“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
I heard the word for the first time from one of our worship team leaders. She was sharing a song with that name. The greek word Tetelestaai means it is finished.
The last word that Jesus spoke on earth before He paid the price for my sins.
The weight of that word is on my heart this week. As we approach Resurrection Sunday and the celebration that is, I can’t forget about what happened just 3 days before.
I have been participating in the She Reads Truth study for the last 41 days. Looking at my own sin, coming once again to that place of repentance and recognizing the immense sacrifice that was made on my behalf.
There are days that I feel pretty good about myself. You know I get up and read my Bible, I am patient and loving to my kids, I work hard at the office and might even have a good meal for my family for dinner. I pat myself on the back for a job well done and might even polish my halo a little.
I’ve got this….look at all I can do.
It doesn’t take long for reality, my sin reality, to smack me in the face once again.
The moment I think I have it all together, is the moment I disregard the gift that was given to me on the cross.
I can’t ever do enough, be enough, strive enough, to deserve the grace of God. (<===Click to Tweet)
That is what makes His grace, His unconditional love so scandalous.
Our pastor has been teaching out of Romans for the past several weeks and has been bringing a Word to our congregation. Oh it has been just what my soul needs to hear. The first few weeks were tough…I mean Paul’s letter to the Romans talks over and over again about how we ALL have sinned.
““None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
“Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
None is righteous, No not one.
So what are we left with then?
As our pastor told us…stick with him, because the hope comes in Romans 4. Using the faith of Abraham as an example, Paul tells us that God’s righteousness is not just for Abraham, but for us also.
“No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”
Because of the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf, if we have faith in God, righteousness will be counted to us as well.
He called that kind of grace scandalous. And it is.
There isn’t anything that I can do to “earn” that kind of favor.
Jesus gave His life for MY sins.
For the fight I had with my husband and the ways I acted in disrespect. Tetelestai.
The day I argued with my kids and said things that hurt feelings. Tetelestai.
For every time I gossiped and spoke unkind words, and fueled the fire of negativity in another. Tetelestai.
For my lack of faith, my lashing out at God, my utter defiance to His will in my life. Tetelestai.
No one is righteous, no not even me.
And yet, my Jesus was accused, falsely charged, beaten to near death, forced to walk carrying His own torture device, pierced and nailed to a cross, and hung to die for me.
For every moment that I am not proud of, every single one…Jesus paid the price.
It is finished. Tetelestai.
Over the next few days I encourage you to be aware of how big this gift is that we have been given. We don’t have to end up in a pit of despair, we all have sinned, we all have fallen short. That is what makes His gift so amazing.
He paid the price.
Because of the shedding of blood we can stop striving to earn God’s favor. (<====Click to Tweet)
We already have it, it is finished.
Tetelestai.
Photo Credit: Its His Gift