Zachariah prophesied of the freedom God would bring to us in Luke 1:68-79. Jesus would come to earth and die in the DARKNESS of the Cross so that His glorious LIGHT and LOVE would brilliantly shine in our darkened hearts. This LIGHT would bring peace, salvation, mercy, forgiveness, redemption, reconciliation, and freedom! However, this freedom would come at a great price and with much pain. Not for you or for me, but for The perfect Lamb of God who would bear the punishment of us all! “Tetelestai – It is finished!”

Gethsemane

Jesus’ pain began in Gethsemane. He knew that his Father would have to turn away from him as the world witnessed the greatest ACT OF LOVE  in history. Jesus would take upon himself the punishment of the sins of the entire world. As a man, Jesus cried with raw emotion, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken from me…” We clearly see his humanity as he bent in distress before facing unimaginable torture. The anxiety and anguish he experienced were so severe that he sweat drops of blood. But even so, he prayed, “Yet, not my will, but Thine be done.”

When Judas came with the soldiers to betray him, Jesus called him “friend, saying, ‘do what you came for.” After being arrested, even the disciples deserted him. He was betrayed, deserted by those he loved, asked mocking questions, humiliated, and then falsely accused. Yet, he continued to willingly lay down his life.

Tortured

After Pilate handed him over to be crucified, the governor’s soldiers took him and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him, put a scarlet robe on him, and twisted together a crown of thorns onto his head. Then they put a staff in his right hand, knelt in front of him, and mockingly said, “Hail, king of the Jews!”

They spit on him and struck him on the head with his staff again and again. With fractured ribs and flesh ripped open, he stumbled up the long road to Calvary while attempting to carry the cross. Arriving at Golgatha, they drove square iron nails through His hands and feet which triggered pain throughout every nerve in His body. And yet, he STILL loved. Isaiah 53:5 tells us that He was wounded for OUR sins and bruised for OUR iniquities.

In spite of the physical, emotional, mental, AND spiritual brutality, Jesus responded to His tormentors with a merciful plea to heaven. I imagine that the crown of thorns made every nerve on His face cringe with every word uttered. But, BECAUSE of LOVE, he cried out: “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they’re doing.”  Although rejected, misunderstood, abandoned, wrongly judged, mocked, beaten, and betrayed by those He loved, Hebrews 12 tells us that he endured the Cross because of the JOY set before him. That JOY was YOU, and it was ME! I can hardly write this without falling on the floor weeping when I realize his LOVE for me was that great!

Forsaken

Going to the Cross alone tells of His love and sacrifice, but what happened next was something far worse—and for us—far greater. That was when “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21).

Jesus became the absolute worst of what you and I could ever be. He paid the penalty for our sin; SEPARATION from God the Father Himself.  The Father, in His Holiness, could not behold such evil and turned His head as Jesus cried out, “My God, my God why hast Thou forsaken me?” Jesus anticipated this in the garden as he sweat drops of blood, but focused on what He came to earth to do. In His humanity, because of HIS LOVE FOR US— he experienced the wrath of God in our place. THIS IS LOVE. “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

There are times in life when it ‘seems’ dark, but only because of our feelings or circumstances. However, Jesus experienced REAL darkness (Separation from God), as The Father looked the other way, so we would not have to. He not only understands but actually STOOD (or hung) in the place of our suffering and separation! He went through every physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual battle there was – and came out victorious. So victorious that at the moment Jesus took his last breath, the ground shook, graves opened, and the curtain (veil) of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.

The Veil is Torn

This veil is said to have been 45-60 feet long and about 4 inches thick. It represented a division between The Holy God reigning in the Holy of Holies and the people of earth being separated from Him by their sin. But the torn veil gives us the right to come directly into God’s presence and have an intimate relationship with Him. THIS is the very reason He came. Before Jesus’ sacrifice, the priests would come to the temple annually to sacrifice an unblemished lamb. But Jesus is the perfect Lamb of God, the once and for all sacrifice for sins. (Hebrews 10). “Tetelestai – It is finished!” 

“Tetelestai – It is finished!”

Although it is known as the darkest hour in history, it was also the greatest. It has, is, and will continue to affect ALL of ETERNITY, which is why we call it GOOD FRIDAY. That is why Jesus could say these words on the Cross: “Tetelestai!”  “It is finished!” In the Greek-Roman culture, this word, tetelestai – was used to communicate that something was completed or PAID IN FULL. When Jesus finished what he came to do, He proclaimed, “Tetelestai – It is finished!” 

All this does not mean we will never suffer. Jesus even said that in this world we will experience trouble (John 16:33). How can we know Him and the power of His resurrection and not expect to partake in the fellowship of His suffering? (Philippians 3:10). There will be times we feel God is silent and only see our struggle. We may ask the why question because we can’t feel or see any answers. We may experience an eclipse of our faith. But an eclipse is only the clouds blocking the sun. The sun is still there. Thankfully, we can believe the words of Jesus on the Cross because He paid our sin debt in full. He defeated Satan, sin, and finally death when he rose on the third day! “Tetelestai – It is finished!”

The Why of What He Did

I think the most incredible part of it all was the WHY of WHAT he did. “For the joy set before him he endured the cross, despising the shame…” (Heb. 12:2b). He was not wondering when His struggles would end, or if life would ever get better. He was thinking about you and me. Jesus surrendered his will (as a man), in the garden because of the JOY set before Him. That Joy was obedience to His Father and their Incomprehensible LOVE for you and me! (John 3:16). 

Because of LOVE, you and I can draw near, with confidence, to the throne of grace, that we may receive the mercy and grace his death and resurrection offer so freely. (Hebrews 4:16). As we surrender our will and say, ‘not my will but Thine be done’ to the ONE who loves us most, we too can endure because of the JOY set before us. That is belonging to and knowing him for eternity.  “Tetelestai – It is finished!”

Embrace the Cross

As we embrace the Cross, we will not live our lives in the darkness of fear and want. Our struggles need not be repeated over and over. The veils we hide behind can be torn down. We can experience the freedom of resurrection life because the good news of the gospel is that Jesus has paid our sin debt and removed the veil of separation. We are reconciled to God. “Tetelestai – It is finished! ”

Nothing is impossible for God. Not one of His purposes can be thwarted (Job 42:2). No veil can prevent us from coming into his presence, except the veils we choose to hide behind.  But even then, God’s promises NEVER fail. There are more than 300 prophecies about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection and He fulfilled every one of them. He always keeps his Word and NOTHING can ever separate you from his love. That is his very essence. “God is love. In this, the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:8-10).

 “Tetelestai – It is finished! ” It’s a done deal. As you celebrate Easter this year, will you choose to hide behind your veils and sealed tombs, or will you live in the power of the resurrection and look to Jesus, the RISEN SAVIOR and LORD OF LOVE, who paid the penalty for your sin in full? There will be no end to God’s great love for you!

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Debbie L. Mayer