Exodus 20:8-11 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. (9) Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: (10) But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: (11) For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Leviticus 23:3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
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:
Mark 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
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?
Matthew 11:28-29 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Hebrews 4:3-5 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. 5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
Hebrews 4:9-11 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
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!
