Habits of Jesus | Sabbath
Series: Simple. Quiet. Present. | Bible text: Exodus 20:8–11; Deuteronomy 5:12–15
The Sabbath is God’s gift of a sacred rhythm of work and rest. It reminds us that our value does not depend on performance, but on God’s grace. As a day of rest, joy and worship, it protects us from restlessness and inner enslavement. At the same time, the Sabbath points to the deeper rest that we can find in Christ – already today and one day in God’s eternal presence.
There is an old parable about seven brothers. Six of them worked hard in the fields every day. The seventh brother stayed at home, kept order, prepared the food and kept their life together. Every evening, the brothers came home tired and found a table laid for them. But one day they thought the seventh brother was lazy. They told him to come out into the fields and «work properly». So suddenly all seven brothers were out working. When they returned home in the evening, exhausted, the house was dark, chaotic and empty. No one had cooked, no one had tidied up, no one had provided warmth and companionship.
Then they realised their mistake: it is not only work that sustains life, but also the «seventh day», which creates space for peace, order and joy.
This is exactly what we have largely forgotten in our culture.
During the French Revolution, attempts were made to abolish the seven-day week. In order to increase productivity, a ten-day week was introduced. The result was disastrous: the economy suffered, exhaustion increased and productivity fell. Today, countless studies confirm that performance decreases after a certain number of working hours. Productivity peaks at around a six-day week (50 hours).
If we live against God’s rhythm – working six days and resting one day – then we brush the universe against the grain. Or as the philosopher H. H. Farmer put it: «If you go against the grain of the universe, you get splinters.» The Sabbath is more than just a day off. It is a way of living in the world. An attitude of rest, trust and focussing on God.
Sabbath as rest and worship
The word Sabbath comes from the Hebrew shabbat and literally means «to stop». The Sabbath is a day on which we stop: stop working, stop producing, stop worrying.
The Bible begins with the words: «In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.» After six days of creation we then read:
«On the seventh day, God completed his work and rested from his labour. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day on which he rested from his work of creation» (Genesis 2:2–3 NLB).
God rested. Not because He was exhausted, but because shabbat also means: pause, savour, rejoice. The Sabbath is a whole day reserved for pausing, enjoying this world and rejoicing. A day to marvel and give thanks.
God «blessed the seventh day and declared it holy».
It is interesting: In the creation story, God blesses three things. Firstly, He blessed the animal kingdom with a call: «Be fruitful and multiply» (Genesis 1:22 LUT). Then He blessed man in the same way. And then God blessed the Sabbath. This means that the Sabbath also has the life-giving ability to reproduce itself. To fill the world with life. Through the Sabbath we can fill our soul with life again.
And God declares this day holy. In the ancient Near East, the gods were bound to sacred places – temples, mountains or shrines. However, the God of the Bible does not bind his presence to a place first, but to a day. If you want to meet God, you don’t have to travel to a special place. You only have to spend one day a week for the shabbat reserve and pause long enough to experience Him.
That is why the commandment is: «Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy» (Exodus 20:8 NLB).
«Remember» – we humans seem to forget this very quickly. Perhaps this is why the Sabbath commandment is repeated so often in the Bible.
Then God says: «Six days a week you shall labour and do your daily chores, but the seventh day is a day of rest for the LORD your God […].» (Exodus 20:9f NLB).
The Sabbath is therefore not only a day of rest, but also a day for God. A day of worship. It is not just about church services or songs, but about focussing your whole life on Him.
A day off is not automatically a Sabbath. On days off, we run errands, tidy up, answer messages or pay bills, go to IKEA. Sabbath, on the other hand, means consciously slowing down and seeking the presence of God. This also includes joy. A good meal with friends, a hike, a conversation without time pressure, an afternoon nap, laughing together – All of this can be an expression of the Sabbath if our hearts become open to God’s goodness anew.
The commandment ends with a «why»: «For in six days the LORD created 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 blessed the Sabbath and declared it holy» (Exodus 20:11 NLB).
The Sabbath leads us back to the rhythms of grace. It is therefore remarkable that this spiritual exercise of all things has found its place in the Ten Commandments. Not attending church or reading the Bible, not even prayer. The Sabbath is the most important exercise for us humans. So crucial that God lovingly commands us not to forget that we are human beings and not machines.
Sabbath as an act of resistance
Man was created on the sixth day of creation. His first full day on this earth was a Sabbath. This means that people do not start with work, but with rest. It is not performance that comes first, but God’s promise. We don’t work to earn peace and quiet. We work from a position of calm.
When I was in timeout three years ago – without a job and without status – I actually had a crisis of meaning. What remains of us when work, performance, family and image disappear? Our society is contradictory: on the one hand, we suffer from pressure, but on the other, we derive our identity from it.
This is precisely where the Sabbath becomes a test of faith. Do I live by grace or by performance? Do I really believe that God’s love is unconditional? Our identity is based on the unconditional of the most important and decisive person in the universe. His redemption and salvation is pure grace and cannot be earned. The Sabbath prevents us from living like slaves instead of sons and daughters.
Forty years after the Ten Commandments, God repeats the Sabbath commandment – this time with a different justification:
«Remember that you yourself were once a slave in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of the land with great power and mighty deeds. That is why the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath» (Deuteronomy 5:15 NLB).
Israel was to celebrate the Sabbath because they were no longer slaves. Slaves have no day off. They keep on working. Their value is measured solely by their performance.
And Egypt lives on to this day. We live in a culture of more and more: more success, more possessions, more performance, more speed. That is why the Sabbath was once aptly called «an act of resistance».
Those who celebrate the Sabbath are saying: My value does not depend on my productivity. I am not a slave to my work. I don’t have to be available all the time. The world keeps turning without me.
The Sabbath prevents us from exploiting ourselves or others. It reminds us that we are sons and daughters of God – not machines.
Sabbath as a dream of the future
In Hebrews, the Sabbath is associated with an even deeper rest: «Thus, a time of perfect rest still awaits God’s people – the «true» Sabbath celebration» (Hebrews 4:9 New Testament).
Those who trust Christ can already find inner peace: away from the compulsion to save or prove themselves. That is why it says: «Those who have entered into God’s rest will rest from their labour, just as God rested after creating the world» (Hebrews 4:10 NLB).
This does not mean inactivity. It means living by grace instead of constantly earning. At the same time, the Sabbath points to the coming fulfilment – to eternal fellowship with God. The Sabbath rest is therefore both: present experience and future hope.
Jesus himself lived in this rhythm. The Sabbath was an integral part of His life. But it was precisely because of this that He repeatedly came into conflict with the Pharisees. They had turned God’s gift into a burden. That is why Jesus said:
«The Sabbath was made for the good of man and not man for the Sabbath» (Mark 2:27 NLB).
The Sabbath is not a religious pressure to perform. It is a gift from heaven. God knows that we need the «seventh brother». A space of rest. A day to breathe again. A sacred rhythm that holds our lives together. And perhaps we often only realise how important this day is when it is missing.
Possible questions for the small group
Read the Bible text: Mark 2:23–28
- How do I personally recognise that I am lacking rest and Sabbath? What are the warning signs in my everyday life?
- What could a Sabbath look like in concrete terms that helps me to calm down and become more aware of God’s presence?
- What things often make my day off «full» without it being really relaxing?
- What could be a concrete next step to practise a Sabbath rhythm more regularly?
- How can I live more by God’s grace in my everyday life instead of by performance and constant functioning?
