John 19:28-30
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill Scripture), “I thirst.” 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. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
He didn’t say much in his final hours…but what he did say mattered much. John recorded his final two statements while Matthew recorded what happened when Jesus “gave up his spirit.” It was a pivotal moment in time, scheduled to happen before the foundations of the world were laid and creatures and mankind walked the earth. It was a bloody and gruesome display of man’s cruelty and injustice juxtaposed against the face of God’s love, mercy, and perfect justice.
Jesus knew that his time had come. He had accomplished what the Father had asked of him. He had endured the kangaroo courts, the mocking, the torture, and finally…the cross. He had experienced something that has happened only once in all of history as he was forsaken by his Father in Heaven…and now it was time to die an earthly death. Needing to wet his lips for his final proclamation, he asked for something to drink. Sour wine is just cheap wine mixed with water…but it was the branch they used that should draw your attention. You might recognize the type—hyssop—and remember it from Exodus 12 and the saving blood of the Passover lamb. Surely, any attentive Jews in attendance would have noticed the detail and hopefully…questioned its timing and context.
In the final moment, Jesus did not die because of man’s actions, but because he chose to give up his spirit. From the minute he was conceived to the moment of his last breath, He and His Father were in full control of the overall narrative. It reminds me of something my dad used to say: “Plan your work and work your plan.” Our Lord did then…our Lord will today…and our Lord will every single day ahead of us until all is accomplished, no matter what the world chooses to do between now and then.
“After this…”
> Jesus has crossed the finished line and the impact roared across both the spiritual and material worlds:
> The temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom—allowing direct access to God without temple or priest.
> The earth shook and the rocks were split—showing that all creation acknowledged the monumental change.
> Nearby tombs opened up and saints were raised to wander the city—displaying the power of Jesus’ substitutionary atonement for his children.
> The attending Centurion said, “Truly this was the son of God!”—acknowledging the reality that one day, every single person in history will utter the exact same thing.
I pray that you and I will cross the finished line well, too.
