Sunday: It Is Finished

The Roar from the Cross

Was this a righteous man who truly was the Son of God?

The earth shook. The skies darkened. Thunder roared. A condemned man pleads with a God who has forsaken him before breathing his last breath.

I was there that day. I had beaten this man. I had torn the flesh from his bones, humiliated him, pierced his head with thorns, and thrown him on a cross like I had done to so many before. It was just another day for me—until the moment his spirit left his body. Then, everything changed.

My eyes could not reconcile what they saw. With his dying breath, he screamed, “It is finished!”

John 19:30 (NASB)

Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

I had never seen someone die so quickly, let alone scream that loud from a cross. It was as though he made himself die. He didn’t go out with a dying moan, but with a roaring cry.

Sunday came, and with it, the news that his body was gone from the tomb. Many claimed it was stolen by his followers, and many more claimed to have seen him actually resurrected. I was assigned to investigate the disappearance and find the body.

The Triumphal Entry

I spoke with a farmer just outside the city who witnessed Jesus’s arrival. It was an entry like nothing he had seen before. So many people crowding around this man, praising him, worshiping him. Never had I seen a false prophet worshiped in such a way.

“Hosanna! Hosanna!”

When that word touched my ears, my heart wondered: Could it be the Messiah? The one we have all been waiting for? They called him King. They called him Savior. I am haunted by this event because I wonder, Did I miss it? Did I miss my chance to usher in the Messiah?

Matthew 21:9 (NASB)

The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!’

Cleansing the Temple

I spoke with a poor woman who saw as Jesus cleansed the temple of the money changers who were there. With great authority, he proclaimed it to be his Father’s house. An absurd claim to make, yet something drew her to him.

When the first table flipped, everyone ran. He shouted so loud that it made me jump: “Stop making my Father’s house a place of business!”

Suddenly, people started rushing up to him. I thought they were going to try and grab him, arrest him, or beat him, but they were bringing people to him. There were people who were sick and hurting, and I saw this man—who had just caused so much destruction—gently touching those who were ill, and they were healed.

And then suddenly, my son broke free from me. He ran up to this man. I yelled at him to come back, but he started crying out, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” He knew something that I didn’t. He knew how to respond, and I just stood there. I couldn’t bring myself to pull him away, but I couldn’t worship along with him either. And even now, I still don’t know what to make of it all.

The Heart of the Law

Even a student of the law, whose sole purpose in life was the scriptures, could not help but wonder if Jesus was indeed the Messiah. To have someone challenge everything you hold dear, and instead of fighting him, you find yourself wondering: Is he actually right?

This man from Galilee understood the essence of the law. If the life of God is real in our life, it will show by the presence of our love for God and for others. My teachers understand the letter of the law, but whoever this man was, he opened my eyes to the heart of the law.

Matthew 22:37-40 (NASB)

And He said to him, ’‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ ’This is the great and foremost commandment. ’The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ ‘On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.’

Anointed for Burial

I heard from a man from Bethany who witnessed a woman give up so much just to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God. There came a woman carrying an alabaster vial full of expensive perfume. She lowered herself to the feet of Jesus. Though she wasn’t a slave, in this moment, she humbled herself to the level of a servant in the presence of Jesus.

Quiet in her deeds, she poured out all that was in the vial, and took her hair and wiped his feet with it. It was beautiful. Such love. Such devotion. She had anointed her King and her Rabbi. And now her Savior, who was destined for the cross.

The fragrance filled the air. And as it did, it no longer signified wealth or prestige—it was the fragrance of Christ.

John 12:3 (NASB)

Mary then took a pound of very costly perfume of pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

The Upper Room

An owner spoke of Jesus and his men dining in an upper room, talking of things to come, of redefining ancient rituals, and of a betrayal that would begin it all.

Jesus had a piece of bread in his hand and said, “This is my body given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took a cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

Luke 22:19-20 (NASB)

And when He had taken [some] bread [and] given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’ And in the same way [He took] the cup after they had eaten, saying, ’This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.

These words were confusing. The men didn’t seem to understand what Jesus was trying to teach them, but things would become clear in a matter of days. Though none of us understood it at the time, there was something very ominous in those words. I felt a heaviness, a sadness in my spirit that everyone in the room seemed to feel. They knew something terrible was about to happen, and there was nothing any of us could do to stop it.

The Cross and the Silence of Saturday

I heard of a Pharisee’s hatred so consuming that it drove him to have an innocent man arrested, though no crimes were committed, and shed his blood mercilessly. His life was seen as a perversion of the things held sacred, the things deemed righteous. He was accused of taking the words of Moses, of King David, of Zechariah, and twisting them.

I was there when he came into the city, and I saw hundreds of people praising him and worshiping him. And I saw these same people five days later shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him! Crucify him!”

When he uttered, “It is finished,” he was right. It was finished.

And I listened to a woman in waiting for her Lord to conquer the grave—doubt unavoidable, yet a faith unstoppable. Saturday was the longest day of my life. I felt as if I had held my breath the entire day. I knew him to be Lord. I knew him to be the conqueror of death, but he was still in the ground. I couldn’t help it; my faith wavered. Was it all for naught? Had the grave truly silenced him?

I never thought it could. I didn’t think anything could stop him. But what if I was wrong? My life’s meaning, my life’s purpose was buried in a tomb, and I could do nothing about it but wait in anticipation, in fear, in doubt.

Then Sunday Came

Then Sunday came.

I admit, I sought out these stories less to uncover the truth about the whereabouts of his body than to uncover the truth about who this man really was. And I cannot deny the truth any longer.

True divinity is no longer found in the mighty power of Rome, but in the humility and love of a man from Galilee. I have always believed that true power was in how Rome crushed others and transformed life into death. Yet, I have seen the power of the cross crush a man and transform death into life.

I understand faithful obedience, and I saw it demonstrated by Jesus, who was faithful to the mission God gave him, allowing nothing to get in the way of his journey to the cross.

I have dedicated my life to the service of Rome and declared Caesar as the Son of God. But now I must confess: my allegiance lies with Jesus. And I will not find his body—for truly, he was a righteous man, and truly, he was the Son of God.

Luke 23:47 (NASB)

Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he [began] praising God, saying, ‘Certainly this man was innocent.’