Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. John 19:30
“It is finished!” is expressed in a single Greek word. Tetelestai! The word was not a whisper expected of a dying man, nor was it gasped with the weakness of a man giving up. It was shouted. Clearly. Emphatically. Triumphantly.
But what exactly was “finished”?
In John 17:4, in His great high priestly prayer, Jesus says, “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.” And John echoes that in His account of Christ on the cross. In setting up the cry, “Tetelestai!” John says, “Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty” (John 19:28). In both cases, accomplished is the same verb in the Greek, although slightly different tenses.
Christ accomplished everything the Father gave Him to do.
The work of redemption, buying us back from the slavery to sin we sold ourselves into, was complete.
All of the sins were atoned for, once and for all.
All the righteous requirements of the Law were fulfilled.
God’s divine, just wrath against sin was satisfied.
Satan’s best efforts to destroy Christ (and us) were exhausted.
The Old Testament promises and prophecies were realized.
Christ exercised His power to lay down His life (John 10:18). In three days, He would demonstrate His power to take up that life again.
This tetelestai looks forward to Revelation 16:17 and 21:6, when “It is done!” The Kingdom comes, and His will is done on earth as it is in heaven.
Cultural insight into tetelestai
When a workman, a contractor, completed a job to the client’s specifications, he would mark the bill “tetelestai.” It is finished, and he was then eligible to receive all that was due him for a job well done.
Christ is certainly due all glory and honor for His redemption work. (Philippians 2:5-8, Revelation 5:8-12).
Ancient financial records have also been discovered. When a debt was paid, the note, the evidence was marked “tetelestai.” No one could ever demand any payment for that debt again. It was paid in full.
Christ has paid everything we owe. God accepted the payment. No one can ever demand more. (Romans 8:33-34)
To put it another way, we are as saved as we can possibly be because Jesus’s work is as finished as it can be.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!