‘Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he… gave up his spirit.’ John 19:30 NIV
Calvary was victorious! The cross may look like the triumph of evil over goodness, the powerful over the powerless, but only to those who don’t understand Christ’s mission. Never was courage greater or strength stronger. When he cried, ‘It is finished’ (some translations read ‘It is completed’), he didn’t mean, ‘I’m finished, my cause is defeated.’
Far from being crushed at Calvary, Jesus triumphed in three ways: (1) He conquered his own human desire to avoid unspeakable suffering: ‘He…bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine”‘ (Matthew 26:39 NLT). (2) He conquered the demonic powers of darkness. ‘In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross’ (Colossians 2:15 NLT). (3) He conquered the law’s stubborn demands against sinners. ‘Christ…brought the Law to an end, so that everyone who believes is put right with God’ (Romans 10:4 GNT).
At Calvary love triumphed over law, forever freeing us who could never live up to the Law. ‘It is finished’ was the cry of a victor instead of a victim! It didn’t look that way to the crowd or to his devastated disciples. But it did three days later when the empty tomb proved Jesus had won the victory over death. It all comes down to this: ‘If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved’ (Romans 10:9 GNT).
