God is resting

Wednesday 11 August 2021

"When Jesus had taken the vinegar, he said : It is finished. Then he bowed his head and gave up the spirit." John 19.30

God is resting

When creation is finished, the Creator contemplates his work, declares it to be very good, and rests. Everything is in accordance with his design. The majesty of created things, their vastness, their variety, their beauty, their complementarity, all testify to his eternal power and his divinity (Romans 1:20). God does not rest because he is tired. "Do you not know ? Have you not learned it ? It is the Eternal God, the Eternal One who created the ends of the earth. He does not weary himself, he does not wear himself out." (Isaiah 40.28). This rest indicates the satisfaction of the Creator after the completion of his creative work.

But sin enters the world, disorder invades creation, and Satan imposes his dominion over mankind. God goes back to work to snatch men from the power of the devil. For this he sends his only begotten Son who declares : "My Father is the work until now ; I also am at the work" (John 5:17). No more rest possible for Jesus as long as his mission is not finished : "The foxes have dens and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of man does not have a place where he can lay his head" (Matthew 8:20). "I must continue on my way today, tomorrow and the next day." (Luke 13.33).

In today's verse, the Lord is on the cross. He is smitten with God on our behalf, for he has taken on our sins. He bears our iniquities and dies for the sins of the world. The three hours of God abandoning him are coming to an end. The Lord lowers his head ; in a voluntary act, he rests it deliberately before dying.

The key work of redemption is done. Everything becomes possible and everything in its time :

- All who believe are saved ;

- The world will be freed from the power of Satan ;

- Jesus Christ will triumph in heaven and earth.

Then God will rest in all that satisfies his heart, and all who belong to him will rest in his rest (Hebrews 4:3).

Source (Pleasing the Lord)