We continue on our journey today as we examine and reflect on "The Sixth Word" of our Lord Jesus Christ from the cross. The Lord spoke seven times as he hung on the cross. First he said, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Then he shares with a repentant thief the promise, "Today you will be with me in Paradise." Jesus also committed the care of His mother, Mary, to his closest friend John. Then we heard that powerful cry from the cross, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?" Then, last week, the words, "I thirst." Now, the words, "It is finished."

The first thing I want to say about theses words this morning, is that they were not words of defeat. Instead, it was a cry of victory! Christ was in totally charge that day, and he determined that it was finished! He willingly accepted death because it is the completion of God’s plan. The work of his Son, Jesus our Lord, had been accomplished. This is the moment of his glory. Notice what it says after the words, “It is finished.” “He bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” The verbs in this sentence are active. These were deliberate acts. He bowed his head, and gave up his spirit knowingly and willingly.

It is not far from Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, to Golgotha, where he died on the Cross. In Jesus time one could walk it in less than a day. As you stand on the lonely hill at Golgotha, and look all the way back to Bethlehem, one haunting question comes to mind: "Was it worth it? Was Jesus' trip worth what it cost?" On that day, when the sun hid its face in shame, when he cried out from that cross, "It is finished," what had he done? It hardly seemed like a triumph. What really did he leave behind? What is it that Jesus accomplished in a world that was more interested in his death than his word?

Three things we can point to as accomplishments of our Lord, that allowed him to cry out in victory, "It is finished." First, Christ's death on the cross accomplished what the law could not. In Genesis 3:5, we read about the disobedience of the first humans. The story is quite familiar. We know that God had forbidden Adam and Eve to eat the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, and we immediately think “apple.” There no hint as to what kind of fruit tree this was, but for some reason we think it was an apple. That’s OK. The thing that is of most importance here though, is that Adam and Eve’s sin was exposed. It most often is, isn’t it. It surely was for the man who wa quite a womanizer.

It was about nine o'clock at night, when a man dashed into the doctor's office in a highly nervous condition and explained to the doctor that he had been in a very bad state all day. The doctor, in his best professional manner, asked if anything had happened to shock or upset his nerves. "No," the man answered, "unless it was a letter I received this morning." He showed the doctor a letter which stated in part, "If you don't stop running around with my wife, I'm going to do something drastic." The doctor answered, "Well, that's a comparatively simple matter. Why don't you just stop it?" The patient's face fell as he said, "But, Doctor, the guy forgot to sign his name!"

The first human’s sin was caving in to Satan's suggestion that they could be like God. The penalty set for disobeying God was death, but Satan said to them, "You will not surely die. . .for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Gen.3:4&5). He lied! Jesus once called the Devil the father of lies (John 8:44), and he still does it. O, that was Adam's sin, but it is our sin also. And sin is so horrible that Christ had to die to make us acceptable to God. We dare not take sin lightly. That is why Paul writes, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them (Eph 5:11). “The worthless things that people do,” the GNB has it. Have nothing to do with it.

You see God is holy, just, and good, and He cannot abolish the moral foundation of life which He has established in his law. So the same law which condemns us also points us to Christ, who alone can take away the penalty of our sin. Romans 6:23 reminds us that the wages of sin is death, and he paid the prescribed penalty.

In the Cross, God brings together Justice and Mercy. Justice is served in the sense that the power of sin, which is totally contrary to the character of God, is punished. A great debt is paid. Mercy is also revealed with the Cross, for God takes the punishment upon Himself. We could not pay the debt, so someone had to pay it for us. Someone else had to serve the sentence. It was once said, "On the cross was the purchase made, and on the cross was the victory gained. The blood which wipes out the sentence against us was there shed, and the death which was the death-blow of Satan's kingdom was there endured." (John Eadie)

The Greek word for "finished" is Teleo. Archaeologists have repeatedly found its Latin equivalent, consummatum est, scrawled across tax receipts used in those days, indicating that taxes were "paid." When Jesus cried “it is finished,” sin's accounts were settled. Our debt of guilt was indeed wiped out! When Spurgeon once wrote about these wonderful words, he said, "There is no mortgage on the saints. The general religion of mankind is `Do'--but the religion of a true Christian is `Done.' The words, `It is finished,' is the believer's conquering word."

Christ did for us what the law was not able to do. He saved us. He took our place. That is one reason why "loves redeeming work is done." It is not half-finished, nor will it ever need future renovations. When Christ cried out, "It is finished," it meant the believers' "Eternal Security."

A farmer was once drafted into the army as a soldier. He was deeply concerned about leaving his family, because his wife had died and there would be no one to support and take care of his children in his absence. The day before he was to leave for the army, his neighbor came to visit him. He said, "I've been thinking. You're needed here at home, so I've decided to go in your place." The farmer was so overwhelmed that a few moments he was speechless. The offer seemed too good to be true. He grasped the hand of the young man and praised God for this one who was willing to go as his substitute. The young man went to the front-lines and performed his duties noble, but sad to say, he was shot and killed in the first battle. When the farmer heard the news, he immediately went out to the battlefield. After searching for some time, he found the body of his friend. He arranged to have it buried in the churchyard near the spot where they had often stopped to talk after Sunday morning church services. On a piece of marble he carved an inscription with his own hands. It was roughly done, but with every blow of the hammer on the chisel tears fell from his eyes. He placed the marker on the grave of his devoted substitute. Many villagers wept as they read the brief but touching inscription: HE DIED FOR ME. The task was done. Christ died for you and for me.

The second accomplishment is that because Jesus cried, "It is finished," we can approach the throne of God and find mercy. What is true mercy? Allow me to illustrate. A mother once visited Napoleon on behalf of her son who had been condemned of a certain crime. The emperor told her the young man had committed the same offense twice, and justice demanded the death penalty. 'But Sire,' she pleaded, 'I don't ask for justice -- only for mercy.' 'He doesn't deserve it,' said Napoleon. 'No, he doesn't,' she admitted, 'but it would not be MERCY if he deserved it.' 'You're right!' said the ruler quickly, 'I'll grant your request and show him mercy!'"

Mercy is something undeserved. Another word is grace. The good news of the Gospel is that when we turn to God and confess our sins we receive grace; mercy. Guilt is our problem, but grace is the work of God. The Bible declares: "If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all uncleanness" (1 John 1:9). I might have used this quote before, but It think it is worth using again. Listen! When God buries our sins in the deepest sea, He posts a sign which reads: No Fishing!

Third, Jesus cried, "It is finished," because the cross leads us home to God. A Police officer was patrolling on night duty when he heard a quivering sob. Turning in the direction from it came, he saw in the shadows a little boy sitting on a doorstep. With tears rolling down his cheeks, the child whimpered, "I'm lost. Take me home." The policeman began naming street after street, trying to help him remember where he lived. When that failed, he repeated the names of the shops and hotels in the area, but all without success. Then he remembered that in the center of the city was a well-known church with a large white cross towering high above the surrounding landscape. He pointed to it and said, "Do you live anywhere near that?" The boy's face immediately brightened. "Yes, take me to the cross. I can find my way home from there!"

The cross is the only way home. There is no other way. From the cross we hear the awesome triumphant words, “it is finished,” and Christ completed the work that had always been the plan of salvation. Three crosses were seen on Golgotha the day we call Good Friday. Myron J. Taylor once said that one cross portrays a thief dying IN sin, and the other a thief dying TO sin. But the center cross speaks of the redeemer dying FOR sin. Paul could write to the Galatians, “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. This life I live now I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave his life for me” (Gal 2:20). Can you say that with him?

It is told that in the First World War there was a young French soldier who was seriously wounded. His arm was so badly smashed that it had to be amputated, which caused the surgeon to grieve that he must go through life maimed. So he waited beside his bedside to tell him the bad news when he recovered consciousness. When the lad's eyes opened, the surgeon said to him: "I am sorry to tell you that you have lost your arm." "Sir," said the lad, "I did not lose it; I gave it -- for France."

So it was with Jesus. He was not helplessly caught up in a mesh of circumstances from which he could not break free. He did not lose his life; he gave it. The Cross was not thrust upon him; he willingly accepted it -- for us. (William Barclay, Gospel of John) Yes, God's work is done! The Son has completed his great task. Let us always, always give him thanks. And yes! It was worth it!