The Seven Last Words on the Cross (6)

[John 19:28-30]

This is the fifth word Jesus spoke on the cross: "I thirst" (John 19:28). On the cross, Jesus fully obeyed God’s covenant, knowing that "everything had now been finished" (verse 28), and said "I thirst" to fulfill Scripture, specifically Psalm 69:21 (John 19:28). At that moment, one of the people present ran and soaked a sponge in "sour wine" (vinegar), then put it on a stalk of hyssop (Matthew 27:48; Mark 15:36) [or hung it on a stalk of hyssop (John 19:29, Contemporary Bible)], and lifted it to Jesus’ mouth on the cross, and Jesus accepted the sour wine (John 19:29-30, Contemporary Bible). The "sour wine" Jesus received here was vinegar. The fact that the thirsty Jesus accepted vinegar meant He would become even more thirsty, suffer more, and be brought closer to death. Scholar John Stott said that after Jesus drank the sour wine, He said “It is finished,” and died within seconds (less than a minute). This shows how bitter and harmful the sour wine was.

This is the sixth word Jesus spoke on the cross: “It is finished” (John 19:30).

John 19:30 says: “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” The phrase "It is finished" in the Korean Bible is two words ("it" + "finished"), but in the original Greek it is one word. Although it is a short word, it carries profound meaning. Arthur Pink, a scholar, in his book Studies in the Seven Sayings of the Cross, said that this single word spoken by Jesus “contains the entire gospel of God.” He added that within this phrase are the foundation of believers’ assurance, all joy, and all the comfort of God. Pink explained seven aspects of Jesus’ “It is finished” statement, the first being that all the prophecies recorded about the Messiah (Christ) that had to be fulfilled before Jesus’ death were completely fulfilled. Among those fulfilled prophecies is the original gospel in Genesis 3:15: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Here, “the offspring of the woman” refers to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. That is, Jesus Christ was foretold to be conceived by the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary (Luke 1:34; Matthew 1:20) and be born (verse 16). [Note: Galatians 4:4 says, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption to sonship.”] After Adam and Eve, all people were conceived by a father and mother, but Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary and born into this world. Jesus Christ, the “offspring of the woman,” would “crush your head,” meaning Satan’s head, while Satan would bruise His heel—this prophecy marks the beginning of Jesus Christ’s role. The prophecy that Satan would bruise Jesus’ heel foretells Jesus’ suffering on the cross. The prophecy that Jesus would crush Satan’s head means that Jesus would defeat Satan and his powers by His victory on the cross (Colossians 2:15), binding the old serpent, the devil, and casting him into the abyss for a thousand years, preventing him from deceiving the nations until the end of the thousand years (Revelation 20:2-3). Eventually, Satan will be cast into the lake of fire, where he will suffer forever (verse 10). Though Satan caused Jesus to suffer on the cross, Jesus endured all suffering, said “It is finished,” and died (John 19:30). But Jesus rose from the dead after three days and ascended forty days later to sit at the shining and exalted throne.

Jesus Christ triumphed through the cross. Colossians 2:15 (Contemporary Bible) says: “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Jesus destroyed the devil, who holds the power of death, through His death, and freed all who were enslaved by the fear of death throughout their lives (Hebrews 2:14-15). The Lord spiritually holds and helps us, who are descendants of Abraham (verse 16). So who does Genesis 3:15 say enables Jesus Christ to crush Satan’s head on the cross and win the victory? It is the Father God who said “I.” The Father gave the Son Jesus to the cross; the Son obeyed the Father, endured suffering on the cross, and died saying, “It is finished.” The eternal Holy Spirit cleanses our consciences from dead works by the blood of Christ, offered by the Father, and enables us to serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14). Thus, the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—accomplished our salvation and gave us new life.

Therefore, we are no longer afraid of death. This is because Jesus Christ, sinless and sharing our flesh and blood, destroyed the devil, who holds the power of death, through His death, and freed us from a lifetime of slavery to the fear of death (Hebrews 2:14-15). Thus, by faith, we can praise God with the following verses from New Hymns 27, verses 4 and 5:

(Verse 4) “Now I have life because of the Lord’s grace; I overcome the power of death, overflowing with great joy, overflowing with great joy.”

(Verse 5) “At the Lord’s throne, when my humble body reaches there and sees His glory in person, my joy will overflow, my joy will overflow. Amen.”

May we, walking this pilgrim path in hope, believe in Jesus’ victory on the cross (John 19:30; Colossians 2:15), love the Lord’s cross, and hold firmly to the difficult cross until we receive the shining crown of victory (New Hymns 150, chorus “On Calvary’s Hill”). I pray that you and I will be such people.