Final Words From the Cross, 6 It Is Finished… John 19: 30a; Luke 23: 43 - 47 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped
shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands
I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” *** In Adam Hamilton's book, Final Words From the Cross, the traditional seven last words of Jesus are compressed into six chapters. That is so the book can be used during the season of Lent (as each chapter was actually a sermon to begin with.) In order to do that, the last two words, "It is Finished" and "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" were treated as one chapter, one section. But since I'm preaching on the "last word" at our community Good Friday service this week at Trinity Episcopal Church, I'm going to look at these words separately. You can come to Trinity next Friday (any time after 12, my word will begin around 2:20.) and I will also post that message on our Website if you're interested. So, today, this message is on the sixth word... "It is finished". I’m really not a boxing fan, but just like many of you I remember a bout that took place almost 25 years ago, on November 25, 1980. Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Roberto Durán II, one of the most famous fights in boxing history. It took place in the New Orleans Superdome, and it was the second of three bouts between the pair. But it became one of the most remembered fights ever because of the way it ended…
Does anybody here remember what happened? ** At the end of the eighth round Durán turned away from Leonard, towards the referee and quit by saying "No más" (Spanish for "No more"). And it was over. Durán later claimed that he was bothered by stomach cramps that came about because he lost too much weight before the weigh in and then ate too much afterward, but even his own manager said, "Durán didn't quit because of stomach cramps... He quit because he was embarrassed." Page 1 of 8
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Pastor Steve Donat
Final Words From the Cross, 6 It Is Finished… The immediate reaction was shock, followed by anger. Within hours, TV commercials featuring Durán (in both in his homeland, Panama, and the United States) were ordered off the air. It took almost three years before people started to forgive him. Even many people who don’t care a thing about boxing remember this event, and “No más” has become a pop culture saying. This bout was the subject of a recent ESPN 30 for 30 special – still remembered, people still trying to figure out what really happened. Now, why was this such a big deal? Clearly, because Durán was a boxer at the top of his profession. He was a feared puncher, in fact his nickname was “Hands of Stone”… but, on that day, in the biggest fight of his career… he simply quit. “No More!” I watched a YouTube video of the moment in the TV broadcast of this fight when this happened, and listened to one of the announcers (I’m not sure who it was)… but after this happened, he kept repeating “I don’t understand it…” fifteen times! (I counted!) Boxers aren’t supposed to quit! There is an expectation that they will endure to whatever end is in store. But Durán quit, not because he was hurt, or even losing (he was only behind by a point or two on all three judges cards.) It wasn’t a physical thing, it was a loss of heart, of will… he couldn’t see this through to the end. Again, I don’t mean to trivialize something as momentous as the Crucifixion by comparing it to something as mundane as a boxing match, but there is something in this sixth cry of Jesus from the Cross that brought that event back to my mind. We’ve been talking over the past 5 weeks about the different ways that Jesus suffered on the Cross for us… we saw that he endured immense physical pain, of course – this was a terrible, and brutal way to die. But he also suffered in ways that likely were even more difficult to bear – the emotional pain of seeing his friends and followers turn their backs on him, being unjustly accused and tried, the ridicule that he received from not only the religious people, but also from ordinary people passing by. He was Page 2 of 8
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Pastor Steve Donat
Final Words From the Cross, 6 It Is Finished… betrayed by one of his own, denied by another. Upon all that, there is the Holy Mystery of what it meant that “God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us…” that Jesus took upon himself the consequences of my sin, and yours… to the point of death…
to the point that for the first time since eternity ‘began’ (which I realize is a non­logical concept, but how else can I say it?) for the first time since the dawn of Creation, Jesus does not sense the presence of God the Father with him… “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” We heard him last week expressing his physical thirst, and saw that his request was answered by more humiliation… did you ever find yourself being tested to a point where you felt you were about to ‘lose it’? To a point where you begin to wonder how you’re going to manage… and even started to seriously consider quitting something important to you? I can't do this anymore? Well, we’ve also been reminding one another in these events, that one result of all this is that Jesus understands our human condition. He knows what it is to be human, to suffer everything that happens in a human life – whether by choice or circumstance – he understands what it is to feel the brokenness of sin… because he took it upon himself, he willingly bore that burden for us… Which grew, and grew… to a point where, humanly speaking, no one could have blamed him if ** he shouted from that Cross – NO MÁS!! But instead, his cry was… “Finished!” As Adam Hamilton points out, this was not a cry of defeat. Jesus had told his disciples on multiple occasions that he was going to Jerusalem to die. The fact that he had been arrested, tortured, betrayed, and crucified came as no surprise to him. That’s why he was in Jerusalem in the first place! In addition, we know that these words, “It is finished” were not a cry of defeat because of the fact that they were not whispered, or muttered… they weren’t bitter words flung out in a moment of despair and resignation, but they were shouted! Remember, Jesus spoke in Aramaic, and when you look up John’s actual quote of Jesus, we see that he spoke just one word: FINISHED! Page 3 of 8
April 12-13, 2014
Pastor Steve Donat
Final Words From the Cross, 6 It Is Finished… Finished. The work was done. The question that looms before us is, obviously, what was finished? What was finished when Jesus died? This question, in theological terms, concerns the doctrine of the Atonement. One of the points that Adam Hamilton makes, not only in this book, but in some others, is that we do a real disservice to our Scripture when we take one of the many metaphors and analogies that the Bible uses to describe what happened on that Cross, and make it ‘the only one’, or (even less helpful) when we latch on to one of the ‘theories of the Atonement’ and assume that we then have a complete handle on this Holy Mystery. I appreciated the quote that was in the Book (Final Words) that came from Leslie Weatherhead’s classic book A Plain Man Looks at the Cross: **“I cannot imagine any author, however great his scholarship or penetrating his spiritual
insight, getting to the point where he felt he could so expound the message of the Cross as
to leave no question unanswered and nothing unexplained.” To that, Hamilton adds: “Jesus is our Redeemer, our Savior, our High Priest, our Paschal and Atoning Lamb. He is our Liberator and the King who is willing to die for his people. Through his death he reveals our sinfulness, the costliness of grace, and the magnitude of God’s mercy. On the cross he shows us what love looks like. In this death and resurrection he identifies with our pain, suffering, and human mortality; and in his resurrection he proves that he has overcome each of these. Jesus was doing all of this on the cross to redeem, save, and draw humanity to himself. This was the “it” that was finished as Jesus shouted his dying words.” “The point of recounting this is, in part, to remind you that the language we use to describe what Jesus’
death accomplished and what it means is metaphorical language meant to describe something so profound, so mysterious, so life­giving, and so life­changing that no one explanation or metaphor can do it justice.”1 1
Final Words from the Cross, Adam Hamilton, p. 106-107 Page 4 of 8
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Pastor Steve Donat
Final Words From the Cross, 6 It Is Finished… ** Paul sums it up for us – the story of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection by saying “It is power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). Jesus endured to the end… and with a shout of triumph, declared victory. Love wins! It is finished! *** A Christian apologist, Dr. Ravi Zacharias, is a man who travels the world, and because not only of his incredible intellect, but also his unique combination of humility and boldness he has been able to engage some very surprising people in honest conversations about the truth of Christ, and the hope of the Gospel. I recently came upon this account of one of those conversations which was published about two years ago. He was being interviewed for a blog, and shared this story: "Do you know why the Middle East is in the cauldron of hate? Because it's living with the logic of unforgiveness. I was talking to one of the founders of Hamas, Sheikh Talal. I was part of a group of people who had gone to the Middle East to try and bring the people together to a peace table. Sheikh Talal gave us a great meal, told us of eighteen years he'd served in prison, and how some of his children had been lost in suicide bombings. When my turn came to ask a question, I said, "Sheik, forgive me if I'm asking you the wrong question. Please tell me, what do you think of suicide bombing and sending your children out like that?" After he finished his answer, I said, "Sheik, you and I may never see each other again, so I want you to hear me. A little distance from here is a mountain upon which Abraham went 5,000 years ago to offer his son. And as the axe was about to fall, God said, 'Stop.'" I said, "Do you know what God said after that?" He shook his head. I said, "God said, 'I myself will provide.'" He nodded his head. I said, "Very close to where you and I are sitting, Sheik, is a hill. Two thousand years ago, God kept that promise and brought his own Son and the axe did not stop this time…” He just stared at me. The room was full of smoke with all of his security people. I said, "I may never see you again, Sheikh, but I want to leave this with you: Until you and I receive the Son that God has provided, we will be offering our own sons and daughters on the battlefields of this world for land and Page 5 of 8
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Pastor Steve Donat
Final Words From the Cross, 6 It Is Finished… power and pride." I could just see the man's lips beginning to quiver; he was sitting right next to me. Nobody said anything after that …. As we were walking out … Sheikh Talal went quickly and shook hands with everyone, and then he came over to me and grabbed me by the shoulders, kissed me on both sides of the face, patted my face, and he said, "You're a good man, I hope I see you again someday." He finishes with this: "When you understand [Christ's grace], it is an unparalleled message. In Hinduism, you pay with karma. In Islam you never know if your good deeds will outweigh your bad deeds. But the grace of Christ comes to you and says, "If any one comes unto me I will in no way cast him out."2 ** This is what was finished on the Cross. All the work that allowed God incarnate to invite us to come boldly before the throne of Grace. It was finished! Luke, in his Gospel, adds to our understanding of that day the description of the Curtain in the Great Temple being torn in two, from top to bottom. As many of you know, that act exposed the center room of that Temple ­ the Holy of Holies, the place where only a High Priest could go, and even then, just once a year on the Day of Atonement, to offer an ineffective sacrifice for the sins of the people. It was ineffective, because, as we read in the book of Hebrews ­ "The blood of bulls and goats is incapable of removing our sin." Only God could do that. And, that's the point: he did it... On the Cross, the work was done. The tearing of that curtain signified that access to God was now available to everyone who would come! We are all invited in, to that Holiest place, to the very presence of God, not because we have done anything to make ourselves righteous enough to stand before an utterly pure and Holy God, but we are invited in, based on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. 2
Adapted from Ravi Zacharias, "Ravi Zacharias Speaks with the Founder of Hamas," Justin
Taylor Between Two Worlds blog (12-3-12) Page 6 of 8
April 12-13, 2014
Pastor Steve Donat
Final Words From the Cross, 6 It Is Finished… It was finished ­ it was complete. That means that there is nothing more to add to this work. Nothing then, and nothing now... "It is finished" is the foundation of the message of Christianity. It is the foundation of our hope for eternity, the foundation of our deep seated hope for meaning, purpose, and real joy in this life as well as the life to come. Jesus knew this was all coming. The Cross was not a surprise to him, it truly was the reason for his coming. And that is why Jesus allowed the celebration of what we today call "Palm Sunday" to take place. He was being welcomed into Jerusalem as a King ­ and even though the people at this point misunderstood the nature of his Kingship, nevertheless, the celebration was valid. When the Scribes and Religious leaders complained about the people waving Palm branches, and shouting "Hosanna", suggesting that his disciples should tell Jesus to get the crowd to keep silent; Jesus himself responded. He said, "If these people were to be silent, the stones themselves would cry out." The King was coming to his coronation! All of creation was resonating with the truth, with the joy of this moment. The people shouted in welcome, "Hosanna, Hosanna" but they truly had no idea what it was that they were saying. "Hosanna" is a Hebrew word, a prayer, and it means... ", "Save us! Help us!" Jesus knew ­ even if none of the people did, yet ­ that he came to answer that ancient prayer. The King was coming to his coronation ­ but the way to the throne went via a Cross. But steadfastly, Jesus went forward. There was work to be done. You know, it occurred to me this week as I finished writing this message that there is a connection between where we 'came in' and where we're ending. It's this: when Roberto Duran cried "No Más", that was very similar to the call of the people on that first Palm Sunday. When the people cried, "Hosanna!", meaning "Save us!" that was not only a request, but a statement of need. We are at the end of our rope! We can't go on like this ­ "Oh God, we need you! No more! Please, no more! Save us!" Page 7 of 8
April 12-13, 2014
Pastor Steve Donat
Final Words From the Cross, 6 It Is Finished… God, "save us!" And God did. So today... it is finished. Hallelujah! God has saved us! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna! Page 8 of 8
April 12-13, 2014
Pastor Steve Donat