A Long-Standing Debt

In 2014, Britain announced that it was working to pay back a £2.6 billion (roughly ₹2420 crores) debt dating back to the eighteenth century. After a financial crash in 1720, something called the South Sea Bubble, the government undertook a bailout that resulted in several million pounds of debt. Now, due to low interest rates, the current government was ready to pay back various debts accrued over the years that had been passed on to future generations.

When Jesus cried, “It is finished!” (John 19:30), He was announcing that the longest-standing debt of humanity, sin, had been paid in full. This sixth of the seven words Jesus spoke from the cross was a single Greek word. "tetelestai". The word was used to describe taxes or debts being paid in full, servants completing tasks, and more. And it speaks of Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, who as He died “knew that his mission was now finished” (V. 28).

When Christ died on the cross, He fully met the righteous demands of the law, taking all the sins of the world upon Himself (1 Peter 2:24). He not only covered sin but took “away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

Because Jesus paid our debt, we can—by believing in His sacrificial death and resurrection—receive eternal life and enjoy life “to the full” today (10:10 NIV). The debt has been paid!

What does it mean for you to know your debt of sin is paid in full by Jesus? How will you thank Him today for His sacrificial death for you?

Dear Jesus, thank You for paying my debt completely.