Holy Friday: It Is Finished
John 18–19
Thank you for joining us for Day 6 of Tables, Tears, and Triumph, a devotional through Holy Week.
Imagine you were walking with the apostle John. We believe his perspective would have looked something like this:
Last night in Gethsemane was a blur. I still can’t believe they actually arrested Jesus. The soldiers and Jewish officials took him to be questioned by Caiaphas, the high priest. But early in the morning—probably around 6:00 or 7:00 a.m.—Jesus was escorted from Caiaphas’s house to Pilate’s palace. We had no idea why the Roman governor was getting involved.
To avoid becoming unclean, the Jewish leaders refused to go into Pilate’s palace, so he came out to them. Preferring to remain uninvolved in their religious controversies, Pilate tried to avoid the matter, but the Jewish leaders objected, “We have no right to execute anyone.”
My heart stopped while my mind raced.
Did they really just say “execute”?
Pilate summoned Jesus into his palace while we waited anxiously outside. Soon after, Pilate returned saying, “I find no basis for a charge against him.” He continued, “But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’”? The relief I felt quickly dissipated when I heard the crowd shout, “We don’t want Jesus. Release Barabbas!” How is this happening?
Jesus was taken away—flogged, beaten, whipped. It was horrifying! A kind of brutality that I can’t describe. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and pressed it on his head.
Pilate returned to the crowd with Jesus and said again, “I find no basis for a charge against him.” It’s as if he’d hoped the flogging would appease their anger so he could free Jesus. But things just got worse. The Jewish leaders wanted him dead because he claimed to be the Son of God. They began shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” They shouted until Pilate relented, releasing Jesus to them.
Jesus carried his cross to Golgotha—spit on, ridiculed, and beaten along the way. They nailed him to a cross between two thieves. I couldn’t bear to watch, yet I couldn’t walk away. I waited with his mother… helpless. And then, with his last breath, Jesus said, “It is finished.” He bowed his head… and died. Jesus died.
Joseph and Nicodemus asked Pilate for his body, prepared it for burial, and placed him in a tomb. Jesus was dead. It was over. It was all over. Today was the worst day of my life.
Commentary:
The last words Jesus uttered were, “It is finished.” Notice, Jesus said, “It is finished,” not, “I am finished.” Jesus’s death did not signal the end of anything but rather a glorious new beginning for those who put their faith in him. The work Jesus came to do was finished. What does that mean for us?
Our debt was finished. Paul tells us in Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death.”In other words, what sin earned us is death. We had a debt to pay, but God sent Jesus to take our place. Papyrus tax receipts from the first century have the Greek word tetelestai written over the top, meaning “paid in full.” Jesus paid the price in full, and now we live as part of the family of God.
Our shame was finished. Shame is that small voice that whispers, “I am bad.” Shame tells us we are defined by our past, by our decisions, and our mistakes. But Paul tells us in Romans 8:1, “There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” For those relationally connected to Jesus, who bore our sin, when our heavenly Father looks at us, he sees the righteousness of Christ.
The power of sin and death was finished. Death will not have the final say in our lives. We live with hope that no matter what we face on this side of eternity, it is not the end. And on this side of eternity, sin is no longer our master. We have been freed to say no to sin and yes to the life-giving, kingdom-building way of Jesus.
For reflection:
What does Jesus’s suffering and death on the cross mean for you personally?
Want to learn more about Good Friday?
Samer Massd and our college pastor, Jake Williams, recorded a special edition podcast all about it.
