TETELESTAI … It is finished!”
The Greek word τετελεσμαι (TETELESTAI) derives from τελέω (teléo), which means: to finish, to complete, to execute, to conclude, to realize, to pay.
The expression “TETELESTAI” was used by the Greeks in various ways to say:
• “The task is fulfilled! (Servant)
• “Justice is done! (Judge)
• “The debt is paid! (Accountant)
• “The picture is completed! (Artist)
The Gospel of John, written in Greek, tells us that “Jesus, knowing that everything had been accomplished, said:” It is finished! “And bowing his head, he gave up the spirit” (John 19: 28-30).
By exclaiming “It is finished!” just before he died, Jesus declared that he had completed the task entrusted to him! Justice was done, the debt had been paid, and the purpose for which he had come into the world had been fulfilled! Now he could give up the spirit and go home …
On the cross, Jesus was not a victim, but he accomplished the purpose for which he had come into the world! He himself had previously said: “the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mt. 20:28). “For this, the Father loves me: because I lay down My life … No one takes it from me but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down and to take it up again” (John 10:17-18).
The cross was, therefore, His choice and, on this day that we remember the passion and death of Jesus Christ, the question that we should ask ourselves is: “What prompted him to give his life on the cross?
I believe the answer can be found in the verse that says: “For the joy that was set before him, he bore the cross, despising the shame, and he sat at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12: 2).
That “joy that was placed before him” was the prospect that, having paid the ransom price for us, we could now be reconciled in a personal and intimate relationship with our Father in heaven … TETELESTAI!