John 19:30 - It Is Finished

"When Jesus had tasted it, he said, "It is finished!" Then he bowed his head and released his spirit." (NLT)

The final words of Jesus of Nazareth before his death. The final words of the Son of God before he died. These words are filled with so much beauty and life, they show us who Jesus is and why he came to die.

On their own, these words don't make much sense, but as we reflect on Jesus's ministry we see what he means. Jesus preached a message of love. A message of freedom from sin, freedom from death. A message that said man would be able to come to God without needing to go through a priest or temple. Jesus is saying that his ministry is accomplished. He has fulfilled what he preached.

One other thing I would like to examine in this verse is that he released his spirit. Nobody took his spirit from him, nobody forced him to die. He chose to give up his life, and in doing so, he freed the world from sin and death. This is who Jesus is. He willingly sacrifices himself, he willingly endures the most horrific torture and death so that we don't have to. He willingly died so that we may live. He did all this so he could see us sinless. He took our sin upon himself so that we could come before God and be in an intimate relationship with him. He died so that we could spend eternity with him.

No matter what you're going through right now, no matter what problem you are facing, it was defeated on the cross. Pain, sickness, death, they were all defeated on the cross. So let God's love wash over you you will see that your problems have already been dealt with.

Prayer

Jesus, thank you for what you did for us. Thank you that you chose to give your life so that we could know you. Thank you that we can be free from sin. Thank you that we are free from death. Lord, I pray that all would come to know your beautiful sacrifice and that they would enter into a relationship with you. Amen.