Sabbath / Jesus

The people of Israel must keep the Sabbath day by observing it from generation to generation. This is a covenant obligation for all time. It is a permanent sign of my covenant with the people of Israel. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and was refreshed.’” [Exodus 31.16-17]

This verse can cause a lot of confusion if not seen from the proper perspective. So, let's establish that proper perspective right here, right now:

“You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! [John 5.39]

These are the words of Jesus.

One of the things that 'got Jesus in trouble' with the religious leaders of His day was His 'disregard' for the Sabbath. Like so many people today, the religious leaders held adamantly to certain scriptures while overlooking others. In this case, they held to what Exodus 31 taught about the Sabbath without acknowledging the plethora of scriptures in the Law and the Prophets that spoke of the Redeemer, the Messiah, the Promised One. Had they not ignored these other scriptures, perhaps they could have seen that Jesus was the Sabbath Incarnate.

It is worth comparing what Paul wrote about considering the body and blood of Jesus when taking Communion and compare it to what God said about considering the Sabbath:

So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died. [1 Corinthians 11.27-30]

You must keep the Sabbath day, for it is a holy day for you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; anyone who works on that day will be cut off from the community. [Exodus 31.14]

It seems that Paul, an astute student of the Law and the Prophets (the Scriptures), had the understanding that Jesus is the Sabbath Rest. The writer of Hebrews, believed by many to be the Apostle Paul, said this:

So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest. [Hebrews 4.19]

And so, what is mankind to do with Jesus?

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. [John 3.16]

This goes perfectly with what Jesus said about the Sabbath:

Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. [Mark 2.27]

To get hung up on a day of the week is tragically shortsighted. We must see Jesus. To fail to see Jesus in all the Scripture is to fail to enter God's rest.

Father, thank You that Jesus is my Sabbath rest! May I be found believing evidenced by my Christlikeness, not what day I go to church! So be it.