Tetelestai

Tetelestai

“So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”

‭‭John‬ ‭19:30‬

The Greek word tetelestai was stamped on receipts in New Testament times to mark that they were paid in full.  People who had been imprisoned and had completed their sentence, hung a sign on the door of their house with this word to let the world know they paid their debt to society. The word “tetelestai” means “it is finished”.

Have you ever had that feeling of guilt and shame when you told a lie, or you were deceptive or even did something you knew you shouldn’t have?  Have you ever had the feeling of relief when you finally told the truth or came clean?  

All of us have been there, or here. We’ve lied to a spouse, taken something that didn’t belong to us or even selfishly behaved for our own desire. We’ve cheated, lied and stolen. Maybe not on a grand scale, or maybe it was.  But we’ve all behaved badly at some point in our lives.  We all have our dirty little secrets.  Or had.  Maybe they are dirty big secrets.  That’s between you and God. 

When we come clean about something to the person we’ve wronged, there is a sense of relief that just takes so much emotional weight off of our shoulders.  It’s like doing something right, that feeling of accomplishment and movement away from something wrong.  Living in wrong is stressful, at least it is for me.  It’s easier to admit your bad decisions, pay the penalty and move on.  

There are consequences for things we do that are wrong. That’s the moral checks and balances of it all. We pay a price in society when we do something wrong, if we get caught.  And if you don’t get caught, you might live with the guilt and mental torment inside of you until you do.  There are always those around us who won’t feel guilt or shame. We may never know what they’ve done, or continue to do in private, behind closed doors. There are those who point the finger while committing the most atrocious acts.  And there are also those that think, or actually believe, they’ve done nothing wrong, ever. None of that matters except for you. You can only hold yourself accountable. You control you. Others will see how “you” live. That’s what is important or detrimental.  Either they will see your life as a true follower of Christ, or as a follower of the world. 

When we “come clean” about who we really are, what we really do and how we really think - there is a burden lifted from our souls.  It’s a freeing experience to know you don’t hide it anymore. That even though others may judge you, you have nothing to hide and nothing to prove.  You can now start living for Jesus. 

One of the most freeing aspects is that everyone knows what you’ve done - there is nothing to hide. But for others, they have to work to keep their deeds a secret.  Don’t get me wrong, we all have our hiccups - that’s a pretty word for sin.  The difference is how we deal with them.  Do we hold our breath until the next time?  Do we drink a glass of water and hope they go away.  Or are we turning to God?  God is the only answer.  We must put our sins in front of Him. 

Jesus Christ was crucified for the sins of the entire world, past, present and future.  

If Jesus didn’t die for our sins, we would die spiritually for them.  When we sin, we are separated from God. Not a big deal for those who don’t believe in God, right?  Unless you like going to hell.  We will never be good, that is why we needed Jesus. A perfect sacrifice for an imperfect world.  The only reconciliation for us. 

We will sin. We have sinned. And we are sinning.  Sex, money, immoral thoughts and acts - and yes, even doing nothing when you should’ve done something good, it’s a sin.  Even now, you’ve probably sinned in your mind at least once while reading this. 

The only relief you will ever have from sin is by your faith and trust in Jesus.  Confessing your sin to Him and turning away from it.  

We have to come to the feet of Jesus and confess our sin to Him. If we put Jesus in front of everything we do - we will become new creatures in Him.  He died because we sin.  He rose again so that we would have the Holy Spirit to guide us and lead us in the ways that we should live as Christian’s.  

Only those who truly turn their lives to Christ will experience this freedom. 

You don’t have to live a life in torment because of your sin.  You can be freed from it. It doesn’t mean you won’t have consequences. It means that you’re only true judgement will come from God, not man.  All Christian’s will face the judgement of God.  And as we grow and learn to deal with our sin in the way God wants us to, we are able to be more like Christ. We will bear good fruit when we fill our lives with the goodness of God. 

We will never be perfect, even if we tried, or tried to pretend we will. We can’t.  Don’t let the world make you believe that you are a horrible person. Our sins are forgiven. Our hope comes from putting our faith and trust in Jesus.  Not only do we have eternal salvation, we have a savior.  

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

‭‭John‬ ‭1:29‬

When Jesus took His last breath he said “it is finished”, He had sacrificed Himself for the sins of the world so we wouldn’t have to live in torment.  

Jesus saves us from ourselves, so that we can finally hang the sign on our door that reads - “tetelestai”.

“So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.””

‭‭John‬ ‭20:21-23‬