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Scripture and Lyrics

It IS Finished

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Lyrics

VERSE 1

How do you choose to have hope in a world which is dark and cold?

How do you love when you know so much grief, how do you hold on?

When you pray

What do you say?

When you sing

Are there words in your melody?

 

I told this sweet soul of the love that I’d known, Jesus, my son

He was different from birth, fully God sent to earth yet flesh and blood

I first was afraid

But God drew me near

He said there’d be pain 

In my heart when this came

 

CHORUS

It is finished 

It is finished 

The blood pours down His side 

It is finished 

He cried, “Father, forgive them”

Saving the lost as He died 

 

VERSE 2

He was carried away, beaten, betrayed by the ones He loved 

Nailed to a cross, paid a criminal’s cost, though He harmed no one

Beaten and scorned 

Given our crown of thorns 

Placed on His head 

Giving life as He bled 

 

CHORUS

It is finished 

It is finished 

The blood pours down His side 

It is finished 

He cried, “Father, forgive them”

Saving the lost as He died 

 

VERSE 3 

You see, my dear child, in His eyes there is love that extends to you

Breaking the laws of old, being the words they told coming true

He made a way

By death He has saved 

Sinners like me 

By choosing the tree

 

CHORUS [2X]

It is finished 

It is finished 

The blood pours down His side 

It is finished 

He cried, “Father, forgive them”

Saving the lost as He died 

 

OUTRO

Let it be done 

Your Kingdom come 

To earth as it is, in Heaven 

Blessed is Your name 

Since before You came 

To repay the debts of debtors 

 

Pull me closer

Draw me nearer

Pull me closer

I won’t pull away

Luke 23:33-49(NIV) 

33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar 37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.

39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

 

The Death of Jesus

44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, 45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. 46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” 48 When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breastsand went away. 49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Image by Tengyart

Dive Deeper

Dive Deeper

"When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit."   ~ John 19:30

 

It is finished. 

 

          What takes three English words is summed up in just one Greek word, Tetelestai. 

 

          One word that changed the entire course of the history of the world in one single moment: Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled, freedom from the law was given, death and sin were eternally defeated, and a new covenant was ushered in as the veil was torn and mankind was given eternal access to the presence of God. 

 

Nothing would ever be the same again.

 

          And yet, thousands of years later, it is easy to miss the power of that moment. It is easy to forget all that was done for us and the way that was made for us; and it is easy to take for granted the freedom, power, and deep love that is now available to us all the time. We use words like loved and redeemed and adopted and … but what do they really mean??

 

          Sometimes, to understand the power of one moment, we have to go back to the beginning of the story. In the beginning, Genesis, we find an eternal, all-powerful, and holy God. With the creative and loving heart of a Father, He forms a universe: stars, planets, gardens, animals, and then the climax of His great creation, man and woman. 

 

          He comes to the garden they lived in daily to be with them: to talk, laugh, and enjoy them and also to be loved by them. But, what is love if it does not ultimately come from a choice? And so, this great Father gives His children free will, the ability to choose or reject Him as He teaches them and guides them in how to live and love well in the garden. He warns them of the fruit on one of the trees that will seem to open their eyes to life, but will actually produce their own death. The consequences for eating this fruit is separation - a breaking of the perfect, unbroken communion that this Father and His children share. 

 

           And then we learn of the enemy. One that has long been jealous of the unparalleled power and beauty of this holy Father-God. Knowing that there could be no greater pain for this Father than to strike His children, this enemy makes himself into a serpent, lies to the children, and convinces them to eat the fruit. Free to make their own choices of who they will listen to – their Father or others – the children decide to eat this fruit, and in one moment, what their Father has warned them of becomes true. Sin, pain, and separation enters into this family, and the children now must live with the natural consequences. 

 

          By choosing sin, the children chose to walk out of the holy family they were created for. And this Father knows that now only something sinless and holy can redeem (buy back) His children and bring them back into His family. 

 

          And so, the children leave the garden, now forced to work for what once came naturally. But while the Father cannot save them from all the natural consequences of their choices, He puts into place some rules – guidelines that will maintain a standard of holiness that allow them to continue to live in communion with Him as His children. They make sacrifices of pure, spotless lambs and they maintain a level of cleanliness by following their Father’s guidelines. But the sin is deep, and the rules and sacrifices are often broken. Over and over again, these children continue to make choices to follow others’ leading and their own selfish desires. This Father, heartbroken, continues for thousands of years to give opportunities for His children to choose to return to Him through discipline, miracles, and covenants that would cause a few to come close to Him. Through it all He never gave up on His children, yearning for them with a never-ending love…

 

          However, He knew that in their own strength, they would not be able to fulfill the requirements necessary to undo that original sin in the garden and enter again into unbroken communion with their Father. 

 

          And so, He implemented a rescue plan for His children, one He had been slowly telling them about since they had left the garden. He wanted them to know that they were not alone, and that even in their disobedience and sin, He was making a way to bring them back to Him. But not just for their lifetime on earth; this rescue plan would bring them back to Him forever.

 

          He knew that the only One who could pay the price to redeem His children needed to be both 100% holy (without sin) and 100% human, since it was humans that were being bought back.  And so, He sent a part of Himself: His own Son who became fully man and fully God… and therefore, the only One who could pay the price required. 

 

          Jesus Christ, His Son, therefore, came to earth, not only to pay this required price, but also to show us the heart of the Father in his short time here. One might think that he was welcomed and praised and honored – the Savior finally come to bring back the perfect communion our hearts have been longing for with our Father! But, no. He was greatly misunderstood, wrongly accused, and finally sentenced to a criminal’s death; a death which seemed a sure defeat in the eyes of those who loved and followed Him. 

 

But, what seemed hopeless in the eyes of man was actually exactly what was needed for the rescue plan that had been set in place since the beginning of time. 

Here, as He hung on the cross, dying, He saved mankind. With His words and death, He fulfilled the requirements needed to bring us back into unbroken communion with our Father… back into the family we were always meant to be with. It was finished. 

 

It is finished. 

 

          No longer do we need to follow guidelines or rules to attain holiness or make sacrifices each time we sin. No longer do we need to fear death. No longer do we have to live in separation from our Father. 

 

          Now, we have a choice every single day to live in the reality of what Jesus’ death and resurrection did for us. 

 

          Loved because Jesus willingly became a man and went to the cross to die for us

 

          Redeemed because we were bought back with a great price.

 

          Adopted because Jesus’ perfect sacrifice made a way for us to take our place as royal sons and daughters, now able to live once again in unbroken communion with our Father… just like we were created for in the garden.

 

          Father, I know that You are a good, perfect, and loving Father. One who was willing to give even His own son – the most sacrificial gift any person could offer – so that I can live in communion and relationship with You as Your beloved son or daughter. I repent of and ask for forgiveness for attitudes, actions, and any other sins that have led me away from You and put a distance between us. I turn away from these things, and I ask you to cleanse me by blood of my Savior, Jesus. I thank you for Your forgiveness that is immediate and complete, and I take my place as your son/daughter, seen as holy because of the sacrifice that Jesus made for me on the cross. I thank You that You have placed a seal upon me (Ephesians 4:30), and I ask You, Holy Spirit, to guide me and help me as I seek to abide with God and grow in His Truths for all of my days.

Questions for Reflection

  1. What comes to your mind and heart when you hear the words "It Is Finished"?

  2. Do you live in the fulness of your identity in Christ everyday? If not, what is stopping you from doing so? If yes, reflect on what has helped you to do so and share with others of God's faithfulness so they may be mutually encouraged.

  3. Do you love and know Christ as your Lord and Savior? If not, go to the Beyond the Stars dive deeper and pray and ask the Lord to come into your heart and be the Lord of your life? If yes, thank Him for His sacrifice and ask for a fresh fire. A renewal of His love for you so you may live in the fulness of His words and know more and more that It Is Finished.

Image by eberhard grossgasteiger

Hidden

 Features

Biblical Point of View:

Mary, Mother of Jesus.

Musical Explanation:

  • The song, It Is Finished is set in the time between Jesus’

        crucifixion and resurrection. 

  • The first section of the first verse of this song is sung by the

        vocalist, Giovanna Johnson, is singing form the perspective of the person asking how Mary still                                       remains faithful and has immense hope in light of everything that has happened to her. 

  • This first verse could be assumed to be sung by Mary Magdalene or one of the other women’s perspective that stayed behind as Jesus was taken down from the cross. However, it is not limited to their perspectives and could be sung by anyone, even you

  • The rest of the song is Mary, mother of Jesus, explaining back to this person where her hope comes from. In the second section of the first verse she explains how Jesus was fully Man, God, and her son and how God pulled her near to Him just as she prayed in Pull Me a Little Closer. In the second verse Mary mother of Jesus explains His mission on earth, what He came to do, and what they did to Him. The third verse explains the extension of love and hope found in Jesus. Mary mother of Jesus explains how what He did was for sinners, for us. 

  • Mary references In His Eyes in verse 3 by singing “You see my dear child in His eyes there is love that extends to you”. Mary saw this love when Jesus was born and looked into these eyes for years to come. This is meant to symbolize Mary’s sharing of what she saw in Jesus since the day He was born.

  • Mary mother of Jesus ends this song with a segment of The Lord’s Prayer to represent Mary praying over the person she is speaking with. 

  • At the very end of the song Mary sings “Pull me closer, draw me nearer, pull me closer, I won’t pull away”. These words are a variation of those sung by Mary in the first song Pull Me a Little Closer. Thus, Mary sings this melody before/as she is receiving Jesus, and then again after she loses Him. 

How to sing:

This song is to be sung with a heart of joyful-sorrow. In order to sing this song justly one must sing this song with a heart fully surrendered and open to God. It is important there be no unconfessed sin so you may enter into His presence with not hindrance between you and God the Father. This song is also to be sung in light of God’s words, “It is Finished”! Realize the weight of what Christ has done. Christ died so you may live. Reflect on His Gospel message and sing with an understanding of His resurrection power and the Hope He gives. To sing this song, one must sing from the depths of their heart. 

It Is Finished
Hidden Features
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