In high school I was a member of this incredible Christian choir called Encounter. Every Sunday night from January to August was consumed with rehearsals and performances. There were about a hundred of us who made up the choir and all of my closest friends were a part of this with me. On Good Friday we had an all-day rehearsal in preparation for the opening of our performance season on Easter. There are some particular memories I can recall from these rehearsals over the years, but the one that’s always stood out the most was just one word I learned.
Tetelestai.
This was Jesus’ last word. It’s the last thing He wanted to say before He died on the cross. After the agonizing hours leading up to his death, he said:
It is finished.
I began to reflect on this the other day and realized there was so much more packed into this one word than I had realized. Jesus wanted us to know it was finished. But what did He put an end to at the cross?
Death was finished, never to trouble us again.
Our sin was finished, never to be remembered in His book.
The veil that separated us from direct relationship with God was torn as he breathed his last breath. The imagery in that moment is beautiful; it is one of my favorite moments in all of scripture. His death gave us full access to relationship with Him.
So what is God reminding you to be finished with? An addiction? A sin pattern? A self-righteous attitude? He died to give us abundant life, a life that is full of Him because we are finished with anything that distracts us. Will we fall into Satan’s lie that it isn’t finished or will we choose to believe that when Jesus said it was finished he meant it?
