It is finished! What?

[Odell]

I mean His earthly ministry is over and He came to pay the punishment for our sins on the cross by taking our penalty for our sins upon Himself. Which is what he means when He says when “It is finished!”

I have showed you what Catholics believe by its finished I want to show you now why you should think twice about Chist being punished for our sins

If Jesus suffered the punishment would he have not suffered hell?

Jesus offered Himself up to the Father not as a whipping boy but purchasing God’s favor by being an obedient servant (Phil 2:5-11) and displaying the greatest act of love possible, obeying God - even if it leads to your death (remember in this case the death was unjust and caused by those who did not want to hear and obey the good news Jesus was sent to preach). Christ did as a man what God originally intended to see Adam do: show perfect love. Jesus demonstrated perfect love for God and neighbor. If this sounds confusing hopefully the following example will explain the difference between the historical Protestant and Catholic position:

Lets say some children are messing around with their Father’s expensive artwork after being warned not to touch it. Yet the children through disobedience damage the artwork. The Father’s wrath flares up against the children and the children deserve to be punished. However before the children get punished the mother of the home steps in to help, and here is how:

The Protestant would understand this to mean that the mother stepped in and received the equivalent beating that the children deserved, thus satisfying the Father’s wrath.

The Catholic would understand the mother’s intercession in a different matter. The mother would spend all day preparing the Father’s favorite dinner, sacrificing her time and energy to please the Father. The Father was so pleased at this act of love that in turn He would allow the children to get off with a sincere apology.

The Catholic understanding rightly points out that the Father could never be justified in beating His wife, and in fact such a “solution” to His wrath should be deeply disturbing to you.

 

[n2thelight]

Too understand what Christ meant we need to go back to where Christ said My God my God why hath thou forsaken me

Mark 15:34 "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lava sabachthani?” which being interpreted, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”

Many say, “In as much as He took the sins of the world on Himself, God departed from Him.”

That is not the case at all Jesus was teaching here from Psalms 22. I. The first thing that should stand out here is that Jesus Christ never called God, God. But He called Him “Father”

Psalms 22:1 “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?”

Now to the question it is finished

John 19:28 "After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, “I thirst.”

Jesus is stating that at this point in time all the Scripture from the prophets of the Old Testament has been fulfilled and come to pass. There is a deep significance here. Jesus saw the casting of the lots and knew that all that the Scripture that were foretold were finished and fulfilled. Jesus had accomplished every part of the prophecy that He came to fulfill; Even in His asking for something to drink, He was fulfilling Scripture. In Psalm 69:21 “They gave me also gall for my meat; and in My thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.” This also had to come to pass.

John 19:29 “Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to His mouth.”

This was a poor man’s wine and the soldiers meant to wet Jesus lips. Following this act, all prophecy is fulfilled and the conclusion is ready.

John 19:30 "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, “It is finished:” and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost.

When Jesus stated “It is finished”, He was quoting from the last line of Psalm 22, with the word “Finished” in the Greek text, the same as the Hebrew word “done”. This verse suggests that Jesus kept His head erect, until He laid down His live, as was stated in John 10:18

John 10:18 “No man taketh it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of My Father.”

 

[jcrichton]

Hi Angel - Jesus did indeed come to “fulfill” the Law. That is why we are no longer subject to the 613 commandments contained within the Torah (Mosaic Law), other than the moral law (10 commandments). Are you suggesting that we remain subject to the other laws (the substantial majority of which related to the Levitical priesthood replaced/fulfilled by Christ who is a priest forever in the order of Melchesedek.)? I believe the Catholic Church position is that the 10 commandments continues (I agree, except that the Sabbath is fulfilled in our rest in Christ (Hebrews), and we celebrate Sunday as the Lord’s day consistent with the rythm of God’s plan of 1 day of rest and in memory of the resurrection. The other 9 commandments continue - the balance of the Mosaic Law (dietary laws, laws of sacrafice, laws of purification, etc are fufilled by Christ).

Blessings,

Brian

Hi, Brian!

…perhaps I misunderstood your point… (I have encounter those who believe that the OT is finished in Christ meaning that it is no longer applicable to us and that its function was nullified by Christ.); thank you for clarifying your position.

Maran atha!

Angel