We just celebrated the apex of Christian beliefs – the resurrection of Jesus (Easter Sunday). On Good Friday, Jesus cried out from the cross, “It is finished.” From his perspective, everything that he came to do was now finished. He came to be sacrificed for the sins of the world and after unbelievable torture and crucifixion, his journey was now complete. He had accomplished what he came to do.
For the disciples and those that followed Jesus, his death was not just a death of a friend but a death of their hopes, dreams and aspirations. They had believed in Jesus, that he was going to set up a new kingdom and bring freedom to Israel. But his death struck a huge blow to those plans. All of Friday evening, and all day Saturday the disciples most likely replayed his words in their minds. They rehashed the events of the last three years. Broken hearts, broken dreams and unfinished business.
I believe that we have all been in places that felt like everything was finished, but not in a good way. When Jesus cried out, “it is finished,” it was one of the best things for humanity. Sometimes life happens to tell us the same thing, only from a different perspective.
Sometimes a spouse says, “it is finished,” and a marriage ends.
Sometimes a boss says, “it is finished,” and someone loses a job.
Sometimes a child says, “It is finished,” and they walk away from their parents to live a wild lifestyle.
Sometimes a doctor says, “It is finished,” and you are given a cancer death sentence.
It can be anything that destroys hopes and dreams. It can be a person, circumstance or an attitude.
The issue is that when life declares to you, “it is finished,” hope dies. When hope dies, a person dies inside. People cannot live without hope.
People without hope believe that the last word has been spoken over their situation. The disciples must have felt like that. If I were one of them, I would have taken Jesus’ statement, “It is finished” as his last word and the last word to all that we had believed for the last three years.
I have been in and am currently going through, a season where it feels, at times, that all hope is gone. Sometimes it feels like the light at the end of the tunnel is only a train coming full speed at me.
Have you ever been there?
Have you ever seen that train coming for you?
One of the best definitions of hope that I have heard comes from Anthony Chapman, a pastor from York, England. His definition is this: hope is the confident expectation that the final word has not yet been spoken. This is a powerful declaration.
When our dreams, goals, plans and even our lives have been given a death sentence, we can take comfort in the fact that God has the final word. He had the last word in Jesus’ life. The death of Jesus looked like the final word had been spoken but Resurrection Day was coming.
It is the same in our lives. Many times we are given a death sentence. Our hopes, dreams, and aspirations are lying in a tomb and we, like the disciples, are licking our wounds wondering what has happened. It’s a tough pill to swallow.
I have been living through my own “It is finished” season for a while now. 
At times, it seems overwhelming but I keep hanging onto my friend’s definition that hope is the confident expectation that the final word has not been spoken. Now, that’s not to say that I don’t have my moments of doubt, struggle and wonderings. I am very much like the disciples in that I often times want to hide and lick my wounds. I often retreat inside my own personal, emotional cave where I shut down and keep everyone at arm’s length.
What about you? Have you ever experienced an “It is finished” moment in your life? Have you ever had a “death sentence” given to you in an area of your life? If so, I just want to encourage you that God knows! He sees and He understands! He hasn’t spoken the final word in your life because you are still alive. You are still breathing. You are still here!
Your final word has not been spoken!
