28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." 29 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. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Nearing the end of the greatest accomplishment ever to be done on behalf of mankind, our Lord proclaims, He thirsts. In his Messianic Psalm 22, King David prophecies what Jesus fleshed out in our verses for today - the use of many poetic expressions by David in portraying immense sufferings were quite literally fulfilled in the life of our suffering Savior:
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. 16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. Psalms 22:14-16 (NIV)
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? Psalms 22:1 (NIV)
Having once refused the soldier’s medicinal offer of vinegar and gall to dull His pain, our Lord now readily accepts this mocking offering. The vinegar soaked sponge on a hyssop branch would be used to free His tongue. Jesus had Words yet left to say and He needed His holy mouth moistened to declare them. Matthew informs us of His first refusal of this medicinal spirit which would have made the crucifixion somewhat easier to bear. Jesus wanted to be in complete control while hanging on the cross:
34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. Matt 27:34 (NIV)
Tongue freed, our Lord now offers the three greatest Words of triumph ever uttered to a startled universe - expressed with majestic simplicity, the Savior states from the cross – “It is finished.” Inexhaustible in meaning, these three Words are rich and full and replete with deep truths. Jesus had accomplished what He had come to do – He had done all that was needful to save sinners – all that was needful to satisfy the justice of God.
“The death of Jesus Christ is the fulfillment in history of the very mind and intent of God. There is no place for seeing Jesus Christ as a martyr. His death was not something that happened to Him – something that might have been prevented. His death was the very reason He came.” Oswald Chambers
Jesus had had come to endure as our Substitute; He had come to fulfill the ceremonial law; He had come as the true Sacrifice for our sin; He had come to fulfill many of the prophecies; He had come to accomplish the great work of man’s redemption – all prior arranged and foreordained in the eternal counsels of the Trinity – even down to the Words which He spoke from the cross. Nothing was whimsical or happenstance regarding Christ’s life or death – not one thing in the minutest details was by accident or by chance. The cup of suffering was at last now drained to the last dregs. He was rightfully preparing to enter back into glory – right back to His Daddy’s side. In His Great High Priestly Prayer Jesus prays:
4 I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. John 17:4-5 (NIV)
“The only ground on which God can forgive our sin and reinstate us to His favor is through the Cross of Christ. There is no other way! Forgiveness, which is so easy for us to accept, cost the agony at Calvary. We should never take the forgiveness of sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and our sanctification in simple faith, and then forget the enormous cost to God that made all of this ours. Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive – He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross. God’s forgiveness is possible only in the supernatural realm...Once you realize all that it cost God to forgive you, you will be held as in a vise, constrained by the love of God.” Oswald Chambers
Believers can rest our souls on the finished work of Christ. We need not fear sin or Satan or the law to condemn us on the last day. Jesus has done all, paid all, accomplished all and performed all that was necessary for the salvation of our scrawny necks. When we look at our own works we may well be ashamed at the imperfections viewed but when we focus on the finished work of Christ we may have comfort and peace. If we are a believer, we are made complete in Him – not lacking anything:
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. Col 2:9-10 (NIV)