John 19:30 “It is Finished” What it Means and What it Doesn’t Mean

Jesus’ words “It is Finished” before He died on the cross which are recorded in John 19:30 are often abused and often ignored. Religions like Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism ignore the implication of Jesus saying “It is finished” since they do not teach the need for a blood atonement for sin and do not recognize Him as the unique Redeemer whose blood alone can take away sin. Others believe that the offering of the body of Christ for sin somehow happens repeatedly.

One way to understand what Jesus actually meant when He said “It is finished” is to look at concepts taught in the Catholic Church which go directly against what Jesus meant in saying this.

The following is from a Brittanica.com article on the Roman Catholic Mass: “According to church teaching, Christ’s sacrifice is not only recalled in the mass, it is made present. In the eucharistic prayer, the church asks God the Father to send the Holy Spirit upon the bread and wine on the altar so that by his power they may become the very body and blood that Christ offered on the cross… That change having occurred, Christ is offered anew to God the Father, and the church unites with him in that offering.”

The Bible declares on the other hand that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is unique in what it accomplished. It also declares that His sacrifice never needs to be (and never will be) repeated again.

Hebrews 9:24-28: “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others;For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”

If that doesn’t make it clear enough that Christ was offered once for sin, and that He never needs to be offered again, then keep reading through Hebrews 10:18. There is no more offering for sin since Christ offered one sacrifice for sins forever and then sat down at God’s right hand to never be offered again.

Section 1367 of the Catholic Catechism says: “The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice: “The victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the ministry of priests, who then offered himself on the cross; only the manner of offering is different.” “And since in this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner… this sacrifice is truly propitiatory.”

That shows the Mass’ stated purpose opposes the Bible’s clear verdict concerning Jesus’ finished work in relation to sacrifice and offering for sin. This also logically means that the doctrine of transubstantiation is also contrary to what the Bible teaches. Since Christ need not be offered again, and will not be offered again, then the offering which is allegedly made in the Mass couldn’t be Christ’s actual body and blood.

Didn’t Jesus tell His disciples at the Last Supper that the bread is His body and the wine is His blood? He was speaking figuratively. He called this liquid the fruit of the vine after He had called it His blood in Matthew 26:26-29. But didn’t Jesus also say that we need to eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to have eternal life? Yes, He said that in John chapter 6 before He ever instituted the Lord’s supper (more on that very soon).

Many go astray in another way by practically believing that “It is finished” means they are obligated to do nothing in any way at all now or that all they have to do is “accept Jesus” in the sense of a one time transaction. That is not the case either.

When it is understood that Jesus Christ is the only means of spiritual life, and that there is no shortcut to eternal life through Him besides being governed practically by the Word of God which is a testimony of Him, then what Jesus said in John chapter 6 would truly be an offense to the natural man in his alienation from the true God. No sacrament, nor ritual, nor trip to the altar to “accept Jesus” can replace nor replicate dealing with Jesus on His terms and partaking in spiritual life through Him in that context.

Note the instructions of the Book of Hebrews concerning what ought to be done as a response to the perfect, one time atonement which Christ made on the cross. It is not nothing; it is not “just accept Him”- yet it is also not partaking in a ritual where Christ is supposedly offered again through priests (whether Levitical Priests or priests who are part of some mysterious, alleged Christian priesthood on earth which the Bible doesn’t prescribe). We are required to relate to the Father continually through Jesus’ High Priesthood on the basis of His finished offering with an obedient heart which has no regard for sin (and sin includes refusal to receive and keep His instructions concerning anything His Word prescribes).

Hebrews 10:19-31: “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering (and this is a reference to the faith of the Apostles delineated in the Bible); (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is (my note- that is not referring to just going into any church; it is a reference to gatherings which are under Jesus’ authority because His Word really reigns in the gathering); but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

To deny man’s need for a blood atonement for sin, to deny Jesus being the only Redeemer, to deny the sufficiency of His offering by saying that He needs to be offered again through the Mass (or by any other means), and/or to deny our need to walk in the terms of the covenant which Christ inaugurated (or, put in place) by His finished offering on the cross are all alternative, contrary arrangements of redemption and justification to the Biblical protocol.

It is utterly necessary to understand the Biblical purpose of redemption. Consider the following:

Leviticus 22:31-33: “Therefore shall ye keep my commandments, and do them: I am the Lord.Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the Lord which hallow you,That brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord.”

Leviticus 19:2: “Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.”

Those who are so foolish to think that these principles in relation to the Biblical purpose of redemption don’t apply to Christians are rebuked in a straightforward manner about this in the New Testament. Peter even references Leviticus 19 quoted above and applies it to how we are obligated to respond to the redemption which Christ purchased through His blood (see 1 Peter 1:10-19).

Jesus saying “It is finished” in John 19:30 is a reference to His one time offering for sin which He accomplished on the cross. Denying the necessity of this offering leads to damnation as does denying the sufficiency thereof since this is the Lord’s appointed means of redeeming people to Himself. Yet the finished work of Christ still won’t profit those who do not truly recognize and cooperate with the goal thereof- even if they profess belief in the sufficiency of His death to take away their sins and/or call Him Lord.

Christ offered up Himself to satisfy the necessary legal requirements in order to deliver us from both sin’s guilt and power. Those who do not enter into and continue in His narrow way to eternal life which leads to His kingdom (which He shed His blood to put us on) will be found as His enemies who are incompatible with His kingdom and will be cast into hell as workers of lawlessness. The redemption He purchased by His blood will be null and void in regard to these on an individual basis. Jesus’ atonement was made in the context of seeking to make people faithful subjects of His kingdom. He is a King who died with the intent of winning people back to Himself out of the realm of the devil which is marked by servitude to sin. He only forgives in the context of wholehearted cooperation with that intention (Colossians 1:13-14). With these things considered, practically serving sin yet finishes in spiritual death which cannot be remedied.

James 1:12-15: “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”