John 19:28 to 30- Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. NKJV
There on the cross, nailed for our sins and shame, Jesus uttered one last word before He surrendered His life. Tetelestai. In English we render it to be “it is finished”, but the original word had a far deeper meaning. To understand we need to go back to the time when Jesus lived. Tetelestai was a legal term that all men fully understood. Papyri receipts for taxes of those days had the word tetelestai written at the bottom meaning the legal debt is “paid in full”. There was no more debt left owing, not even a mite.
What does this mean for you and me? The wages of sin is death,* so for all eternity our sin would separate us from God. But the law made it possible for us to be cleansed by the shedding of blood** and that is what Jesus did. He paid the full price of our disobedience and sin by willingly shedding His blood on the cross. Tetelestai means that the redemptive work for our salvation was completed by Jesus’ and we can be forgiven.
Lord Jesus, thank You for giving up Your life for my sins. Because of You:
My debt is PAID IN FULL
*Rom - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. NKJV
**Heb. 9:22- In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. NIV (Lev. )