“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.” – Exodus 20:8-11
I remember a time back when I was in college when I had a major project due for one of my classes (music composition). It was the night before the project was due and I still had a lot of work to do. After I had been working on the project for several hours that night, I said to myself, “I need to rest.” So, I took a break and tried to get some sleep.
Unfortunately, the sleep wasn’t very restful. My mind knew I still had work to do. After a few hours of tossing and turning, I got up and finished the project. That afternoon, I came home and took a nap. Those were some of the best hours of sleep I ever had.
What was the difference?
The first time I tried to rest, it wasn’t very restful because there was unfinished business. The second time, everything was done.
On the first Sabbath, God rested. He had been creating for 6 days, had completed His work, and everything was “good.” This rest was more than just a break from the work. Everything was done. Everything was holy. There was a perfect relationship between God and His creation.
Then mankind sinned.
One way to look at the Bible is as a narrative of mankind getting back to that Sabbath rest. The Sabbath is not just about a break from work. It’s about having peace with God. That is true rest. Until we have peace with God it’s like trying to sleep when you still know there’s work to be done on a project. It’s not truly restful.
In Matthew 11 Jesus said,
“‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, 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.'” – Matthew 11:28-30
It is in Jesus that we find our true rest. He is our Sabbath. This is not just a rest from the work of our daily labors, but a rest from our supposed “works of righteousness” with which we may try to seek God’s favor.
Our works can never make us right with God. So, there is no rest if we trust in our works. However, Jesus work on the cross can. As we trust in His work, we can rest in true peace knowing the work has been completed and we are made right with God.
Hear the words of Hebrews 4.
“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.” – Hebrews 4:9-10
This is why Christians celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday. We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, when He defeated death and hell, and His work of redemption was completed. We gather together in worship to hear the Word of God which creates and strengthens our faith and gives us rest.
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for sending Your Son to die for us. We could never earn forgiveness. We could never have true peace and rest on our own. Thank you for giving us that true rest through Your Son, Jesus.
Amen.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Kurt
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