John 19: 30
“So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said “It is finished” and bowing His head, He gave up His spirit”
In my culture and many other cultures the last words are very important but because we are not dealing with culture here, we are dealing with scripture, we pay attention to the last words that Jesus the Son of God said before He gave up the ghost.
“It is finished”. What is finished? Jesus like all of us was born for a purpose, to reconcile man to God after Adam’s sin affected the human race, we needed a Savior to reconcile us back to the Father.
The Father showed us mercy, and sent us Jesus, His only begotten Son because of His love for us. This was a big and necessary mandate that Jesus had as He walked on earth. His assignment was to die and reconcile us to the Father.
When He said “It is finished on the last day of His life on earth, He was reporting to the Father who had sent Him that the mandate had been successfully executed.
It is this mandate that He announced was finished.
When Jesus said “It is finished” He meant even for the sin that would be committed by me and you who did not live in His time, It is finished. So even for those that are not yet born “It is finished. The price was paid in full.
This was a shout of victory which registered in the past, present and future. God does not need to send another; the price was already paid in full for you and me.
As I write this article, in South Africa we are on day 14 of lockdown as a result of lockdown and the President has just announced an extension of the lockdown with a further two weeks. This means the nation will endure an extended period of restricted movements as we adhere to social distancing because of COVID -19 pandemic.
In times like these, the times of uncertainty and fear it is easy to think that perhaps God is not there, or if He exists He does not care about us. As families struggle to make ends meet and to provide for their families, in this part of the world poverty is real and thousands depend on piece jobs that give income on a daily and weekly basis as they do menial jobs since the economy cannot create enough jobs.
In the midst of a COVID – 19 pandemic, we can see visuals of people not adhering to lockdown rules not because they are careless but because staying at home is not an option if you do not have food to eat or to provide your family.
What is then the relevance of this to the words that Jesus said “It is finished” it is relevant because no affliction can escape the words of Jesus. When He said, it is finished, indeed it was finished. Pandemic or no pandemic it is finished. The bible says in Psalm 34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers them out of them all”
The words of Jesus covered the afflictions like COVID – 19 and others that have not yet manifested. Everything were conquered.
Instead of entertaining fear, you should therefore stand in God’s word that as He said it is finished indeed any demonic attack is finished, ant pandemic is finished and is not permitted in your body.
Jesus knew that the last and important thing we would need is a public proclamation of our victory, a public declaration that the forces of darkness have been subdued. There is something special about ending on a good and triumphant note and this is what Jesus did.
He died reassuring us of victory because He paid the price for us.
May you always remember these words no matter what the enemy throws at you, no matter the challenge you are facing, may you be comforted by the fact that we overcome because He overcame.
As we continue to hear numbers of deaths from COVID – 19 escalating, may we not be distracted but may we hold fat our confession and make our election sure.
Jesus is Lord, seated on the throne. He reigns forever, he does not need any validation from us. May we sit at His feet like Mary and hear what direction He wants us to take, as families, churches, nations and the world at large.
May we not miss what God is doing, may we align with it and emerge on the other side victorious.
You shall live and not die and declare the goodness of the Lord. He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus.
It is well. Do not lose heart. God will see us through.
In the meantime, continue to pray for those infected to heal and pray that the virus not to spread, restoration and recovery of the church and the world economies and may the will of God be done in Jesus name. Amen.
If you do not have a relationship with Jesus and you want to have a relationship with Him, it doesn’t take much it takes a decision and if you are taking that decision now pray the following prayer: Heavenly Father, I come to you today. I accept that Jesus is Your Son who died on the cross for my sin. I accept Him as my Lord and Saviour. Lord Jesus wash my sin and write me in the Lambs book of life. I pray in Jesus name Amen.
Welcome to the family of victors.
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