Jesus' final words on the cross reveal an amazing truth. Comparing the gospel writers' record of Jesus' last words (John 19:30 and Luke 23:46) we discover Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "It is finished! Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." Then He bowed His head and died.
What was "finished?" And what happened in Jesus' heart and mind between His cry of abandonment, "My God, why have you forsaken Me?" and His final shout of conquering faith?
Before the foundation of the world, sometime way back in eternity, Father and Son had made a covenant that if sin should ever arise (and of course they foresaw it on this blue planet), Jesus would offer Himself as the Bridge between the Justice and Mercy of God. He would take the place of sinners and suffer for their sins (Rev. 13:8; Tit. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:9, 10) to bring us back to our Father.
In the Psalms it was written prophetically about Jesus, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared me; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, ‘Here I am, I have come—it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart’” (Ps. 40:6-8). Now, through His infinite suffering, Jesus had accomplished this.
Jesus had made the sin offering for our salvation. "Christ's sacrifice on behalf of humanity was full and complete. The condition of the atonement had been fulfilled." Acts of the Apostles, p. 29. Jesus was "the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 Jn. 2:2).
But again, what happened in Jesus' mind between feeling forsaken and conquering by faith? We can learn a vital lesson about the power of Scripture to anchor our souls in suffering from these final moments of His experience.
Andrew Hodges, M.D., a Christian psychiatrist, made a study of Jesus' thought processes by comparing the record of Scripture with what is known about human experience. He reported his study in his book, Jesus, An Interview Across Time (Village House, 1986).
His narration of Jesus' suffering on the cross is especially moving and enlightening.
"By now my thirst was so great that finally I said aloud, ‘I thirst.’ They offered me some wine to kill the pain, and I refused. As much as I wanted relief, I refused because I was God and I was accomplishing salvation not by numbing the pain but by accepting the pain.
"My chest was heaving. The pain was now wearing me down more than ever. And I was constantly short of breath and so thirsty.
"It was extremely dark. It was past three in the afternoon by then, and I had been on that cross for more than three (actually, six) hours. Everywhere I turned, there was no relief. There was no relief even in thinking about all the memories--the Last Supper, the Transfiguration, the miracles, or even my Baptism. I could no longer hear the words "My beloved Son." They all seemed too far away, as if they had never happened. It was so hard to concentrate. Thinking about my future glory seemed too far away. I felt suspended in time as if I had been there and would be there forever. The pain was unbelievable. The staring and mocking never let up. "So you trust the Lord. Why? Is He really looking after you? Healer, heal yourself." "Why don't you come on down, Prophet?"
I was defenseless. My mother and John my friend were too far away to comfort me. I looked at the man on my right, and at that point he wasn't any help. He was in as much pain as I was. It was like looking in a mirror. Frighteningly, my Father's words had no comfort for me now. ‘The Lord is my strength.’ But I had no strength. His words seemed as dry as my mouth. That had never happened before, and I felt a terrible panic. I waited a minute and went back over His words. But it was only worse.
"It became blacker and blacker for me. I was squirming like a worm on the end of a hook with all of my enemies watching me squirm and enjoying it. I was totally alone. And now my Father was gone, too. I was nude, dangling there disfigured. Gasping for air, writing in pain, I was totally helpless. Time was standing still. The oppression was horrible. . .I did not believe this much pain was possible. Every time I would try to get back up that mountain, 'Think of your glory, think of why you are doing it, the Lord is my strength'--nothing--I would just fall back again. No comfort from His words. I wanted to run, to get down--but He was still my Father--but now He was gone. My head was pounding, blood and sweat were in my eyes, my back and legs were rubbed raw, my hands and feet were on fire, my joints were throbbing, all out of place; I was constantly short of breath and I was suffering incredible thirst. I couldn't take it anymore. Suddenly I screamed: 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'
"When that came out of me something happened. I was back at the beginning of the 22nd Psalm, and almost reflexively, I began to quote it from memory. Now I was back home. First that Psalm went through all my experiences on the cross. My strength poured out like water. My bones out of joint. My dry mouth, the mockery, and the gambling for my robe were all part of it. Then the Psalm comes to that great part, 'I will declare your name to my brethren. . .'
"There they were. I could see some of them. My spirit began to life, and then came the next part of the Psalm as though He were reading my mind: 'For He has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; He has not hidden His face from Him, but has listened to His cry for help.'
My Father had heard me and His voice was getting louder. 'All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and He rules over the nations. . .posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn--for He has done it.'
"He was telling me that I had done it. When I got to that place I began to feel an ecstasy. Good was greater than evil. I had done it! I had accomplished my task! I had given every last ounce of strength I had and the fight was over. I was the winner, the champion: Son of God, reign forever!
"I looked at the crowd. I knew I'd taken their evil away from them and not given it back. Justice had been done. I had conquered fear. I had conquered hatred. I had overcome all evil.
The fight was over. I was still very thirsty. . .In fulfillment of prophecy, someone offered to quench my thirst. Typical of the world, all they could ever offer me was bitterness. I drank sour wine vinegar. They passed the vinegar up to me on a sponge and I drank it. It was one final way of saying, 'I take into me your bitterness.'
Appropriately, that prophecy was from the 69th Psalm. That bitter Psalm which had haunted me all my life, the Psalm which had told me that I was so suffer unmercifully as a child and even more unmercifully as an adult on a Roman cross, that Psalm whose every painful word I knew completely and had carried with me for years, now I could finally lay to rest. By drinking that cup, I was also saying on more time for everyone to hear, 'Thy will be done. In the face of all the world's bitterness, to God be the glory.'
"Then I looked at the crowd and said, 'It is finished."
"I suffered not one second longer. With the power of the Son of God, I showed them that I gave my life, and nobody took it from me. I chose the moment of my death. For a few seconds, I intentionally paused and held my head particularly high as I looked out over the crowd to let them know I had conquered their shame. Finally, I looked up towards my Father in heaven, took as deep a breath as I could, and shouted that glorious verse from the 31st Psalm that I had waited for all my life, 'Into Thy hand I commit my spirit.' . . .It was over."
Friend, God used His word to help Jesus conquer by faith, and He can help us in the same way. In your daily life and in your challenging moments He will lead you to just the promises and help you need. But take time to store His word in your heart now, so you will have it when you need it.
Michael Brownfield
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