in all his prayers.

The unbreakable love of the Father and the Son defies human logic at this point. What happened on the cross cannot be understood with the wisdom of this world. The Holy Spirit, thanks to the mind of Christ, leads us into the depths of Godhead. To understand this, God gives us his faith.
Jesus died abandoned by God so that his people could call upon this God and Father and would never be abandoned by him. He said, "Father, I commend my spirit into your hands!" (Luke 23,46), certain that he and the Father are always one. The apostle John bears witness to Jesus' words, which echoed through the darkness: "It is finished" (John 19,30).

Jesus Christ's work of redemption is finished. Our deliverance from sin and death is complete. Jesus paid the divine price on our behalf. According to the law, sin is the wages, death is paid for in Jesus. God's gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (from Romans 6,23). What appeared to the ignorant to be Jesus' failure on the cross is actually His victory. He conquered death and now offers us eternal life. In Jesus' victorious love

by Toni Püntener