We have been journeying the Garden of Eden to the Garden city envisioned in Revelation for just under a year now. It has all been leading up to this: The death of Jesus on the cross. The crucifixion is the pivotal moment in which God finally provides an answer to the promise he hinted at in Genesis 3 – that one day one would come who would defeat sin. The crucifixion is bridges the separation that has existed ever since sin entered the world. The crucifixion is what finally opens up the way for God and man to be together. Today I want to focus on Jesus’ triumphal death cry “Tetelestai” – a Greek phrase which means “It is finished”. What did Jesus mean when he said this and what does it mean for us?
Fulfillment of the Law
The first "it" that was finished on the cross is the need to fulfill the law, to live a perfect life. All throughout scripture there is a distinction between living a righteous and pleasing life for God, or living an unrighteous life which ultimately lead to rejection by God. Even though many people in the Old Testament strove to live righteous lives, none of them could live perfectly righteously. So even though there were people who were righteous by human standards, even a single wrong thought proves that humanity is indelibly stained with sin. For anyone to be truly righteous, to truly live a life that reflects the moral perfection of God, they had to live a life that completely fulfilled and kept the law God gave Israel. When Jesus died, he died being the only person ever to accomplish this massive task. By His life, death, and resurrection he completed the righteous requirements of the law on behalf of humanity. This is how Jesus himself understood his life. In Matthew 5:17, Jesus points out that His purpose to fulfill the law, not to abolish it. When he died, he had successfully lived a truly righteous life.
When we think about this as part of the grand story of the Bible, this becomes incredibly important. In living a perfect life, Jesus replaces Adam as the firstborn of the new creation. What do I mean by that? Adam was the firstborn of creation, the first human God created. God put the world under Adam’s care and authority and all of humanity fall under Adam’s federal headship. The reason we are all sinful is because we are all born of Adam. As we have been following the garden to garden city story we have seen various ways in which people have tried and failed to deal with this. When sin reigned, God washed the earth clean through a flood by saving a “righteous man” in Noah. But Noah soon proved to be an unrighteous man himself – the flood didn’t wipe away sin. Then God chose for himself a faithful man, Abraham – the father of faith. But he proved to be unrighteous too, lying about his wife. Jacob his grandson was a betrayer. Moses killed a man. David committed adultery and then had the woman’s husband killed. Solomon, the wisest king ever, fell to idol worship. The list goes on and on. Every righteous person, had that same fatal, sinful flaw, inherited from our first ancestor: Adam.
So we need a new ancestor, a new family head. A family head that is truly righteous. Jesus lived the perfect life so that he could be our new, perfectly righteous, family head. And when Jesus said “It is finished”, he was in part declaring that he had done it.
Atonement for Sin
The second "it" that Jesus finished on the cross is the need for atonement. In the Old Testament God had given Israel an entire priestly system to represent the forgiveness of sin. This sacrificial system, centred around the annual Day of Atonement, where sacrifices were made on behalf of the people every year. However, the problem with the entire priestly system is that forgiveness of sin didn’t stick. It was a temporary measure for covering sins. These sacrifices had to be repeated year after year, highlighting the continuous and unending cycle of sin and the need for purification.
However, when Jesus dies on the cross, this almost endless cycle finally ends. He is the ultimate sin offering to which the Old Testament sacrificial system ultimately pointed. He fulfilled and surpassed the sacrificial system because he permanently atoned for the sins of his people. His once-for-all sacrifice not only satisfies the debt of sin but also takes away the need for any further offerings to atone for wrongdoing. The key however is that we need to be covered by Jesus’ blood. As with the Passover lamb, way back in Egypt, His sacrifice is only effective if you are covered by him. We need to accept this gift of purification through faith for it to apply to us. But when we do, we are adopted into God’s family, and we come under the headship of Jesus.
Restoration of Relationship with God
The final "it" that was finished on the cross is the separation from God caused by sin. Since the fall in Eden, we have been cut off from God, unable to bridge the gap created by our sin. The Old Testament has lots of examples of God's holiness and the need to for him to be separate from his people as a result. Perhaps the best example of this is the curtain that separated the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and the Temple from people. In the way these buildings were constructed, God’s presence resided in the Holy of Holies, and the temple curtain, physically cut humanity off from God. Only the High Priest was allowed to enter into God’s presence in the Holy of Holies, and he was only allowed to do so once a year on the Day of Atonement, and only after he had been ritualistically purified himself. If you entered into God’s presence without qualification and without purification, you would be consumed and burnt up.
However, this radically changes when Jesus goes to the cross. When he cries "It is finished" and dies, the curtain that separated God from humanity is torn up. Or rather I should say it was torn down – it rips from top to bottom as God himself tears up the thing that separated him from his people. It is finished, the separation has ended, and all who would come to God through faith in Jesus are now welcome. We get free and unfettered access to God the Father, something that has not happened since the days of the Garden of Eden, when humanity used to walk and talk with God in the cool of the day. Incredible!
The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is the turning point in the Bible story. Until now the story has been all about how we need to get back to God, how God promised to restore us to him, but for every solution to fall short in some way. But this is no longer the case.
When Jesus says "Tetelestai," it is finished, he declares that he has successfully completed the law’s demands. He has atoned for our sin, once for all. And he has done everything that is necessary for full restoration in our relationship with God. His declaration invites us into a new family, with a new family head, one where our identity and purpose are defined not by our failures but by the victorious work of Jesus.
And that changes everything… but more on that, next time.
If you have enjoyed this post, please share it with someone you think will enjoy it too. It really helps others find us. If you have not yet done so, please subscribe now!