How to Sabbath in 2024

Oops!

In the small Bible college where Cindy and I met, the church/leadership was wrestling with what the young college kids could do on Sunday when not in service. I loved playing sports, so we were busy playing pickup games of football, soccer, or racquetball. I soon found out that the leadership frowned on these amusements on Sunday.

When I moved to Louisiana and later Texas, I learned that there were these things called “blue laws”. This may seem foreign to younger people. Blue Laws prohibited the sale of cars, alcohol, household goods. Apparently, Texas did away with the blue laws in 1985 except for auto sales which is why I remember Parkway Chevrolet along with other dealerships being closed when we moved here in 1991.

I had a deacon from another church stop by to ask about using our church for their services on Saturday. He, rather awkwardly, informed me that we weren’t worshipping on the Sabbath anyway so we might as well let his church use it on the “right” day.

Opinions about the Sabbath, even the day of the Sabbath can be strong and all over the place. Even Jesus was criticized for violating the rules of the Sabbath. So, how should we understand it? It is a big part of the discussion of the Feasts of Israel and even considered one of the 7 Feasts of Israel.

The Sabbath

Like all the other feasts of the Old Testament, the Sabbath can reveal timeless truths. It is marvelous how the NT reveals what was illustrated (some say concealed) in the OT. This morning, we will focus on 2 timeless truths - the Sabbath reveals God’s emphasis on rest and enforcing a time of honoring or revering God.

Over the past couple months, our study of the feasts has mentioned the Sabbath. The Feast of Trumpets is on the sabbath, also the Day of Atonement. The Feast of Tabernacles begins and ends with the Sabbath. In fact, the Sabbath predates all the other feasts.

Genesis 2:2–3 NIV

By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

This verse establishes the Sabbath (or 7th day) and declares a blessing from God on the day. His example of rest is established and is reenforced in the next book of the Bible. This time, it is the people of God who are taught to rest.

Exodus 23:10–13 NIV

“For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove. “Six days do your work, but on the seventh day do not work, so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and so that the slave born in your household and the foreigner living among you may be refreshed. “Be careful to do everything I have said to you. Do not invoke the names of other gods; do not let them be heard on your lips.

There is a repetition of 7’s in the Scripture:

- 6 days of work and then rest on the 7th.

- 6 years of sowing and then rest the field on the 7th.

- 7 repetitions of 7 years (49 years) and then a year of rest (Jubilee)

Now, let’s drill a bit deeper to understand the benefits of the Sabbath and learn how this impacts us to keep us physically and spiritually healthy.

The Benefits of the Sabbath – Rest and Reverence

A discussion of the Sabbath can be a minefield.

- Like the Bible College, there are those who frown at any amusement that takes place on Sunday.

- Like the Blue Laws, creating a list of what can and can’t be done on the Sabath.

“Rabbi Johanan and Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish worked out the number of regulations imposed by the law of Sabbath observance, and arrived at a grand total of 1,521.”

The Mishnah specified thirty-nine types of work which were prohibited on the Sabbath.[1]

- (another mine) And, like the deacon who insisted that Sunday was NOT the Sabbath.

It can be confusing for a Christian today and can lead to legalism. Legalism uses actions to look good to God without having the right heart. It’s checking off boxes. God made the Sabbath for reverence and rest. Checking boxes doesn’t qualify. So, how do we understand the Sabbath and observe it properly in our hearts? Let’s turn to Jesus first!

What did Jesus have to say about the Sabbath?

Can we agree that the OT was clear about revering the Sabbath day and keeping it holy? Additionally, I think we can agree that the Sabbath benefits you and me because God is worthy of all honor. All good things come from Him. And, additionally, our Heavenly Father sees that we need a time of rest. Agreed?

The keeping of Sabbath was an important marker of Jewish identity and a matter over which Jesus came into conflict with the *Pharisees of his day.[2] In each of the feasts we saw what the feast communicated to the people, so now we need to see what the Sabbath teaches us today. I want to use the behaviors and words of Jesus to help us.

#1 – Jesus Honored the Sabbath

Jesus honored the Sabbath by going to the synagogue. It was there that He taught. He was even concerned about the disciples

Matthew 24:20 NIV

Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.

Jesus completely filled the requirements of the Law. He did so for the Sabbath as well, but we will see that it is after His death that there is a freedom available to current day believers. In fact, all the 10 Commandments were reaffirmed by Jesus with the exception of the Sabbath.[4]Paul points this out in a verse we saw last week.

Colossians 2:16–17 NIV

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

The timeless truth is that Jesus honored the principles of revering God and resting on the Sabbath. I know, there is more to come, so let’s see what else Jesus demonstrated.

#2 - The Sabbath Did Not Restrain Jesus from Working Miracles on that Day

Legalistic teachers and religious leaders of Jesus’ day made sure that the laws of the Sabbath were enforced. But Jesus understood His Father’s heart about what it means to honor and rest in God. He demonstrated this through healing.

- Mark 1 – Jesus sends a demon out of a man

- Mark 1 – Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law

- Mark 3:1-6 – Jesus heals a man with a shriveled hand

- John 5 – Jesus heals the man at the pool of Bethesda

- John 9 – Jesus heals a blind man

- Luke 14 – Jesus heals a man with dropsy (‘edema’ – collection of fluid in the legs. Could be heart or kidney even pregnancy)

- Luke 13 – Jesus heals a cripple.

Luke 13:10–17 NIV

On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

A comment in the Life Application Bible helps us: “The religious leaders regarded healing as part of a doctor’s profession, and practicing one’s profession on the Sabbath was prohibited. The synagogue ruler, who was addressing his remarks to the people and not to Jesus, could not see beyond the law to Jesus’ compassion in healing this crippled woman.”[5]

So, we see that Jesus both honored the Sabbath but didn’t allow the rules created by man to constrain Him. Let’s look at a practical application of this.

For You and Me Today

I believe that there are some simple truths that we can take-away from the study of the Sabbath:

The Sabbath is for the benefit of humanity, not God.

Mark 2:27–28 NIV

Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

God wants us to rest

God wants us to honor Him

Very simply put, the Sabbath is about the renewal of the body; but, more importantly, it is about the renewal of the relationship with God.

Honoring the Sabbath is a “sign” that the people know God

Ezekiel 20:12 NIV

Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the Lord made them holy.

Ezekiel 20:20 NIV

Keep my Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.”

Make Space for the Sabbath in Your Week

Since the principle of the Sabbath is that we honor/revere the Lord and find both physical and spiritual rest, here are some suggestions:

· Refrain from work, or from checking items off your to-do list.

· Attend church (commanded in Leviticus 23:3 and 1 Corinthians 11:18).

· Invest extra time into worshiping God and reading and studying the Bible.

· Focus on spending quality time with family and friends.

· Minimize housework as much as possible. I mean, don’t leave out food that brings all the bugs to the yard, but don’t make this the day you vacuum the entire house or scrub the bathtub.

· Keep meals low-key (think crockpot dumps, sandwiches, or ordering a pizza).

· Avoid mindless and potentially stressful technology, like scrolling social media or checking emails.

· Switch things up from your normal day-to-day. So, if you spend 40-50 hours a week at a desk, talk a walk or visit a park. If you spend your week on your feet in the hot sun, sit down in a cool room and allow your body to rest.

· Invest time into those things you’ve been meaning to do for yourself. Take a relaxing bath, watch a movie, enjoy your hobby, or exercise.

The Sabbath was made for you! Make the best of it!

[1]John Stott, The Preacher’s Notebook: The Collected Quotes, Illustrations, and Prayers of John Stott, ed. Mark Meynell (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018). [2] J. Nolland, “Sabbath,” ed. Joel B. Green, Jeannine K. Brown, and Nicholas Perrin, Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, Second Edition (Downers Grove, IL; Nottingham, England: IVP Academic; IVP, 2013), 820. [3] Et al, 821. [4] Fox, Tim. “You Don’t Understand the Old Testament”. Crossexamined.org. Accessed August 10, 2024. [5]Bruce B. Barton et al., Luke, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1997), 341.