Finished Work

I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do.

So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.

John 17:4; 19:30

Christ was a tradesman. He spent almost two decades in construction. Tradesmen take pride in a finished project. They love to step back at the end of a job and say, ‘All done.’ Christ’s life and ministry was a huge undertaking. He was building a life that would satisfy all the demands of the law in precept. He was working towards the cross which would be the capstone of His life and satisfy the law in penalty. Thus, when He prayed the High Priestly prayer, from which the first half of our text derives, He said, ‘I have finished the work which You have given me to do.’ When He uttered His last words from the cross He exclaimed, ‘It is finished!’ Thus, He stepped back from this most glorious project with the satisfaction that the work was done, all done, and well done. There are no punch list items in Christ’s work of redemption. He could close His eyes on the cross with complete satisfaction knowing there was nothing left for Him to do. We rejoice in the finished work of Christ. We exalt Him every day because He has persevered to the end leaving out no detail. We value the work He has done and consider the telling of His story to be the most worthwhile of pursuits. We love to hear His shout of triumph, ‘It is finished!’

Our Gracious Master and our God,
we rejoice that You have finished Your work.
We praise You that we are the
beneficiaries of all You have done.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning