Saturday, April 16

God Rested, My Heart is Glad

The timing of the heart is both fluid and wonderfully precisely orchestrated to adjust dynamically to demands of all sorts. But unless the Lord returns first, there will be a time when it is still. “Asystole” is the term – no contraction, no pressure. For Christ, His heart stopped and He breathed His last in perfect synchrony with the first week of creation. Friday of Holy Week was the hardest work He had ever done. When the Sabbath began Friday night at sundown Jesus was resting.

Yahweh Elohim did His greatest work of creation on that first Friday. After Adam and Eve were created and He breathed into them His life-giving Spirit and they became “a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7) From that point on they were eternal, immortal. As CS Lewis said, “You have never met a mere mortal.” Even now, after the fall, souls will live on… somewhere… after death.

Jesus’ soul rested, while His body was sustained, (dead but not decaying). We could also say Jesus’ heart rested. But according to Scripture, we should probably say when Jesus died His heart was glad.

I have set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
⁹ Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will dwell securely.
¹⁰ For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol;
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. (Ps. 16:8-10)

In Scripture the “heart” is almost perfectly synonymous with the “soul.” And Scripture also tells us that God has a heart and soul (I Samuel 2:35) This Psalm speaks of Holy Saturday. Jesus “glory rejoices.” He is back in heaven, where forever all began. And forever would include God’s perfect timing, hard work, rest and gladness… And when the first day of the week would begin, for the saints it would be very much like a new creation.