Walking With Christ

John 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.(ESV)

The English translations of this, like so many others, do not this verse justice. It simply does not carry the full weight of the words. The original language of the book of John was Greek and the word that Jesus would have used is Tetelestai.

In business terms: Tetelestai meant that a debt had been fully paid. It was not as if part of the debt was forgiven. No, the debt was paid in full. The one who owed the debt is now free and clear, while the one to whom the debt is owed is fully satisfied that the debt has been fully paid.
In court terms: Tetelestai meant that the assigned sentence had been fully served. It was not a case of getting time off for good behavior, probation, or any kind of early release. No, this was a full sentence that was served to the exact length that was ordered.
In military terms: Tetelestai meant that the battle is completely finished with no chance of future conflict. The enemy was utterly destroyed and would not be able to mount another offensive.

The word(s) that Christ used to mark His exit from this world had multiple meanings and each of them is accurate. When Jesus said, “it is finished”, He was saying that our sin debt has been completely paid, the punishment for sin has been completely served, and our enemy has been destroyed so completely that there is no hope for the enemy to continue to fight. This was His purpose for coming to earth. This was His plan before the earth was ever formed. If we read every line of scripture from this perspective, we can truly see the tiny, seemingly unrelated events, that all worked together, as if by magic or some unseen hand (hello, Father), to create the circumstances foretold from the very beginning.

The enemy has no more power. Death has no more sting. Our King has claimed the final victory. Now, we get to live in celebration of the coming day when we all stand face to face with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and sing exaltations to Him in awe of what He has done.

Lift your eyes, hearts, spirits, hands, and voices in praise and worship to Him. Amen and amen.