It is finished

4 Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” 5 So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!”

Main Point: See Jesus on the cross, finishing His mission of saving us.

John chapter 19 picks up right where we left off in the previous chapter and reminds me of a tension filled, ominous scene near the end of a movie. This is a first hand account of Jesus approaching the end of His earthly, physical life. Can you imagine the emotions that Jesus could have been feeling? One key fact that we can take from our reading the book of John is that Jesus was a real human, who interacted with countless people from: the religious leader Nicodemus in chapter 3, to the woman at the well in chapter 4, to Mary, Martha and Lazurus, who was His friend and raised from the dead, to his disciples that went through many experiences with Him. I would infer that He felt deeply connected to a number of people and felt some sorrow at leaving them (in the physical sense) and knowing the sorrow they would feel. Jesus was also beaten severely, abused, ridiculed and mocked, all by the very people He loved and created. What a great sense of betrayal He must’ve felt, on top of the physical pain of the beating He endured.

In verse 11, Jesus makes it clear that He is not powerless in this scenario, but willingly choosing to be subjected to punishment. Pilate, the Roman governor, continues to state that Jesus is guilty of no wrongdoing, yet the people insist upon His crucifixion. Little did they know that what they insisted on in Jesus being placed on the cross was our beautiful solution to being accepted by God and forgiven of our sins. The cross is a brutal, gruesome scene, meant only for the worst of criminals not a perfect, powerful king. Multiple instances throughout this chapter remind us of who Jesus truly was, even in the symbolism of the crown of thorns and robe in verse 5 we see Jesus as King (word to Kanye). However, Jesus never swayed from or forgot about His mission! He came not for a life free from suffering, but to ultimately suffer and die in the place we deserved because of our sins. Jesus states, “it is finished,” in verse 30, which some may see as a not so happy ending. The question is, what was actually finished? We will see in the remaining chapters of John that this was ultimately the happiest ending we could ever know and the beginning of our beautiful new life of acceptance through this ultimate sign of love. Let’s take some time to be reminded of Jesus on the cross, in our place today.

Deeper Focus:

- What do you think Jesus must have been feeling through this crucifixion scene?

- Jesus didn’t just die for you, He died AS YOU!

- What needs to be finished in your life this year? Let’s believe God to see His FINISHED Work manifest in your life!