Understanding the Sabbath
Genesis 2:1-3, Mark 2:23-28, Hebrews 4:9-11
July 11, 2010
Morning Service
Introduction
According to a Greek legend, in ancient Athens a man noticed the great storyteller Aesop playing childish games with some little boys. He laughed and jeered at Aesop, asking him why he wasted his time in such frivolous activity.
Aesop responded by picking up a bow, loosening its string, and placing it on the ground. Then he said to the critical Athenian, "Now, answer the riddle, if you can. Tell us what the unstrung bows implies."
The man looked at it for several moments but had no idea what point Aesop was trying to make. Aesop explained, "If you keep a bow always bent, it will break eventually; but if you let it go slack, it will be more fit for use when you want it." Adapted from Sermon Illustrations.com
The Purpose of the Sabbath
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. Genesis 2:1-3
There is a direct connection between Sabbath and rest.
Rest - Three Hebrew Terms
Sabat - Ceasing or ending of activity (Genesis 2:1-3)
This is the same word where we get our word Sabbath
Nuah - being settled down. Psychological release from tension or pressure. The word is often related to conclusion of conflicts. It is God alone who provides this kind of rest.
Saqat - Finding tranquility and experiencing peace. There is an absence of external pressure and anxiety. The only way to experience this kind of rest is to have a personal relationship with God
Why is this important?
The word Sabbath literally means rest. The only way to genuinely understand the meaning of the Sabbath is to understand the meaning of rest. When searching for a word study on Sabbath, I was directed to the word rest.
Reasons to worship on the Sabbath
1. The work was finished
God finished the work of creation on the sixth day. God created the heavens and earth in six days. Everything was formed from nothing in a matter of 144 hours. Genesis records creation as literal days not figurative. Genesis states that there was day and then night. The passing of time was 24 hours.
2. God rested on the seventh day
God did nothing on the seventh day. Was God tired from the work of creation? Absolutely not. Did God need a break from all of the creation business? Nope. God chose to do nothing on the seventh day. Think about it for a moment, God made everything already and there was no more work to be done. The week could have ended in six days but God added a seventh to set a model in place. There is time for work and there is time for rest.
3. God sanctified the seventh day
No other day of the week gains this kind of blessing. There was activity of some kind on every other day but God sets apart this day to be different. The seventh day would be special because it would be sanctified. The understanding of sanctification is to set someone or something apart for the service of God. God set the seventh day apart for the good of humanity.
4. The Sabbath was a day of worship
There can be no doubt that all of heaven rejoiced with God when the work of creation was done. The entire seventh day God did no creative act but celebrated the work that was completed. Worship is nothing if it is not a celebration of what God has done. The seventh day of the week of creation was a day of celebration.
Reasons Jews worshipped on the Sabbath
1. Testimony to God
The Jewish people set aside the seventh day as a Sabbath to testify that they belonged to God. The concept of the Sabbath was not part of any religion in the Ancient Near East. The Jews were unique and their celebration of God was unique.
2. Symbolic of covenant with God
The Jewish worship was also a symbol of the covenant that they shared with God. The covenant was the source of their lifestyle, it was the source of their society and it was the source of their worship. Make no mistake the Jewish people kept the Sabbath because it was part of their covenant with God. The covenant included keeping the Sabbath holy.
3. Connected with the deliverance from Egypt
The Jewish people also celebrated the Sabbath because it was connected with their deliverance. Listen to the words of Deuteronomy 5:15 15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
The concept of the Sabbath was connected with remembering the blessings that God has bestowed and the mighty acts He has done on behalf of Israel.
* Reminder of God’s power
* Reminder of God’s grace
* Reminder of God’s peace
* Reminder of God’s goodness
Key Question: Do we worship on the Sabbath?
In the strictest sense of Sabbath, the answer is no. The Jewish Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, which is Saturday. To observe the Jewish Sabbath we would worship on Saturday
Why do we not worship on the Sabbath?
1. We are Christians, not Jews
2. We acknowledge the risen Lord
3. We celebrate a different reality
Can we substitute the Lord’s Day?
1. The work was finished – Jesus had risen
2. God finished the work of salvation
Sabat – Cease activity
Nuah – Conclusion of conflict
Saqat – Finding of peace
3. God sanctified the first day of the week – the resurrection
4. The Lord’s Day was set aside for worship
5. Worship on the Lord’s day is a testimony to Christ
6. Symbolic of the new covenant
7. Connect with the deliverance from sin
Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath
23 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?" 25 He answered, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26 In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions." 27 Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." Mark 2:23-28
1. Why does Jesus allow the disciples to work on the Sabbath?
The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
The purpose of the Sabbath was for rest and worship. The Pharisees had made such an issue about law and legalism that the Sabbath was no longer about rest and worship. The Sabbath had been reduced to a system of rules and regulations. The Sabbath ignored the needs of people and Jesus was trying to focus back on the purpose of the Sabbath.
Jesus made it clear that sometime temporary need must be addressed before spiritual need can be met. Christians should follow the guidelines of the Sabbath. We should observe a day of worship and rest. There are temporary needs that are valid for the Sabbath. The need for food justified the work.
2. Jesus is the lord
Lordship is something many Christians and churches seem to struggle with today. Jesus is the Lord, the master, and the King. He is the authority over everything, including the Sabbath. The problem that many people have is that they get wrapped up in their idea of what church and worship should be. Our opinion really doesn’t matter. Church is not a democracy, it’s a theocracy and Jesus is in charge.
3. Jesus grants rest
28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30
What was the purpose of the Sabbath? Worship and rest. Jesus is the one who is worthy of worship. Jesus is the one who grants the rest. Jesus is the one who is the source of our rest. Jesus is the promise of God’s rest with the people.
The full rest remains (Hebrews 4:9-11)
9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:9-11
The writer of Hebrews states that we are offered a better rest. The term here for Sabbath rest is not used anywhere else in the Bible. The meaning of Sabbath is rest. The word here is almost a creation to describe something that was not in existence. The understanding of this rest was so new and so radical that a new word needed to be created.
The word gives a double emphasis. Sabbath rest literally means rest and rest. The fullness of rest comes only from Christ. The emphasis means that there are two rests – one earthly and the other eternal.
Why do Christians miss the rest?
1. We have become more focused on the pace of life
2. We are absorbed in chaos
3. We are trapped in the rush
