What Did Jesus Mean When He Said "IT IS FINISHED"?
Well, I'm using a picture of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" to strike a point that indeed, it is finished. Though I personally don't endorse the film as entirely accurate I'm pretty glad about the fact how some people I knew who watched the film, ended up figuring out that the sacrifice on the cross is FINISHED! After hours of gory torture of being lashed and whipped, remember it is FINISHED! In fact, the last words of Jesus were "It is FINISHED!" Nothing else can suffice for the sacrifice of sins but Jesus.
Yesterday was "Good Friday", today is "Black Saturday" and tomorrow is Easter Sunday. So what do Christians commemorate? It is not that Jesus died again on Good Friday and rose again on Easter Sunday, no it is to commemorate what He already did and in Hebrews 10:10-12 is clear that such a horrifying sacrifice for the sins of man will never be repeated ever again. That sacrifice was once and for all. He's not a God who dies again every Good Friday and rises again every Easter Sunday, no He already did that! Whether it is Good Friday or not, Jesus' sacrifice is in effect to all who accept Him as Lord and Savior because He died for their sins! When He gave up the ghost, the veil that separated people from the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom showing that God has accepted Jesus as the FINAL sacrifice for sins that man could not pay except for eternity in Hell. No more animal offerings, no more so-called bloodless offerings- blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins and Jesus PAID IT ALL!
Romans 10:10-13 is clear that if you confess the Lord Jesus Christ believing the death, burial and resurrection you can be saved even when it's not Good Friday or Easter Sunday. The sacrifice is finished and that's what every Christian must remember not only on Holy Week, but all year round. It's nice to have Maundy Thursday to Black Saturday retreats, I personally have nothing against it. Members of the Christian community than then all feast on roasted lamb or goat with unleavened bread as a refresher not because Christ died again but because they are taking one time of the year to remember what He did much more than they remember it daily. But as said, every Holy Week I am thankful that Christ's sacrifice is finished and there is only one sacrifice for sins.
And that moment when I received Christ as my Lord and Savior, I can proudly sing the song "Nothing But the Blood of Jesus", "Are You Washed in the Blood?" and "He Took My Sins Away!" And the blood of Jesus is so powerful it gives NEW LIFE. In fact how can I continue to deny the change from a life of sin to a life of service only by Jesus Christ!