IT IS FINISHED part one
In part one we want to talk about God’s plan for man, His ultimate judgment for man, His purpose for man, the Mosaic Law and man’s inability to live within its parameters.
What did Christ mean by the statement “It is finished” in John 19:30? Another term often used for the word finished is “fulfilled”.  Well what was Christ’s purpose for coming to earth as the “Son of man” or as God in the flesh? When Christ stated that it was finished, He was meaning that His purpose up to that time, had been accomplished. God’s plan was now completed. Christ finished another critical step that man could not do himself. Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection has now redeemed man from the bondage of sin.
What was it that man could not do? Man could not offer an acceptable sacrifice that would permanently cover sin and heal the relationship between man and God. Without this sacrifice man was doomed by God’s own judgment in Romans 6:23.
God’s ultimate judgment upon man. God said all are guilty and the sentence is death, Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death. . .” then add Romans 3:23a “For all have sinned. . .” equates, from God’s point of view, all men deserve death. But this was not God’s purpose for man. 2 Peter 3:9b tells us that God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” So God devised a plan to bring man to an acceptable righteous being Romans 5:20b, “but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” But first the law had to be fulfilled.
God’s plan for man’s redemption began in Gen. 3:15 with the prophecy about woman’s seed. Over the next 4000 years that one prophecy was followed by over 350 more written concerning the first advent which would bring us up to the time of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. To fulfill the law there had to be a perfect sacrifice. Jesus did not have an earthly father, therefore the sin of Adam was not present in the blood. Because Jesus had no sin then He could be the eternal sacrifice without “any” blemish.
How the Mosaic Law affected man can be found in Romans 3:19-20, “Now we know that whatever things the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, (Israel) that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world (the law was given to Israel, but was expanded to every man and condemned the entire world.) may become guilty before God. 20. Therefore, by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight; for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” also in Gal. 2:16 “for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
The law is by definition God’s character. To God, the law is just how He is every day. But for man, who is not perfect, man can never be free of sin on his own. Remember if one has an earthly father, then he already has the Adam sin nature in his blood. To man the law is a death sentence. The law was never a saving tool, it was a judgment tool in that it showed man that no matter how hard he tried, he would still have sin, Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. . .” Romans 6:23 “For the wages (sentence) of sin is death. . .”.
The law was the “schoolmaster” Gal. 3:24, in that it taught us that we do sin. Keeping the law has never saved anyone nor will it ever save anyone. Keeping the law would be saving by works and we know what the Scripture says in Eph. 2:8-9, “For by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God. 9. not of works lest any man should boast.” The action of being good is doing something to earn salvation. Being good or doing good never saved anyone, Isa. 54:6, “our righteousness are as filthy rags. . .” . Again in Luke 18:19 Jesus said, “Why callest thou me good? None is good, save one, that is God.” Now if Christ was not considered “good” then what chance does man have? Man does not have the ability to be good and be called righteous by God. What does Eph. 2:8-9 say? That we are saved through what? (Faith, not works). So in conclusion the law just lets us know that we had to have a Savior.
God’s perfect world demanded a perfect sacrifice. Christ bore all the sins of the world (past, present and future), while on the cross. He and He alone, could pay the price required by God. Only Christ is worthy, Rev. 5:4-5, no man could be found that was worthy.   Only the “Lion of the tribe of Judah. . .a lamb as though it has been slain.”  Christ is the only one who had no sin in His blood. Jesus’ father was the Holy Spirit, Luke 1:35. Therefore, perfect blood for the perfect sacrifice. Christ is the only one that would have the qualifications and power to bare every sin in the entire world on His shoulders and He did this at the cross. “It is finished” meant that the perfect sacrifice had been given.  The Law was now fulfilled. The prophecies of the first advent were fulfilled. this part of God’s plan to redeem man was completed.
