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What Is The Sabbath? - Jacob Stanley

Debbie Scott

Sabbath is an ancient tradition of resting on the last day of the week to honour what God did in the book of genesis, God rested on the last day.


to this day Jewish communities around the world celebrate sabbath traditions, and they say to one another, “good shabbos” as a greeting


Play video - Good Shabbos


LUKE 6:1-12

6 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. 2 Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

3 Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.” 5 Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

6 On another Sabbath he went into the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was shriveled. 7 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. 8 But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said to the man with the shriveled hand, “Get up and stand in front of everyone.” So he got up and stood there.

9 Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

10 He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored. 11 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were furious and began to discuss with one another what they might do to Jesus.


What is Shabbat?


Shabbat is a time set aside to rest. How is Jesus Lord of Shabbat? Because Jesus is the gateway to true rest.


Those that are angry at Jesus in this passage are so tied up in their own religious rule keeping that they are missing the whole point. - just see this, in the very next verse, verse 12 it says:



12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God


Jesus LIVED in a state of spiritual rest, while those religious people persecuiting him LIVED in a spiritual stating of hard work and striving.

Jesus says “come to ME all who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you REST”


JESUS is LORD of the Sabbath


Jesus is the GATE INTO REST


Jewish religious leaders were fixed on a Flesh messiah king - but they were missing the point - Jesus came a heavenly spiritual king


Religious leaders were fixed Fleshly kingdom of Israel and future of Israel - Jesus was here for the spiritual kingdom of God and the future expansion of that kingdom


Religious leaders were fixed on a physical fleshly sabbath rest, Jesus is here to invite them into a deeper, spiritual sabbath rest.


The sabbath rest that Jesus is the lord over, and is inviting us into is a deeper state of spiritual rest from works and striving.


Let’s have a look at

Hebrews 3:4-5:10 )

.


5 “Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house,”[a] bearing witness to what would be spoken by God in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as the Son over God’s house. And we are his house, if indeed we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope in which we glory.


7 So, as the Holy Spirit says:

“Today, if you hear his voice,

8

do not harden your hearts

as you did in the rebellion,

during the time of testing in the wilderness,

9

where your ancestors tested and tried me,

though for forty years they saw what I did.

10

That is why I was angry with that generation;

I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,

and they have not known my ways.’

11

So I declared on oath in my anger,

‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”[b]


God had called his people to leave a place of slavery, which is working hard for no returns, to leave that please and enter into a place of rest and fruitfulness that he had prepared for them. But for them to make the journey from slacery into rest, it demanded faith, they needed to believe and trust in God.

They chose not to, they turned their back on God and Moses over and over again, so God rejected that generation and said they would never enter the rest they were called to inherit.


The writer is giving us the same warning. You need to trust God to enter into spiritual rest and spiritual fruitfulness! Without faith you will never inherit that promise of rest.


12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.


Why. Because Jesus is the Lord of the sabbath! The gate into rest!


15 As has just been said:

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts

as you did in the rebellion.”[c]

16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.


4 Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.


Believers in the early church were constantly tempted by religious people to slip back into works based religion, they had people who were saying to them that even though Christ has set them free they still need to practice certain customs and abide by a list of rules.


The writer is saying, no!, you are free from rules now! Don’t let others expectations and rules steal your peace!




4:2 For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.[d] 3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,

“So I declared on oath in my anger,

‘They shall never enter my rest.’”[e]

And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “On the seventh day God rested from all his works.”[f] 5 And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”

6 Therefore since it still remains for some to enter that rest, and since those who formerly had the good news proclaimed to them did not go in because of their disobedience, 7 God again set a certain day, calling it “Today.” This he did when a long time later he spoke through David, as in the passage already quoted:

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts.”[g]

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.


9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works,[h] just as God did from his


God rested from his work and said it is good.


Jesus has finished a work in you.


He has transformed you, and completed on the cross his victory over sin.


He looks at you and says you are good.


There is a sabbath rest for you to enter into when you believe that work God has achieved in you is complete and good!


BAND UP PLEASE


But what does it look like to live in this place of rest?


Jesus talks about abiding in him and staying connected to him, like a branch of a large vine.


John 15:7-9 (NIV)


7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.


God is calling us to abide in him and to rest in his ability to transform us.


IF we ABIDE we will bear fruit


IF we ABIDE we will bear fruit


Everyone say:


“IF I ABIDE, I will bear fruit”



How do we abide? In Romans chapter 8 apostle paul tells us that those who live by the spirit have their minds set on the Holy Spirit


Let me finish with this, a letter from the 1600s from a monk called brother Lawrence, a man who had a deep devotion to a life of prayer


Page 33 letters 9&10

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