Easter is over for another year. Resurrection Sunday has been celebrated. We have spent Holy Week focusing on Jesus’ sacrifice for each of us. We set our eyes on the Cross and the significance of two pieces of wood that held our Savior as He breathed His last breath and uttered: “It is finished!” (John 19:30).
The Greek word for “it is finished” is tetelestai. It comes from the verb teleo, which means “to bring to an end, to complete, to accomplish.” It’s important to understand the meaning of this word as it signifies the successful end to a particular course of action or plan. It’s the word you’d use when you make the final payment on your car or climb to the peak of a mountain. There is nothing lingering. Nothing left to finish. No loose ends. It means “I did exactly what I set out to do.”
Tetelestai was the equivalent of the Hebrew word spoken by the high priest when he presented a sacrificial lamb without spot or blemish in the Holy of Holies to seek atonement for sins. This was done every year to obtain temporary forgiveness of sin.
The word Tetelestai was used in business transactions to signify the full payment of debt. And in classical Greek times, it depicted a turning point when one period ended, and another new period began.
Jesus’ death on the cross gives us permanent forgiveness of sin; there is no longer the need for annual sacrifices. His sacrifice paid our debt in full. There is no balance due. No interest charges accruing. It is paid by the precious blood of our Savior. The crucifixion ended the period of our separation from God and gave us a new era of oneness with the Father.
Jesus fulfilled the plan God set into motion when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden and separated man from God. The work that God sent Jesus to do – perform miracles, teach the Gospel, and save mankind – was completed when He uttered those final three words.
But there’s more. Tetelestai is in the perfect tense in Greek. As a grammar geek, I love this! Why is this significant? Because the perfect tense speaks of an action which has been completed in the past with results continuing into the present. It doesn’t just mean “It happened. Let’s move on.” No! It means, “This happened, and it is still happening and will continue to happen in the future.” The debt is paid ever minute, every hour, every day. It covers every breath you will ever breath.
So why, then, do we put the Cross behind us when we pack up the Easter decorations and finish the chocolate bunnies? Why do we so easily forget that the debt has been paid in full and that our sin – today’s sin and tomorrow’s sin – is forgiven? Why, do we pick up the cross and try to shoulder a debt that doesn’t exist?
There are so many times when I’ve asked forgiveness – knowing that God has washed me clean – and then almost immediately beat myself up for what I’ve done. I chastise myself for not being kinder. Not being more loving. Less selfish. I tell myself that surely God couldn’t forgive me for making the same sin, the same choice, for the hundredth time. I refuse to forgive myself. To accept that the blood of Jesus truly did pay for my sins. That when I seek forgiveness with contrition and a heart to change, my sin is forgotten. In essence, I tell God, “You’ve got this wrong. I can’t possibly be forgiven. I screw up too much.”
And I leave the cross behind. I choose to carry sin rather than the life-giving blood of Jesus. I view the cross as something that was done thousands of years ago. When the truth is, the gift of Jesus’ actions on the cross are mine and yours every day. If we accept them.
When we don’t, we minimize the sacrifice of our Savior. When we decide we know better what we deserve, we ignore the suffering for our salvation. When we seek forgiveness yet hold onto our sin to punish ourselves, we diminish the powerful gift of our God. God, who chose to become man, chose incomprehensible pain, because His love for us was greater than life itself.
Jesus’ death on the cross completed God’s plan to reunite with his children. But we can’t live in relationship if we put the cross behind us. Two pieces of wood point the direction to our future. A future with a Father waiting to forgive. To love. To hold us. Forever.
Seek forgiveness this week and trust that it is finished.
This week’s accompanying prayer: