I think sometimes we rush through the story so quickly that
we miss the profound truth of what it all means for us, personally, right now,
today. We are going to review two biblical Greek words I have taught on before,
actually three: tetelestai, anastasei, and anastasis.
There’s a moment tucked inside the Gospel of John - It's just one sentence, but it changes everything. Jesus is hanging on the cross. His strength is almost gone. The sky has gone dark. And then, with one final breath, He says:
“It is finished.” “Tetelestai”
Now, if you’re like me, you might have heard those words so many times that they’ve become almost... familiar. But the original word Jesus used—Tetelestai—is anything but ordinary.
It’s one of the few times the perfect tense is used in the Greek New Testament, and the Greek perfect tense is pretty special. It means more than just “something happened.” It means:
- Something has been in process.
- That thing has now been completed.
- The effects of that completed thing continue on...
Jesus didn’t just mean “I’m done now.” He meant: My work has been unfolding for generations upon generations upon generations. It is now fully completed. And the effects will remain completed with continuing effects.
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The effects of the cross were not just an event that secures our future
salvation. It’s more. It’s meaning is for the here and now.
Another Word That Changes Everything
Before the cross, Jesus had a conversation with a grieving sister named Martha. Her brother Lazarus had died. She met Jesus on the road, her heart aching.
“Lord, if you had been here,” she said, “my brother would not have died.”
She knew about resurrection, the future kind. She said, “I know he will
rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” She used the word anastasei—the
Greek word that referred to a future resurrection event, something far off,
someday.
But Jesus responded with something powerful:
“I am the resurrection and the life.”
And here, Jesus used a different word form: anastasis.
What Jesus was telling Martha—and us—is this:
" I’m telling you, the
resurrection is standing in front of you. I am the raising up. I am the source
of life—now and forever. I am the One who brings dead things back to life, both
in the future and today.”
And then He says this beautiful promise:
“The one believing in Me—even if he dies, he will live. And everyone living
and believing in Me will never die, never, for eternity.”
Oh, don’t miss that. Jesus was revealing to Martha—and trusting her
with—one of the deepest spiritual and theological truths ever spoken: that those who believe in
Him have already passed from death to life. Not later. Now.
Why Easter Still Matters on a Tuesday
Afternoon
So here’s what Easter means in the middle of your ordinary life—on a random Tuesday, while you’re washing dishes, or sitting in traffic, or feeling like you’re falling apart, or even if you are celebrating something good.
It means the resurrection isn’t just something that happened to Jesus.
It’s something He now offers to us.
He is what lifts up our souls – in times of rejoicing the joy will be much sweeter and in times of deep sorrow – he lifts up our soul by offering to comfort us and lift up or minds and hearts.
Jesus is the resurrection not just on Easter; He is "the raising up (the anastasis)" the One who lifts up our souls on any ordinary day - especially on the hard days.
It means that your story isn’t over when things fall apart. Because He is the cause beneath the resurrection. He is the raising up. It means that when we call on Him for help, He is there for us.
And it means that everything He finished on the cross is still
finished today.
The grace continues to flow. His love continues to hold. The resurrection continues to lift our souls.
So What Do We Do with All of This?
We believe it.
Like Martha did.
At the end of their conversation, Jesus asked her, “Do you believe
this?”— that I am the resurrection, the anastasis, that I am what raises up?
And she said, “Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Messiah”
So maybe this Easter, we simply do what Martha did. We meet Jesus on the
road where we are. We open our ears hearts to what he has taught us, and we let Him
know:
Yes, Lord. I believe.
And then we rest.
Not because life is always easy. But because Tetelestai is true.
The work has been finished.
The ransom has been paid.
The resurrection has begun.
And the life He gives… is for now…for today and tomorrow…and forever.
-Sherry
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If you would like to learn simple, practical ways to walk with God every single day, then you would really enjoy Closer to God: Simple Methods, Starting Today
If you need motivation to eat healthier or lose weight while also growing closer to God, then you would enjoy Weight Loss for Christians, An Extraordinarily Simple Way to Conquer Cravings
If you want to learn more deeply and fully about what Jesus taught, then you would enjoy Words of Jesus - Bible Study on Christ's Teachings
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