"It is Finished!"

One of the most amazing things I learned last week in my Bible study was about a phrase that I've heard many times, "It is finished." Three amazing words that Jesus spoke on the cross. Those words have always amazed me, but I learned more about the depth of their meaning this past week. Certainly these words mean that Jesus had completed all that He had been sent to do, but also they relate to part of the Jewish sacrificial system.

In the Old Testament times, God's people were required to make sacrifices in order to make their sin right before God. Over and over, as they sinned, a sacrifice was required. One offering in particular, the burnt offering, was to be presented each night by the priests and had to be a perfect specimen. It had to burn all through the night, and the priests would rise early in the morning to wait for the last ashes to fall. Listen to this amazing quote from my Bible study, "Ancient Hebrew history records that the moment the last ash fell, the priests blew the trumpets in celebration, shouting, "It is finished!"'

Wow! Not only had Jesus completed His calling, but He had completed the atoning work, the sacrifice...everything necessary for our salvation. No longer do we need to sacrifice burnt offerings, He willingly laid down His life as the final sacrifice for all sin, for all people, for all time. "It is finished!"