John 19:30...It is finished:..

Spoken to
unclear

Jesus's last words from the cross in John.

KJV

John 19:30...It is finished:..

NIV

John 19:30... It is finished.

LISTENERS HEARD

It has been accomplished.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

The verb translated as "finished" is translated from a Greek word, which means "to complete" and "to accomplish," especially in the sense of having a goal. It also means "to bring to perfection."  Jesus is not saying that he did what was accomplished, but that the job was done and the goal reached. However, the word also means to pay back a debt so another meaning here is "it has been paid back.

The tense is the past perfect tense, indicating that something has been completed in the past. In other words, the tense is explained by this verb in this form. Why is this interesting?  Since Jesus has not yet died when he says this, he seems to be referring to his suffering being over, his suffering and humiliation was what he needed to  accomplished. His death and resurrection are in other hands.

MY TAKE

Our suffering can be thought of a an accomplishment.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page)
# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
1
  • WT --Wrong Tense - The English verb "finished" is the simple past tense, but Greek is in the past perfect, a completed action, "has been accomplished."
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
1
  • WT --Wrong Tense - The English verb "finished" is the simple past tense, but Greek is in the past perfect, a completed action, "has been accomplished."
EACH WORD of KJV

It -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.

is -- This helping verb "is" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

finished. -- (WT) "Finished" is translated from a Greek word, which means "to complete" and "to accomplish," especially in the sense of having a goal.  It also means "to bring to perfection." The form is the third-person, passive, past perfect, so "it has been accomplished."

EACH WORD of NIV

It -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.

is -- This helping verb "is" indicates that the verb is passive. Helping or auxiliary verbs are needed to translate the Greek verb forms into English.

finished. -- (WT) "Finished" is translated from a Greek word, which means "to complete" and "to accomplish," especially in the sense of having goal.  It also means "to bring to perfection." The form is the third-person, passive, past perfect, so "it has been accomplished."

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

Τετέλεσται, [5 verses]( verb 3rd sg perf ind mp ) "It is finished" is teleo, which means "to complete", "to fulfill," and "to accomplish." It also means "to bring to perfection", "to pay what one owes," and "to execute a legal document."

Unimportant Opinions and Imaginings

Another interesting aspect of this statement is that it does not describe the resurrection, but his suffering. As I happen to write this on Easter, the perspective is interesting. Jesus knew that he would be raised. However, here he uses the word that means reaching a goal. The suggestion is that the goal of his life and maybe the goal of all our lives is to get through our suffering. The rewards after that are not truly the goal.

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