Your Sabbath-Rest Is the Finished Work of Christ

From the book: Seed Truths-From Genesis to Revelation

By: Mike Harding

One of the main rules for understanding scripture is to interpret everything – from Genesis to Revelation - in light of the finished work of Jesus Christ.

 Why? God knew the end from the beginning. God planned the end from the beginning. God had an eternal purpose in mind when He created the heavens and the earth. God had an eternal purpose in mind when He created the angels and the human race.

 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.  Romans 8:28

 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will…  Ephesians 1:11

 …according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord…  Ephesians 3:11

 …who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began…  2 Timothy 1:9

 These verses and many others teach us that God had an eternal purpose – ONE eternal purpose – in everything He did. His eternal purpose is the church, also called the sons and daughters of God, also called the bride of Christ, also called the body of Christ. The church was and is God’s eternal purpose. The church was birthed out of the finished work of Christ – the cross and the resurrection.

Since God planned the end from the beginning, and since God had an eternal purpose in mind from the beginning, then everything in the Bible will be best understood if it is interpreted in the light of God’s eternal purpose.

 The Old Covenant was preparation for the New Covenant. The temple represented Jesus. The priests represented Jesus. The sacrifices represented Jesus. The feasts represented Jesus. Adam and Eve represented Jesus and the church. The tunics of skin that God used to cover Adam and Eve represented the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Everything in the Old Testament represented Jesus and His sacrifice and His eternal purpose, the church.

 Everything must be interpreted in the light of Jesus Christ and the salvation He gives us. This interpretation will always bring light and truth. Any other interpretation will be inferior. Any other interpretation will produce religion and bondage.

And so, in the first two chapters of Genesis, God introduces the seed truth of the Sabbath Day. God creates for six days, and then rests the seventh day.

 This is actually a symbolic prophecy of the history of man. According to Bible chronology, there were about four thousand years from Adam to Jesus Christ. We believe that the church age will be about two thousand years, maybe a little more. Therefore there will probably be about six thousand years from Adam to the second coming of Jesus. Does this correspond to the six days of creation? And the major project of the six days of creation was making man in God’s image. Then the millennium begins – the seventh day, the day of the finished work, the day of rest! At the end of the seventh day, God creates new heavens and a new earth. Then we step out of time and into eternity.

 Seven days of creation, including a Sabbath day. Seven thousand years of human history, including a Sabbath millennium. Moses said, For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night. (Psalm 90:4) Peter said, But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. (2 Peter 3:8)

 ¹ Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. ² And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.  Genesis 2:1-3

 In this passage, God introduces the seventh day. What are the key words in this passage? “Finished...ended…done…rested…done…blessed...sanctified,” and again, “rested.”

 What is God trying to say? If you interpret this in the light of Jesus and the church, God is symbolically predicting the finished work of Christ. He is introducing a perfect salvation, a finished salvation. He is introducing a salvation that is the finished work of Christ. It is not something that we accomplish for ourselves. It is the work of God on our behalf! It is something that is prepared for us. It is something that we enter into. It is a state of rest and blessing and sanctification. The Sabbath is the finished work of Christ, prophesied from the beginning of Genesis!

 In the book of Exodus, God introduces the concept of the Sabbath rest to Israel. Under the Covenant of Law, the Sabbath takes the form of a commandment and a law.

 ²³ Then he said to them, “This is what the LORD has said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’“ ²⁴ So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it. ²⁵ Then Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. ²⁶ Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.” ²⁷ Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. ²⁸ And the LORD said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? ²⁹ See! For the LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.”  Exodus 16:23-29

 ⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. ¹¹ For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”  Exodus 20:8-11

 God teaches them that on the Sabbath, they must do no work. They are to rest in God. What is the meaning? For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

 Did you know? Of the Ten Commandments, only the commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy had a purely symbolical or prophetic meaning.

 ²⁸ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  Matthew 11:28-30

 When Jesus began His ministry, He made many claims to be the Messiah. He made many claims to be God incarnate. But He made most of these claims in a way that could only be understood by someone who knew the scriptures. For instance, in John 10:11, Jesus told the Jews, “I am the good shepherd.” That might not mean much to a non-Jew. But the Jews would understand exactly what Jesus was saying, because Psalm 23:1 says, “Jehovah is my shepherd.” By saying, “I am the good shepherd,” Jesus was claiming to be Jehovah, God incarnate.

 So also, in Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus was making an amazing claim: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” He didn’t say, “Look to God.” He said, “Come to Me.” If He were not God, that would be a blasphemy. Then He said, “all you who labor and are heavy laden.” He wasn’t just talking about people who are having a rough life. He was talking about people who were living under the Law, trying to attain their own righteousness. He said, “I will give you rest.” He was saying that He was the end of the Law. He was the fulfillment of the Law. He was the replacement of the Law. Jesus was saying, “I AM the Sabbath. I will provide you with My perfect salvation. I will bring you into the true rest.”

 ²³     Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. ²⁴ And the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” ²⁵ But He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: ²⁶ how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?” ²⁷ And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. ²⁸ Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”  Mark 2:23-28

 If you read through the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, you will see that Jesus had major conflicts with the religious leaders of his day was over the meaning of the Sabbath. Jesus was always in conflict with the Pharisees over the Sabbath. The Jewish leaders had created very strict rules regarding the keeping of the Sabbath. And they had put themselves in charge of enforcing those rules. Jesus and His disciples were breaking their rules.

 The Jewish leaders didn’t understand the purpose or the meaning of the Sabbath. Jesus did.

So when Jesus’ disciples were picking grain and eating it as they walked through the fields on a Sabbath, the Pharisees got mad. In the Gospels, the Pharisees always represent the religious spirit. They did not know or represent the heart of God. They did not care about people or about people’s needs. They only cared about religion and rules and reputation and money and power and control.

So when they challenged Jesus about picking grain on the Sabbath, Jesus responded with the story of David. Young David, fleeing for his life from King Saul, illegally took some of the temple showbread. Jesus defended David’s actions. What was the point? When David was in need, God cared more about David than He did about the temple rules.

Which was more important: David or the temple? It was David. Jesus cared about people’s needs. The Pharisees, representing the religious spirit, only cared about religion and rules.

Jesus also made an amazing statement: “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” That statement challenged everything the Pharisees believed in. It was a revolutionary challenge to the religious spirit.

The Pharisees believed that man was created to serve and obey God. They believed that mankind was created to be subject to religious laws and rules. They believed that man was inferior to the Sabbath or beneath the Sabbath.

Jesus knew that mankind was created to be the sons of God. He knew that man was created to walk with God in a place of friendship, honor and dominion. Jesus knew that the Sabbath day was meant to be a blessing to man. Jesus understood that the Sabbath really represented His finished work of salvation for man.

Therefore, Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. And we are called to reign and rule with him. As born-again sons of God, we are not subjects of the Sabbath. We are lords of the Sabbath! We were not made for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for us.

¹ And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. ² So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. ³ And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Step forward.” ⁴ Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. ⁵ And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. ⁶ Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.  Mark 3:1-6

Again, Jesus demonstrated His love for people and His concern for their needs. Jesus purposely healed a man on the Sabbath while the Pharisees were watching. He was not intimidated by them. He did not subject Himself to their religious control. But He was grieved by their hardness of heart. He was angry that they could claim to represent God and yet they had no compassion for people.

The Pharisees were watching to see if they could accuse Jesus. The religious spirit wanted to kill Jesus. The religious spirit wanted to keep people in bondage, in slavery, in a position of inferiority. Jesus was lifting people and valuing people. Jesus was bringing liberation and dominion. Jesus was bringing a revolution. He was restoring people to their high calling as sons and daughters of God.

³⁰ So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.  ³¹ Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. ³² Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.  John 19:30-33

When Jesus finished paying the full price for our sins, He said, “It is finished.” He finished His work. And He “rested” on the Sabbath, just as God did in Genesis. Then He rose from the dead on Sunday morning.

From the moment of the resurrection, the New Covenant was in effect forever. The Sabbath is no longer a day. The Sabbath is now our salvation, our life, our eternity. We have entered into the finished work of Christ. We have ceased from our own works. We are living in the Sabbath.

⁴ Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. ⁵ One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.  Romans 14:4-6

In the early church, there was disagreement and controversy over the Sabbath. Some people believed that Christians do not need to observe the Sabbath as a certain day of the week. It is the finished work of Christ. Others felt that a Christian should still keep the Sabbath day, just as in the Old Covenant.

Paul’s answer reveals that the most important thing is to honor God. We are not required to keep a Sabbath day. It represents the finished work of Christ. But some people will not understand that. Or they may understand it, and they may choose to keep a Sabbath anyway. The important thing is that they are honoring God!

¹⁶ So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, ¹⁷ which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. ¹⁸ Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind…  Colossians 2:16-17

Colossians 2:16-17 may be the clearest statement by the apostle Paul on the subject of the Sabbath. Here he clearly says that the Sabbath was a shadow of things to come, but the reality is Christ. The Sabbath is best interpreted in light of the eternal purpose of God. It must be interpreted in light of the finished work of Christ and the church. The Sabbath was a symbol. The symbol is now fulfilled. Man was not made for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for man. We are lords of the Sabbath. It is the perfect salvation of Christ.

⁷ Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, ⁸ do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, ⁹ where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years. ¹⁰ Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.’ ¹¹ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’” ¹² Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; ¹³ but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ¹⁴ For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, ¹⁵ while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”  ¹⁶ For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? ¹⁷ Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? ¹⁸ And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? ¹⁹ So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

¹ Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. ² For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. ³ For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. ⁴ For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; ⁵ and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.” ⁶ Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, ⁷ again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” ⁸ For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. ⁹ There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. ¹⁰ For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. ¹¹ Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.  Hebrews 3:7-4:11