"It is Finished"

[Little_Mary]

What did Jesus mean on the cross when he said “It is finished”?

What, exactly, was finished?

 

[Belloc_Fan]

The culmination of the ultimate Passover. Read or listen to Scott Hahn’s “The Fourth Cup,” and you’ll see what I mean.

 

[Little_Mary]

The culmination of the ultimate Passover. Read or listen to Scott Hahn’s “The Fourth Cup,” and you’ll see what I mean.

Yes that is what I am trying to remember. I heard him talk recently in my town and I want to refresh my memory.

Jesus was referring to the meal, right? He did not finish it at the table, but on the cross.
If that is right, can anyone expound on that for me? Give me a tuesday morning crash course? Thanks…

 

[Belloc_Fan]

Sure. The Passover meal was strictly structured, with four cups, punctuated by food dishes, prayers and Psalms, and so forth. Wikipedia gives this list:

1. 
   *]Kadeish קדש - recital of Kiddush blessing and drinking of the first cup of wine
   *]Urchatz ורחץ - the washing of the hands - without blessing
   *]Karpas כרפס - dipping of the karpas in salt water
   *]Yachatz יחץ - breaking the middle matzo; the larger piece becomes the afikoman which is eaten later during the ritual of Tzafun
   *]Maggid מגיד - retelling the Passover story, including the recital of “the four questions” and drinking of the second cup of wine
   *]Rachtzah רחצה - second washing of the hands - with blessing
   *]Motzi מוציא - traditional blessing before eating bread products
   *]Matzo מצה - blessing before eating matzo
   *]Maror מרור - eating of the maror
   *]Koreich כורך - eating of a sandwich made of matzo and maror
   *]Shulchan oreich שולחן עורך - lit. “set table”—the serving of the holiday meal
   *]Tzafun צפון - eating of the afikoman
   *]Bareich ברך - blessing after the meal and drinking of the third cup of wine
   *]Hallel הלל - recital of the Hallel, traditionally recited on festivals; drinking of the fourth cup of wine
   *]Nirtzah נירצה - conclusion

1. 
   

   The Cup of Blessing is the third cup. That’s the Eucharistic Cup – St. Paul tells us this directly in 1 Cor. 10:16. Between the third and fourth cups, the youngest member opens the door to look for Elijah, symbolizing the wait for a Messiah. When Christ is on the Cross, the crowd thinks He’s calling on Elijah (Mark 15:35) – that is, they think He’s looking for a Messiah to save Him! After this, He drinks the Fourth Cup , and declares it (the Passover) finished.

   Obviously, Christ was thirsty before that. He’d carried His own Cross and then hung for hours in the Mideastern sun in the middle of the day, and He’d had nothing to drink since the night before. But this is clearly about the Passover. John 19:28 says that the drinking of this Cup from the Cross had to be done “so that Scripture would be fulfilled.” And to make it more blatant, the wine vinegar of the Fourth Cup is delivered on hyssop (John 19:29), which is what you dipped into the Lamb’s Blood for the Passover (Exodus 12:22).

 

[MarcoPolo]

The article is not that long and you can read it here. Essentially, there were 4 cups to drink from to complete the meal. After the 3rd cup, Jesus said He would not drink again until He drank it anew in the Kingdom. He refused a cup on the road to calvary. And then He drank off the end of a spear while on the cross as He was about to expire and said “It is finished.” (Jn 19:30) This is not necessarily the end-all to the meaning of that phrase, because Catholics do not believe all possible interpretations are exhausted once a sound interpretation is discovered. You can also check out what Early Church Fathers had to say on the passage here.

 

[Mumbles140]

I have also heard this as reference to Christ’s marriage to the Church, creating the relationship with His words (the vows) and then making the act of pure love. Another widely accepted translation is “It is consummated”, which ties into this.

 

[Cat_Herder]

This is a duplicate thread