Category: Jewish Feasts & Jesus Revealed

Good morning! I’m excited to embark on this new series! I’ve always wanted to learn about the Jewish traditions since our Lord and Saviour was Jewish. As well, I’ve heard so many discuss how Christ reveals Himself throughout the different Feasts. This first post is going to be a tad long but bear with me. It’s important to know the Sabbath of the Old Testament and then we will talk about how Jesus fulfills that Sabbath.

God created all things in six days and rested on the seventh. He commands the Hebrews to keep it as an holy convocation in the Law (the fourth of the Ten Commandments) which was given to them. Jews have honored the Sabbath ever since. Resting on the seventh day would give the body a chance to rest from six days of work. It also gave their beasts of burden a chance to rest as well. The Word says that God made the Sabbath for man. Jesus said:

Although the Sabbath was given to the Hebrews for rest in their bodies, we Christians find our rest in Jesus Christ. I’m not saying we do not need physical rest – our day of rest is on the first day of the week, which is Sunday. So what does rest have to do with Jesus? I view it in the sense that we don’t have to work for our salvation as the Jews did and are still doing. They are not serving God by faith but by following the Law. In fact, many religions have a form of “works” in order to reach their god. But the Scriptures still say in Ephesians 2:8-9 that salvation is a gift from God, NOT OF WORKS – it is by FAITH. Notice that it says NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast. Works takes away from Christ’s work on the cross and makes it His death inadequate. It puts man’s eternal life in man’s own hands. Believe me, you will spend eternity in one of two places: Heaven or Hell.

So the Sabbath represents the rest we get when we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are going to Heaven. John 3:3 tells us we must be born again in order to go there. We cannot go back and be born of our mothers again. That’s silly. So what exactly does Jesus mean? He is saying that we must be born of the Holy Spirit and sealed for eternity (John 6:27, 2 Corinthians 1:22, Ephesians 4:30). Once we are born again, we have that rest that we never have to worry about where we will spend eternity! Jesus has guaranteed this through His shed blood for our sins!

Jesus promises us rest over and above our secure salvation. He gives us rest in our Christian walk as well! He is always with us and will guide us through all of our daily lives. He has left us His Holy Spirit to direct us. The Apostle John is the only one to refer to Jesus’ words describing His Holy Spirit as the Comforter. Four times, John shares this with us: John 14:16, John 14:26, John 15:26, and John 16:7. To me, rest indicates comfort and vice versa, amen?

God rested from His work on the seventh day. Jesus’ work on the cross for the forgiveness of the sins of mankind was complete and only by accepting Him as Saviour can our “Sabbath” rest be found. Our rest is in Jesus and HIS work on the cross, not our own works. HE is the Provider of all rest! When we cease to work our way to Heaven and by faith believe on Him, we cease from our own works and rely on HIS work only. My dear Catholic friends, please don’t take offense. God’s Word doesn’t mention working for our salvation. You can do as many penances as you want, do the stations of the cross every day, attend mass every day; none of these will gain you entrance to Heaven nor will these give you rest. You may think you’ve done your religious deeds, but all those deeds are nothing compared to Christ’s blood shed for your sins. Find rest as Jesus told us in Matthew 11:28.

As a result, Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath and HE is our Sabbath – we rest in Him! If you are not born again, there is no rest. You can keep all the Sabbaths you want but that results in your own works. True rest can only be found in Christ and Him alone! Does this excite you, reader? It surely does me! I want to be sure that anyone who reads the posts on this blog can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are going to Heaven. Have you received Christ as your Saviour? If no, your sins are not covered by His sacrificial offering of Himself. You have not been redeemed by His blood. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!