Remember the Sabbath

Lesson #5

An April, 1992 news item: Tenants let three apartments in an Orthodox neighborhood in Israel burn to the ground while they asked a rabbi whether a telephone call to the fire department on the Sabbath would violate Jewish law. Observant Jews are forbidden to use the phone on the Sabbath, because doing so would break an electrical current, which is considered a form of work. In the half-hour it took the rabbi to decide "yes," the fire spread to two neighboring apartments.

If you ask people what they think about the word Sabbath they usually will say something about a day of rest or something related to the Jewish people. However, for many Christians the Sabbath is more than just a day of rest. In order to fully understand the Sabbath a short Bible lesson on the fourth commandment along with its life application is important.

The fourth commandment reads like this:

8 “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.” (Exodus 20:8-11).

What does the word Sabbath mean? The common definition of Sabbath is:

• A day of religious observance and abstinence from work, kept by Jews from Friday evening to Saturday evening, and by most Christians on Sunday.
• A supposed annual midnight meeting of witches with the Devil. Origin: Old English, from Latin sabbatum, via Greek from Hebrew šabbāṯ, from šāḇaṯ ‘to rest.’ From this common definition, we see that the word Sabbath has differing definitions, some holy, some not so holy, but the origin brings the focus on the word rest.

What is the Sabbath?

• The Sabbath was instituted by God in Genesis 2:1-3 when God “rested” from his work. Some people erroneously believe that God rested on the seventh day because He was tired. This was not the case at all. God rested, or ceased working, from His work of creating everything. It was not to recuperate. It was simply an ending of the work.
• God also blessed the Sabbath Day and sanctified it, which means He made it holy.

The reason God made the Sabbath holy goes to the heart of the Sabbath. We find two immediate reasons.

• The first is in Exodus 20:11, which tells us that Sabbath was a reminder that the LORD created everything. This reminds us that the LORD was our creator,
• The second is from Deuteronomy 5:15 as follows: “Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt, but the Lord your God brought you out with his strong hand and powerful arm. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to rest on the Sabbath day. “(Deuteronomy 5:15).
• This verse tells us that the second reason was that God delivered the Jews from their bondage in Egypt. This reminds us that the LORD also delivered us from the bondage of sin. The important factor is that the LORD was the one who did it and He had a purpose.

• In the Old Testament we saw that the Sabbath was a day of rest and worship (Leviticus 23:3). However, Jesus brought the purpose of the Sabbath to light by what He did on the Sabbath as follows:

• Jesus allowed the hungry to harvest food (Matthew 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-5) … 1 One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grain fields, his disciples broke off heads of grain, rubbed off the husks in their hands, and ate the grain. 2 But some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?” 3 Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.” 5 And Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath.” (Luke 6:1-5)

• Jesus allowed a man with a withered handed to be healed (Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11) … 6 On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. 7 The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath. 8 But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward. 9 Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” 10 He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! 11 At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him. (Luke 6:6-11)

• Jesus allowed a man to be delivered from demonic possession (Luke 4:31-37) … 31 Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. 32 There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority. 33 Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon—an evil[a] spirit—cried out, shouting, 34 “Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” 35 But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further. 36 Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!” 37 The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region.

• Jesus allowed a woman disabled for 18 years to be healed (Luke 13:10-17) … 10 One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, 11 he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” 13 Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God! 14 But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. “There are six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd. “Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.” 15 But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water? 16 This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?” 17 This shamed his enemies, but all the people rejoiced at the wonderful things he did.

• Jesus allowed for the caring for animals (Luke 13:15-16)

• Jesus allowed a bedridden man to be healed (John 5:1-18)

• Jesus allowed a blind man to see (John 9:13-34)

• We see a definite pattern here. Hungry people were fed. Disabled people were restored. Disbelieving people were witnessed to. Demonic afflicted people were delivered. Animals needing care were cared for. Blind people were given sight. Jesus did not use that Sabbath to restrict people. He used the Sabbath to free people because of His love.

• What the Sabbath represents is explained in Hebrews 3:1-4:16. Here we learn that the Israelites who did not enter the Promised Land and died in the desert did not do so because they broke a commandment. They died in the desert because they did not enter into the rest provided by God through faith. Our Sabbath rest is not in the day of the week (Romans 14:4-23); Our Sabbath rest in Christ

• Christ demonstrated that the Sabbath was for the good of man.

• Notice in each account we find that there were religious people that were offended. They had twisted the Sabbath into a mindless religious observance. Jesus upset their thinking because he was not focused on the day he was focused on people.

• The religious people cared more about the day than they did about the people in need. Jesus’ actions made them mad enough to want to kill Him. He had the authority to do these things because He was the Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5).

• When we trust Christ as our Savior, He provides our Sabbath rest.

• He makes us a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15; Ephesians 2:10) 

• He delivers us from the bondage of sin (Galatians 4-5:1).

• By resting in Him, He feeds us, He restores us, He delivers us, He cares for us, He gives us sight, and He frees us from the bondage of the law and sin.

• Romans 14:4-23 tells us it is not the day of the week we worship or foods we eat that makes us right before God. It was by faith in what God said that makes us right. Anything, even the day we set aside to worship, is sin if we make the focus the day and not God or others (Romans 14:6).

• If we keep the Sabbath as it was defined in the Old Testament, then we are obligated to keep all 734 Old Testament commandments (Galatians 5:1-6) … 1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole law of Moses. 4 For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. 5 But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. 6 For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.

• If we break one commandment we have broken them all (James 2:8-13) … 8 Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[d] 9 But if you favor some people over others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law. 10 For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws. 11 For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.”[e] So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law. 12 So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. 13 There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.
• Without getting into the argument of keeping a certain day, we should take at least one day to worship, fellowship with believers, serve others, and whatever God inspires us to do to demonstrate our love by faith. In doing so, we will demonstrate that we have faith that He provided a Savior to inspire us to demonstrate our love for Him and others with sincerity and truth (1 Corinthians 5:7-8).

Conclusion

The Sabbath was instituted by God as a day when He ceased from His works of creation. He made the day holy to remind us that God is our creator and deliverer. Jesus demonstrated the purpose of the Sabbath was to serve as a time to focus on demonstrating our love for God by loving and serving others. The Sabbath rest represents the rest we have in Christ, who is the Lord of the Sabbath and serves as our inspiration to love God and our neighbor. We should set aside some of our time each week from our work to focus on demonstrating our love for God, not out of obligation, but because of our love for others.