“It is finished.”
— John 19:30
These were the final words Jesus spoke from the cross. In Greek, the word is τετέλεσται (tetelestai), pronounced teh-TELL-eh-stai. It comes from the verb τελέω (teleō), meaning to bring to completion, to accomplish, to fulfill.
This word is in the perfect tense, meaning an action completed in the past with ongoing results. When Christ said, “Tetelestai,” He declared:
“It has been fully accomplished, and it stands finished forever.”
In the ancient world, tetelestai was stamped on receipts to indicate that a debt had been paid in full. Christ wasn’t merely stating the end of His life—He was declaring the completion of redemption, the fulfillment of the law, and the payment of our sin-debt. Nothing more could be added. Nothing remains to be done.
Jesus lived the perfect life that we never could. He obeyed the law in every thought, motive, word, and action (Matthew 5:17). His life wasn’t just an example—it was a substitution. He met the righteous demands of the law on our behalf.
We, by contrast, are lawbreakers from birth (Romans 3:10–12). Christ came under the law, fulfilled it perfectly, and bore the punishment due to us. In doing so, He secured righteousness for all who believe.
“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight… But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law… through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.”
— Romans 3:20–22
We are not co-redeemers. We add nothing to the finished work of Christ. Our salvation is not earned, but received by grace through faith—and even that faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8–9).
Christ’s righteousness is accounted to us, and our sin was placed on Him. This is the heart of the gospel: substitution, grace, and completion.
To rest in Christ means to stop striving to earn what has already been given. It is not passivity, but peaceful faith. It is the deep assurance that all has been accomplished on your behalf.
“For we who have believed enter that rest…”
— Hebrews 4:3
You no longer need to “balance the scales” or “make up” for your past. Christ has already done all that is needed. You are clothed in His righteousness.
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
— Ephesians 2:10
We do not work for grace—we work because we have received it. Good works are not the root of our salvation, but its fruit. They are the evidence, not the means. Grace does not merely pardon; it empowers. We serve from a place of acceptance, not for it.
Believer, let these words echo in your soul: Tetelestai. It is finished. The sacrifice is sufficient. The wrath has been satisfied. The righteousness has been fulfilled. The tomb is empty. The throne is occupied. There is nothing more to prove, nothing left to earn.
Rest. Worship. Obey. All because it is finished.