What if He Simply Rested?

It was the day of Preparation, and the Sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed and saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Luke 23:54-55 ESV

We all know the amazing and cruel events of Good Friday and how on Easter, Jesus rose from the dead, but have you ever wondered about that day in between? Regardless of the songs, speculations and very elaborate tales, the Bible does not specifically tell us what occurred on Holy Saturday. So, I would like to ask a simple question. “What if Jesus just rested? What if when He said, “It is finished!” and gave His spirit into his Father’s hands, He rested for a day without sorrow, suffering or demands? What if after three and a half years of ministry, in which He had nowhere to lay his head and scarcely time to eat, that Jesus chose to rest in His Father’s ability to do all that needed to be done for the day. And what if Jesus also rested because it was the Sabbath? What if the same day on which the creation of the heavens and earth was finished that Jesus simply paused to see everything that was good in a new creation just beginning? What if there are times in our own lives when there is nothing more holy that we can do than wholly nothing? What if we could take a day and quietly reflect and rest in the completed work of Jesus Christ? What would our lives be like if for even one day a week we simply paused to rest in all that God has done? What if we rested so that through the eyes of Jesus, we could see His new creation unfolding in lives all around us as well as in the deepest places of our hearts?

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Waiting and Resting

From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised  Matthew 16:21 ESV

We all know what happened on that first day, that terrible and blessed day on the cross. On the third day it is clear that Jesus rose from the dead. But despite many ideas and even elaborate tales no one truly knows just what occurred on Holy Saturday. So, can we ask the question, “What if Jesus simply rested? What if when Jesus said, “It is finished!” and gave His spirit into his father’s hands He just rested without sorrow, suffering or demands of any kind for that day. What if after three and a half years of ministry in which it was said that he had nowhere to lay his head and scarcely time to eat that Jesus chose to rest in His Father’s ability to do all that needed to be done for the day.

What if Jesus rested because it was the Sabbath? What if the same day on which the creation of the heavens was completed Jesus just paused to see everything that was good in the new creation now begun? What if there are times in our own lives when there is nothing more holy to do than nothing? What if on this Holy Saturday we could quietly reflect and rest in the completed work of Jesus Christ. What would our lives be like if for even one day we simply trusted God to do all?