The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross-40

"It is finished"

1. Here we see the accomplished fulfillment of all the prophecies which had been written of him ere he should die.

This is the immediate thought of the context: "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished" (John 19:30). Centuries beforehand, the prophets of God had described step by step the humiliation and suffering which the coming Saviour should undergo. One by one these had been fulfilled, wonderfully fulfilled, fulfilled to the very letter. Had prophecy declared that he should be the "woman’s seed" (Gen. 3:15): then he was "born of a woman" (Gal. 4:4). Had prophecy announced that his mother should be a "virgin" (Isa. 7:14): then was it literally fulfilled (Matthew 1:18). Had prophecy revealed that he should be of the seed of Abraham (Gen. 22; 18): then mark its fulfillment (Matthew 1:1). Had prophecy made it known that he should be a lineal descendant of David (2 Sam. 7:12, 13): then such he actually was (Rom. 1:3). Had prophecy said that he should be named before he was born (Isa. 49:1): then so it came to pass (Luke 1:30,31). Had prophecy foretold that he should be born in Bethlehem of Judea (Mic. 5:2): then mark how this very village was actually his birthplace. Had prophecy forewarned that his birth should entail sorrowing for others (Jer. 31:15): then behold its tragic fulfillment (Matthew 2:16-18). Had prophecy foreshown that the Messiah should appear before the scepter of tribal ascendancy had departed from Judah (Genesis 49:10): then so he did, for though the ten tribes were in captivity. Judah was still in the land at the time of his advent. Had prophecy referred to the flight into Egypt and the subsequent return into Palestine (Hosea 11:1 and cf. Isa. 49:3, 6): then so it came to pass (Matthew 2:14, 15).

Had prophecy made mention of one going before Christ to make ready his way (Malachi 3:1): then see its fulfillment in the person of John the Baptist. Had prophecy made it known that at the Messiah’s appearing that "then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing" (Isa. 35:5,6): then read through the four gospels and see how blessedly this proved to be true. Had prophecy spoken of him as "poor and needy" (Ps. 40:17 - see beginning of psalm): then behold him not having where to lay his head. Had prophecy intimated that he should speak in "parables" (Ps. 78:2): then such was frequently his method of teaching. Had prophecy depicted him stilling the tempest (Ps. 107:29): then this is exactly what he did. Had prophecy heralded his "triumphal entry" into Jerusalem (Zech. 9:9): then so it came to pass.

Had prophecy announced that his person should be despised (Isa. 53:3); that he should be rejected by the Jews (Isa. 8:14); that he should be "hated without a cause" (Ps. 69:4): then sad to say, such was precisely the case. Had prophecy painted the whole picture of his degradation and crucifixion - then was it vividly reproduced. There had been the betrayal by a familiar friend, the forsaking by his cherished disciples, the being led to the slaughter, the being taken to judgment, the appearing of false witnesses against him, the refusal on his part to make defense, the establishing of his innocency, the unjust condemnation, the sentence of capital punishment passed upon him, the literal piercing of his hands and feet, the being numbered with transgressors, the mockery of the crowd, the casting lots for his garments - all predicted centuries beforehand, and all fulfilled to the very letter. The last prophecy of all which remained ere he committed his spirit into the hands of his Father had now been fulfilled. He cried "I thirst" and after the tendering of the vinegar and gall all was now "accomplished"; and as the Lord Jesus reviewed the entire scope of the prophetic word and saw its full realization, he cried, "It is finished"!

It only remains for us to point out that as there was a complete set of prophecies which had to do with the first advent of the Saviour, so also is there a complete set of prophecies which have to do with his second advent - the latter as definite, as personal, and as comprehensive in their scope as the former. Just as we see the actual fulfillment of those which had to do with his first coming to the earth, so we may look forward with absolute confidence and assurance to the fulfillment of those which have to do with his second coming. And, as we have seen that the former set of prophecies were fulfilled literally, actually, personally, so also must we expect the latter set to be. To grant the literal fulfillment of the former, and then to seek to spiritualize and symbolize the latter, is not only grossly inconsistent and illogical, but is highly injurious to us and deeply dishonoring to God and to his word.