Rest

Hebrews 4:1-5, 11; Psalm 78 Do not forget the works of the Lord! Mark 2:1-12

We continue our reading of the letter of Hebrews. Chapter 3 and chapter 4 are commentaries on Psalm 95 in the Old Testment. In fact, much of the New Testament is a commentary on the Old Testament. But for those who writing the New Testament, the old testament was not old it was considered to be "scripture" in its entirety.

The Jewish scripture was considered to be that which contained the propehtic utterance that is fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.

If Jesus fulfills the prophecy of scripture revealed by God in Adam all the way to the prophet Malachi, then Jesus in his person is fulfillment. Thus, when the writer in the letter of Hebrews speaks of entering in to God's "rest", a rest that is promised from the beginning in the Seventh day of creation, he necessarily is speaking about Jesus as the fulfillment of that rest.

It is faith in Jesus that opens up the possibility of rest eternal.

When we say "eternal rest grant unto them O Lord; let your perpetual light shine upon them; may they rest in peace; may the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace," we are in the most concrete way depicting what awaits us.

What will heaven be like? There will be rest. There will be rest from anxiety, stress, temptations, sinful inclinations and desires; there will be rest for love to truly abide; there will be rest for the heart; there will be rest for the body;

Where will this rest be? It will be in Jesus himself. In the ascension He already makes space for us that we might have rest and have it abundant. Rest is only possible where love is secure. Thus, heaven is rest for love abounds perfectly secure.