March 28, 2021: It is Finished – Michael Hidalgo

Of all the words Jesus spoke on the cross these three: “It is finished,” may be among the most well-known. However, it is possible we can overlook the nuance of Jesus’ words, as in some ways something new had just begun. The words John records echo the end of the creation poem in Genesis 2.2 when “God had finished the work” of bringing the universe into existence. Of course, these words of Jesus that John records have even greater connection to the creation poem because of how the gospel begins: “In the beginning …” A clear reference to Genesis 1.1, and the connections do not stop there. The next scene is in a garden, where Jesus is thought to be the gardener. Another reference to the first human whose job was the care for the garden. 

All of these references to the creation poem are meant to lead us to see a beginning of sorts. In the case of Jesus, it is a new beginning. Though for Jesus it was finished, for his followers the work to which he called them had just begun. And how would they go about doing this? And here there is one last detail John offers us. After Jesus spoke these words, he “he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” Except the Greek does not indicate it was “his spirit” but “the spirit.” It is the Spirit Jesus had promised them when he said, “ … very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). And this is exactly what John says happened when he died. Which is no surprise because Zechariah had prophesied “… I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child … On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity” (Zechariah 12.10, 13.1). So here we are then, at the end, which is the beginning of the work the Spirit has empowered us to do.