The True and Better Sabbath

INTRODUCTION:

At Johns Hopkins Children’s Hospital there is an elevator that is considered a sabbath Elevator. From Friday night to Saturday night the elevator stops on every floor and the door opens so that the occupant does not have to do work and push the button.

In Modern orthodox Jewish teaching there are 39 Categories of Sabbath work Prohibited by the Law. And with in each of these categories are numerous prohibitions..

Examples:

#2 Burning -

This involves making a fire or causing anything to burn.

Even throwing a toothpick into a fire is considered a violation of the Sabbath under this category

any use of electricity violates the spirit of the Sabbath, since it involves extracting energy from nature. According to many authorities, electricity has the same status as fire with regard to the Sabbath. In any case, the practice of all observant Jews is to avoid turning any electrical appliance on or off. Since a telephone also works by electricity, it also should not be used.

#4 Finishing -

This includes completing any useful article, even where no other category of work is involved.

It includes all forms of repairs and adjustments.

This heading also forbids us to cut or tear paper in any way. To take a very mundane example, one may not tear toilet paper on the Sabbath. Religious Jews therefore only use pre-cut paper.

#26 Dyeing

This includes changing the color of any object or substance.

The spirit of this law also prohibits the use of lipstick and eyeshadow. However, there are permanent cosmetics that can be put on before the Sabbath and last the entire day.

#34 Shearing

This includes removing hair, wool or feathers from any living creature.

Also included are such things as haircutting, shaving and cutting one’s fingernails. Eyebrow plucking is also forbidden.

The spirit of the law also forbids the combing of hair on the Sabbath, since this normally also pulls out hairs. Using a soft brush, however, is permitted.

So when you go to church next week everyone should be disheveled, no makeup, drinking cold old coffee, and we will note close our bathrooms, but the toilet paper will be off limits because it is not pre cut.

Should Sunday be considered the Christian Sabbath?

YES or NO

I want ask 4 questions to see what the Bible says.

What is the Sabbath?

Genesis 2:1-3 “1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”

The seventh day signified that God’s work of creation was finished.

You will notice in verse 3 the word holy,

and this is the first time holy is used in the Bible.

The root means to separate, or perhaps better, to turn that into a vertical concept, to elevate;

it is a separation that elevates or exalts.

So here, for the first time, we come across the idea of something being separated by being elevated; that is,

God designates this seventh day as an exalted day,

a day lifted above all other days.

Apart from that, Secondly is the verb rested. When it says in verse 2 that “by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested,” and then in verse 3 again, “He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”

This is a unique day, because, the creation being completed,

the whole work of creation was finished.

creation ceased on the sixth day.

It didn’t go on for thousands of years, didn’t go on for millions or billions of years;

after six days it was finished, it was completed.

it was perfect.

The 7th day was significant because it signals that God’s entire creation is finished.

The wording here Moses is painting a picture of a king who is building his palace. ,

God is the king of all the world

he is building his cosmic palace

and what the kings did non the near east was when they complete their palace take up rest in His dwelling place.

God rested so that he could take up dwelling in His palace with His people.

The Sabbath is always about a place and people.

Did God need rest?

God stops and rests.

It does not imply weariness:

Isaiah 40:28 “28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.”

Psalm 121:4 “4 Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”

He rested only in the sense that He ceased from work, not that He had to replenish His energy.

But what it tells us when He rested is really that He was satisfied,

It was a perfect work, and it was the rest of utter satisfaction.

And by the way, there would be no more creation, and for a little while, there was no more work for God to do.

God didn’t go to work again until the third chapter of Genesis -  not very long - when Adam and Eve fell, and God had to go to work.

And what was the first thing that God did? Gen 3:21 “21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.” and then he drove them out of the Garden.

with the fall of man, God’s work began again.

God had to preserve - as Hebrews 1:1-3 “1 …he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

He had to uphold by His power His creation, because it was now subject to decay.

And so, He went to work to preserve the universe that He has made,

the creation that He has made,

and He also went to work to fulfill all aspects necessary in the redemption of that creation.

Now, you do not hear in those three verses anything about people resting;

there’s nothing here about man resting, nothing here about Adam resting.

Because he was without sin and a perfect man in every sense, there was no depletion of his energies when he was doing whatever the simple tending of the garden called for.

There’s no need to have a day of rest for man;

what would he rest from?

He’s living in a paradise,

with no labor,

and no sweat,

and no expended and lost energy.

There’s no Sabbath law given here for Adam, none at all.

Nothing is said about this day being a day of worship.

It doesn’t say anything about that.

It doesn’t prescribe anything for anyone. It is isolated completely to God.

He completed His creation; satisfied with it,

The next time you even run into the word is in Exodus 16.

Hundreds of years have passed,2400 years, the patriarchs have come and gone - none of them worshiped, far as we know, on the Sabbath.

That was designated for them.

It was not prescribed for them.

It was not mandated for them -

not Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and the rest of the people of God.

The first time the Sabbath is mentioned in some significant way is in the 16th chapter of Exodus, after the exodus from Egypt. when God feeds the people manna from heaven as they wander in the wilderness.

(Page 68) Exodus 16:22-26 “22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. ... 25 Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the Lord; today you will not find it in the field. 26 Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.””

The manna and the quail come every day except the Sabbath day,

and the day before they get enough for that day, so that they don’t have to work on that day.

Would Israel trust God enough to rest and allow God to provide.

And that gives them a little preview of what’s coming, because in the 20th chapter you have the Ten Commandments,

which was just read to you,

prescriptions are given that do set down laws for the Sabbath day.

This is the first time any such laws/mandate have been given by God.

This is very important so that we understand that the Sabbath was not instituted for man in Genesis. It was instituted officially in Exodus, in the law of Moses.

The Sabbath was a sign of the Mosaic Covenant.

(Pew Bible Page 84) Exodus 31:12-13 “12 And the Lord said to Moses, 13 “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you.”

Exodus 31:17 “17 It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’ ””

Here we find that Sabbath is a sign;

That is to say, it points to something else.

It is a symbol, if you will.

When God made a covenant with Noah,

He promised Noah that He would never destroy the world again by a flood,

and God identified a sign.

What was the sign of the Noahic covenant? Rainbow.

When God made a covenant with Abraham,

He made that covenant with Abraham and He designated a sign,

and the sign of the Abrahamic covenant,

was the sign of circumcision.

And here you have in the Mosaic covenant another sign,

and the sign this time is the Sabbath.

The Sabbath is a sign

it is a confession of covenant fidelity.

As a sign of the covenant, the Sabbath testifies that Israel

is set apart to represent all peoples to God as a priestly nation.

They are holy (different, set apart)

in their function because they have the role of representing the rule of God to all other peoples as priest.

To break the Sabbath, the sign of the covenant,

meant to violate the covenantal relationship,

to reject the spiritual renewal of the covenant; and hence the penalty was death.[1]

As a sign of the covenant the Sabbath can only be meant for Israel,

with whom the covenant was made.

It has a “perpetual” function, i.e., for the duration of the covenant,84

and derives its importance and significance from the covenant itself.[2]

When the covenant ended there is no longer a need for the sign.

So since Christ has fulfilled the Law of Moses, the sign is no longer pertinent.

The Sabbath was a covenant sign to Israel alone.

For this reason, while the nations are condemned in Scripture for all types of moral transgressions,

they are never condemned for Sabbath breaking as Israel is ( Jer 17:19-27; Ezek 20:13, 16, 21, 24; 22:8, 26; 23:38).

The Sabbath was uniquely given to Israel as a covenant sign.

Their refusal to obey the sabbath laws (weekly sabbath, one in 7 year rest, and year of jubilee one in every 49 years) they were punished for it.

The exile was for 70 years because in all the time they were in the land 490 years not one sabbath year was taken, so the land had to rest for that period of time until they could return. (70x7)

Leviticus 26:32-35 “32 And I myself will devastate the land, so that your enemies who settle in it shall be appalled at it. 33 And I will scatter you among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you, and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste. 34 “Then the land shall enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest, and enjoy its Sabbaths. 35 As long as it lies desolate it shall have rest, the rest that it did not have on your Sabbaths when you were dwelling in it.”

It is like when you turn 16 and get a drivers license. That is a sign of your freedom and it is also the first think that is on the chopping Block when you disobey. If you drop out of school in Maryland you loos your license. if you disobey your parents it is what is restricted. Give me your keys, it doen'tnot matter if you have a perfect record, it is your the sign of your freedom so it is the very thing that suffers when you disobey.

How was Isreal to Celebrate the Sabbath?

Exodus 20:8-11 “8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

They were to rest as a reminder of creation.

What is clear is that the command to rest on the Sabbath was first given to Israel under the Mosaic covenant (Exod 20:8–11; 31:12–17; Lev 23:3; Deut 5:12–15).

God prohibited Israel from working on the Sabbath,

which is equivalent to our Saturday.

The ban from work was all encompassing, including children, slaves, and animals.

The Sabbath was a reminder of creation.

The Sabbath was to remind the people of Israel that they had forfeited paradise; that man had forfeited paradise.

So, the Sabbath, every Sabbath that went by, when they rested,

they were reminded of a perfect creation,

They were to consider the importance on that seventh day of examining their own lives and looking at how they were measuring up against the law of God;

recognizing sin was the objective that separated them from God

and bringing them to repentance.

They rested so they could remember the effects of the fall and recognized that they needed to repentance.

They were to rest as a reminder of their redemption from Egypt.

Deuteronomy 5:12-15 “12 “ ‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. ... 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.”

The observance of the Sabbath is linked to liberation from Egypt,

to the redemption of Israel,

functioning as a sign that the Lord has freed Israel from their slavery to the Egyptians.

it was reminder that they were once physical slaves and had not rest and were made to work.

Now they have a loving God who has rescued them and they can rest because God is there to supply their needs.

Why is the link between the Sabbath and the exodus significant as to whether the Sabbath is mandatory today?

Because NT believers have not been freed from Egyptian bondage as Israel was.

The Lord freed the people of Israel (not the whole world) from Egypt.

It does not follow, of course, that the exodus from Egypt is irrelevant to believers.

The exodus points forward to another covenant, a better covenant, a new covenant where believers are ransomed from their sins by the blood of Jesus Christ (Luke 22:20; cf. Heb 8:1–10:18).

The exodus rescued God’s people from their physical slavery,

But they and we are still enslaved spiritually to sin.

It is in the cross of Christ that we can have true and final rest from the slavery of Sin.

Therefore, Believers should not revert back to the type of the Sabbath any more than they should revert to the type of OT sacrifices.

Still, the historical event of the exodus was confined to Israel, and observance of the Sabbath was linked to God’s freeing his people from Egypt.

What affect did Jesus have on the Sabbath?

Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath

Matthew 12:5-8 “5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.””

In this verses Jesus is stating d=several things that would upset the jews at the time.

In Matthew 12 Jesus declares himself to be greater in three areas:

(1) “some- thing greater than the temple is here” (Matt 12:6);

2) “something greater than Jonah is here” (Matt 12:41);

(3) “something greater than Solomon is here” (Matt 12:42).

In these three statements, Jesus declares himself as the Messiah to be

greater than the temple (priests),

greater than Jonah (prophets),

and greater than Solomon (kings).

To understand what Jesus is saying is we need to understand, that the the priest’s duty in the Tabernacle/Temple were exempt form the Sabbath Laws. When the day of atonement came which was a solemn sabbath, they were allowed to do their work.

If Sabbath regulations take second place to temple requirements,

then they also are subservient to Jesus, the greater temple.

Certainly Jesus does not abolish the Sabbath command here,

but the narrative indicates that the Sabbath stands under the authority of Jesus as the Son of Man.

He is over the sabbath because the Sabbath has always pointed Him and His work in redemption.

We have a hint that the Sabbath (like the temple!) must be reinterpreted now that the Son of Man has arrived.

Jesus Fulfilled the Sabbath

Colossians 2:16-17 “16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”

Paul explicitly refers to the Sabbath as a shadow of Christ, which is no longer binding since the substance (Christ) has come.

The Sabbath, in other words, points to Christ and is fulfilled in him.

The word for “shadow” (skia) that Paul uses to describe the Sabbath is the same term the author of Hebrews used to describe Old Testament sacrifices.

The law is only a “shadow (skia) of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities” (Heb. 10:1).

Hebrews 10:1 “1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.”

The argument is remarkably similar to what we see in Colossians:

both contrast elements of the law as a shadow with the “substance” (sōma, Col. 2:17) or the “form” (eikona, Heb. 10:1) found in Christ.

Paul’s argument is that believers now belong to the age to come and the requirements of the old covenant are no longer binding.

Paul does not denigrate the Sabbath.

He salutes its place in salvation history, for,

like the Old Testament sacrifices,

though not in precisely the same way,

it prepared the way for Christ.

I know of no one who thinks Old Testament sacrifices should be instituted today;

and when we compare what Paul says about the Sabbath with such sacrifices,

it seems right to conclude that he thinks the Sabbath is no longer binding.

Why celebrate a shadow when we have the the real substance before us.

What Should Be Our Response To The Sabbath?

Believers are not obligated to observe the Sabbath.

The Sabbath was the sign of the Mosaic covenant.

The Mosaic covenant and the Sabbath as the covenant sign are no longer applicable now that the new covenant of Jesus Christ has come.

Rest when you can

It is wise naturally for believers to rest, and hence one principle that could be derived from the Sabbath is that believers should regularly rest.

But the New Testament does not specify when that rest should take place, nor does it set forth a period of time when that rest should occur.

We must remember that the early Christians were required to work on Sundays.

During the first three centuries, believers rarely had the freedom to rest from work on the Sabbath, the last day of the week (or what we call Saturday), or any other day of the week with any consistency

They worshiped the Lord on the Lord’s Day, the day of Jesus’ resurrection, but the early Christians did not believe the Lord’s Day was the Christian Sabbath.

That did come about till the fourth century

With the legalization of Christianity in Europe, however, gradual changes would set in.

Sunday became a weekly holiday

so that some Christians began to recombine cessation from labor and religious worship on the first day of each week

In fact it was not until the 8th century that the term Christian Sabbath

was attributed to the 1st day of the week worship in the church.

So rest when you can to replenish and refresh, but be careful not to impose the Sabbath on others.

Be Respectful

Believers are called upon to honor and respect those who think the Sabbath is still mandatory for believers.

Colossians 2:16-17 “16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.

The idea of a Christian Sabbath is an issue of conviction.

It is a third tier issue.

it should not separate Christians within the same church

But if one argues that the Sabbath keeping is required for salvation or mandatory

such a teaching is contrary to the gospel and should be resisted forcefully.

In any case, Paul makes it clear in both Romans 14:5 and Colossians 2:16–17

that the Sabbath has passed away now that Christ has come.

Reconcile your practices with your beliefs.

If you believe that the Lord’s Day is the Christian Sabbath, then live like it.

Enjoy and glorify God in your rest and worship.

But make sure you do it to the glory of the Lord.

Romans 14:5-6 “5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.”

Just please be consistent.

If it is a day of rest for you, then make sure you allow those around you rest as well.

It’s great to give mom rest for Sunday dinner, but the Sabbath meant all those around you would also rest.

It would only be constant if you did not work or did not allow any unnecessary work by others.

Going to the Hospital on Sunday because your were injured or sick is necessary and an act of mercy.

But walking to Unos or Aces are not necessary.

So rest or work be constant and honor the Lord whatever you believe about the Sabbath.

Gather Regularly on the Lord’s Day.

Even though we are not under obligation to have a weekly sabbath,

the NT is very clear about the need for Christians to gather together regularly

to worship, hear the word, encourage one another and build one another up.

Hebrews 10:23-25 “23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

The Gathering together helps stay on course

helps us from deceiving ourselves.

helps us not to fall in disobedience and disbelief, like those who doubted in the wilderness.

It is in these gatherings that we practice the signs of the New Covenant. (Lord supper and Baptism)

We Remember the death of Christ with the Lord Supper

And as the Great Commission that we are to go baptizing and observing all that jesus command us.

The same covenantal language is used in the New Covenant that replaces the old Covenant.

If we do not meet with other Christians then we are missing out on the blessings of practicing the signs of our covenantal relationship with God through His son Christ.

Rest in Christ’s work alone.

(Page 1189) Hebrews 4:8-11 “8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.”

God’s rest which is not a day,

but a period of rest which God has promised to those who believe,

not to those who disbelieve.

Israel in the OT is used an example to warn against unbelief and testing.

Unbelievers can keep the Sabbath (as many ancient Israelites did),

but that does not mean they have entered into God’s rest.

Only in Christ can this rest be realized.

It is realized in tension, as a now-not yet reality.

We enter into God’s rest now through faith in Christ,

but then in its fullest expression when we either enter into the presence of Christ at death (Rev 14:13), or when Christ returns

The ultimate question is not whether we keep the Sabbath, but whether the Sabbath keeps us.

While the Sabbath could bring physical rest,

it was only temporary,

it came and went,

and the reminder of the Fall,

of labor and hard work

would return when it ended.

The Sabbath however was a pointer,

a sign that pointed away from itself to the One who can give eternal rest,

and those who experience that rest become members of the new covenant,

the body of Christ, the Church.

Those who are in Christ are kept by him, not by their own work. If you know Christ you have already entered into his Sabbath rest.

Communion:

The Sabbath pointed toward eschatological rest in Christ,

and this meal of celebration that we have before us

points to that rest in Christ we have through the cross.

Lets pause and reflect before we take of the Lord’s table