John 19:28-30
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), "I thirst." A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
The words “It is finished” were not a whisper of defeat but a shout of victory. In that moment, the work the Father had given him, to reconcile the world to himself, was accomplished. I felt the weight of my own sin lift, not because I had done anything, but because he had done everything.
The curtain in the temple tore from top to bottom at the moment he died, showing that the way into the Holy of Holies was now open. No more barriers, no more priests needed as intermediaries, we can draw near because his body was broken for us.
What does it mean that it is finished? It means I no longer have to strive to earn God’s favor. It means my past, my failures, my shame, all of it was dealt with in that single act. I can now live from a place of gratitude, not from a place of trying to measure up.
"It is finished"
He still speaks those words over the areas of my life where I keep trying to fix myself. “It is finished” reminds me that the work is done, and I can rest in what he has accomplished.
With a heart full of wonder and the weight of my sins lifted, Claire