The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross-41

"It is finished"

2. Here we see the completion of his sufferings.

But what tongue or pen can describe the sufferings of the Saviour? O the unutterable anguish, physical, mental, and spiritual which he endured! Appropriately was he designated "the Man of Sorrows." Sufferings at the hands of men, at the hands of Satan, and at the hands of God. Pain inflicted upon him by enemies and friends alike. From the beginning he walked amid the shadows which the cross cast athwart his path. Hear his lament: "I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up" (Ps. 88:15). What a light this throws on his earlier years! Who can say how much is contained in those words? For us, an impenetrable veil is cast over the future; none of us know what a day may bring forth. But the Saviour knew the end from the beginning!

One has only to read through the gospels to learn how the awful cross was ever before him. At the marriage-feast of Cana, where all was gladness and merriment, he makes solemn reference to "his hour" not yet come. When Nicodemus interviewed him at night the Saviour referred to the "lifting up of the Son of man". When James and John came to request from him the two places of honour in his coming kingdom, he made mention of the "cup" which he had to drink and of the "baptism" wherewith he must be baptized. When Peter confessed that he was the Christ, the Son of the living God, he turned to his disciples and began to show unto them "how that he must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day" (Matthew 16:21). When Moses and Elijah stood with him on the mount of transfiguration it was to speak of "his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem."

If it is true we are quite unable to estimate the sufferings of Christ due to the anticipation of the cross, still less can we fathom the dread reality itself. The physical sufferings were excruciating, but even this was as nothing compared with his anguish of soul. To a considering of these sufferings we have already devoted several paragraphs in previous chapters, yet we make no apology in turning to them again. We cannot contemplate too often what the Saviour endured in order to secure our salvation. The better we are acquainted with his sufferings, and the more frequently we meditate thereon, the warmer will be our love and the deeper our gratitude.

At last the closing hours have come. There had been the terrible experience in Gethsemane followed by the appearings before Caiaphas, before Pilate, before Herod, and back again before Pilate. There had been the scourging and mocking by the brutal soldiers; the journey to Calvary; the fastening of his hands and feet to the cruel tree. There had been the reviling of the priests, the crowd, and the two thieves crucified with him. There had been the callous indifference of a vulgar mob, among whom "none took pity" and none spoke a word of "comfort" (Ps. 69:20). There had been the awful cloud that hid from him the Father’s face, which wrung from him the bitter cry, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" There had been the parched lips which drew from him the exclamation "I thirst". There had been the fearful conflict with the power of darkness as the serpent "bruised" his heel. Well might the sufferer ask, "Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger" (Lam. 1:12).

But now the suffering is ended. That from which his holy soul shrank is over. The Lord has bruised him; man and devil have done their worst. The cup has been drained. The awful storm of God’s wrath has just spent itself. The darkness is ended. The sword of divine justice is sheathed. The wages of sin have been paid. The prophecies of his sufferings are all fulfilled. The cross has been "endured". Divine holiness has been fully satisfied. With a cry of triumph - a loud cry, a cry which reverberated throughout the entire universe - the Saviour exclaims, "It is finished". The ignominy and shame, the suffering and agony are past. Never again shall he experience pain. Never again shall he endure the contradiction of sinners against himself. Never again shall he be in the hands of Satan. Never again shall the light of God’s countenance be hidden from him. Blessed be God, all that is finished!

The head that once was crowned with thorns, is crowned with glory now;
A royal diadem adorns the mighty Victor’s brow.
The highest place that Heaven of fords is his by Sovereign right,
The King of kings and Lord affords. and Heaven’s eternal Light.
The Joy of all who dwell above, the Joy of all below,
To whom he manifest his love, and Grant his name to know.