LENTEN SEASON DIGEST Day 6 TOPIC: THE SABBATH TO BE KEPT HOLY TEXT: EXODUS 20: 8-11. INTRODUCTION The word “Sabbath” comes from the Hebrew word “shabbath” that means “cease”, “stop”, or “rest”. The Sabbath was a day (from Friday evening until Saturday evening in Jesus’ time) when all ordinary work stopped. The Bible tells us that God gave His people the Sabbath as an opportunity to serve Him and as a reminder of two great truths in the Bible: Creation and redemption. The Sabbath was to be a day of rest and worship — a day set aside for spiritual, mental, and physical refreshment. According to church history, the seventh-day Sabbath was observed by the early church, and no other day was observed as a Sabbath during the first two or three centuries. But in 321 AD a decree was passed by Emperor Constantine that all worships should be conducted on Sunday because of the pagan festival of worshiping the sun on Sundays (SUN DAY). This decision was to superimpose Christianity over every other pagan rite.1 Thes 5:21 Sabbath-Breaking: A profanation of the Sabbath by violating the injunction of the fourth commandment, or the municipal laws of a state which require the observance of that day as holy time. All unnecessary secular labour, visiting, traveling, sports, amusements and the like are considered as Sabbath-breaking. Punishment of those who profane the Sabbath: Ex 31:14; Ex 31:15; Num 15:32-36; Neh 13:18; Jer 17:27; Blessedness of keeping the Sabbath: Isa 56:2; Isa 56:6 Facts about Sabbath: Instituted by God Gen 2:3; Made for man Mk 2:27; Blessed by GOD Gen 2:3; Ex 20:11; Commanded, to be kept Lev 19:3; Commanded to be sanctified Ex 20:8; A sign of the covenant Ex 31:13; Ex 31:17; A type of the heavenly rest Heb 4:4; Heb4:9; Christ is Lord of Sabbath Mk 2:28; Christ was accustomed to observing Sabbath Luk 4:16; Christ taught on the Sabbath Luk4:31; Luk6:6; Servants and cattle should be allowed to rest on Sabbath Ex 20:10; Deu 5:14; No purchases to be made on Sabbath Neh10:31; Neh13:15-17; Divine worship to be celebrated on Sabbath Eze 46:3; Act 16:13; The Scriptures to be read on Sabbath Act 13:27; Act 15:21; The word of God to be preached on Sabbath Act 13:14; Act 13:15; Act 13:44; Act 17:2; Act 18:4; Works connected with religious service are lawful on Sabbath Num28:9; Mat 12:5; John 7:23; Works of mercy are lawful on Sabbath Mat 12:12; Mat 13:16; John 9:14; Necessary wants may be supplied on Sabbath Mat 12:1; Luk 13:15; Luk 14:1. HONOURING OF SABBATH EXEMPLIFIED Moses: Num 15:32-34; Nehemiah: Neh 13:15; Neh 13:21; The women: Luk 23:56; Paul: Act 13:14; Disciples: Act 16:13; John: Rev1:10. DISHONOURING OF SABBATH EXEMPLIFIED Gatherers of manna: Ex 16:27; Gatherers of sticks: Num 15:32; Men of Tyre: Neh 13:16; Inhabitants of Jerusalem: Jer 17:21-23; JESUS AND THE SABBATHJesus had many confrontations with the Jewish religious leaders over Sabbath observances. From their perspective, Jesus was a Sabbath breaker and was guilty of breaking the law. Jesus, however, never saw Himself as a Sabbath breaker. He went to the synagogue regularly on the Sabbath day (Luke 4:16). He read the lessons from Scripture, preached, and taught on the Sabbath according to the Jewish custom. (Mark 1:21 and Luke 13:10). He clearly accepted the principle that the Sabbath was an appropriate day for worshipping God. However, Jesus did not agree with all of the laws the Pharisees had created for the Sabbath that were not based on the Old Testament. He made this clear when He defended his disciples by appealing to Scripture, after they had been accused of breaking Sabbath tradition by walking through grain fields and breaking off heads of wheat. For the Pharisees, this was against the law because it was classified as harvesting (Mark 2:23-26). He followed this up with a remark that took His listeners straight back to God’s Creation purpose for the Sabbath: “The Sabbath was made to benefit people, and not people to benefit the Sabbath” (Mk 2:27).The Pharisees had exalted the tradition of the Sabbath above the people it was meant to serve, and they had robbed the Sabbath of one of its main purposes. Jesus’ words must have sounded uncomfortably familiar in his opponents’ ears. A famous rabbi had once said, “The Sabbath is given over to you, but you are not given over to the Sabbath.” More than anything else, the miraculous healings Jesus performed on the Sabbath contradicted the laws of the Pharisees. The Old Testament does not forbid cures on the Sabbath day, but the Pharisees thought all healing was work, which must always be avoided on the Sabbath unless someone’s life was at risk. Jesus fearlessly exposed the absurd results of this law. He asked, how could it be right to circumcise a baby or lead an animal to water on the Sabbath day, which was allowed by tradition, but wrong to heal a chronically handicapped woman and a crippled man, even if their lives were not in immediate danger (Luke 13:10-17 and John 7:21-24)? Jesus taught that the Sabbath Day was a particularly appropriate day for acts of mercy and healing (Mark 3:4-5). Jesus, the Son of GOD from heaven, said that He was Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28 and Matthew 12:5-8). Just as God kept working, despite His Creation rest, to sustain the world in His mercy, so Jesus would continue to teach and to heal on the Sabbath day (John 5:2-17). However, Jesus also said that one day His redemptive work would be complete, and then the Sabbath’s purpose as a sign of redemption would be accomplished. PAUL AND THE SABBATHBecause he was alive after Jesus’ death and resurrection, the apostle Paul was quick to understand the significance of the Sabbath. He did not go so far as to ban all observance of the Jewish Sabbath. Indeed, he attended many Sabbath synagogue services himself while he was travelling (Acts 13:14-16). Jewish Christians who insisted on keeping up their Sabbath practices were free to do so, provided they respected the opinions of those who differed (Romans 14:5-6, 13). However, Paul emphasized that any suggestion that observing the Jewish Sabbath rules was necessary for salvation must be resisted (Galatians 4:8-11). Paul considered the Sabbath to be a shadow, while Christ Himself is the reality of that shadow (Colossians 2:17). It is this writer of the Letter to the Hebrews who explained how Jesus Christ fulfilled the twin biblical “Sabbath themes” of creation and redemption. He did so by linking together the ideas of God’s rest after Creation and His redeeming work in bringing Israel to “rest” in the promised land of Canaan. He then described how both of these events relate to the present and future rest that Christians can enjoy with a relationship with Jesus (Hebrews 4:1-11) .CONCLUSION/ADMONITION The idea of God resting from His work is a startling one. It comes across even more vividly in Exodus 31:17, where God tells Moses how He was refreshed by His day of rest. This picture of the Creator as a manual laborer is one the Bible often describes. There is no doubt that God talks about the Sabbath in this way to show people that they must follow the pattern the Creator has set for them. A day of rest is necessary for individuals, families, households, and even animals (20:10). Whether or not Sunday is recognized as the Christian Sabbath, Christians should accept the importance of the Sabbath described in the Bible. God’s instructions require all people to observe a regular weekly break from work. God intends all His people to share His rest and His promises (Hebrews 4:1). He showed this intention clearly when He brought Israel to the Promised Land, but that did not mark the complete fulfillment of His promise. The full and complete rest that is still waiting for the people of God is in heaven. Christ has already entered there. He is resting from His work, just as God did after the Creation. And because of Jesus’ redeeming work, He invites all people who believe in Him to share that same “Sabbath rest” now (Heb 4:9).
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 06:01:47 +0000
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