November 24, 2002 • Pastor Randy
Smith
For the past two weeks we have been discussing the miraculous events that surrounded the healed man in John chapter 5. We learned that the word of Jesus Christ, cloaked with mercy and power is sufficient to break the bonds not only of physical paralysis, but also of spiritual paralysis. The Son of God came to bring total wellness, healing to his body, salvation to his soul. Yet we also learned that the good deeds of Jesus remarkably provoked tremendous hostility among the Jewish leaders. The controversy revolved around Jesus healing on the Sabbath.
In the gospel of John the word "Sabbath" appears in 9 verses. None of these occurrences record Jesus as celebrating the Sabbath. As a matter of fact, all but one of these accounts (19:31) refers to Jesus healing on the Sabbath and aggravating the religious authorities. The majority of Christ’s conflicts usually involved His actions on the Sabbath.
In considering the Sabbath, the command was originally given to the Jews at Sinai. It was abused by the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day. It was in many ways attacked by the words and actions of Christ. These facts have left many Christians confused as to the application of the Sabbath in the church age. Does observance of the Sabbath still apply today? If not, what right do we have to violate one of the 10 Commandments? If so, should we celebrate the Sabbath on Saturday as did the Jews? What should be done or not done to observe the day properly? Why does the church worship on Sunday? Is Sunday considered the Christian’s Sabbath? Are Christians permitted to work on Sunday? What constitutes "work?" What is the difference between the Sabbath and the Lord’s Day?
Is it just me or have many of us been confused regarding a biblical understanding of the Sabbath? For this reason I have decided to go on a mini excursion and present two fugitive messages devoted to this topic. The sermons are entitled: "Sunday, Sabbath or the Lord’s Day?"
We’ll begin today where our text left off last week. First we’ll examine the legalistic interpretation of the Jewish leaders who persecuted Jesus. Then we’ll seek to discern a biblical interpretation of the Sabbath. Finally, we’ll answer the question as to whether the Sabbath still applies today for the Christian under the New Covenant.
1. LEGALISTIC SABBATH
Last week I mentioned that the opposition Jesus faced began in John chapter 5 and culminated with the cross. The specific event in John chapter 5 that triggered such hostility was His violating the current traditions regarding the Sabbath. We know that Jesus perfectly fulfilled the law so His violation was not according to biblical standards, but rather according to man-made or Pharisaical interpretations.
The law of the Sabbath given to the Jews was intended to be a blessing to man both physically and spiritually. However, between the time of Ezra and Jesus Christ, the religious leaders made the Sabbath more restrictive than God had intended. Tradition became more important than the Word of God, and the Sabbath was viewed as an end to itself. Therefore the Sabbath lost its purpose. It became clouded under a baggage of legalistic "list keeping." These innumerable restraints, written in the Mishnah, were contained in 39 prohibitions with hundreds of subcategories.
For example, the 12th prohibition prevented writing. It was defined as follows, "He who writes two letters with his right or his left hand, whether of one kind or of two kinds, as also if they are written with different ink or of different languages, is guilty. He even who should from forgetfulness write two letters is guilty, whether he has written them with ink or with paint, red chalk, India rubber, vitriol, or anything which makes permanent marks. Also he who writes on two walls which form an angle, or on the two tablets of his account book, so that they can be read together, is guilty. He who writes upon his body is guilty. If anyone writes with dark fluid, with fruit juice, or in the dust on the road, in sand, or in anything in which writing does not remain, he is free. If any one writes with the wrong hand, with the foot, with the mouth, with the elbow; also if any one writes upon a letter of another piece of writing, or cover other writing" (Sabbath, xii. 3-5).
What a burden! This is what Jesus had in mind when He said, "Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers" (Lk. 11:46). There’s no doubt that by the time of Christ, the Sabbath was greatly abused. Let’s move to point #2 and see what the Bible itself has to say about the proper observance of the Sabbath under the Old Covenant.
2. OLD COVENANT SABBATH
The first mention of any type of Sabbath rest (though the word itself does not appear) occurs in Genesis 2. It was not a Sabbath rest for man, but rather a Sabbath rest for God. Genesis 2:1-3, "Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."
We are all very familiar with this account. God created the world in 6 days (and I do believe 6 literal days). He pronounced His creation "very good" (Gen. 1:31) and then "rested" on the seventh day. Now obviously, God does not "become weary or tired" (Isa. 40:8), so the rest spoken of here is not a rest from fatigue, but rather a rest of accomplishment and satisfaction and enjoyment. God took pleasure in what He had created. Sin had not yet marred its existence. It was "very good." Everything met His approval.
It is important again to stress that this was a Sabbath rest for God and not a Sabbath rest commanded to Adam. There is no biblical evidence that this command was given to Adam. Additionally, there is no biblical evidence to even suggest that Adam ever observed the 7th day any differently than the other 6. Shortly we’ll see why this is significant.
The earliest record in the Bible of any human being keeping the Sabbath occurs the first time the word itself is mentioned, Exodus chapter 16. Just prior to their encounter with God at Sinai, Moses commanded the people and said, "See, the Lord has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day" (Ex. 16:29-30). In a nutshell, God provided manna for the people in the wilderness. They were to harvest this bread from heaven for six days of the week. On the 6th day, God provided a double portion that would last for two days. On the 7th day, harvesting was forbidden and the people were commanded to rest. They were to trust God and have faith in His provision
Four chapters later in Exodus 20, Israel is given the 10 Commandments from God at Mount Sinai. The Fourth Commandment (the full-blown, more restrictive Sabbath regulation) said, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the 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" (Ex. 20:8-11).
Often when the Law is mentioned, the Sabbath is set apart from the others as the most important commandment (Neh. 9:13-14). The reason being is because the Sabbath commandment was the sign and seal of God’s Covenant with Israel. Therefore a violation of the Sabbath resulted in death (Ex. 31:14) because violating the Sabbath, violated the Covenant it represented. For instance, it’s one thing to sin by throwing a chair across the room. It’s another thing to sin by throwing my wedding ring across the room, because my wedding ring is a sign of the solemn covenant I made with my wife before the Lord.
The Sabbath itself was a call to avoid work on the 7th day. Again, the Israelites were expected to trust God as their Creator, Provider and Sustainer. They were to bask in God’s excellencies similar to the way He did on the 7th day after His marvelous work of creation. Week after week, the Sabbath was intended to jog their memory that God is dependable and sufficient to supply all of their needs.
Within time, the Sabbath became the foundation for all the Jewish festivals. For example, according to Leviticus 25 every 7th year was to be a Sabbatical year of rest to the Lord. During this time plowing, cultivating and harvesting were to cease (Lev. 25:1-7). Again the people were expected to trust God for their provisions. The most compelling festival was the Year of Jubilee. Also in Leviticus 25, "You are also to count off seven Sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven Sabbaths of years, namely, forty-nine years. You shall then sound a ram's horn abroad on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the day of atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land. You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you" (Lev. 25:8-10). So every 7th day is the Sabbath Day. Every 7th year is the Sabbatical Year. And every 7th Sabbatical Year is the Year of Jubilee. The Year of Jubilee was highlighted by canceling all debts and mortgages.
What observations can we draw at this point? First, the Sabbath was given only to Israel. There is no record whatsoever of anybody observing the Sabbath prior to Sinai. Furthermore, even after Sinai, the Jews often critiqued their pagan neighbors for their many sins, but they never criticized them for violating the Sabbath since the Sabbath was a covenant sign reserved exclusively for Israel. Therefore the Sabbath is not grounded in God’s nature. It is not a moral law. It was a ceremonial law for the nation of Israel under the Old Covenant.
Second, the Sabbath was a test of faith. God wanted the Israelites to trust Him. He wanted His people to know that when they cease from works they can depend on Him in faith. He wanted the people to know that He is a God that can be trusted to provide for the welfare of His children.
The Sabbath was a ceremonial law and a test of faith, but the Sabbath also meant much more. Let’s continue to build on what we have already learned.
Prior to the fall, man enjoyed a Sabbath rest not just on the 7th day, but every day. Creation was "very good" and the fellowship with God was unhindered. However, after sin entered the world due to Adam’s disobedience, the enjoyment of God’s rest was forfeited. The world that was once good was now cursed so that Adam and the remainder of creation now became familiar with terms such as labor and toil and pain and sweat and death. God warned Adam of the severe consequences that would come if he did the one thing that God forbade him to do. "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die" (Gen. 2:16b-17).
The apostle Paul even echoed this theme when he proclaimed that the "wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). Adam disobeyed. He sinned. The result was death, physically and also spiritually. Man, intended to live forever, was now subjected to physical death. Man, intended to enjoy unbroken fellowship with God, now experienced a separation. Man, created to run to God, was now found hiding in the garden in fear of God’s presence (Gen. 3:8). Man’s ongoing sabbatical rest was tragically lost. Therefore the Sabbath commandment to Israel was a painful reminder of the rest and spiritual fellowship that Adam forfeited in the garden. It was a weekly reminder that sin brings forth devastating consequences. God gave Israel one day to specifically think about "what could have been." He gave them one day to examine their own lives lest they too suffer further consequences because of their sin and disobedience.
That’s the negative side of what the Sabbath was intended to bring to one’s attention. The positive side deals with future redemption. Even to this day we experience the results of Adam’s fall and God’s curse. According to the New Testament all people are "by nature children of wrath" (Eph. 2:3) and "creation itself also (longs to) be set free from its slavery to corruption" (Rom. 8:21).
But God gave Israel the promise of a coming Redeemer who would restore the rest and the fellowship with God that was lost in the garden. This Servant Messiah (Isa. 9:6-7; 52:7), this divine provision, would reverse the curse and erect a new creation available to all people that would never again be affected by sin. This new creation, like Adam, would enjoy a perpetual Sabbath rest. There will be no division between the sacred and the secular. Israel’s Sabbath on the positive side therefore had a forward look to the Messiah who would lead God’s people to a rest superior to the one they enjoyed at peacetime or the rest they enjoyed in the Promised Land. This new rest would even be superior to the rest that was lost in Eden. God promised that His Messiah would bring this ultimate Sabbatical rest with the coming of the New Covenant. From here we must turn to the New Testament to see how this rest comes to fruition.
3. NEW COVENANT BATH
Before we examine the work of God’s second creation, we need to properly understand His work during the first creation. A recurring theme accents the first six days of creation. Keep these three words in mind: Work-Completion-Satisfaction. For instance, God’s work on day 1 in verse 3 was to create light. "Then God said, ‘Let there be light;’ and there was light." God completed His work in verse 5 when He said, "God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day." The satisfaction of His work on day 1 is recorded in verse 4. "God saw that the light was good." As another example, let’s consider day 3. Verse 11 describes God’s work. "Then God said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them.’" Verse 13 describes the completion. "There was evening and there was morning, a third day." Verse 12 describes God’s satisfaction. "The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good."
Throughout all 6 days, God purposed a work to be accomplished. The completion of His work is mentioned by the phrase, "there was evening and there was and morning" (Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). And God’s satisfaction in His created work each day is always demonstrated by the 3 words, "it was good" (Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25). The only exception to this rule is when creation was fully completed after day 6. At that point God said that everything was "very good" (Gen. 1:31).
Now day 7, the day of rest, the day of approval, the high point of God’s creation is different than the other 6 days. This day unlike the others does not mention work nor does it appear to have an end. The common phrase "there was evening and there was and morning" is not mentioned. The day was open-ended, meaning that both man and God’s rest would have continued if sin had not marred God’s good and finished work.
We already discussed how the man’s rest was lost due to the fall. But Adam’s disobedience also brought an end to God’s rest as well. So God went back to work. It was a work planned from all eternity (Rev. 13:8). He began a work of redemption that starts immediately in Genesis 3 and concludes in the final chapter of the gospels. Remarkably, this work of the second creation parallels the work of the first creation. Work-Completion-Satisfaction-Rest.
The work was announced in Genesis 3:15. In speaking to Satan God said, "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." God would send His own Son to remedy the tragedy of the fall. The entire Old Testament is the unfolding of God’s redemptive plan. But at the fullness of the time when the Old Covenant was complete, Galatians 4:4 says that "God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law." God’s Servant would live the perfect life and then go to the cross as a Substitute and a Redeemer for mankind. He would live the life that was expected of Adam. He would reverse the curse and inaugurate the New Covenant. He would complete God’s new creation. Though Satan thought He had finally foiled God’s plan by bruising Christ’s heel, Jesus Christ would use His victory on the cross not only to bruise Satan’s head (by delivering his death-blow), but also to triumph over sin, guilt and death forever!
It was the work of Jesus Christ to restore the rest for both God and mankind. The first Adam lost it; the second Adam would regain it. That was His work and He knew it. John 4:34, "Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.’" John 5:36, "But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish-- the very works that I do-- testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me."
Redemption, the work purposed, was the work of God in Christ. But you will recall that the second theme in creation is completion of the work. How was the work completed? Just before He went to the cross Jesus prayed, "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do" (Jn. 17:4). Jesus Himself testified to the completion of His work on the cross when He said, "It is finished" (Jn. 19:30). Is it a coincidence that God finished His redemptive work just as He finished His creative work, on the 6th day of the week (Mk. 15:42)?
The third theme of God’s creative work was satisfaction, denoted by the phrase "it was good." Now in His second creation, God expressed His satisfaction of Christ’s redemptive work by raising Him from the dead, ascending Him to His throne, and giving Him lordship to judge both the living the dead. Romans 1:3-4, "Concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord." Philippians 2:10-11, "So that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
And finally the most wonderful truth of all, the fourth theme of God’s creative work once again resulted in rest. After the work was finished and after God approved of the work through the resurrection, Christ sat down at the right hand of God. The Scriptures say, "Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; But He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God" (Heb. 10:11-12). The work of the priests never ended. The Sabbath was one of their busiest days of the week! Our High Priest after offering His eternal sacrifice, sat down. The work of the second creation and redemption was completed and approved. Once again God’s rested, this time, forever.
But does man’s rest once again parallel God’s rest as it did in the first creation? Consider the following:
It was the goal of Joshua to lead the Hebrews to rest in the Promised Land. Matthew 1:21 says, "She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." The Hebrew translation for Jesus is Yeshua meaning Joshua. The first Joshua led people to physical rest from the Egyptian bondage; the second Joshua leads people to spiritual rest from the bondage to sin.
The year of the Jubilee was to pronounce a cancellation of all monetary debts. Beginning His ministry Jesus said, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord…(and He concluded by saying) Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing"(Lk. 4:18-19, 21). Jesus is our Jubilee! He came to clear our debt of sin whereby there will be "no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Rom. 8:1).
Jesus Christ is the apex of God’s redemptive history. He is the fulfillment of the law (Mt. 5:17). All things in the Old Testament pointed toward Him (Lk. 24:27, 44). He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end (Rev. 22:13). All the promises of God are in Him, yes (2 Cor. 1:20). And for those who trust Christ Jesus, He is now our Sabbath rest. Jesus said, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Mt. 11:28-30)
Based upon all the evidence thus far, I believe Jesus Christ has fulfilled the law whereby He has now become the Sabbath rest for the believer under the New Covenant. But allow me to give you some more information to support this conclusion.
You will recall that the Sabbath served specific purposes, but those specific purposes were a sign that pointed to something greater. The Old Covenant Sabbath was a time to cease from works and look to God in faith as the One who provides. The Sabbath preached the gospel! What is the gospel? The message is a call to cease from works and to look to God in faith for salvation. Romans 4:4-5, "Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness" (C.f. Rom. 11:6).
The Old Covenant Sabbath also foreshadowed God’s new creation when the curse would be reversed and mankind and God would once again be at rest. Jesus Christ said that He had now ushered in that time. God’s second creation in a sense had been completed. Redeemed humans are now the first fruits of His new creation. Paul said, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come" (2 Cor. 5:17; c.f. Eph, 2:10). Elsewhere the Apostle said, "For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation" (Gal. 6:15). The Sabbath, just like circumcision, pointed to something greater. It was a sign. But when the reality comes, the signs fade away and should no long receive our attention. Christ should receive our attention! The writer to the Hebrews said the Old Covenant is "becoming obsolete" and "is ready to disappear" (Heb. 8:13). That’s why Paul said in Colossians, "Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day, things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ" (Col. 2:16-17).
Jesus Christ through His words and ministry also gave us evidence that the Sabbath day was to be abolished when He arrived. You will recall that He seemed to go out of His way to heal on the Sabbath. You will recall that Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath" (Mk. 2:27) and "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath" (Lk. 6:5). Meaning, He can abolish the Sabbath if He chooses. If the Sabbath were part of God’s unchanging moral law, Jesus Christ would not have made these exceptions. Rather the Sabbath was not an end to itself. It served a purpose and that purpose has ceased now that God’s Sabbath rest is realized in Christ.
Therefore, I believe the Christian church observes the Sabbath by resting in Christ. For those who have faith in Christ, every day has become a Sabbath rest to worship God and look to Him in faith. And though our Sabbath rest has arrived in the church age, we still look forward to a greater Sabbath rest in heaven (Rev. 14:11, 13) where the curse will no longer be recognized (both in us and in creation) and we will enjoy the ultimate rest in the presence of the Lamb forever (Rev. 22:3)!
At this point you may be wondering, how should we respond to Christians who hold to the Sabbath? Is the Sabbath different than the Lord’s Day? And if so, what is the proper conduct for the Christian on the Lord’s Day? We are out of time, but be sure to come back next week as we, Lord willing, answer these questions and conclude this message.