Christ and greek

[ΛΟΓΟΣ]

“It is finished or completed” is the translation of the Greek word tetelestai, which only appears twice in the Bible (John 19:28,30).  Jesus says tetelestai here in the perfect tense, which is rare in the New Testament and has no English equivalent. The perfect tense is a combination of two Greek tenses: the Present tense and the Aorist tense. The Aorist tense is punctiliar: meaning something that happens at a specific point in time; a moment. The Present tense is linear: meaning something that continues into the future and has ongoing results/implications. The combination of these two tenses in the perfect tense is used in John 19:30 is of overwhelming significance to the Christian. When Jesus says “It is finished” (or completed), what He is actually saying is, “It is finished and will continue to be finished.”