John 19:30
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Matthew 27:50-60
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. 54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!" 55Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons. 57As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.
When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Matthew 27:50-60
50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. 52The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people. 54When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!" 55Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons. 57As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.
When I take my three year old son to the doctor he throws a fit. First he doesn't like small spaces so being taken to one of those tiny offices is punishment enough for him. But the thing he really doesn't like is his shots. He's old enough to know what that needle is, he's seen it before. He knows the pain of the poke. Yet his father makes him take it just the same and he lets out a wail. Then the doctor throws the needle away and we both rush to his side to say, "all done!"
One can only imagine what Jesus' disciples would have thought if they had heard Him say, "it is finished." Jesus says it is finished, and maybe for a second they have a hope that He's going to come down and take care of those Pharisees and Roman guards. Maybe He'll take back his garments from those who were gambling. Instead, the next thing they would hear is Him give His soul to His Father, let out a wail and then He would be lifeless.
Even though many miraculous things happened as Jesus gave up His spirit, He didn't look very triumphant hanging there lifeless. He didn't look very triumphant as a guard pierced His side to make sure He was really dead. He didn't look very triumphant as the disciples decided the next thing to do would be to go into hiding. He didn't look very triumphant to those who stuck around as they rolled a stone in front of His tomb.
If Jesus truly accomplished His mission, why did He go about it in such a painful method? My son sees a needle whose only purpose is to poke him painfully and cause him to start bleeding and it aches for a little while afterwards. He doesn't understand that there are all sorts of medical blessings going to fight for him to make his life better and give him the health he needs.
The disciples didn't understand that Jesus came here to be the final sacrifice for men. They didn't understand that Jesus was to rise again two days later, in fact the Bible says as much that they hadn't realized what Jesus meant about destroying the temple and rebuilding it until they saw their risen savior.
The disciples filled with a profound sense of gratitude and new found understanding went out and began to build Christ's church. They gladly started to share their Savior's death, the one they tried so hard to prevent. The same death that scared them so much that first Good Friday.
One day I hope my son will have children of his own, and I bet he'll be at the doctor's office with his child as they try hopelessly to get out of their own shots, because my son will know that those shots were for his good and the good of his own children. What a blessing it is we can look back on what happened to Jesus with the knowledge that it was for our good and that He was triumphant and it is finished.
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