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When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

The best stories end with happily ever after. At first glance, we might say the end of Jesus’ life is anything but a happy end. His body was broken. His friends had abandoned him. His enemies mocked as the lifeblood of Jesus drained away at the cross. With one of his final, dying breaths, Jesus spoke. “It is finished.” His life and work had ended.

Or had it? When Jesus spoke the words, “It is finished,” it did not just mean “the end.” It was also a beginning. Because this was not just a man withering away on the cross, this was God himself speaking. He would live again.

When Jesus said, “It is finished,” he meant that his work was finished. He had accomplished exactly what he came to do. He was God’s answer to sin. He was our perfect substitute to pay for our sins because we never could. At the cross, we see an end, but we also see a beginning. A beginning of hope, a beginning of joy, a beginning of life. Jesus was right, a lot of things were finished. Separation from God—finished. A guilty conscience—finished. Loneliness, or the feeling that God could never care for us—finished. The fear of death—finished. Worries about what is to come in life or in death—finished.

Make Good Friday a new beginning. Stop living in guilt, as if Jesus paid for all of the world’s sins, but not yours. Where you have been weak in your faith, begin again to thank God for his forgiveness. Where you have grown complacent, begin again to see God’s great love for you. Where you have grown weary, begin again to see the strength the Lord provides. Where you have fallen, Jesus makes you brand new and bids you to begin again. Jesus’ death is for us in every way a new beginning.

Through Jesus, by Jesus, because of Jesus, we have happily ever after, because Jesus’ death was not the end, but only the beginning.

Dear Jesus, you give me new beginnings every day because of your loving sacrifice. Help me begin again to love and thank you. Amen.

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.