Sabbath – God’s holy day
Series: Holy – Holy – Holy | Bible text: Genesis 2:3
God created the earth in six days and on the seventh he rested. Therefore, he blessed it and gave it a special meaning and endowed this seventh day with healing power. But he not only blessed this day, he sanctified it. He set this day apart from all others because it was the day when God himself rested from his creation. But God did not rest because he was exhausted, but because everything was fully yielded. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ repeatedly collides with the common ideas of what is or is not allowed on the seventh day, the Sabbath. Jesus Christ shows the holiness of this special day anew.
God blesses the seventh day
Holy, holy, holy. This is our theme for the year. We are looking in depth at the holiness of God. This holiness is often very abstract and also inaccessible to us. Therefore, it can be helpful if we look at how the nature of God radiates to certain things. For God’s very own quality is holiness. Holy, then, is the only attribute of God that is spoken of him three times. Thus the angels call out to one another: «Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty! The earth is filled with his glory!» (Isaiah 6:3 NLB). The Almighty created the earth and it is filled with his glory. Creation is God’s very own miracle, which we dealt with the whole of last year. But it is also in this context of the creation story that the word holy is found for the first time. Let us now dive into this verse. In the first chapter of the Bible we find the creation of the earth. God created the earth, and just as a painter embellishes his picture more and more and goes into detail, so God does with his creation. In the beginning, God creates in broad strokes until he finally arrives at human beings. God created the earth in six days and then? «Thus the creation of the heavens and the earth was completed with all that pertained to it. On the seventh day God finished his work and rested from his work. And God blessed the seventh day […]» (Genesis 2:1–3 NLB).
It is hard to believe. The almighty God, who created the earth in six days, rests on the seventh day. We will go into more detail about what this means later. But the beginning of the third verse is decisive. God blessed the seventh day. Blessing goes back to the Hebrew word «barak». This means that a person or an object is endowed with healing power. It is not just a well-intentioned wish or a good thought that is expressed here. Rather, it is the power of God, which is laid down full of salvation on something. God blesses the seventh day – the Sabbath. The special nature of this day is underlined again by giving it a special name. Thus this day has been given a share in divine grace and power. This first Sabbath day stands out from all others. Yes, it is the only day on which God ever rested.
It is also exciting how the Israelites divide their days. For us, the days begin in the middle of the night. Then, when most are happy to rest, because they have to get up early the next day. The conscious start of the day is work. The first thing to do on the new day is to get up, get ready and go to school or work. But the Jewish understanding is quite different. There, the new day begins in the evening. So does the Sabbath, which starts on Friday evening. But how is evening defined? It begins when you can no longer distinguish a grey thread of wool from a blue one. Evening usually has three main functions for us – eating, leisure and sleeping. The day begins with refuelling, rest and only then in the last half of the day does work follow. Since God himself rested, there is blessing in rest and especially on the seventh day of the week.
God declares the seventh day holy
Up to now, the whole thing has not had so much to do with holiness. But this follows now. «And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy […]». (Genesis 2:3 NLB). What then is the difference between blessing and sanctifying? As already mentioned, when something is blessed, it receives a share of God’s grace and power. When something is declared holy, it is set apart for something special. You will hear this overriding meaning of holy over and over again, at least when I preach. But this meaning is crucial. Because the seventh day is set apart from all others. It belongs to God alone. This seventh day is different from all others. The reference point is the creation story, because on this day God also rested. So the reason why this day is blessed and holy follows exactly this pattern. This day is so special «[…] because it was the day he rested from his work of creation». (Genesis 2:3 NLB). Now here the question arises why God had to rest. Was he so exhausted? Did he go to the limit of his strength with the creation of the earth to such an extent that he had only created it with effort and hardship? Do we see God at his limit here? No, by no means. For God did not rest because he was exhausted. He did not rest because he needed to. He rested because everything was perfectly created. It is also the only day in the creation account that is not said to pass. This means that the service continues.
In this first description of the Sabbath, there is no commandment for the people. It only describes that God rested. But it also becomes clear that the seventh day is different from the others. When God chooses his holy people, the Israelites, he gives them a multitude of commandments. In the probably most famous collection of laws, the Ten Commandments, there is also an instruction on the seventh day of the week. «Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. Six days a week you shall work and do your daily duties, but the seventh day is a day of rest for the LORD your God. On that day no member of your household may do any work. This applies to you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, your livestock and all the foreigners who live with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all that is in them and on them; but on the seventh day he rested. Therefore the LORD has blessed the Sabbath and declared it holy». (Exodus 20:8–11 NLB). The people of God are to rest on the seventh day. This seventh day is a day of rest for the Lord. This was not only unique at that time, but revolutionary. For included in this Sabbath commandment are the slaves, foreigners and even the cattle. On this day everything is to rest, but not for its own sake, but for the glory of God. That no work is done on this day is a service to God. It is a stepping back and saying that everything has its time and that ultimately God has everything in his hands.
The observance of the Sabbath is a sign for God’s holy people. Be it for the people of Israel, as well as for all followers of Jesus Christ. «And I gave them my Sabbath as a covenant sign between them and me. By this it should be known that it is I, the LORD, who sanctify them.» (Ezekiel 20:12 NLB). Here, too, the sanctification of the people is shown in their separation from other peoples. But why is this Sabbath day so important, this divine day of rest? «God is never selfish; he is holy and sanctifies, that is, he draws people into his community. As an image and constant reminder of these facts, the day of rest was created by God, and we are also to keep it. It is at the same time a reminder of the completed rest to which we may look forward». (Hans Brun). If followers of Jesus Christ now share in God’s rest, then this becomes a blessing for them.
Jesus» relationship to the Sabbath
But what does Jesus Christ himself think about God’s promised day of rest? At the time of Jesus Christ, the religious leadership was anxious to keep all the laws and orders that God had given to the Israelites through Moses and the prophets. Their actions were characterised by fear. They wanted to do everything right so that they would not incur God’s wrath. For example, at that time there was a punishment of 40 lashes. But because before God no one should receive more than 40 lashes, the usual punishment at the time of Jesus was 39 lashes. But why? If someone had miscounted and given one lash too many, then the 40 would not have been exceeded. According to Jewish tradition, Moses does not only receive the Ten Commandments at Sinai, of which the Sabbath commandment is one. He receives a total of 613 commandments and prohibitions. The leaders of the people did not want to make it fundamentally difficult for the people, but for them the observance of the law was the top priority. It is precisely on the question of what is and is not allowed on the Sabbath that Jesus Christ repeatedly clashes with the religious leadership.
By way of example, I would like to highlight two incidents from the story of Jesus Christ and go into them in more detail, even if this can only be done in a certain superficiality. «As Jesus was walking through the cornfields one Sabbath, his disciples began to tear off ears of wheat. Then the Pharisees said to Jesus, «They must not do that! It is against the law to work and harvest grain on the Sabbath.» But Jesus replied: «Have you never read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He went into the house of God (at the time when Abiathar was high priest), ate the special bread reserved only for the priests, and gave it to his companions as well. That too was a violation of the law.» And he continued: «The Sabbath was made for man’s good, and not man for the Sabbath. And therefore the Son of Man is also Lord over the Sabbath!» » (Mark 2:23–28 NLB). What about this day being holy and resting from work on the seventh day? But to the accusation of the disciples breaking this holy day, Jesus counters with another biblical incident. There are things that cancel out even the strictest commandments. I would venture to say that this is especially the case where people are in the foreground. But this does not mean that suddenly everything is now allowed, but there is the exception to the rule under certain conditions. In the case of the Sabbath, this is the case when the well-being of man is to be weighted as more important than the observance of the law. The Sabbath was created for man as a day of rest, but if this is not possible because man is in a hopeless situation, then this nullifies the Sabbath commandment. The main focus on the Sabbath is the encounter between man and God.
Immediately following this incident, the following story takes place. «Again Jesus went into the synagogue. There he noticed a man with a crippled hand. His opponents were watching him very closely. If he healed the man’s hand on the Sabbath, then they could accuse him. Jesus said to the man, «Come here and step into the middle.» Then he turned to his opponents and asked, «Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or is it a day to do evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?» But they remained silent. Angry and shaken at their hard-heartedness, he looked at them. Then he called out to the man, «Stretch out your hand.» The man stretched out his hand and she was restored to health! Thereupon the Pharisees withdrew and met secretly with Herod’s followers to plan how to kill Jesus» (Mark 3:1–6 NLB). It is this story that laid the foundation for Jesus Christ’s plan to kill. But why does Jesus perform healings on the holy day? For the religious leaders, nothing was allowed to happen on this holy day. They were stuck in their view. So they could not even make an assessment of what may or may not happen. The day was so set apart (holy) for the Pharisees that nothing was allowed to take place on that day that changed the status quo even a little. But actually this day would be holy (set apart) because it is to be spent for the glory of God. The holiness comes from the diversity of focus of this day. The focus is on Jesus Christ.
It is no coincidence that Jesus Christ performed his miracles precisely on the Sabbath. Firstly, he was often on a confrontation course with the wrong views of the Jews of that time in order to show them God’s way. On the other hand, this creates a link with the very first Sabbath. God rested on the seventh day, after everything had been wonderfully created and there was nothing left for him to do. For everything was perfect and in a flawless condition. Through the healings on the Sabbath, Jesus Christ brings restoration. He sanctifies the Sabbath all the more because through the healings the focus is on God. Glory and honour belong to him, especially also on the seventh day of the week.
Possible questions for the small group
Read Bible text: Genesis 2:1–3; Mark 2:23–3:6
- Do you understand the difference between blessing and sanctifying?
- What do you think of the Jewish division of the day? How about adopting it, at least mentally?
- Why is the Sabbath so special and different from all other days?
- What does the seventh day of the week mean to you? How do you rest? In what way do you give glory to God on this day?
- What story comes to mind in which Jesus Christ clashes with the Sabbath commandments of that time? Why this one in particular?
- How did Jesus correct the meaning of the Sabbath so that it corresponded to the original thought?
