Good Friday --- 18 April 2014

{This message was delivered during our Good Friday Service of the Cross.}

When Jesus had received the wine, he said, "It is finished."

·        As he died, Jesus said “It is finished.” John records this as one word in Greek – tetelestai.

·        We could take this to mean “It’s over; I’m done” as Jesus’ surrender to death, but the word has much deeper meanings.

·        It was a common word in the world in Jesus’ time. It was used in a number of settings.

·        Believe it or not, it was a word written on a bill when the debt was discharged. In this case, “It is finished” might be translated as “Paid in full”, a very appropriate translation if we consider the theological meaning of Jesus’ death on the cross.

·        The word could also be used by priests of the day once they had inspected an animal to be used in sacrificial offerings. The sacrificial victim needed to be perfect, unblemished, and without damage. Here the word could be translated as something like “It is proper and worthy.”

·        Another way the word was used was in art. When a sculptor finished his statue, he might step back to look at what he had done and, if he liked it, he’d murmur to himself, “tetelestai” as if to say “this work is complete; no more needs to be done.”

·        Oddly enough, the word was a legal term as well, one written on a prisoner’s sentencing document once the sentence was fulfilled. This statement could be shown to anyone who questioned the person to show that he was freed and his sentence was completed. Old movies would use the phrase “My debt to society is paid.”

·        Lastly, this phrase was often given as a report when a son or an agent had completed their assigned mission. Once the assignment was completed, the answer would be taken back to the person who assigned the task, as if to say, in modern terms, “Mission accomplished.”

·        However we take it, this Greek phrase – tetelestai – means what was intended has been finished.

·        It is not a cry of despair. Far from it, it is a statement of triumph. What Jesus came to do has been done.

·        What did Jesus do? Simple, he brought in the Kingdom of God and took away our sin. He showed us how we are to love one another and how we are to serve one another and the world. He told us we don’t have to do it ourselves, because “Tetelestai” – It is accomplished.

·        It is paid in full.

·        It is proper and worthy.

·        It is finished… and it is now ours.