"TETELESTAI"

John 19:30

“TETELESTAI” John 19:30

Pastor Tom Johnson, March 29, 2013

Tetelestai. This word has been found on ancient tax bills, business transactions, and sales receipts. Think of those rubber stamps you see that put the word "PAID" in red to bring closure to a bill or transaction. Tetelestai. “It is finished.” “Paid in full.” “All is accounted for.” “Case Closed.”

He came to give His life a ransom for many. The ransom has been paid. The debt of sin against our heavenly Father has been wiped away. We owe God nothing now except our thanks and praise. If there ever was a time that Satan cried out in anguish, it is now. His defeat is secured. All his accusations are proved false once for all. Tell the world the good news: “It is Good Friday!” Our Lord has cried Tetelestai—“It is finished!”—from the cross. It happened on that hill called “the place of a skull”—Golgotha—Calvary. The skull is a picture of death—unrecoverable life. And what died there is as important as Who died there: our Lord—God and Man—died there. But so did our guilt and condemnation. Just as skin and flesh cannot be put back on a skull to bring it back to life—so the devil, the world, and our sin cannot resurrect our condemnation and guilt.

When you want to return to an old, unhealthy behavior or way of thinking, preach Christ’s one word sermon to yourself: “It is finished”—Tetelestai. I will not go back to what is already dead. That one Word sums up St. Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17). “It is finished.” When you hear the devil accuse you and condemn you for your sins, preach Christ’s one Word sermon to him: “It is finished”—Tetelestai. That Word reveals the liar that he is. That one Word sums up St. Paul’s words in Romans, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). “It is finished, Devil. The Lord rebuke you.” God has given us a good Friday to better all our days.

Make all your days good by that same Word. Let us tell our husbands—let us tell our wives—“Tetelestai!” “I have forgiven you! I will not hold it against you any longer. You are free! Your wrong against me has died!” Parents, let us drive that Word into the heads of our children: “Tetelestai!” “We love and accept you just the way they are. The marker on the wall is permanent—but so is our love! You wrecked the family car but you have not wrecked our family. Children, let go of the resentment and bitterness. Grow up! Grow up in the Lord and accept the fact that our God in heaven is the only sinless Father. Let the weight of anger go—“it is finished!” First Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church of Chicago, Illinois. Let us be a place where the Word “Tetelestai” echos against all our walls and in all our hearts. For when we cannot forgive one another, we are finished.

Our faith is what has died when we are so full of anger and bitterness. We have forgotten the reason for which our Lord has died. Let all our anger and bitterness go. Away with the resentment and harboring of bitterness! Put it in the category of “Tetelestai”—that which is finished—dead and never to rise again.

We are the lifeline of forgiveness to a world drowning in sin and unforgiveness. We are the mouth of our Savior to this community and cry out to her, “It is finished! We will not hold your sin against you or one other. We want to partner together so that we all live in the reality that our sin has been put to death on the cross.” All that damns us has died. This Friday is good. It is not the day to sulk or grovel in our sins or to feel sorry for Jesus. It is the day our debt has been wiped clean—Friday is the Christian’s payday. All that is rotten and evil ends here—all that is good begins here. “It is finished!”