It Is Finished

 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.- John 19:28-30. These were the last things Jesus said on the cross before he died to the flesh. The phrase "It Is Finished" has been recognized as Jesus' final words, but did you know there are 7 phrases that were said by Jesus during his time on the cross?
One of the other widely-known sayings is this, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do". Here Jesus is saying that the people were only following God's plan and purpose for this time in their lives. Jesus understood that in order for him to bring salvation to all, the crowd would have to turn from the good for a time, in order to come into the great for eternity. Even during the worst possible pain he could ever endure, he still wanted to ensure the people were covered by his saving blood.
Next we have the conversation with the criminal. Here, one of the men alongside Jesus realizes who the guy that is beside him really is. In the middle of his own persecution, he acknowledges that Christ is the Messiah, and asks that Jesus simply remembers him when he enters the kingdom. But Jesus goes one step further. Not only does he agree, he promises that right away, the criminal will be allowed access to the kingdom. In this statement, Jesus is making it clear that he came to save all men. Not just the ones who faithfully followed him their whole lives, but also the ones who rejected him throughout their life, yet found their way into his saving grace.
"Woman, Behold your son! Behold, your Mother". Here Jesus is talking to his mother and the Apostle John. He is asking John to watch over his mother since he will no longer be on the earth to care for her. This passage shows us His care for humanity. Jesus is telling us that while we are on this earth, we must care for the needs of our fellow brothers and sisters. The life of a follower of Christ is not one of solidarity or aloneness, but it is a community of believers walking with each other toward one goal, the spreading of God's good news to a world so desperately in need of it.
"Eli, Eli lama sabachthani""- " My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" I imagine through this whole process, this time right here is the hardest, not only for Jesus, but for God the Father as well. At this point, all the weight of the sin of the world is upon the shoulders of Jesus. God is so holy and pure that in the time of his child's greatest suffering, he cannot even look upon his son, for the sin is too much even for God's own eyes. What love. What grace. Jesus fully knows what he has gotten into, yet he still chooses to endure the pain of every sin, from the past, to the present, to the future. Jesus was fully capable of calling down a legion of angels to rescue him off of that cross, but he loves us so much that he went through it all so we could be saved. 
" I Thirst". Even in death, Jesus is still committed to fulfilling the scriptures of the prophets of old. I'm not implying that this was said just to fulfill, I'm just noting that he never turned back from the things said way back when. Some commentators say this statement was made in preparation for his final words on the cross. Here, the soldiers give him a sponge with sour wine that was put on a hyssop and brought it up to his mouth. He took a sip or two, and was ready to give his final words.
"It Is Finished"! Through this passage, Jesus is saying his time in the flesh is done. He has done everything he came to earth to do and it is time to return to the Father. This is also a promise to the children of God. Jesus' death is complete, therefore ending the reign of Death and the Grave. Following this event, Jesus walks into the gates of hell and takes the keys out of the hand of the Devil. Since the beginning of creation, Satan has been fighting a losing battle, and Jesus' crucifixion was only the beginning of his end. 
The last statement of Christ is the thing that we as Christians should proclaim over our own lives. In Luke 23:46, Jesus makes this declaration,"Father, into your hands I commit My spirit". This is what God wants us to say to him after we have accepted him as Lord and Savior of our lives. When we commit our spirit to the Father, we are saying that we trust him to work in our hearts and lives in the ways that will shift us into people God created us to be. When we are fully committed to God, he will keep us and carry us down the path he has set before us. "You will keep us in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever".-Isaiah 26:3

Adam Semple- a young man on a mission from God