Tetelestai: Understanding the Meaning of Jesus’ Sixth Saying

In our daily meditations, we reflect on the seven last sayings of Jesus while He was on the cross, bearing the sins of all mankind. It was three in the afternoon, the same time the Passover lambs began to be sacrificed in the temple for that evening's Passover meal. After Jesus' lips were moistened with the sponge on the hyssop, He gathered enough strength to push against the sedile, the piece of wood under His feet that extended the agony of the cross, allowing Him enough air in His lungs to shout the sixth saying. The three synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) tell us that Jesus gave a loud cry, but it was the apostle John who revealed what Christ shouted for all to hear.

6) “It is finished” (John 19:30).

John introduces the Greek word "tetelestai," which means "it is finished" in English. This phrase was not a sign of exhaustion but a declaration of liberty for those whose debt He paid off. In Greek culture at the time, tetelestai was a word used in accounting. When a man's debt was settled, it was tetelestai. It signifies to make an end of, complete, or accomplish something, not just to stop, but to bring it to perfection or its intended goal. It also means paying in full, as in paying taxes or tribute. This shout was a cry of victory! It is done, paid in full, with no debt left for God's people. They are free! No wonder He shouted. He wanted the world to know that the debt of sin was paid. God's judgment and justice had been satisfied (to make amends and reconcile). The true Day of Atonement had arrived. God's justice was fulfilled. One sacrifice paid for all. An ordinary man's blood couldn't pay the debt owed by all of humanity because of sin; only God Himself could pay that sacrifice.

God needed a Champion—someone who could conquer Satan, the one who held the power of death over humanity since the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden. But how could that be possible if just one sin disqualified a man? The Chosen One had to be free of the sin passed down from Adam to all of humanity. The solution to man's problem was what God planned in eternity past—to enter humanity Himself and become a man. He had to be born of a virgin, not of man's seed. The Holy Spirit came upon Mary, and the eternal God Himself, in the person of Jesus, entered the human race to take upon Himself the accumulated guilt of sin and judgment that man deserved. The wonder of wonders! He faced the forces of darkness manifesting through people—His battle was not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12), but against spiritual forces in the unseen realm that held us tightly with invisible spiritual bonds. All of this was ended at the cross of Christ. Sin has been paid for through the sacrifice of Jesus, God in the flesh. “It is finished!” With His last remaining strength, Jesus said:

7) “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46).

⁴⁶Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last. ⁴⁷The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man." ⁴⁸When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. ⁴⁹But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things (Luke 23:46-49).

After Jesus said these words, His body went limp. His head hung down, and He gave up His Spirit. When he saw how Christ died, even the hardened centurion was convinced, "Truly this was the Son of God!" (Matthew 27:54). Let’s carry on these thoughts tomorrow. Keith Thomas.

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https://www.groupbiblestudy.com/devotionals

The YouTube video of this talk with closed captions (subtitles) in 65 languages is found at the following link: https://youtu.be/98EY8UNmpmk

The written notes are at the following link: The Seven Sayings of Christ on the Cross