Finishing His Redemptive Work

Jesus had yet to finish his redemptive work. On the third day after Jesus' death, Jehovah raised him from the dead. (Acts 3:15; 10:40) By this momentous act, Jehovah not only rewarded his Son for his faithful service but gave him the opportunity to finish his redemptive work as God's High Priest. (Romans 1:4; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8) The apostle Paul explains: "When Christ came as a high priest . . ., he entered, no, not with the blood of goats and of young bulls, but with his own blood, once and for all time into the holy place and obtained an everlasting deliverance for us. For Christ entered, not into a holy place made with hands, which is the copy of reality, but into heaven itself, now to appear before the person of God for us." -Hebrews 9:11, 12, 24.

Christ could not take his literal blood into heaven. (1 Corinthians 15:50) Rather, he took what that blood symbolized: the legal value of his sacrificed perfect human life. Then, before the person of God, he made formal presentation of the value of that life as a ransom in exchange for sinful mankind. Did Jehovah accept that sacrifice? Yes, and this became evident at Pentecost 33 C.E., when the holy spirit was poured out upon about 120 disciples in Jerusalem. (Acts 2:1-4) Thrilling though that was, the ransom was then just beginning to provide marvelous benefits.

Next time: Benefits Of The Ransom

Draw Close To Jehovah, 2002