It Is Finished // Good Friday

We start this service with Holy Communion

Song: I Got Saved (Elevation Worship

First Reading: Isaiah 53 (ESV) | Who has believed what he has heard from us?And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? ² For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. ³ He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faceshe was despised, and we esteemed him not. ⁴ Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. ⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. ⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. ⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? ⁹ And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.¹⁰ Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief;when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. ¹¹ Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. ¹² Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53 reminds us that what looked like history’s greatest tragedy was actually God’s sovereign plan unfolding exactly as promised. Jesus was not caught in the gears of political power or religious opposition—He was moving in step with a purpose written centuries before. The rejection, the suffering, the silence before His accusers, even His death among the wicked—all of it was foretold. This wasn’t chaos; it was choreography.

When we look at the cross, it’s easy to see injustice. An innocent man condemned. A righteous Savior crucified. But Isaiah reframes our perspective: “He was pierced for our transgressions… the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” What appeared to be a devastating loss was actually a divine exchange. Jesus wasn’t just dying—He was saving.

Good Friday, then, is not ultimately about what people did to Jesus, but about what God was doing for us through Jesus. The cross is where God kept His promise—to deal with sin, to carry our sorrow, and to make a way for peace. In other words: the suffering was real, but so was the purpose. And because it was God’s plan, it means our salvation is not fragile—it is finished, secure, and certain.

Song: So Will I (100 Billion X) (Hillsong United)

Second Reading: Matthew 27:11-26 (NLT) | ¹¹ Now Jesus was standing before Pilate, the Roman governor. “Are you the king of the Jews?” the governor asked him. Jesus replied, “You have said it.” ¹² But when the leading priests and the elders made their accusations against him, Jesus remained silent. ¹³ “Don’t you hear all these charges they are bringing against you?” Pilate demanded. ¹⁴ But Jesus made no response to any of the charges, much to the governor’s surprise.

¹⁵ Now it was the governor’s custom each year during the Passover celebration to release one prisoner to the crowd—anyone they wanted. ¹⁶ This year there was a notorious prisoner, a man named Barabbas ¹⁷ As the crowds gathered before Pilate’s house that morning, he asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you—Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” ¹⁸ (He knew very well that the religious leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy.) ¹⁹ Just then, as Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: “Leave that innocent man alone. I suffered through a terrible nightmare about him last night.” ²⁰ Meanwhile, the leading priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas to be released and for Jesus to be put to death. ²¹ So the governor asked again, “Which of these two do you want me to release to you?” The crowd shouted back, “Barabbas!” ²² Pilate responded, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” They shouted back, “Crucify him!” ²³ “Why?” Pilate demanded. “What crime has he committed?” But the mob roared even louder, “Crucify him!” ²⁴ Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!” ²⁵ And all the people yelled back, “We will take responsibility for his death—we and our children!” ²⁶ So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

On that day, the crowd stood before a choice that revealed the human heart. Barabbas—whose name ironically means “son of the father”—represented the kind of deliverer they expected: someone who resisted Rome, someone who aligned with their immediate desires. And then there was Jesus Christ—the true Son, the one who didn’t come to meet their expectations, but to address their deepest need.

So they chose Barabbas. They chose what felt right in the moment over what was right for eternity. And if we’re honest, we do the same. We often reach for what brings quick relief instead of lasting transformation. We choose comfort over surrender, control over trust, the immediate over the eternal. But here’s the stunning truth of Good Friday: even that wrong choice didn’t derail God’s plan—it fulfilled it. Barabbas walked free, and Jesus was led to the cross. The guilty was released, and the innocent was condemned. That’s not just a moment in history—that’s the message of the gospel. It’s substitution. It’s grace. It’s us.

What looked like rejection was actually the mechanism of redemption. What looked like humanity at its worst became the stage for God’s greatest work. Because in that moment, Jesus wasn’t just taking Barabbas’ place—He was taking ours. So even our rejection is not the end of the story. In the hands of God, it becomes the very means by which He rescues, redeems, and restores.

Song: Mercy (Elevation Worship)

Third Reading John 19:28-33 (ESV) | ²⁸ 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. ³¹ Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. ³² So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs.

When Jesus Christ cried out “Tetélestai”—“It is finished”— He wasn’t conceding defeat; He was claiming victory. This wasn’t the end of His life; it was the completion of His mission. And that one word carried the full weight of heaven’s purpose.

In the language of business, it meant a debt stamped paid in full. Every sin, every failure, every shortcoming—completely canceled. Not reduced. Not deferred. Paid. In the language of the courtroom, it meant a sentence fully served. The judgment that justice demanded was not ignored—it was satisfied. No case left open. No penalty remaining. And in the language of the battlefield, it was the cry of triumph. The war against sin, death, and the enemy was not still being fought—it had been decided. Victory was secured. So when Jesus said, “It is finished,” He was declaring: Your debt is paid. Your judgment is satisfied. Your enemy is defeated.

What we could never accomplish through effort, religion, or striving, He completed through sacrifice. Nothing needs to be added. Nothing can be taken away. In other words: the cross didn’t make salvation possible—it made it complete.

Song: Blown Away

Reflection Questions

1. Isaiah 53 reveals a suffering Savior who bore our sin—how does seeing Jesus’ suffering as intentional and substitutionary change the way you view the cross?
2. The crowd chose Barabbas, a temporary solution, over Jesus, the true Savior. Where in your life are you tempted to choose what feels immediate over what is eternally better?
3. Barabbas went free while Jesus took his place. How does recognizing yourself in the crying crowd – or even Barabbas – deepen your understanding of grace and personal need for salvation?
4. When Jesus declared “It is finished,” He announced that your debt was paid and your judgment satisfied. Do you live as though your sin is fully forgiven, or do you still carry what He has already completed? What about someone else in your life you find it difficult to forgive or move beyond past mistakes?
5. If the cross proves that God can use even humanity’s worst decisions for His greatest purposes, what does that mean for the regrets, failures, or wrong choices in your own story?