Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit (John 19:30).
Jesus had a singular purpose in life and that was to accomplish the will of Father (John 5:30; 6:38). The will of the Father is “that the world might be saved” through Christ (John 3:17). The death of Christ on the cross was essential to God’s redemptive plan.
For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him… He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach (Col 1:19–22).
The last words of Jesus on the cross were an acclamation of victory. With his final breath Jesus affirmed that he had accomplished the will of God. But how can death on the cross be victorious? Is there nothing more? Is the redemption work of God really finished? In fact, there is more and it’s the more that makes the cross victorious.
The cross is a symbol of victory because it was on the cross that God encountered and overcame all of the horrors of human suffering and death. It was on the cross that Jesus bore the sins of humanity (1 Peter 2:24). Jesus was the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). The story of Jesus does not end with the cross. The Gospel of John does not end with the words “It is finished”. The gospels tell of the resurrection of the crucified Jesus. On the Sunday evening following the crucifixion, Jesus appeared to his disciples and declared,
Peace be with you (John 20:19).
The horrors of the crucifixion are overcome by the presence of the resurrected Lord. The despair of death gives way to the hope of eternal life. The hostility of this present age is subdued with the words of Jesus – “Peace be with you”. In the midst of a world filled with political strife, war, and disease, the Firstborn from the dead (Col 1:18) declares peace. This does not mean that we are delivered from conflict, but that in the midst of conflict we have confidence in God’s promise – peace “which surpasses all comprehension” (Philippians 4:7). We face death with hope and courage because we know that “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). Even as the world spins out of control we have confidence in God’s future. Jesus declared, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me” (John 14:1)
I ascend to My Father (John 20:17).
The resurrected Christ must ascend to the Father in order that he might take his rightful place at the right hand of God. In the crucifixion, Christ was humiliated at the hands of humanity. In the ascension, Jesus is highly exalted by God the Father (Philippians 2:9). The ascension signifies that the redemptive mission of Christ is ongoing. At the right hand of God, Christ acts as High Priest and Sovereign Ruler (Hebrews 3:1; 1 Tim 6:15). As the Sovereign Ruler who has been given all authority (Matthew 28:19), Jesus sends his disciples into the world.
as the Father has sent Me, I also send you (John 20:21).
The Father sent the Son so that the world might be saved. The Son sends his disciples into the world so that the gospel might be proclaimed and demonstrated. Just as the sending of the Son was an act of divine love, so too is the sending of the disciples an act of divine love (John 17:26). The mission of the church reflects God’s love for humanity. In fact, Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father” (John 14:12). These are notoriously difficult words to understand. How is it possible that Christ’s disciples might do “greater works”?
Receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).
The sending of the disciples, and the “greater works” of the disciples must be understood in the context of Jesus’ teaching about the Holy Spirit. “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever… I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (Jn 14:16–18). Jesus, as High Priest, sends the Spirit to empower and authorize his disciples to proclaim the forgiveness of sins throughout the world (John 20:23). So, the work of Jesus as High Priest is to mediate the gift of the Holy Spirit to believers, and to mediate the forgiveness of sin everyone. The redemptive work of providing the basis for forgiveness of sin is finished on the cross. The redemptive work of proclamation is ongoing. We await the blessed hope in which Christ will proclaim,
It is done! (Revelation 21:6).
The resurrection of Jesus Christ inaugurates a new reality into this present age, a reality in which sin and death are defeated. With the Apostle Paul we exclaim, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? …but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:55–57). The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the first-fruit of New Creation. The victorious Christ will return in power and glory. His glorious (re)appearing will transform this present cosmos into New Creation (Revelation 21:5).
That which Christ finished on the cross is vindicated in the resurrection, attested by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, proclaimed by the disciples who were sent out into the world, and ultimately consummated in the revelation of New Creation.
