Preaching

‘It Is Finished‘

John 17:1 – 4

‘After Jesus said this, he looked towards heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do”.’

The first words recorded in scripture as spoken by Jesus are, “I must be about My Father’s business”. The last words recorded in scripture as spoken by Jesus prior to dying on the cross were, ‘It is finished’. His Father’s work, His Father’s business was at an end, concluded, completed, fulfilled, finished. Nothing could be taken away, nothing could be added. A perfect life from beginning to end, meeting all the requirements of the Father’s business, bringing it to a close.

God sent His Son to restore the spiritual and emotional connection He had had with humanity at the beginning. God wanted to restore a relationship that had died. It was like humanity had divorced from God and God very much wanted to bring about a reconciliation. The Father’s business was reconciling with humanity, bringing that reconciliation between us and God was Jesus’ purpose on earth.

The New Testament was originally written in Greek and the word written for finished was ‘teleo’ which as well as meaning finished, it also means paid in full. The price for this reconnection of our relationship was paid in full by Jesus. We don’t need to contribute, there are no extras, no instalments, we don’t owe anything, it is paid in full. You cannot complete a completed work. You cannot finish a finished work. Adding to it just spoils it. No one would think of taking a paint brush and a pot of paint and try to add to the Mona Lisa. Because we know it is a finished work of art. Finished by the artist who started it. In the same way, that is how we are to look at Jesus’ life’s work. He finished it. Our salvation, our reconciliation with God is achieved perfectly and completely.

Paul tells us, all of our sins are entirely forgiven and forgotten (Heb 8:12), because love keeps no record of wrongs (1Co 13:5). We are forever cleansed and made pure by His death on the cross. Christ paid completely and perfectly for our absolute forgiveness. There are those who say that sin separates the Christian from God, this is just not true. Jesus completely and perfectly gave everything needed for or total forgiveness.
Paul tells us in Ro 8:39 ‘Nothing can separate us from the love of God.’

Back in the Garden of Eden, the story says that in the separation from God, known as the fall, humanity was cursed, cursed here simply means cut off from God. Humanity lost that life giving connection that they had with God. But scripture says about Christians in Ga 3:13 ‘Christ redeemed us from the curse.’ Jesus gave us that connection again with God. Just before he died Jesus cried out from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He cried that out in despair because for the first time throughout all eternity the Son was separated from His Father. Jesus died alone entering the darkness of death separated from His Father, but by doing that he brought to an end everything that separated humanity from God the Father.

Our connection with God is secure forever otherwise Jesus would have failed in finishing His Fathers business. Many believe that breaking any Biblical law or laws cause a separation from God. There are 613 rules that make up the law of Moses. However in practise, Christians cherry pick which Biblical laws to follow and which to quietly ignore. And Christians differ in which ones to follow or not. It says in scripture, don’t eat any meat with blood in it and some Christians don’t eat Black Pudding because of that, however some like me, quietly ignore that and enjoy their black pudding.

You can find a lots of rules or laws in the New Testament which many Christians say they keep and many, like the one about women must cover their heads in church, that are quietly ignored. And that is the very nature of laws, they always causes difference of opinion and division, but the message of the Gospel is about equality in unity, oneness in Jesus and God.

God has made it so simple, it is not our sins, or breaking biblical laws that separate us from Him, it is ‘sin’, singular. One sin separates humanity from God and that one sin is unrighteousness, the state of not having God’s righteousness, and we can never achieve this, we have to receive righteousness as a gift when the Holy Spirit gives us that faith connection with God, and we receive God’s life the moment we first trust in Him.

The Father’s business was to restore God’s life to humanity, that restored position is righteousness. Righteousness is spiritually having God’s life, being in right standing with God. Only Jesus who had God’s life and lived totally in harmony with the Father, only Jesus lived a righteous life.

The apostle Paul wrote in Ro 3:23 ‘All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’. And in Ro 10:3 They do not know God’s righteousness, and all the time they are trying to establish their own righteousness they have the wrong attitude to receive his. (Phillips)
Striving to attain high ethical and moral standards is called self righteousness which falls miles short of the standard acceptable by God. For no matter what we say or do, we will always fall short of the Glory of God. And that is the only standard that is acceptable to God.

Newspaper contain news news. Does it tell you what to do? No, it only tells what has happened, what’s been done, and it’s mostly bad news. The gospel means Good News, the news that tells us what’s been done, the good news which tells us that we are reconciled forever with God. Its done!, it is finished! And nothing, absolutely nothing can ever put a dent in that, or take away our relationship ever again.

Jesus’ prayer in Joh 17:22 Father, I have given them the glory that you gave me, so becoming one as we are one: As Christians spiritually we possess the life of Jesus, we can never ever fall short of God’s glory because we already have His glory, He gave it to us. We no longer have to work and strive to make ourselves acceptable to God, no longer do we need to strive to keep in God’s good books. But in faith we can rest in all that Jesus has done for us and in all that God has freely given us to live in oneness with Him through Jesus. We can completely rest in Jesus’ completed work, it is completely finished.