The Gospel According To Mark. Day 85, The Death Of Jesus: It Is Finished

When we concluded yesterday we found Jesus crying out to the Father, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Those standing near the cross misunderstand and think He is calling for Elijah. "When some of those standing near heard this, they said, 'Listen, He's calling Elijah.' Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 'Now leave Him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take Him down,' he said." (Mark 15:35-36)

Wine vinegar comprised part of each Roman soldier's rations of daily food and drink. It was considered more refreshing than water and was often used when a person had been perspiring heavily, maybe because it replenished some of the depleted electrolytes. An example of using it as a refreshing drink can be found in Ruth 2:14 when, after she has been working in the fields, Boaz offered her bread and wine vinegar. The soldier who offers Jesus a drink is offering it out of his own rations. Some commentators consider this an act of mercy toward the Lord. The Apostle John, who is present at the crucifixion comforting Mary the mother of Jesus, tells us that the supplying of the drink was made in response to Jesus saying "I am thirsty." (John 19:28-29) John says this was done to fulfill the Scriptures, and by that he means these prophetic words, "They put gall in My food and gave Me vinegar to drink." (Psalm 69:21)

It is now three o'clock in the afternoon. "Jesus called out with a loud voice, 'Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.' When He had said this, He breathed His last." (Luke 23:46) Mark does not tell us what Jesus said when He cried out; he simply says, "With a loud cry, Jesus breathed His last." (Mark 15:37) The Apostle John adds, "Jesus said, 'It is finished.'" (John 19:30) What Jesus literally says is the Greek word tetelestai, which means "paid in full". The transaction that occured on the cross between the Father and the Son paid our sin debt in full. The wrath of God should have fallen on us, but because Jesus gave Himself in our place, it fell on Him instead. As He breathes His last, His work is accomplished. Salvation is secured for all who will believe on His name. There is no more to be done. We can add nothing to the work of Christ. We are not saved by works and we do not remain saved by works. We are saved, and remain saved, by Christ's work on the cross....nothing more, nothing less.

"The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how He died, he said, 'Surely this man was the Son of God!'" (Mark 15:38-39) Matthew adds that an earthquake occurred at the moment of Jesus' death. (Matthew 27:51-52) At the time of the evening sacrifice, while the sacrificial lamb is being offered, while the priests are going about their work at the temple, while the ram's horns are blowing, Jesus completes the sacrifice of Himself. God the Father reaches down from heaven and takes hold of the curtain that keeps everyone but the high priest from going into the Most Holy Place, and He tears it from top to bottom, signifying that by the tearing of Jesus' flesh "a new and living way is opened for us through the curtain". (Hebrews 10:20) The wall of division between man and God due to man's sins is now torn in two because Christ has made a way for all of us to enter the Most Holy Place with Him, our High Priest.

The Roman centurion is standing at the foot of the cross to be a legal witness to the death of Jesus of Nazareth. In the shadowy gloom that has fallen over the land, he looks up at the Lord and hears Him tell the Father "it is finished". He witnesses Jesus handing over His spirit to God. At that same moment, as the shofars blow for the evening sacrifice, the ground shakes. A cry goes up from the temple as the veil is torn in two. And as he beholds the One who makes His life an offering for sin (Isaiah 53:10), the centurion realizes something different has taken place. This centurion has likely witnessed many crucifixions, but never one like this. We don't know precisely what it is that makes him conclude Jesus is the Son of God, but I think this realization comes to him in the same way it comes to all of us: through the Holy Spirit. Early church tradition states that this centurion became a Christian, boldly shared the gospel, and was eventually martyred for his faith.

We will conclude today with the full chapter of Isaiah 53, the chapter which foretold the crucifixion of Jesus Christ before Judah ever went into captivity in Babylon and returned, before the Roman Empire existed, and before the Romans perfected the art of crucifixion as a method of capital punishment. The suffering of the Messiah was revealed to Isaiah by the Holy Spirit, and Isaiah majestically describes for us the work Christ accomplished on the cross. We are going to look at this portion of Scripture as it is rendered in The Message Bible because its plainness of speech somehow throws an even brighter spotlight on the way Jesus our Savior paid for us a debt we could not pay.

Who believes what we’ve heard and seen?
    Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?

The Servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
    a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about Him,
    nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
    a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at Him and people turned away.
    We looked down on Him, thought He was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains He carried—
    our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought He brought it on Himself,
    that God was punishing Him for His own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to Him,
    that ripped and tore and crushed Him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
    Through His bruises we get healed.
We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
    We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,
    on Him, on Him.

 He was beaten, He was tortured,
    but He didn’t say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
    and like a sheep being sheared,

    He took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and He was led off—
    and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for His own welfare,
    beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried Him with the wicked,
    threw Him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though He’d never hurt a soul
    or said one word that wasn’t true.

 Still, it’s what God had in mind all along,
    to crush Him with pain.
The plan was that He give Himself as an offering for sin
    so that He’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
    And God’s plan will deeply prosper through Him.

 Out of that terrible travail of soul,

He’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad He did it.
Through what He experienced, my Righteous One, my Servant,
    will make many “righteous ones,”
    as He himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore I’ll reward Him extravagantly—
    the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because He looked death in the face and didn’t flinch,
    because He embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on His own shoulders the sin of the many,
    He took up the cause of all the black sheep.

It is finished. Do you believe?