March 27, 2019
You know that moment when one line in a song just hits you in the heart? When this happens, it’s like one line sums up everything that you are feeling in a single thought. For me, in the song “It Is Finished,” it is the line “The final words that You would speak will resound eternally.” That one line sums up Good Friday for me and what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
In the Greek, the phrase “It is finished” is in the perfect tense, which means that even though it happened in the past, it has continuous effects into the future. This means these famous words resound eternally. Forever and for all people, the work of the cross has accomplished what thousands of years of animal sacrifices could not do.
If you’ve read the book of Leviticus, you know there was an actual cost of sin. If someone sinned, they had to provide a sacrifice for sin. This literally cost the sinner money. However, in the end, no amount of sacrifice could atone for the sin, and no one could actually pay the price to eradicate sin. But Hebrews says that Jesus’ sacrifice was enough to pay for all sin, for all time. When Jesus said “It is finished” on the cross, the price that no one could pay was finally paid.
Psalm 49:8–9 (TPT) says, “A soul’s redemption is too costly and precious for anyone to pay with earthly wealth. The price to pay is never enough to purchase eternal life for even one, to keep them out of hell.” There have been times when I have vainly attempted to pay the price for my own sin. I either wrongly held on to shame and guilt instead of letting the blood of Jesus cleanse my conscience or tried to do some religious activity to make up for my failure. It never worked. It was impossible for any of my own sacrifices to pay my ransom. There is only one person whose sacrifice was enough, and 2,000 years ago He cleared my name. He said, “It is finished!” Click here to listen on Spotify and find our resources for this song here.
Verse 1
See our King upon the cross
Clothed in rags, our righteousness
Hear Him speaking over us
Words of life, deliverance
Verse 2
Tearing through our walls of shame
The veil that blinds and separates
The final words that You would speak
Will resound eternally
Chorus
It is finished
Once for all
Death defeated
On the cross
Love has spoken
We’re forgiven
It is finished
Forever it is done
Verse 3
Hope proclaimed, Your love made known
Sin and death now overthrown
Our risen King victorious
Lifted high, alive in us
Bridge
Jesus, the name above all other names
Yours is the glory
Heaven and earth proclaim Your victory
Yours is the glory
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