In our series of lunch time talks we have been reflecting upon the theme of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, in that defining event of history. In one of his sayings from the cross- it is finished – we have seen that Jesus finished or completed a number of things. He finished the great act of salvation in which we have been saved from God’s wrath, he paid the ransom price to free us, he took upon himself the punishment and pain of separation that was due to us, he disarmed the powers and authorities that were ranged against us and in that one act of humiliation and sacrifice he glorified himself.

We can never exhaust the meaning of the cross and as we reflect upon it we see new depths and new wonders of what Jesus achieved as he reconciled us to our heavenly Father.  In our meditation this evening I want to focus on that saying of Jesus – It is finished – and see that Jesus was a finisher and if we are to follow his example then we must be finishers as well.

Oswald Sanders remarks that the phrase it is finished is actually one word in Greek – tetelestai. He says “it was a farmer’s word. When there was born into his herd an animal so shapely that it seemed destitute of defects, the farmer, gazing on the creature with delighted eyes exclaimed tetelestai. It was an artist’s word. When the painter had put the finishing touches to the vivid landscape, he would stand back ad admire his masterpiece. Seeing that nothing called for correction or improvement he would murmur, tetelestai. It was a priestly word. When some devout worshipper overflowing with gratitude for mercies received brought to the temple a lamb without blemish, the pride of the flock, the priest, more accustomed to seeing blind and defective animals led to the altar, would look admiringly at the pretty creature and say tetelestai.”

When, in the fullness of time the Lamb of God offered himself on the altar of the cross, a perfect, flawless sacrifice, he cried with a loud voice, tetelestai. It is finished, it is completed, it is done, it is perfected.

It is appropriate that we hear this saying in John’s gospel for in this gospel there is a theme of Jesus coming to do the Father’s will, of completing God’s work. In John 4:34 Jesus says “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” In John 5:17 “My Father is always at his work to this very day and I too am working.” In John 5:36 “For the very works that the Father has given me to finish and which I am doing testifies that the Father has sent me.” And in John 17:4 Jesus says “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do”. All these references to work are completed by Jesus saying it is finished – his work was done, the work that God the Father had sent him to do and which he was willing to do.

 The work that Jesus had come to do was at two levels – level one was his coming in the flesh, taking human form and then living among us preaching, teaching, healing , performing miracles. Here was an in-breaking of God in human form and bringing something of the kingdom of heaven down to earth. This was a special work and it was an intensifying of other such work done by God through his servants through time. Others taught the word of God and revealed God’s mind, other prophets and kings performed miracles and healings but this was intensified in Jesus and here we have God in a more intimate and immediate form – God in the flesh before their eyes. This was different, this was God’s will in a more intense way. God’s will was that in His Son he would take human form and do great works.

But there was yet a second level of his work and will and that was to be a sacrifice, not just to be a priest but to be the actual sacrifice for sin.  This level of work was one that only Jesus could do for he was the God/man, he was the only sinless human being, he was the only one who could perfectly make a sacrifice for sin and perfectly propitiate, or appease, God’s wrath. He was the only one who could perfectly honour the Father. This was a work only Jesus as God’s Son could do – we could not do this work it would have fallen short, it was a necessary work. The old hymn says “There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin, he only could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in.”

 So when the Bible speaks of Jesus coming to complete the work he was sent to do it was more than being a carpenter, it was more even than being a preacher, more than being a healer, it was supremely to be a sacrifice and only he could do this work, no-one else. It was therefore necessary that he finished the task. As we look at it we can too easily dismiss the task by saying well, sure Jesus was God and it was easy for him, and yet because Jesus was God I think it was actually more difficult for him. He had ways out that we could not have had – he could call a legion of angels, he could disappear back to heaven, or he could have  produced food out of nothing and survive quite happily away from towns and places he was supposed to be. He was sinless, he did not deserve to die, he had done nothing wrong, he was going to take upon himself the sins of the world. One of the worst things we can experience is unjustly being accused of something we did not do – all this was to be heaped upon the sinless One. He worked through misunderstanding, insult, injury, whippings, betrayals, the most painful death, and finally the separation from his Father (he cried “my God, my God why have you forsaken me”).

It was immensely difficult, his sweat was like drops of blood as he contemplated the death before him – “if it be possible may this cup pass from me”. We can never know the agonies, and they truly were agonies, that Jesus went through for we are just men and women, he was the God/man. In many ways being God was making it more difficult for Jesus to complete his work. And yet he completed it and he did not rest until it was done in the fullness of time – tetelestai – it is finished.

We know that phrase that says it is not how you start but how you finish that is important. How true that is of the work Jesus had come to do. If he had stopped short at being a carpenter, being a preacher, being a healer and miracle worker and did not carry through to calvary his work would have been incomplete. Salvation would not have been secured, our eternal safety would still be uncertain, the power of the devil would be undiminished and death still an undefeated last enemy. But he finished the work, he completed the task, he did what he came to do. Humans are born to live, Jesus was born to die and he finished the task assigned to him. Jesus was the great finisher.

But what of us? What of us who claim to follow Jesus? What of us whom God has called and equipped and sent? We remember these words of Jesus “He who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Mt.10:22) and “By standing firm you will gain life” (Lk.21:19). We are called to persevere. A word, like commitment, which is falling on stony ground these days.  

Jesus was a finisher but are we especially in a culture where people seem not to follow through as much as they used to. Life has enormous stresses now but life has always had stresses and difficulties, perhaps just in different forms.

On this Good Friday can I challenge us to be good finishers. Here are some things that we need to finish well.

1.  Finish our profession. Many of us have stood in front of this church or another one and professed faith in Jesus, We have made confirmation of the vows taken at our baptism and we have followed through to a public testimony. We have made a good start but our profession is for the rest of our lives. Will we still be standing strong, will our yes to following the Lord be as strong in five years, ten years, thirty years. We need to follow through on our profession and persevere. Increasingly we find people as Jesus said in Luke 8 like seed that falls among thorns – “As they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”  We promise to be faithful in bible reading, prayer, attendance, giving and serving. How are we doing in these things day by day, week by week.

2.  Finish the tasks assigned and use the gifts given. When it comes to church work most of us are volunteers, not paid.  The vast majority of church work is done by volunteers and that is good – that is the way god intended the NT church to work. The paid staff are there to equip the saints to do the work of ministry. But when the volunteers are not there the work suffers, the church suffers, the witness suffers. God has given each of us gifts and part of being a Christian is to find what that gift or gifts are and put them to good use. Use it or lose it. We still have many members who neither know what their gift is, nor are they using it to bless others. Church is still mainly for them about what they can get out of church rather than what we can give or what other person’s needs can we meet. This is not finishing well. This is not even to begin well.  In the parable of the talents Jesus tells the story of the master who gives out gifts or talents of money (5,2,1) – each doubled their money except the person with one who buried his. The master commended those who used and multiplied their talent but he was angry with the man who did nothing with his. “For everyone who has will be given more, whoever does not have even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”     

Finish our profession; finish the task.

3. Finish the race. Paul speaks about fighting the fight and finishing the race and we know if we have ever taken part in along distance run that it is important to finish. There is an achievement in finishing. We do not know how long our individual races will last but it is important to finish well and then to hear our Lord’s well done. It is good to die well with a strong faith and looking forward to seeing our Lord. But as we close this evening can I remind us that God is with us and he is giving us the grace and strength to finish well. We were saved by grace but we persevere also by grace. We cannot do it in our own strength. So if we are wavering press into him, lean upon him. Philippians 2:12-13 Paul says “Therefore my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence-continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” 1 Cor.15:10 Paul says again “By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No I worked harder than all of them-yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me”.

And not only lean upon Jesus but lean upon the church. When things are getting tough we need the church – don’t run away from it but run to it. And when you have not the strength to pray then have the church pray for you. And we who are the church must look out for those who are drifting and come around them. Too many are drifting away and we are discovering too late that they are struggling. They need our help – Christ’s grace is mediated through the church.

Jesus was a finisher and he knows what it takes to finish and he comes alongside us to encourage, exhort, sometimes rebuke us in our laziness and lack of faith. On that first Good Friday Jesus finished his profession, he finished the task, he finished the race marked out for him which ended at 33 years. May God help us to do the same and to be good finishers for his glory.

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