28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfil the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished”, and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
What exactly was finished? Jesus suffering and His life were about to finish but, more than that, He had accomplished the mission the Father had sent him on. It was complete.
Sin
is paid for - all through Old Testament God is working towards this moment when he
would rescue his people. This moment fulfils the OT (see the example of hyssop). Your past present and future sins are paid for, no further
payment is required from you. So often we try to punish ourselves or
feel like we’re doing penance to pay off our sin. It is finished. Yes we will sin, yes the
Holy Spirit will convict us of that sin but the outcome of biblical repentance is not guilt or
shame until you feel like you’ve worked it off but rejoicing that it has
been paid.
Jesus' perfectly righteous life has been completed and credited to our account
- Jesus fulfilled every aspect of God’s law. He never sinned. As well
as our sin being credited to him, his righteousness is credited to us.
We are adopted, welcomed and loved the same amount as Jesus. We don’t
have to work to please God, it is finished. We are just as loved on your
worst day as on your best because of this moment. You are not tolerated
- you are loved.
Does
the christian life feel like an uphill struggle? Religion is working
your way up to the mountain. Christianity tells us God has come down the
mountain. He came down the mountain on a mission and he accomplished
it. [tweet this]