Our Certificate of Debt

On the cross, Jesus fulfilled the Law of Moses by satisfying the demands
of it.  By doing that He paid our certificates of debt we each earned.

The
certificate of debt is a concept that lies behind Paul's comments about
the certificate of debt in Colossians 2:13-14:  And when you were dead
in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you
alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees
against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the
way, having nailed it to the cross.

In Roman times, this
certificate was a list of crimes committed against the state that
required "payment," much like an indictment in our legal system today.  
The Romans gave Jesus a certificate of debt when He was sentenced to
die; it was nailed to the cross:  "Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the
Jews" (John 19:19).  When the crimes were paid for, the certificate was
canceled and was stamped with the word tetelestai, meaning "paid in
full."

Paul says that Jesus "canceled out" (paid) our certificate of debt (v14).

Jesus'
last words, His victory cry on the cross was, "It is finished!",
literally in Greek was "tetelestai!" "He said, 'It is finished!' And He
bowed His head and gave up His spirit." (John 19:30).  "Paid in full." 
What was finished?  His work of redemption paying for our certificates
of debt against God.