When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30
That’s a very familiar verse to most, if not all, Christians. Upon first reading, the obvious interpretation is that Jesus is talking about the fact that His [pre-resurrection] life is over. However, a deeper study into what he really said reveals more.
Those 3 words in the English language are but one word in classic Greek: τετελεσται (tetelestai). I’m not going to suggest the “it is finished” is a poor translation of the Greek, but I would like to offer a bit of background on the word, because coming to this understanding really underscored for me the meaning of the cross. I offer these 2 citations from others, but I also encourage you to do your own study of this word.
“The word translated ‘It is finished’ (tetelestai) was used in Greek commercial life. The term signified the completion of a transaction by the full payment of a price or the discharge of a debt by a completed payment.”1
“This was a common term in the Roman business world. It was used to indicate that a debt had been completely paid. Ancient receipts have been found with “Tetelestai” written across them, meaning: ‘Paid in full’.
“The term Tetelestai was also used to announce the completion of a task. In reporting back to the one who had sent him on a mission, a servant could say, “Tetelestai”, which meant: ‘Mission accomplished.'”2
So when Jesus cried out in a loud voice and breathed his last (Mark 15:37), it was a shout of triumph, not a cry of defeat. When Jesus said “Tetelestai”, he was saying my debt of sin had been paid in full. No idea worthy of human thought is more worthy of praise to God than this one!
1Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament, J. H. Moulton & G. Milligan, Hendrickson Publishers, 1997
2One God One Message, P. D. Bramsen, Xulon Press, 2007
3 comments on ““It is finished””
Very true, Peggy; thanks for pointing that out. This is, in fact, what I believe to be the correct translation of Colossians 2:13-14. In the NIV translation of that passage, it leads one to believe that it was the old law that was “nailed to the cross”. The debt was an IOU created by our sins. It was that indebtedness that was canceled at the cross, not the Old Testament. The old law was, of course, fulfilled by Jesus’ death on the cross (Matthew 5:17), but it was not what was nailed to the cross.
In keeping with the idea of completing a task, I think it also refers to the fact that the Old Testament was completed in this act, and that it was finished as the ruling priority of God.
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