John 19:28-30 (NKJV) It Is Finished
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, “I thirst!” 29 Now a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there; and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on hyssop, and put it to His mouth. 30 So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.
What is finished? Jesus cried out in a loud voice “Finished” and died. If you recall, Scripture tells us He came into the world to die. It also says He came to seek and save the lost. What did His dying on the cross have to do with saving anyone? And what is “finished”? The Greek word used is “tetelestai” which means to bring to a close, to complete, to fulfill. It was used as a business term showing the conclusion of a transaction. It is also in the Greek perfect tense which means it is ongoing or into the future. What is the significance of all this? We will see.
This morning, I went to a Bible Study with guys I have known for years. It is a practice there to take prayer requests. One of the guys asked for prayer for a condition he has that he sees as having no end. He will have these issues the rest of his life. The way he mentioned the ongoing issues sparked something in me down in my Spirit. This was an admission of defeat. The battle would continue against this condition without end.
So what did Jesus finish? Scripture tells us that by His stripes we are healed. It is in the past tense. When you pray asking for healing, you are asking for an action to take place in the future. I have this issue now and I am asking God to heal or remove it. But that is wrong. Scripture does not say “by His stripes we will be healed.” It says we are [already] healed. We already have that healing. We have victory over the disease.
We need to pray from a place of victory! Our healing, righteousness, holiness and victory were already determined more than 2000 years ago at the cross! You are holy, righteous and redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. It is FINISHED! You do not need to ask for healing. You are already healed. Instead of asking the Father for healing, praise the Son for having healed you. The transaction is complete. Jesus took your sick, diseased body in exchange for His perfectly healthy body in the transaction. It is finished. So stop asking for healing. Instead, thank the Lord for taking away your disease 2000 + years ago! By His stripes, you ARE healed!
Thank You Lord that You love us enough to have already taken away any sin or disease we will ever encounter. A thousand may fall at our side but, by Your stripes, it will not come near us. We are healthy, vibrant and strong by Your Spirit and Your actions. We thank you that You have made us perfect by Your one sacrifice all those years ago. We don’t deserve it, we can never earn it and we can never pay You back. But God, having loved us more than we can ask or imagine, has already given us victory over sin, disease and death by the blood of the Lamb. In Jesus name we pray.