tetelestai.
Nailed to the top of Jesus’ cross is a “certificate of debt” to Caesar, a public display of Jesus’ crime: “King of the Jews.” When punishment is complete, Caesar’s court will cancel the debt with a single Greek word stamped upon the parchment’s face: “
tetelesta
i.” Finished. Paid in full.
Being king of the Jews is not the crime Jesus pays for, however. Hidden to all but the Father is another certificate nailed to that cross: ours. In the darkness that shrouds Calvary from the sixth to the ninth hour, God the Father unleashes His fury upon His sinless Son who has taken upon Himself the crimes of the world as if guilty of all.
At the last, it is not the cross that takes Jesus’ life. When the full payment is made, when the last of the sin debt melts away and the justice of God is fully satisfied, Jesus simply dismisses His spirit with a single Greek word that falls from His lips: “Tetelestai.” It is finished.
