 It is sad that one of the more powerful movies ever made, people will miss the message and focus on some of the smaller, unimportant details. Who made the video, who was the producer, did the characters move like this, did they act like this, did they speak this way, missing the bigger point, the more important message. And unfortunately, we've got a lot of Christians today who have missed the message. They're Christians, but have missed the message. Jesus makes a statement on the cross as he's dying. And I don't think we spend enough time dealing with the message, with the statement that he said. In John 19.30, Jesus says, It is finished. You've heard it before. Even if you don't know Greek, you've heard it, stated what this word is in the Greek. It is tetelastide. This is, and I just want you to understand what's happened. Why Jesus makes this statement. Tetelastide, a couple things. One, it means it is finished, but the Greek bears this out even more so. This is what we call the perfect tense. The perfect tense, we don't have it in English. What that is, it's a completed action in the past. Why is Jesus making a statement like that? Why is he saying it is finished? To us, he's speaking about right now, but he's using a perfect tense, a completed action in the past. Why use that tense? Was Jesus confused about which tense of the verb to use? No. Which mood to use? No. He understands languages full well and these scriptures are God breathed, especially the words that he says he is God. And so he makes this statement, tetelastide. Well, quick recap on this word, tetelastide. It's a word that was used at that time, really common. I mean common. When you had a bill of sales, when you had a deed, anything that the payment was finished, there was nothing else owed. You would have it signed or stamped, tetelastide means it is complete. It is finished. It has been completed. There's nothing else left. Why would Jesus make this statement? Well, here's the reason why Paul tells us in Colossians 2.14, he says having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us, and he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross, taking what out of the way? What has he taken out of the way? Well, the debt was taken out of the way. Remember, this word has a couple of meanings. One, what he's speaking of was a completed action in the past, and there's a financial relevancy to it. Other folks understand that. That's why this term debt is used when we stand as a believer before the Lord. We either stand either owing or not owing with a debt or without a debt. We either stand condemned or we stand justified in right standing. To be justified means that we have been declared right and treated as such. And so it's God who's the one that does the justifier. In Romans 8, let's go to verse 33, who will bring a charge against God's elect? That's us, God's elect. God is the one who justifies. And the point is, who is the one who condemns? If God is the one who justifies, neither is there anyone whose condemnation is sufficient to override his justification. We are declared right by God and we are treated as such. We are in right standing before God. With respect to what some other man thinks, the problem is that some people have missed this message. They seem to think that there is still a debt to be paid. As a matter of fact, what Christ may have paid, I've got to finish paying on it. What an awesome burden a person would have to have. Notice what the writer of Hebrews says, piggybacking off this whole issue, this whole point of a debt being canceled out and paid. This brings up naturally, at least for them, under the old covenant, the atonement. And notice what he says in Hebrews 9, in verse 12, he says, but through his own blood, he entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. Having obtained eternal redemption. And so here what we have, he has bought, brought, obtained eternal redemption for who? For us. Why? Because his blood was even better than the blood of bulls and ghosts. And so this statement that he makes on the cross, it is finished. What was finished? The payment for sin. Notice what he says in verse 14 of Hebrews 9, I'm sorry Hebrews 10, he says, for by one offering that is Christ on the cross, he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. We've been perfected for, or are being perfected for all time that we drop down. He says now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering of sin. The offering of sin was Christ on the cross, the debt being paid. That's what was finished. The offering that what was what was finished. It was determined that he would come and do so. And so this plan that was brought about eternally, in eternity pass by the Godhead that this would happen, Jesus makes a statement, it is finished. And my prayer is that somebody would actually recognize that there is no longer a debt owed. If you have placed your faith in Christ, in the debt that's owed, the Bible is clear. You can be confident that you owe no more debt. You're not going to walk like you're debt free all the time. Sometimes you're going to make a mistake, and then there might be a tendency or an inclination to think that if I've stumbled, I've incurred another debt. But Paul says, who is going to bring a charge against you? It is God who has justified you. The debt has been canceled, according to Paul. That debt against us was nailed to the cross, taking it out of the way that is if indeed you are in Christ, if you place your faith in Christ. Don't worry about the works. The works will come, that is, if indeed you are in Christ. The good works that he determined beforehand, those will start happening. That's not your focus, at least right now, if you have not placed your faith in Christ. Your first focus is believing what he did, and believing that it was sufficient to cover the debt that you and I, nor anyone else could ever pay. This is what he means by it is finished. What's finished? The debt that's owed against you, what's finished? Anything that's holding you back. What's also finished is the burden that you want to carry. Stop carrying it. You cannot pay the debt. Let me repeat that again. You cannot pay the debt. You cannot finish paying the debt. You cannot complete the debt. It has already been paid. And so just like Jesus said, and he meant what he said, it is finished. Amen.