“Tetelestai!”

If someone had paid off a debt that you owed, would you accept their selfless act or reject it? Wouldn’t you be eternally grateful and accept it rejoicing, especially if it was a huge debt?

Scripture tells us that that is precisely what Jesus did for us.

“and He Himself [Jesus Christ] is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” 1 John 2:2

When Jesus, from the cross , cried out His last words, “It is finished!” (John 19:30), He was letting the whole world know that everything He came to do had been done in its entirety according to the plan of God, including paying off a debt He did not incur.

Translated in Greek, “It is finished” is just one word, “Tetelestai” which gives a much deeper meaning to Jesus’ powerful last words. Tetelestai means Paid in Full, in other words, one never has to pay anything towards the debt ever again. 

Jesus’ sacrifice was perfect and sufficient to completely pay off the sin debt that we all owe. Jesus paid the full price for all our sins when He laid down His life. And when He shouted “Tetelestai!”, it was not only a declaration of triumph but conveyed the Truth of His crucifixion:
although completed in the past, has on-going results in the future.

In other words what Jesus accomplished at Calvary over 2000 years ago is still effective even to this day – it happened yet is still happening with far reaching effects. 

God always has the last word and it is “Tetelestai!”

“Tetelestai!” ©2013 Shelley Johnson 27-Feb-13






Photo: a replica of the Pieta