Tetelestai — It Is Finished

I am by no means a Greek scholar, but sometimes in my Bible reading I come across a word to look up and discover the meaning of, and this is one of those words. I had looked it up last spring and learned quite a bit, then at Fair on Saturday evening a friend used the expression, “It is finished.” Their son’s steer had been shown and sold. Her vendor booth had sold well, they had spent a week at the fairgrounds and were ready to head home for a shower and a meal of real food. 

The fair was fun this year. I spent quite a few afternoons on the grounds hanging out with people I knew, connecting with old friends and meeting new ones as well. Doing all that, as well as filling in for Pam here at the Basin newspaper office, and ending the week with some time visiting with some friends I hadn’t seen in years also left me saying, “It is finished, and I am glad!”

So let’s get back to the study of the Greek word “tetelestai.” It is the perfect tense of the verb teleo, which comes from telos, meaning a “goal achieved“ or “result obtained.” The Greek root word is “telew” which means, “to bring to an end,” “to finish,” or “complete.” 

It was exactly what the exhibitors at Fair experienced. Their project was finished, the fair had come to an end and the result was obtained when they got the price for their animal. 

Now let’s take a longer look at “tetelestai.” Being a perfect tense it joins past, present and future. It was finished in the past, it is presently finished and it will be finished in the future. In common language, it is DONE. Now and forever. 

But the use of the word in the culture of the Greeks and their language fascinates me even more. The word is used in three different areas of culture and the meanings are interesting. 

In business, it is used as “paid in full.” It is written on receipts to indicate that the debt has been fully paid. In the judicial system, it is used to indicate that a sentence has been fully served. And in the military world, it is used as a word of triumph, “the battle is won.”

One little word and it says so much. It is the word in Greek that is translated into English in the Bible when Jesus, on the cross, proclaimed, “It is Finished,” just before he died. When he declared that, he was saying, the debt is paid, the sentence is served and the battle is won. 

It sure gives me something to think about. 

Steak Pasta

Zucchini-
Pineapple Spread

- 4 quarts peeled, cubed or shredded zucchini

- 46 ounces canned pineapple juice

- 1 ½ cups bottled lemon juice

- 3 cups sugar

Mix zucchini with other ingredients in a large saucepan, and bring to a boil. Simmer 20 minutes, fill hot jars with hot mixture and cooking liquid, leaving ½-inch headspace. Adjust lids and process 20 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.