Destroy
Normally, when we think of destruction, it's a bad thing. We might think of a natural disaster (which, oddly enough, insurance companies still seem to refer to as "acts of God") that takes out a small town. Or we think of the bratty kid who walks along the beach, stomping on everyone's sand castle. Or watch any current political debate and listen to the candidates each trying to "destroy" the arguments and logic of the others. Destruction is not normally a "positive" in our minds.
But John wants us to think positively of destruction—at least in one instance. He reminds us that Jesus came for one primary reason: to destroy the work of the devil, to bring an end to the reign of sin and suffering and death. He reminds us that the devil has been "sinning from the beginning," and though he doesn't say it this way, it's as if the devil's very identity, his very purpose is to sin, to do things that are against God's best for this world. And Jesus came to put an end to that. He came to destroy it.
But there is still sin in the world.
Even after Jesus said, "It is finished!" If the work he came to do is complete...
...and his purpose in coming was to destroy the devil's work...
...why, then, is there still sin all around us?
Theologians propose many possibilities when it comes to questions like these. Some say it's because Jesus needs our cooperation, and that since we keep choosing to sin, choosing to give in to the work of the devil, then sin still abounds. (Maybe it's even true that the devil doesn't have to do much these days, since we've become so good at sinning all on our own!)
But "it is finished" doesn't mean, "It will be finished when I get all the people to cooperate." It means done, complete, finished.
I believe Jesus' cry from the cross wasn't a lie or a misunderstanding or a misdirection. I believe it's evidence that Jesus has a different view of history than we do. From the cross, Jesus could look down all the halls of history and he could see that, because of his obedience and work on the cross, the works of the devil were done for. They might continue for a while (even 2,000+ years), but the devil was done for in that moment. Jesus could see the end of history and know that, in the end, he was the victor. The devil's work, at that moment, was destroyed. His purpose was accomplished.
Even if it didn't yet look like it.
Think about it this way. World War II was won, not on V-E Day or on V-J Day, but on D-Day. Historians agree that at that moment, the tide of the war was decided. When the invasion happened in Normandy, the war was won. There was a significant amount of time between that moment and the final end, but the end was never in doubt from that moment on. Allied soldiers continued to live in the "in-between" time, the now and the not yet, but their victory was assured because of what happened on D-Day.
The same is true for us. We live in the now and the not yet. Jesus' victory is assured, even if the devil continues to try to make inroads. And when things seem the bleakest, there is no reason to fear or despair. Jesus said: "It is finished." His purpose was the destroy the work of the devil, and he has done that, even if it doesn't yet look like it. We need Jesus' vision, his view of history to be able to see the truth. He has won and he will win. It's guaranteed. It's assured. All that is really left to do is to get as many on his side as we can, and to get in line with what he already sees: a spotless bride, his church, people fully devoted to him.
It's over. And it's only begun. The now and the not yet. He has destroyed the work of the devil, so let's be on his side as the battle rages on.
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