SERMON: IT IS FINISHED (TETELESTI)

EASTER SUNRISE SERVICE

20 April 2014

            -- turn in Bibles to John 19:16-30

16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.

17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).

18 Here they crucified him, and with him two others--one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek.

21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews."

22 Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."

23 When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

24 "Let's not tear it," they said to one another. "Let's decide by lot who will get it." This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled which said, "They divided my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing." So this is what the soldiers did.

25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.

26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son,"

27 and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty."

29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips.

30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

            -- as tax day rolled around this week, I heard an interesting fact about our tax law here in the U.S. -- the 2013 tax code has over 4 million words -- if you were to print out the entire thing, it would take almost 74,000 pages of paper

            -- it seems a current state of affairs to be verbose in our writing and in our communication with each other -- but perhaps we would be better served if we chose our words more carefully, and rather than writing fluff to make our documents larger, we instead concentrated on expressing the point in the fewest possible words

            -- have you ever considered the fact that the messages that truly have impacted history and our own lives are all messages of very few words?

            -- for instance, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address -- considered by many to be the greatest speech ever given in America -- just 272 words that changed the fate of our nation

            -- or what about Franklin D. Roosevelt's radio address on December 7th, 1941 -- "Today is a day that will live in infamy" -- just hearing those words immediately reminds us of the tragedy of Pearl Harbor

            -- or in more recent history -- remember the impact hearing the words, "The Space Shuttle Challenger has exploded" or "A plane has hit the world trade center in New York," had on your life? -- I don't doubt that each of us -- at least those who are old enough -- can remember exactly where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news

            -- even in our own personal lives, it is amazing how many life-changing events are announced with just a few simple words

            -- words such as:  "I love you" -- "Will you marry me?" -- "I'm pregnant" -- "He passed away" -- "The tests were negative" -- "It's a girl" or "It's a boy"

            -- simple words -- simple messages -- but messages that change lives

            -- maybe that's why the most profound event in the course of human history and this world was announced with just one word -- Tetelesti

            -- as His time on the cross was nearly over, John tells us here in verse 30 that Jesus lifted His eyes to heaven and cried out in a loud voice, "It is finished -- Tetelesti" -- and with that proclamation, He bowed His head and gave up His spirit to the Father

            -- the only place in the entire New Testament where the word Tetelesti is used is in this passage -- and to understand the importance of that word, you need to know how it was used in Jesus' day

            -- someone only used the word Tetelesti when their work was completed to perfection

            -- for instance, when an artist finished a painting, he might have put down his brush and stepped back and proclaimed Tetelesti to declare the picture was perfect

            -- or a servant would respond Tetelesti when asked by his master if the work assigned had been completed as asked

            -- a judge might have said Tetelesti when he conferred a sentence or issued a ruling that a sentence had been completed -- Tetelesti -- "Justice has been served"

            -- a priest would say Tetelesti when an unblemished and acceptable sacrifice was given to God and a soldier might cry Tetelesti as a battle cry towards a vanquished foe¹

            -- Tetelesti was only used to indicate the task was perfectly completed

            -- all over the world today, believers have gathered to celebrate this final word from the cross -- while the empty tomb and resurrection stand as proof of Christ's final victory, it was the cry of Tetelesti that proclaimed to all creation that the task assigned to Jesus had been perfectly completed -- that "it" was finally over

            -- the question, then is "what task did Jesus accomplish? -- what is the "it" that Jesus said was over?"

            -- part of the answer can be found in Luke Chapter 4 -- Luke records Jesus' first message in the synagogue at Nazareth -- as He stood up to read the scriptures, He turned in the scroll of Isaiah and read this passage:

            -- Luke 4:18-19 -- "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor -- He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

            -- every eye in the room was on Him to see what He would say in response to this powerful verse -- He reached over and slowly put up the scroll and announced "today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing"

            -- don't miss what He did there -- when I took my homiletics -- my preaching -- class -- I was told, "Never close your Bible when you are preaching -- never read the Scripture and close the Bible and start preaching -- you always leave the Bible open because this is the source -- this is the place where revelation comes from -- this is where your message originates -- the word of God is alive and active and should never be put away while it is being proclaimed"

            -- so why did Jesus do just that? -- why did Jesus put the scroll up before He spoke that day in the synagogue? -- because it was finished -- it was fulfilled

            -- Jesus had been assigned the task of preaching the good news of salvation to the poor -- of proclaiming freedom for the prisoners -- healing to the blind -- release to the oppressed -- and announcing the day of the Lord's redemption

            -- His presence in the synagogue that day fulfilled the prophecy from Isaiah

            -- as Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets -- I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them" -- through His sinless life and His death on the cross, the law and the prophets were fulfilled -- for Him and for us -- it was finished perfectly and completely -- Tetelesti

            -- another "it" that was finished on the cross was the curse of sin and death -- Adam and Eve had been warned not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because if they did, they would surely die

            -- and when sin entered the garden through the temptation of the serpent, Adam and Eve sinned by eating the fruit, and the curse of sin and death fell upon mankind and all creation

            -- because of them we are born with the curse in our bodies -- we sin because we are sinners -- we sin because we have been born infected with a sin nature that corrupts our very soul and spirit -- and not only do we suffer from this sin nature, but all creation suffers too

            -- that is why Paul said in Romans 8:22 that all creation has been groaning up to the present time -- it groans because of the curse that has been laid upon it

            -- but when Jesus died on the cross, the Bible tells us that He became the curse for us -- He became sin for us -- the righteous becoming unrighteous -- the sinless One taking upon Himself our sins and transgressions -- bearing the consequence of sin and death and paying a debt we could never pay

            -- when Jesus cried out from the cross, "It is finished," He was referring to the debt that each of us owed and the sin in our lives -- Tetelesti means our sins are completely forgiven -- Tetelesti means our sin nature has been destroyed -- Tetelesti means we are no longer bound by sin and death but have been freed for victorious life in Christ

            -- we no longer have to sin because Jesus has perfectly and completely removed sins and the sin nature on the cross of Calvary -- Tetelesti

            -- the final "it" that was finished on the cross was the divide between God and man -- the Bible tells us God is holy and cannot look upon sin -- He cannot be in the presence of sin -- and so, when Adam and Eve infected the human race with sin, they separated us from God's very presence -- their sin created a chasm that none could cross

            -- it was for this reason Jesus was sent to earth -- remember John 3:16? -- "For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him might not perish but have eternal life"

            -- that is the final task Jesus came to fulfill -- He came not only to fulfill the law and the prophets -- not only to pay the penalty for our sins -- but to reconcile us to the Father by transferring His righteousness to us

            -- when Jesus cried out from the cross, "It is finished," it also meant the bridge that Jesus had built with His own body had been completed -- and now we could cross the chasm to the Father

            -- His sinless life became our bridge to the other side -- His righteousness replaced our unrighteousness -- His holiness replaced our unholiness -- and we are reconciled to the Father through His Jesus' death and resurrection

            -- the separation has ended -- it is finished -- because Jesus paid the price -- Tetelesti

            -- the final cry of Jesus from the cross was the summation of God's love to a world that had turned its back on Him -- it was a cry of defiance against Satan and his minions -- a cry of victory over sin and death -- and a cry of reconciliation with the Father -- Tetelesti -- Jesus had completely and perfectly ended His task on earth and so He bowed His head and gave up His spirit and died

            -- so if it is finished, why are you still trapped by lingering sin? -- if it is finished, why then do you still fear death? -- if it is finished, why do you still worry and fret over life? -- if it is finished, why do you still strive to pay a debt that has already been paid?

            -- Tetelesti means it is finished -- finite -- nothing left to do -- it has all been done

            -- someone once asked in a lecture what the difference was between Christianity and all the other religions of the world -- the lecturer paused for a moment and said, "All the other religions of the world tell its adherents, "Do! -- Do this and you will be saved." -- Christianity, on the other hand, says "Done! -- Tetelesti! -- It is finished!"

            -- as you leave here today on this Easter morning -- as you go forth into the rest of your day and time here on earth, remember the cry of Jesus from the cross -- cease your striving and work -- cease your worry -- believe that it is finished -- that all your sins have been forgiven -- that all your sin debt has been paid -- that you are being created anew in the image of your God and Father -- and walk in the knowledge that it is done -- Tetelesti"

            -- let us pray

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 [SOURCE:  “It Is Finished!” Jesus Does Not Need Your Help by Tony Miano, edited by Matt Slick, http://carm.org/it-is-finished, accessed 4/19/2014]