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In the passion story
according to John which we have just heard, the last
words that Jesus said on the cross before he bowed his
head and gave up the spirit is "It is finished"
(John 19:30). Three words in English but in the original
Greek it is just one word, tetelestai. What
does telestai "it is finished" mean?
Scholars got more insight
into the meaning of this expression a few years ago
after some archaeologists dug up in the Holy Land a tax
collector's office that was almost intact, with all the
tax records and everything. There were two stacks of tax
records and one of them had the word, tetelestai,
on the top. In other words, "paid in full." These people
don't owe anything anymore. So, when Jesus said "It is
finished," what is finished? It is the debt we owe God
by our sins. It has been paid in full?
The Jews of Jesus' time
saw sin as a debt that we owe God, a debt that must
somehow be repaid. Jesus used that kind of language and
often spoke of sin as debt and forgiveness as a
cancellation of debt. He told the parable of the
unforgiving servant whom his master forgave the debt
that he had no way of repaying but who went out and
insisted on getting back the small debt that his fellow
servant owed him. This was a way of teaching us that
when we are forgiven by God we must in turn forgive our
neighbour. He taught us to pray "Forgive us our debts
as we forgive those who are indebted to us" which
simply means "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive
those who trespass against us." Jesus clearly used the
language of commerce to speak of the spiritual
relationship between God and us and between us and our
neighbour. So on the cross he says telestai "It
is paid in full." Our sins have been completely
forgiven. It is finished.
So, how do we respond to
this last testament of Jesus? Remember, it is not a
promise, "Your sins will be forgiven," and it is not a
conditional statement, "Your sins are forgiven if...."
How do we respond to it? What do we do? All you have to
do is to say "Amen ... So be it." All you have to do is
to believe that these words apply to you personally, no
matter the gravity of the sin that you have been
involved in. Your debt has been paid to the full and
cancelled no matter how huge the amount you owe. All you
have to do is to say "Thank you, Jesus" and learn to be
grateful to Jesus all your life. That is why we go to
church every Sunday. We go to church to perform the
Eucharist which means "thanksgiving". That is why we try
to be loving and kind to others. If Jesus has been so
loving and kind to me in such a big way, why can't I try
to be loving and kind to others in the little things of
everyday life. That is why we try to avoid sin. If Jesus
has paid all the debt that I owe to God, I must see to
it that I do not go about accumulating more debt.
As we look up to the cross
today and contemplate Jesus dying to make the full
payment for our sins, let us thank him, and let us
promise him that our whole lives will be one unbroken
song of thanksgiving to him who gave his life to make
full payment for the immeasurable debt we owe to God. |
