Learning to Rest
The night before His crucifixion, Jesus prayed to His Father, “ I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do ” (John 17:4). Throughout His public ministry, Jesus was preoccupied with this work as He said that His food was to do the will of His Father and “ to accomplish His work ” (John 4:34). This divine work, planned before the foundation of the world by “ the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God ” (Acts 2:23), is the central part of God’s plan of redemption for all mankind. It requires a victorious Messiah to be the Pascal Lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7). When Jesus said on the cross, “ It is finished! ” in John 19:30, He was speaking about more than His work on earth. He was introducing a sabbath rest. Thus, the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested [sabat] on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the sev...