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The foundation · Lesson 6

It Is Finished

He died for our sins (John 19:30)

In one line

Jesus died on the cross in our place, bearing our sins, and paid for them in full.

All churches hold this. Of the Son, "and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried" (the Nicene Creed, traditional English)

  1. Milk
  2. Bread
  3. Meat

1Milk

Start here: what it is, and how to live it.

“As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:” (1 Peter 2:2)

Lesson 4 showed we are fallen and “For the wages of sin is death;” (Romans 6:23) Lesson 5 showed God became a man. This lesson shows why: he died in our place, and paid it all. Paul calls it “first of all” (1 Corinthians 15:3): “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;” (1 Corinthians 15:3)

Three verses to start with

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 1 Peter 2:24
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

Where you see it: the cross

He prays for the men nailing him there: “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34) A thief beside him asks, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” (Luke 23:42) and hears, “To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43)

Then: “It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” (John 19:30) At that moment “the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom;” (Matthew 27:51) The way to God was open.

How to live it

It is finished, so stop trying to pay for what he paid for; come and receive it. And live for him: “that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness:” (1 Peter 2:24)

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13
2BreadGo deeper: what the whole Bible says.

Why it matters

“and without shedding of blood is no remission.” (Hebrews 9:22) Someone had to die. Jesus did, “the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God,” (1 Peter 3:18)

In our place

  • “the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)
  • “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
  • “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us:” (Galatians 3:13)

The Lamb, shown ahead of time

  • Abraham: “God will provide himself a lamb” (Genesis 22:8)
  • The Passover: “when I see the blood, I will pass over you,” (Exodus 12:13) “For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:” (1 Corinthians 5:7)
  • John the Baptist: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)
  • Isaiah: “he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter,” (Isaiah 53:7)

Why blood

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood:” (Leviticus 17:11) “for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” (Leviticus 17:11) “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” (Hebrews 9:12)

Once, for all, finished

  • “through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Hebrews 10:10)
  • “But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;” (Hebrews 10:12)
  • “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us,” (Colossians 2:14) “nailing it to his cross;” (Colossians 2:14)

Willingly

  • “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself.” (John 10:18)
  • In the garden: “nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42)
  • “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

Foretold

  • “they pierced my hands and my feet.” (Psalm 22:16)
  • “They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.” (Psalm 22:18)
  • On the cross he cried the first line of that psalm: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) (Psalm 22:1)

He really died

The soldiers “saw that he was dead already,” (John 19:33) and a spear in his side brought out “blood and water.” (John 19:34) The one who saw it says, “And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true:” (John 19:35) Pilate checked with the centurion before he gave up the body (Mark 15:44-45). And Paul: “And that he was buried,” (1 Corinthians 15:4)

A second story: the serpent on the pole

Bitten people looked at the brass serpent Moses lifted up, “and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.” (Numbers 21:9) Jesus: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:” (John 3:14)

Not by working, but by looking to him.

3MeatDefend it: how it has been denied, and the answers from the word.

“But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age,” (Hebrews 5:14)

How it has been denied, and the answer

"Jesus was not crucified; it only looked that way."

History Islam, in its own book: "they neither killed him nor did they crucify him, but it was only made to appear like so to them" (Qur'an 4:157, QuranEnc)

The answer from the word Eyewitnesses: “he that saw it bare record, and his record is true:” (John 19:35) The Roman centurion saw him die (Mark 15:39; Mark 15:44-45). And Jesus said beforehand that he would: “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things,” (Luke 24:26)

"He did not die; he fainted and revived in the tomb."

History The "swoon" idea, put forward from about 1780 by Bahrdt, Venturini and Heinrich Paulus (Wikipedia: Swoon hypothesis)

The answer from the word Soldiers whose work was killing “saw that he was dead already,” (John 19:33) and the spear brought out “blood and water.” (John 19:34) Pilate made sure (Mark 15:44-45).

"The cross is only an example of love to inspire us; it pays for nothing."

History The "moral influence" view, most linked to Peter Abelard in the 1100s (Wikipedia); common today

The answer from the word It is an example (1 Peter 2:21), and more: he “bare our sins in his own body” (1 Peter 2:24), gave “his life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) and is “the propitiation for our sins:” (1 John 2:2)

"We still have to pay for our sins ourselves."

History Common, in many forms

The answer from the word “It is finished:” (John 19:30) “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:14)

Hard questions

  • "Who killed Jesus?" Men did: “by wicked hands have crucified and slain:” (Acts 2:23) It was also God's plan: “being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God,” (Acts 2:23) And he gave himself: “I lay it down of myself.” (John 10:18) Explanation, not Scripture: all three are true at once; our sins are why he went.
  • "Why did he cry, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" He spoke the first line of Psalm 22, which goes on to the pierced hands and the cast lots (Psalm 22:16; Psalm 22:18). Explanation, not Scripture: Christians have long read it as him bearing sin's separation from God in our place (2 Corinthians 5:21).
  • "Did he die for everyone, or only for those who will be saved?" Christians differ. Some read “and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2) “Who gave himself a ransom for all,” (1 Timothy 2:6) and “that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” (Hebrews 2:9) Others read “I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:15) and “for he shall save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21) Each side holds all these verses and reads them together differently; no side is taken here. This site's own view is under What this site believes: For all, and kept to the end.
  • "Couldn't God just forgive without the cross?" Not and stay just. “Ought not Christ to have suffered these things,” (Luke 24:26) God is “just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” (Romans 3:26) (Lesson 2): sin was not ignored, it was paid for.

Make it yours

Learn it by heart

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

To think about

  • "It is finished." Is there anything you are still trying to pay for yourself?
  • The thief had nothing to bring but a request. What does that tell you about how anyone comes to Jesus?

Read the whole passage

Isaiah 53 · Psalm 22 · John 19 · Hebrews 9 · Hebrews 10:1-25

Every verse here is the King James text, checked word for word before the site goes up. Notes marked "not Scripture" are explanations, history or observations, labeled so you can tell them apart. Tap a place to read it in the Bible.