Real Sabbath Rest

Previously on Livlearns, I wrote about setting out time for Sabbath. It might be helpful to read the previous post here, if you haven’t already. This post continues on to reflect on ‘a more excellent way’. While it does not negate the benefits of intentionally setting aside sometime for a Sabbath rest, it is important to explore this truly more excellent way. In doing so, we will hopefully avoid the trap of leaning on our works or legalism. Some scriptures which provide a foundation for this blogpost are as follows:

“With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who are in Christ Jesus* no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.
God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn’t deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all.
The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that. The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. And now what the law code asked for but we couldn’t deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us.” – Romans 8:1-4 (MSG).

“So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.” – Colossians 2:16-17 (NLT).

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.” – Matthew 5:17 (NLT).

With all that said, I really could just end the post here, couldn’t I? But it might be helpful to explore a couple of points further. In simple terms though, the key point of this post is that true rest can only be found in the Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus. Jesus is the very fulfilment of the Sabbath, the bona fide accomplishment of the purpose of the Sabbath.

In reflecting on Jesus as the fulfilment of the Sabbath, we can discern some parallels. The Sabbath was instituted as a day of rest, of ceasing from labour. Hebrews 4:3 reminds us that when we believe in Jesus, we enter His rest, and this rest, Jesus, has been ready since God made the World (John 1:1). This means we don’t need to keep labouring under the law, struggling in futility to be made right with God, since Christ has offered Himself as a single sacrifice for all time (Hebrews 10:12).

The Sabbath was a day set apart and holy to God (Exodus 20:20). We know from the Bible that Jesus is set apart by the Father as His Own, consecrated, sanctified, made holy. Jesus is God’s Holy One. Hebrews 7:26 (NLT) says “He is the kind of high priest we need because He is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honour in Heaven.” Other verses that emphasise this include John 10:36, Hebrews 4:15; 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 1:19, Psalm 16:10 quoted in Acts 2:27).

The Sabbath was to be held in honour. Isaiah 58:13 (NLT) says, “Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the LORD’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly.” Jesus is held in even higher honour. Philippians 2:9-10 (NLT) says, “Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honour and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”

As such, only those who truly believe in Jesus can enter into this real rest (Hebrews 4:3). He says “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”(Matthew 11:28-30, BSB).

Romans 8:1-4 (GNT) says “There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit, which brings us life in union with Christ Jesus, has set me free from the law of sin and death. What the Law could not do, because human nature was weak, God did. He condemned sin in human nature by sending his own Son, who came with a nature like our sinful nature, to do away with sin. God did this so that the righteous demands of the Law might be fully satisfied in us who live according to the Spirit, and not according to human nature.”

One of the many beautiful things about Jesus is that whatever He gives lasts and fully satisfies. In John 6:35 (NLT), “Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Likewise, whoever truly rests in Him will be in a continuous state of rest. There is indeed a completeness that comes when we are in Jesus (Colossians 2:10), and it is one we cannot obtain anywhere else.

So knowing all this, why do we still feel unrest even as Christians? The challenge is twofold:

Firmly Yoked?

There is a double-minded, unstable man which James talks about in James 1:6-8. If we are honest with ourselves, we will acknowledge that we sometimes act like that man. We come to Jesus one day and go away the next, we believe one minute and doubt the next, we hand over our problems to Him with the hand of faith but then try to take them back with the hand of worry, we present ourselves as living sacrifices and then turn around and crawl off the altar shortly after. Thank God for His rich mercy, because despite how many times we do that, He still receives us into His fold.

What then should we do? Take Jesus’ yoke upon us once and for all, or keep yoking and unyoking ourselves? It sounds stressful just thinking about a cycle of yoking and unyoking, hopping on and hopping off, entering and leaving. Jesus should not be some kind of revolving door for us. In a sense, that was what happened in the Old Testament, which was why Christ came into the World (Hebrews 10:1-14). Verse 12 (ESV) says “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.” And by that “single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (v. 14).

As such, we don’t need to keep entering and leaving the Temple. We don’t need works to save us either. There is a better way. In Luke 10:38-42 (CEV), we read of Jesus’ encounter with Mary and Martha. “The Lord and his disciples were traveling along and came to a village. When they got there, a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat down in front of the Lord and was listening to what he said. Martha was worried about all that had to be done. Finally, she went to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it bother you that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to come and help me!” The Lord answered, “Martha, Martha! You are worried and upset about so many things, but only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen what is best, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Indeed, only one thing is necessary. The others are important, but this is necessary: Remaining committed to believing, abiding, dwelling, staying firmly yoked to Jesus. It is when we do so, when we walk in step, in sync, in sequence with Him that we find true rest for our souls. It is only then that we can be at rest even while working. Otherwise, we may find ourselves in repeated cycles of rest and stress, rest and anxiety, rest and fear. For when we are out of sync with Him, we burn out easily because we end up exerting more effort than we should. It is like two bulls not firmly yoked together attempting to plough a field. I’m not sure how much decent ploughing will actually take place when each one wants to go in a different direction.

As such, how do we stay yoked to Jesus? Jesus spells it out in the verse above. We do it by learning from Him, by following Mary’s example to sit in front of Him. By focusing on Him above ALL else. Or to put it in the words of the hymn by Helen Lemmel, ‘by turning our eyes upon Jesus and looking full in His wonderful face, so that the things of Earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace’. We show willingness to learn from Him when we remain humble and teachable. We learn from Him by studying His Word (John 1:1), by conversing with Him, and listening to (i.e. hearing and obeying) what He says. We can take small steps each day to implement this practice in our lives. For instance we could read a Bible passage, meditate on how Jesus acted, spoke, responded, handled a certain situation, and then make a conscious effort, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to emulate Him to do likewise.

We stay yoked to Him by following His will, trusting Him, and doing everything we do as unto Him. As Colossians 3:23-24 (KJV) says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people. Remember that the Lord will give you as a reward what he has kept for his people. For Christ is the real Master you serve.” Imagine Jesus approaching you and personally asking you to do something… even if others may see it as work, because you love Him and delight in pleasing Him, then it would be a joy rather than a chore to do it. That is how we can approach our daily tasks. As Maxim Gorky said “When work is a pleasure, life is a joy! When work is a duty, life is slavery.”

Even if it is one of those tasks we feel is just too hard to be seen as a delight, we can trust that God will give us sufficient grace to accomplish it (2 Corinthians 12:9). This may not always seem easy to do, but if we keep this perspective at the fore of our minds, humbly trusting in His strength, grace, ability rather than our strength and ability, and recognising that He is our source, then we can be at rest. We find this beautiful perspective exhibited by the Apostles in Acts 5:40-41 (KJV), “And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” This was the perspective of people who had been jailed, beaten, flogged, publicly humiliated. Despite all that, they were REJOICING! Isn’t that amazing? This is the wonderful perspective a consciousness of God’s amazing grace and love can give.

The Ultimate Sabbath Rest

Pauler Gooder notes that “We are living in the in-between. This explains why we can have a vision of the world as God yearns for it to be, but not the ability to bring it about in full. In other words, we see glimmers of God’s glory in the world, but we still have to wait for the time when that glory will suffuse the whole of creation.” As such, we may still feel unrest because we are wrestling with the pull between the now and the not yet.

Ultimately, one day we will enter into a complete Sabbath rest, a rest that means going and coming won’t even be a thing, because we will be in His presence continuously. “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:9-11). Isaiah 11:10(NIV) says, “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to Him, and His resting place will be glorious.” Can you imagine dwelling in a place where there is no more sadness, mourning, crying or pain? A place that is illuminated by the glory of God, a place that doesn’t even need a sun or moon because of how bright it is, a place so pure, nothing unclean can enter into it, talk more of surviving in it? (Revelations 21, Isaiah 11). Wow. I’m already excited just thinking about it! What a truly glorious hope we have as believers.

Before that glorious day though, in keeping with the theme from my previous post, I pray that we come to the position that David wrote about Psalm 11:1 (KJV), “In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?”? Or as the CEV simply puts it, “The LORD is my fortress! Don’t say to me, “Escape like a bird to the mountains!”

Prayer and Reflection

As we reflect on this, may we be spurred on by the future hope we have in Christ, the hope of permanently entering into His rest. But until that glorious day, while we still live in the in-between, I pray that we will receive the grace to remain firmly yoked to Christ, believing in Him without wavering, trusting Him without doubting, and resting solid and unshaken in The Lord, Our great fortress. May we be continually willing to learn at the feet of our true Master, humbly recognising and trusting God as the source of our strength and all we need. For He is Jehovah Jireh, and He has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us, Hallelujah!

* Slightly amended from “Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us” to “Those who are in Christ Jesus”.

Image source here.