It Is Finished

I praise You for Your finished work, Lord, and Your sure promises. Amen


"So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit" (John 19:30)


There are over 300 precise prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus which are fulfilled in the New Testament. Those are just the prophecies that pertain to His first coming. And when we look at only a few prophesies dealing with His crucifixion, it is absolutely amazing to see what was foretold centuries in advance.


For example, Psalm 22 sounds like an eyewitness account from someone standing at the foot of the Cross. It begins with the very words Jesus would utter from the Cross and goes on to describe many details of His death. Crucifixion, a Roman form of execution, was not even remotely thought of when this Psalm war written. Yet it describes the piercing of Jesus' hands and feet, the dislocating of His joints, and even the result of the spear piercing His side.


Centuries before it would take place, Jesus' crucifixion was accurately and graphically depicted, right down to the minutest detain. And in Psalm 69:21, the final detail was described: "And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." So when they offered Jesus the vinegar, He could say "That's it. Every prophecy has now been fulfilled. It is finished."


This also meant His suffering was finished; the price for redemption was paid in full, and satan's kingdom was finished. But we know we won't see the full realization of these victories until the prophesies about Christ's return are fulfilled.


Yet we have this assurance: the prophesies concerning His Second Coming will be fulfilled just as surely and accurately as the prophesies concerning His first coming were fulfilled. With the same amount of certainty and exactitude, the golden strands of His Second Coming will be woven alongside the scarlet threads of His blood redemption to complete this marvelous tapestry of God's plan, begun before the foundations of the world were laid (Revelation 13:8).


~Adrian Rogers~