Richard Swenson wrote a book in the 1990’s entitled, “Margin” in which he describes modern society as so overcommitted and over scheduled that we have no space left for rest. A reviewer writes: Overload is not having time to finish the book you’re reading on stress. Margin is having time to read it twice. Overload is fatigue. Margin is energy. Overload is red ink. Margin is black ink. Overload is hurry. Margin is calm. Overload is anxiety. Margin is security. Overload is a disease of our day. Margin is the cure.
He says that as a society, we’ve forgotten what margin is. In the push for progress, margin has been devoured. So we feel distressed in ill-defined ways. We are besieged by anxiety, stress, and fatigue. Our relationships suffer. We have unexplained aches and pains. The flood of daily events seems beyond our control. We’re overloaded.
Margin is the space that once existed between ourselves and our limits. It’s something held in reserve for contingencies or unanticipated situations.
As a medical practitioner, Dr. Swenson sees a steady stream of exhausted, hurting people coming into his office. He says that a majority of them are suffering from an uncontrolled societal epidemic: living without margin. Again, his thesis: Overload is a disease of our day. Margin is the cure. (Taken from Amazon review)
Actually, the Bible shows us that margin is not the cure. Margin is simply a byproduct of living in sync with our Savior’s schedule according to the scriptures. To find margin we need a Messiah who gives us instruction for both labor and rest. Jesus is that Messiah and Jesus is the true cure to the disease of overload, and we might add, Jesus is the cure to laziness too.
So… What causes a portion of our society to live in the rat race of rush until there is no room for rest? On the other hand, what causes others to be undisciplined unproductive and lazy? Why is there an unhealthy imbalance between working too much or not working enough. We’ve been talking (over the last two weeks) about rest, but by resting I’m not talking about the laziness and sloth of those that will not work, which is another problem of society. The Thessalonians had some with this problem (See 2 Thess. 3:6-15). Both irresponsible sloth and overcommitted workaholizm are problems of sin. Both have their roots in selfishness and unbelief, both are destructive because both are disobedient to God. When we are not faithfully surrendered to the will and word of God we find ourselves lost in the darkness of extremes. God’s grace rescues us and delivers us from the destructive addiction and slavery to pride, selfishness and sin.
Jesus gives life. His word instructs us in life that is truly life. Jesus calls it abundant life, or life to the full, John 10:10. Paul calls it life that is life indeed, 1 Tim. 6:19. All of God’s word in the New Testament describes the new life in Christ as led by God himself, see Romans 8 for example. This life is where we find the Spirit’s fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, see Galatians 5:22-25. And, according to God’s word, this life is where we find rest… rest for our souls, see Matthew 11:28-29 and Hebrews chapters 3-4.
Today’s lesson will be the last in our series on God’s Sabbath rest for his people. I hope you will stay with me here. There is a blessing for all who enter God’s rest, and hopefully we have seen some of what that means.
The first two lessons we looked at the Old Testament teaching on God’s rest and the Sabbath. Genesis 2 tells us that God rested from all the work of creating on the seventh day. God worked six days and rested on the seventh. He blessed that day… he blessed his day of rest, and made it holy. The word holy means set apart, something uniquely assigned for God’s use and purposes. So the first thing we find that the Bible calls holy is not the creation (He called that good) but the first thing God calls holy is a day of the week, specifically, the day of his rest.
As far as we know, God never commanded anyone to keep this day until Exodus 16. After delivering the children of Israel from slavery God set up Saturday as their weekly day of Sabbath or rest. Remember that Sabbath does not mean seventh, Sabbath means rest. This became one of the signs of the covenant between God and the nation of Israel. Let me quickly mention three of these signs of the covenant which were given specifically to Israel by God. They are circumcision, dietary laws, and Sabbath keeping: these three were all key signs of the covenant for Israel. We don’t have time to go into all of those today, but, interestingly enough, all three of these signs of the covenant for Israel were NOT requirements under the new covenant in Christ which extended to all nations in the world. Circumcision, dietary laws and Sabbath keeping were all discontinued as signs of the covenant in Christ.
The new covenant in Jesus Christ requires faith and obedience to Jesus’ authority and teachings, and oddly enough, Jesus’ teachings on Circumcision, Dietary laws, and Sabbath keeping represent changes in the law. Just a cursory reading of the New Testament reveals a very different way of worship than what we see in the Old Testament. We discover both continuity and discontinuity between the two covenants. Jesus Christ kept and fulfilled the Law of Moses and when Jesus established the new covenant of God for all nations through his death, burial and resurrection, we discover many differences that reveal the discontinuity of the testaments. This continuity/discontinuity theme forms the basis of much of the New Testament teaching.
Today’s final Sabbath rest focus will be in the New Testament. We find Jesus getting into trouble early on in the gospels for his actions and teachings about the Sabbath, see Mark 2-3. Jesus says, “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.” Jesus then says, “The Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath.” Remember, Sabbath means rest. So what does the New Testament teach about rest, and how is the Sabbath rest fulfilled in Christ for us?
There are two Greek words that are translated “rest” in our New Testaments all from the same root word and all have the idea of pausing, or ceasing and desisting from labor. It is interesting also that these words are connected to the Sabbath rest of God in the book of Hebrews.
The first time the word “rest” occurs in the New Testament is in Matthew 11:28 where Jesus says: Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Jesus calls us boldly and promises us clearly. Come to me! Then he describes who he is calling to come. Are you weary, are you heavy laden? We have a song that asks that question: Are you weary are you heavy hearted tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus! The Bible doesn’t say tell it to Jesus, but come to Jesus! Bring Christ your broken heart so marred by sin! He will create anew, make whole again. Jesus’ call to come and promises of rest in Matthew 11 are followed immediately in chapter 12 by two events where Jesus encounters the Pharisees and teaches about the Sabbath. First has to do with picking grain and eating on the Sabbath, and second is about healing on the Sabbath. Jesus reveals a radical redifinition of the meaning of Sabbath keeping in both of these encounters. It was radical enough that they decided to kill him.
The last time this word Jesus used for rest occurs in the Bible is Revelation 14:13 Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them. Our Sabbath rest is coming! If we come to Christ and follow him, we will all keep the Sabbath someday!
The second word for “rest” occurs in Matthew 11:29. This is the noun form of the same word. Here Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am meek and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Jesus gives us three commands in order to receive the blessing of rest. 1. Come to me. 2. Take my yoke upon you. 3. Learn from me. In the first verse Jesus describes those he is calling, in this verse Jesus describes himself and the burden of following him. He says, “I am meek and lowly in heart.” Also, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” This needs a comment. The word translated "easy" is found six other times in the New Testament. In those places it is translated: better, kind, goodness, good, kind and gracious. The references are Luke 5:39, 6:35, Romans 2:4, 1 Cor. 15:33, Eph. 4:32, and 1 Peter 2:3. Easy does not mean without difficulty or hardship, better, good, kind, and gracious. Jesus is with us, yoked beside us, bearing the burden for us so that we can bear up under it along side our Savior.
Then the last time this same Greek word for rest occurs in the Bible is also in Revelation 14 but in verse 11 which says: "And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name." Here we see the ultimate end of all who do not come to Christ and answer his call. There is no Sabbath for them. No rest. Only the smoke of torment that continues forever and ever.
But for those who answer the call of Christ, Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath and offers new instruction about rest that honors God. To receive this blessing of rest, we must come to Christ, take his yoke upon ourselves and learn from him.
As the Hebrew writer warns us in 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.
God’s Sabbath rest remains available to us! Let us answer Jesus’ call to come, take his yoke, and learn of him.
