It Is Finished
It Is Finished
This week I've been reading the stories about Jesus in his last week and picturing the end of his life, his shame filled, painful death on a cross. I keep coming back to two questions.
The first question is: What did Jesus mean when he said "It is finished?" I read what the bible experts and translators had to say. Most of them agree that Jesus meant that he knew he had completed all the work God had sent him to do. He was expressing the sense of having done a good job. He had taught every lesson, performed every miracle, fulfilled every prophecy and forgiven every sin.
But there is another possible meaning. It doesn't get much attention in the commentaries and it's considered a less likely translation. "It is finished" could mean "It's over. It's done." Jesus life? Finished. His ministry? Finished. His community of disciples? Finished. His vision of the Kingdom of God? Finished.
And in my current mood, in the year of the Pandemic and a critical national election, that's the translation I confess that I've gravitated to this week as I've thought about this word from the Cross.
The words express my deepest despair. The school year? Finished. That trip to see my mom? Finished. The lives of so many people? Tragically and unnecessarily finished. Rule of law? Finished. Democracy? Finished. The idea that the arc of history bends toward justice? Finished and Finished.
But, while I fear so much is finished I also realize that while Jesus' life ended with his death on a cross, his life might be finished but his story is not done.
And that brings me to my second question. As I stand at the foot of the cross and witness Jesus' suffering and death, I am also asking "What is Next? What happens after this? What will the future bring and how will I be part of it?"
This week I've been reading the stories about Jesus in his last week and picturing the end of his life, his shame filled, painful death on a cross. I keep coming back to two questions.
The first question is: What did Jesus mean when he said "It is finished?" I read what the bible experts and translators had to say. Most of them agree that Jesus meant that he knew he had completed all the work God had sent him to do. He was expressing the sense of having done a good job. He had taught every lesson, performed every miracle, fulfilled every prophecy and forgiven every sin.
But there is another possible meaning. It doesn't get much attention in the commentaries and it's considered a less likely translation. "It is finished" could mean "It's over. It's done." Jesus life? Finished. His ministry? Finished. His community of disciples? Finished. His vision of the Kingdom of God? Finished.
And in my current mood, in the year of the Pandemic and a critical national election, that's the translation I confess that I've gravitated to this week as I've thought about this word from the Cross.
The words express my deepest despair. The school year? Finished. That trip to see my mom? Finished. The lives of so many people? Tragically and unnecessarily finished. Rule of law? Finished. Democracy? Finished. The idea that the arc of history bends toward justice? Finished and Finished.
But, while I fear so much is finished I also realize that while Jesus' life ended with his death on a cross, his life might be finished but his story is not done.
And that brings me to my second question. As I stand at the foot of the cross and witness Jesus' suffering and death, I am also asking "What is Next? What happens after this? What will the future bring and how will I be part of it?"
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