Last Sunday, Pastor Eryn brought a wonderful and thought-provoking sermon. There was a part that tied into some research I was doing over the past month, and I thought it would make a great tie in for this Sunday. About halfway through the sermon Pastor Eryn stated, “Jesus came to free you from that death. He came to free you from regret. He loves to forgive. He loves to make all things new. God loves to forgive you and to “remember your sins no more”.” He went to the cross to make all things new, to take the sins of mankind upon Himself and to clear the slate for us all. You see, when the life was leaving Christ, He declared “It Is Finished”. Now I thought this meant that the prophecy up to that moment had been fulfilled and it was finished but two things about that; there were still more prophecies to be fulfilled and He knew He would come back.
It is finished is a rather crude translation and means much more in both Greek and Aramaic. You see, in Greek the term is “τετέλεσται” (tetelestai). This term comes from the Greek root “telew” meaning to bring to an end, finish, or complete. But let’s look at it in another context. In business, tetelestai means that the debt has been paid in full, nothing else is owing. In the courts, it meant the sentence had been fully served and the person was free from all further persecution for the sin. There is also a military aspect that refers to the battle that had been won. Much more meaning than just “it is finished”. As He hung on the cross, Jesus declared, your debts are paid, there is nothing to be held against us and the battle over the evil is won.
Now would Jesus have declared this in Greek or Aramaic? Yes, the New Testament was translated to English from the Greek, but I would suggest He called out “Meshelem” which is Aramaic for “to be finished” in its passive form. The root of this word is shelem which is from the family of shalom meaning peace. So, consider this, in English, Jesus declared it is finished and in Greek we have been declared free from our sin through the sacrifice of the Son on the cross. He declared publicly that our past would not be held over our heads and that the slate was clean, and the battle was won. There would be peace in His name and our future was secure in His grace. To be finished was fulfilled when the stone was rolled away and Jesus was not there, He had risen and had defeated death; tetelestai. So here is the great news, Jesus does not hold our past over our heads, He is peace and declares a peace over our hearts and souls. Jesus has made all things new, and we are the recipients of His Shalom. He asks but one thing; give over your sins to Him and declare Him as Lord and Saviour. He already paid the price; you only need to embrace this perfect gift.
This week, Pastor Todd will walk us through these three simple words that means so much more for our lives. Please join us either in person or online at 10:30 AM this Sunday. The service will be broadcast online on our website (https://www.mainavefellowship.ca/socialplatforms), or you are more than welcome to join us in person at 402 Main Ave. W in Sundre, AB.
Blessings,
Our Mission “To live the love of Christ”
