Tetelestai: Christianity’s Most Important Message For You

Satan is constantly messing with my mind tell me that I need to keep paying for my sins. Sure, there’s consequences for one’s actions, but to think because I’m not perfect, God can no longer use me is a messed up lie. And no, I’m not hearing some creepy voice in my head named Satan. No, the Devil is more clever than that. He uses people. He uses you to get to me. He uses your words, your actions, your lack of compassion. He takes you, looking like someone I can trust, someone I looked up to, someone who’s voice matters, and he convinces you your one sided, self centered point of view should be the loudest voice in the room. He uses me. Sometimes I don’t need your help. I convince myself I’m useless all by myself. And like the arrogant sinners we are, we buy into it. But I have three words to say to you today:

It. Is. Finished.

Three words Jesus said on the Cross. It’s the last remarks given by Christ recorded in the Gospel according to John. The Cross. What a significant, horrific, beautiful place. It’s tatted on bodies, worn around necks and is replicated behind stage fronts, street signs and church logos. But make no mistake, what took place on the Cross of Calvary was horrific. Jesus of Nazareth, after being arrested in the middle of the night, was beaten nearly to death with a whip known as the cat of nine tails. Attached at the end of each of the nine whips were objects like shattered glass and anything sharp that could rip into whatever it attaches.

It is said that Jesus was given 39 lashes although it isn’t said in scripture. Some say 39 lashes because no more than 40 were to be given to criminals according to Deuteronomy 25:3. However, Jesus wasn’t punished under Jewish law. His sentence was given from Pilate of Rome. It’s also said he was given 39 because 40 under Roman law was the death sentence. However, in my time of study, I could find no such reference. One thing is sure: prior to being hung on the cross by three nails, Jesus was beaten and beaten severely. So much so that many interpret his interaction with his mom in John 19 as Christ telling her, “Yeah, Mom, it’s me.”

Through what would go down in history as one of the most brutal public deaths, Jesus would say, “It is finished,” and the Bible tells us He gave up His own life. But what was finished? The Sunday School response is Jesus is talking about phase one of the Gospel: His death. Why was His death necessary?

According to 1 John 3:4, sin is breaking God’s law. You and I, all of us, every human being who’s ever walked the face of the earth with the exception of Christ, are sinners. Don’t worry, you were born this way. But in that sin condition, it has separated us from God – time to worry again. A debt had to be paid. There are consequences to actions, right?

It started with Adam at the beginning of time in Genesis 3 . He disobeyed a direct commandment from God and as a result that disobedient, that selfish, that self centered nature has been passed down, generation to generation. Now God had a system in place where people could bring sacrifices, and for the time being, they’d be good, but still as a whole people didn’t have an opportunity at having contact with their Creator the way Adam did without a High Priest. Not to mention the fact that God gave specific instructions on the sacrifice, the place of worship, and so on, all of which man over time completely abandoned for their own convenience.

Then enters Jesus the Christ.

He changed everything. He was perfect. He didn’t sin. He fulfilled the law. He met the qualifications laid out in scripture to be the sacrifice for the entire world. His death, His sacrifice, was God’s plan for our redemption (Romans 8:4, John 3:16). All who call on the name of Jesus Christ to be saved, will then be saved because He paid the price (Romans 10:13).

Saved from what? Well, remember, that sin nature that Grandpa Adam passed down to us caused a separation between us and God (Isaiah 59:2). That separation brought death (Romans 6:23), and it’s not like when we die we can just go to God and pretend all that sin never happened. The wages of sin is death, and death’s greatest sting comes when we are eternally separated from our Creator in a horrible place called Hell (2 Thessalonians 1:8). Jesus is the gift of God that offers us life both now and after death where we are not separated from God anymore. Accepting His sacrifice on the cross for our sins, seeking forgiveness, we never have to worry about being lost; death has no sting, it has no victory (1 Corinthians 15:50-58). After death, we will be like Him! (1 John 3:2-3) We will be made perfect. No more tears, no more weakness, why? Because it. is. finished.

“Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.”

‭‭- John 19:30‬

Here’s the beauty of studying scripture: Let’s dig even deeper. In the first century, when you owed somebody something, a certificate of your debt was written. (Read the Oxyrhynchus Papyri) When Christ hung on a cross, a notice was placed above His head. (John 19:19-22) When your debt was paid, it was resolved with a word placed upon the document: tetelestai.  This Greek word meant completed, paid, finished, done.  Archaeologists have found ancient receipts that have been “canceled out” in this way using the word tetelestai. The Greek-English lexicon by Moulton and Milligan says:

“Receipts are often introduced by the phrase tetelestai, usually written in an abbreviated manner…”

What makes tetelestai fascinating is the Greek tense that is used. I know language classes are boring, but please bare with me and give this lesson a chance. Verb tenses are the most important and most communicative part of the Greek language and tends to get lost in translation. Jesus speaks in the perfect tense, which is very rare in the New Testament. The perfect tense is a combination of two Greek tenses: the present tense, and the aorist tense. The aorist tense simply means that it happens at an exact time. Present tense continues on into the future and is ongoing.  The combination of these two tenses is Christianity’s most important message. When Jesus says, “It is finished,” in the original language, Jesus is saying, “It is finished and will continue to be finished”.

I hope and pray I’ve broken this down clearly and relevantly for you because you can spend anytime hearing different beliefs out there as to who Jesus is, why He came, how to obtain a relationship with Him, and how one can get to Heaven. Salvation is given to those who believe in Jesus as the Christ, as savior of the world. However, some have this concept that you can somehow lose this precious gift. Some believe it only belongs to a select group of people. What’s becoming more broadly acceptable is the idea we earned it, we deserve it, but nothing can be further from the truth. Salvation, Jesus Christ and a relationship with Him, is for all. He is for all. (Romans 10:13) He is for you. No, I’m not delusional and talking to my target audience. Jesus is for ALL. (Acts 2:21) To the transgender male who’s struggled his entire life with his identity: Jesus is for you. To the woman who had her first abortion at 16 and another in adulthood, who’s been told by “Christians” she’s a murderer: Jesus is for you. To the kid who’s born and raised in church with conservative values, but has this itch to “see the world:” Jesus is for you.

Jesus didn’t die for the saved, He died for the lost that they might be saved. Jesus isn’t just here for our enjoyment, but He’s here for us to share with the entire world. If you can’t do good things to earn Him, you can’t do bad things to lose Him. (John 10:28-29) No one, no thing, no action, can separate you from the love of God and His saving grace. (Romans 8:38-39) When Jesus says, “it is finished and will continue to be finished,” His word has ultimate authority. It is finished. The payment for your sin has been paid in full. You owe nothing. Quit listening to the voices of shameful “Christians” that tell you there are consequences for your sins and that’s why God can’t use you anymore. That is a lie from Satan’s mouth. The consequence for your sin was nailed to a cross and died the most sufferable death. The reason Satan uses this excuse is because he knows he can’t take your relationship with Christ away, but he can silence you from ever showing someone else the joy of knowing Christ.

There are few downturns to a democratic society, but one of them is the notion that people think they have the right and responsibility to say whatever they want, to whoever they want, however they want, even if it isn’t the truth. Listen to God’s voice. No, I’m not saying have a dream and interpret that as God speaking to you. He speaks to us through scripture so read your Bible. I hope I’ve shared enough scripture in this post to perhaps peak your interest. If you need more, message me. But God tell us countless times in His Word that He is for you, not against you. He paid the price for you, offers unmerited grace and love that, sure you don’t deserve, but none of us do! That’s the beauty of it. We’re all on the same boat! That’s not socialistic, it’s biblical.

Tetelestai is the most important message in Christianity because it is the most forgotten and most misconstrued teaching that Christ ever gave us and has been blurred with heretical hypocrisies. The Sermon on the Mount is great, but Jesus packed a punch with one word, His final word on the cross, His final word as an earthly man. His salvation was good 2000 years ago, and is still good today; so, so good. It is finished and will continue to be finished. You are free. Signing out for now. Talk to you again soon. Thanks for reading.