As a writer, I spend a lot of time thinking about words, which words to use and when to use them. In books, colorful imagery turns a dull description into an exciting detail. In theology, word choice could be the difference between a well-articulated explanation and a heresy. Yet, our words aren’t just important in scholarly papers or published works. As much as we teach the philosophy that “sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me,” we can’t run away from the fact that words can hurt. That’s not just a lesson I learned from writing, but from going through life. Sometimes our words carry more weight than we initially thought. Sometimes our split-second replies leave wounds long after the words left our mouths.
Like anything in this world, our words weren’t meant to be harmful. God gave us the gift of speaking and writing, because words can be used to “bring life and health” (Proverbs 15:4). These are tools that were meant to glorify God. Certainly, if our words carry weight, then surely God’s Word speaks volumes. After all, God created the universe by speaking. It’s through God’s Word that we hear the Gospel and by God’s Spirit that we can speak the Gospel.
Yet, no word to me speaks louder in all of scripture than the final word of Jesus on the cross. As Jesus is giving up His life, He utters “tetelestai,” or as we say it, “it is finished.” This one word carries all the promises of God. From Genesis to Revelation, all the proclamations of salvation are made true by the words “it is finished.” Every time God promises a messiah, a savior, or a king, they are made true by this action. When Jesus says that one Greek word, He is declaring that He is the God that brings salvation and life, that it’s only through that very cross that we have eternal life. All of our sins are gone. All our debts are paid. All the words we wish we could take back, are blotted out. It is finished.
There is only then one word we have in our vocabulary to reply to such a pronouncement: Amen
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