God made a big deal out of observing the Sabbath in the Old Covenant. Work was strictly prohibited. It was a day of rest from all labor, even cooking. Violators could be stoned to death. By the time of Jesus, all sorts of extra rules had been put in place to ensure that people would not violate the Sabbath. Paradoxically, these man-made rules sometimes contradicted God’s original intent for the Sabbath.
Jesus was notorious for violating these anti-Sabbath religious regulations, which got him into trouble with the Jewish authorities. On one particular Sabbath, Jesus healed a person, which the Pharisees said was a form of prohibited work. Our Lord embarrassed them by asking if they would rescue an animal out of a pit on the Sabbath. Of course they would, since the emergency need of the animal trumped the regulation. The loving thing to do would be to help a beleaguered animal. Jesus insisted that it was even more appropriate to rescue a human being from Satan’s oppression on the Sabbath. In fact, such a rescue fulfilled God’s original intent for the Sabbath – giving rest to people.
Jesus taught on another occasion:
…“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27-28 (ESV)
These words shocked his hearers on at least two counts.
- Jesus claimed to be the lord of the Sabbath, which made him God and gave him the authority to set the record straight about the purpose and meaning of the Sabbath.
- God intended the Sabbath to have life giving flexibility rather than be a set of joy robbing rules.
The original purpose of the Sabbath was to celebrate God’s finished work and demonstrate our trust in his faithfulness to provide for us.
The practical application of the Old Covenant Sabbath was to cease from labor one day a week. This time of rest was and is refreshing to the body and soul. Even today we violate it at our own peril when it comes to mental, spiritual, and physical health. However, under the New Covenant, there is no moral or ceremonial reason to strictly observe Saturdays in the way the Jews did.
The principle that has passed over into the New Covenant is that we are to “rest” in God’s promises, provision, and protection.
The Old Covenant week began with six days of labor followed by a day of rest. In the New Covenant, the resurrection of Christ took place on Sunday, the first day of the week.
As New Covenant believers, we begin our work week by first resting. That is because we recognize that God already completed the work of our salvation in Christ.
O LORD, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works. Isaiah 26:12 (ESV)
To put it another way, Christ already has completed the work of our salvation. Now we “work out our salvation” (Philippians 2:12) from a position of its already having been accomplished.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV)
In the New Covenant we are no longer under the Law of Moses. We do not earn or maintain our right standing with God by keeping rules and regulations. Jesus already perfectly kept all the rules for us.
For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God. Romans 10:4 (NLT)
Jesus lived in complete obedience to his Father, all the way to the cross. He lived and died as the obedient Son, thus fulfilling the Law perfectly. By dying, he paid the penalty for our violation of that same Law.
In other words, Jesus accomplished two huge things on our behalf. He provided forgiveness for our covenant violations of the Law and he provided us with his perfect right standing with God the Father that resulted from his being absolutely obedient. He took our place in death, and we share his place with the Father in life.
Under the New Covenant, our responsibility is no longer to “keep the law.” Now we are told to “walk in the Spirit.”
He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. Romans 8:4 (NLT)
When a person confesses that Jesus is Lord, he agrees to live the rest of his life in obedience and submission to Jesus. This is worked out by learning to listen to the Holy Spirit on a daily, even moment by moment, basis.
Our challenge is to learn how to live in faithful dependence upon God’s leading and direction, instead of simply doing whatever we want or decide. This is what it means to keep the Sabbath in the New Covenant.
Isaiah the prophet said it wonderfully.
“If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; 14 then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah 58:13-14 (ESV)
The author of the Letter to the Hebrews said it another way.
Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. Hebrews 4:6-11 (ESV)
Keeping the Sabbath in the New Covenant means consciously attempting to live in obedience to the Bible’s teachings and the voice of God’s Spirit.
Solomon said it perhaps better than anyone else.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)
This is no small matter. It is not optional Christianity. It goes to the very heart of what it means to be a follower of Christ. If we are not led by the Spirit, according to Paul, we cannot even claim to belong to Christ.
So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Romans 8:12-14 (ESV) Let us make it our purpose today and every day to live in communion with and obedience to the indwelling Holy Spirit. Let us learn to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Let’s keep the Sabbath New Covenant style.
