Sometimes, I’ll have thoughts, and just think, “Yes, this rings soo true!” But then I’ll look at it again, and think, “Was I just getting carried away with myself?” This partly falls into this category (though, the more I look at this, the more it rings true for me), but I do think that there is something here. So I’ll post this, and leave it up to you, and Our Lord God, to see if it rings true. (I do pray, that God will open this up to you, in a similar way, to which He has opened it up to me.)
Jesus’s last words on the cross are well know.
John 19:28-30
The Death of Jesus
28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that 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.
I have heard and read that the word Jesus spoke was, “Tetelestai”.
The short version of what Tetelestai means is, it is finished, paid in full, complete, nothing more to do.
If you would like to have the long version, then do a web search, and I’m sure that you will find a better explaintaion than what I can give here.
Hopefully a basic understanding of the word, will be enough to understand where I’m going with this today.
I heard a sermon recently, where it was said that the disciples who were at the cross, could hear Jesus saying over and over again, the word, “Tetelestai”.
I don’t know if this is true or not, but it started in me, a thought process, that then revealed a something to me, which I’m about to share.
Was Jesus saying to Himself, “Tetelestai, Tetelestai, Tetelestai,” over and over, as He hung on the cross?
When He made His final statement of, “Tetelestai”, was He then making known, His thoughts, that He had been focusing on?
It is well documented that “Tetelestai”, was a statement of “Victory!” (From web searches.) We even have…
1 Corinthians 15:55-57
55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
So it accepted that the word was a statement of Victory, but, was the word, “Tetelestai”, also a source of strenght and encouragment to Jesus?
The cross was Victory, but it was also pain and suffering, for Jesus, which He endured, for a Greater Good!
The redemption of all mankind.
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
It Was Victory, on the cross, but the pain and suffering, was also, very real for Jesus.
I think that sometimes, that part can be lost on me. I can sort of, just see past it… to the Victory.
But, for Jesus, the experience was very much so real. Which leads me to the thought of, “How did He endure it?”
Was repeating “Tetelestai”, part of how He endured it?
Proverbs 29:18 (King James Version)
18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
Through out the Bible, we are told time and time again, to remember what God has done for us.
Deuteronomy 6:6-9
6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
As Jesus endured the cross, could this be what Jesus was doing? (If He was repeating to Himself, “Tetelestai”)
Could it be that Jesus was declaring His Victory to all, as well as speaking strength to Himself, by declaring to Himself, “Tetelestai (It is/will be finished, complete, paid in full.)? Instead of having His focus on what He was going through, could it be that He was choosing to focus on what He was achieving by repeating to Himself, “Tetelestai (It is/will be finished, complete, paid in full.)”?
If the answer is yes, then is this a further lesson, by example, of how to deal with or go through a tough time?
If anyone is going through a tough time, then could having a vision for a greater purpose, be a source of strength and encouragement?
If we are going through a tough time, then what do we focus on?
The hardship? …
Or can we shift our focus onto something else?
The purpose? (If we know one?)
The Answer?
A word of encourgement?
Help from a higher source? (Our Lord God Has The Highest Honour and IS The Highest Power!)
Can we try to do as Jesus did, and focus on what matters more, rather than what we are experiencing?
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There is a direct follow up post to this one. Please, do consider having a read of that one, also. It is,
Wannabe Christian Doorman 