FINISHED

Why do so many people struggle to accept a free gift?

Most of us understand earning. We understand working hard, paying our bills, and accomplishing goals. If someone offers us something valuable for free, our instinct is often to ask, “What do I owe you?” We feel uncomfortable receiving without contributing.

That same instinct often shows up in our relationship with God.

Even after hearing that salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, many people still try to add something to it. We think we need to clean ourselves up first. We promise to do better. We try harder, serve more, give more, or become more religious. Sometimes we quietly believe that Jesus did most of the work, but we need to finish what He started. Some people question the salvation of others who lack evidence of fruit or spiritual gifts.

That is why one word from the cross is so important. As Jesus hung on the cross, knowing that His mission was complete, He cried out, “It is finished” [John 19:30].

In Greek, Jesus spoke a single word: τετέλεσται (tetelestai). This word comes from the verb teleō, meaning to complete, accomplish, fulfill, or bring something to its intended goal. It was used when a task had been fully completed or a debt had been paid in full.

Imagine the significance of those words.

Jesus did not say, “I am finished.”
He did not say, “I tried.”
He did not say, “The rest is up to you.”
He said, “It is finished.”

Everything the Father had sent Him to accomplish was complete.

Throughout John’s Gospel, Jesus repeatedly spoke about doing the Father’s will. He came to reveal God, fulfill the Scriptures, provide the final sacrifice for sin, and seek and save those who were lost. At the cross, none of those purposes remained unfinished.

The debt of sin had been paid.
God’s justice had been satisfied.
The promises of God had been fulfilled.
The work of redemption had been accomplished.

There is another detail that makes this Greek word even more powerful. John records it in the perfect tense, which describes a completed action with continuing results. Jesus was declaring that the work had been completed and would remain completed.

The effects of the cross did not expire when Jesus died.

The payment for sin remains sufficient.
The sacrifice in our place remains effective.
The promise of forgiveness remains secure.
This is why the Gospel is such Good News.

Many people live as though they are still trying to pay off a debt that Jesus already paid. They carry guilt that Christ carried to the cross. They live with constant uncertainty about whether they have done enough for God. They wonder if they have prayed enough, served enough, repented enough, or obeyed enough.

Others shift the focus from Christ’s finished work to their own spiritual performance. Some insist that a person must prove they are saved by producing enough fruit, demonstrating a sufficiently changed life, persevering faithfully enough, or having a particular spiritual experience such as speaking in tongues. While spiritual growth, obedience, and good works are important, they were never given as the basis of salvation or assurance. If our confidence rests in our fruit, our consistency, or our experiences, we will always wonder if we have done enough.

But Jesus did not say, “Look at your performance.” He said, “It is finished.”

Barabbas provides a vivid picture of this reality. John tells us that Barabbas was a revolutionary [John 18:38-40]. Mark adds that he had participated in an insurrection and committed murder [Mark 15:7]. Luke says he was imprisoned for rebellion and murder [Luke 23:19, 25]. Matthew calls him a notorious prisoner [Matthew 27:16].

Barabbas was not misunderstood. He was not falsely accused. He was not an innocent victim of an injustice. He was guilty.

Yet when given the choice between Jesus and Barabbas, the crowd demanded the release of Barabbas and the crucifixion of Jesus [Matthew 27:20-23; Mark 15:11-15; Luke 23:18-25; John 18:39-40].

The guilty man walked free while the innocent man was condemned.

Even Barabbas’ name is striking. “Bar” means son, and “Abba” means father. His name literally means “son of the father.” Standing beside him was Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of the Father. The guilty “son of the father” was released because the true Son of the Father took his place.

Barabbas contributed nothing to his freedom. He did not earn mercy. He did not bargain for grace. He simply walked away free because someone else bore the punishment he deserved.

That is the story of every believer.

We stand before God guilty because of sin, yet Jesus took our place. He bore the judgment we deserved so that we could receive the life we did not deserve.

The cross was not merely an example of love. It was an act of substitution. And because the payment has been made in full, nothing can be added to it.

Religion says, “Do.”
Jesus says, “Done.”

Religion says, “Prove it.”
Jesus says, “Paid in full!”

Religion says, “Try harder.”
Jesus says, “It is finished.”

Religion tells us to earn God’s acceptance.
Jesus tells us to receive what He has already accomplished.

What is remarkable is how consistently this message appears throughout Scripture. There are more than seventy verses that explicitly teach justification or eternal life by faith alone, and more than one hundred passages that either explicitly or implicitly make the same point. From Genesis 15:6 to John 3:16, Acts 16:31, Romans 4:5, Galatians 2:16, Ephesians 2:8-9, and 1 John 5:13, the testimony is overwhelming: eternal life is received by faith in Christ, not earned by works or proved by works. The Bible repeatedly points us away from ourselves and toward the finished work of Jesus.

“But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name” [John 20:31].

Yet many people still struggle to believe it. 

Why? Perhaps for the same reason the religious leaders in Jesus’ day struggled. Jesus told them, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and yet they testify about Me. But you are not willing to come to Me so that you may have life” [John 5:39-40].

The problem was not a lack of evidence. The problem was a reluctance to trust Christ alone.

Salvation is NOT:

• Jesus + works
• Jesus + repentance
• Jesus + religion
• Jesus + morality
• Jesus + baptism
• Jesus + speaking in tongues
• Jesus + self-improvement

Salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone because the work of salvation is completely finished.

Good works, obedience, spiritual growth, and spiritual gifts all have an important place in the Christian life. They are evidence of God’s work in us and opportunities to serve Him. But they are not the basis of our salvation or assurance. The basis of our salvation is the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross and His promise of eternal life to all who believe in Him.

Jesus said,

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” [John 3:16]

“Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life^m and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life” [5:24].

“Truly I tell you, anyone who believes has eternal life” [6:47].

That difference changes everything.

Instead of doing, we can rest. Instead of fearing, we can trust. Instead of wondering whether we have done enough, we can look to the One who already has.

When Jesus cried, “It is finished,” He was announcing the greatest victory in history. The work of redemption was complete. The debt was paid. The sacrifice was accepted.

The Christian life is not working for salvation. It is living from salvation. If we can’t do anything to earn or pay for our salvation, then there’s nothing we can do to lose it. We are secure forever in JESUS Christ. 

And because His work is finished, we can stop trying to save ourselves.

Follow me… as I follow Jesus Christ.