Lenten Meditations on the Last Words of Christ - Week 6

By Tom Ponchak

"It is finished" (John 19:30) and "Father into your hands I commend my spirit." (Luke 23:46)

When the Allied Forces successfully invaded France on D-Day it marked the beginning of the end of World War II. That victory all but assured the ultimate defeat of the Nazis. It was only a matter of time to finish the job. Certainly there were many more battles to fight, but once the Allies were able to establish their front lines there was no hope for a German victory.

Jesus came preaching, "The Kingdom of God is near!" Jesus spoke more about the establishment of God's Kingdom than anything else. All that he did was oriented towards this message. The miracles he performed were signs of the presence of the Kingdom. He cast out demons, healed the sick, gave sight to the blind and forgave sins all to demonstrate that in the Kingdom of God there is no enemy, no disease, no blindness, and no sin. In short, Jesus came to establish a beachhead for the Kingdom of God to defeat the works of the devil and redeem our fallen world.

Hanging on the cross, Jesus was aware that he had accomplished his mission. By his death and coming resurrection he would guarantee God's victory over sin and death. He had withstood all that Satan and this world could throw at him. He wrestled with the weakness of human nature and triumphed through obedience. He took on our loneliness, fear, and pain. He endured insults, curses and temptation. He did it all, and when the last enemy, death itself, came to claim him he proclaimed, "It is finished" and entrusted himself to his Father. He gave his life; it was not taken from him.

Jesus' victory on the cross won our salvation and liberated us from sin and death, just like the people of Nazi occupied territories were freed by the Allies after D-Day. There are still many battles ahead and the way is not easy. The enemy stills claim victims and inflicts casualties while fighting a losing effort. But we can draw strength from knowing that while there are battles to fight the war has been won. If we endure we will win. This is what Paul means when he writes:

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Rom. 8:37-39)

As our Lenten journey draws to a close let us look forward with hope that we too can experience the power and presence of God's Kingdom in our lives as we wait for the day when the last battle is done and we can enter into the rest that Jesus has prepared for us.

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