Finished by God, so we’re saved

“Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’ A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, ‘It is finished.’ With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” — John 19:28-30

On Good Friday, we gather to watch a man die once again. Because we love him the watching is hard. But because he loves us, what we see is our salvation.

For 33 years, our Savior carried out the work for which he came in his battle for us. As our substitute, he kept God’s law perfectly in our place, earning for us the righteousness that we need in order to spend eternity with him. In the lesson above, he brought his saving work to completion, dying for our sins.

As we remember Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross, it is natural for us to think primarily of his passive obedience. However, John reminds us that Jesus’ active obedience continued all the way to his last breath. He didn’t curse his enemies. He didn’t call out names to the soldiers. He entrusted care of his mother to John, the disciple whom he loved and the one who wrote this account. John took care of Mary from that time on.

Finally, having complete everything that he had come to do, having fulfilled all of God’s promises about the coming Messiah, having fulfilled all of God’s law perfectly on behalf of mankind, and having suffered the eternal penalty for every sin committed by every sinner, Jesus declared that his work was done. “It is finished,” he shouted, not in defeat but in triumph. He had accomplished all he came to do. His work of salvation was complete.

That means that there is nothing more for any one of us to do to get to heaven. Jesus did it all.

You don’t need to accept Christ; he has accepted you already. You don’t need to do good works to win his favor, his favor is already yours. You don’t need to open your heart to be saved, Jesus opened it already by showing you his love on the cross. You are saved not by your work but by his and because it was all done by God it was done perfectly. No need to question it! No need to worry. You are saved by Christ.

Happy that because God did the work, I’m saved, just like you!

Jacob Hanneman is the pastor of Shepherd of the Plains Lutheran Church in Fort Morgan. In-person worship is at 9 a.m. Sundays.

Online worship can be found at www.shepherd oftheplainslutheranchurch. com.