What is the “Sabbath”

 

The concept of a Sabbath, or a day or rest, comes from the Bible’s teaching on and use of the word “yisbot” (יִּשְׁבֹּת), which literally means “cease”, “rest” or “desist.” In Jewish tradition, it came to be defined as the period of time beginning at sundown on Friday and ending with sundown on Saturday.

 

 

 

Brief History of the Sabbath

The first time we see a biblical Sabbath/rest is in Gen 2.2-3[1]. These opening verses show us God’s expectation that we use this day to celebrate His two greatest acts: Creation and Redemption. Celebrating these two divine accomplishments provide the purpose and meaning for the Sabbath.

Genesis 2:3 (NLT)
³ And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy [Redemption], because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation [Creation].

Celebrating Creation (Ex 20.11) and Redemption (Deut 5.12-15, esp. 15) continue as the two “twin themes” of the Sabbath throughout the Old Testament. It is important to note: the first purpose (Ex 20) is communicated through Israel, while the second purpose (Deut 5) is communicated strictly to Israel. All of the world reaps the benefits of God’s grand and beautiful creative work, but only those responding to him in faith are able to receive the benefits of his redemptive work. (See also Ezek 20.12)
Later, the establishment of a sabbatical year extends the “time-out mandate” to the land as well (Ex 23.10-11). Israelites were only able to farm six out of every seven years—a demanding limitation for an agrarian society of nomads. This would have surely stretched the faith of the entire country and forced them to remember that the Lord who created them was more than capable of redeeming them (see also Lev 25.4; cf. Lev 26.34).
Given God’s intent that his people simply rest and refrain from regular, everyday work (Ex 16.29), the people felt a need to define “work” with the most exacting details. God made the Sabbath by setting it aside (making it different/holy; Ex 20.11), so treating it just like any other day would be an extreme insult to God. Therefore, knowing exactly what constituted “work” became extremely important.[2] Unfortunately, many quickly forfeited the forest by trying to recreate the tree (Isa 58.13-14). In other words, their stringent details aimed at defining work caused them to lose sight of why God created the Sabbath in the first place. Celebrating the Sabbath became an end in itself for the sole sake of pleasing God rather than a simple time of rest and recovery.

Galatians 4:10 (NLT)
¹⁰ You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years.

Mark 2:27 (NLT)
²⁷ Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.

 

Jesus and the Sabbath

To this end, Jesus frequently confronted and corrected heretical teachings concerning the Sabbath.

· He was familiar with the Law’s teaching, and operated comfortably within its guidelines (Lk 4.16; Mk 1.21; Lk 13.10).
· The arguments, therefore, always sprung from the Pharisees’ enforcement of a tradition that didn’t stem from biblical mandate. If the Bible didn’t demand it, Jesus wouldn’t allow the Pharisees to do so either. (Mt 12.5-7)
· In particular, Jesus addressed the way in which religious leaders of the day neglected the benevolent nature inherent to the Sabbath so as to elevate their man-made regulations (Mk 3.4-5; Lk 13.16).

 

The Sabbath After the Cross

Neither of the occasions for Sabbath celebration (creation and redemption) ceased to hold value after the Resurrection, so the principle of intentional rest and remembrance still holds true. However, like so many other aspects of the Old Testament/Mosaic Law, the theological mandate toward prescribed behavior was fulfilled in the work of Christ (Mt 5.17; see also Heb 4.1-11).
Therefore, the Christian’s responsibility lies not in specific adherence to a written code, but in a wholesale embrace of all that God created and Jesus redeemed. If one feels most comfortable doing so in accordance with Jewish tradition, he has that freedom (Acts 13.14-16; cf. Gal 2.4). If another accomplishes frequent rest and Christian joy through some other format, she is perfectly within her rights (Rom 14.5-6). The danger we all face is in packaging our personal opinion as a Biblical priority—demanding that others adhere to our preferences (Rom 14.13; Gal 4.8-11).
Let us never forget:

Colossians 2:17 (NLT)
¹⁷ For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.

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[1] After this initial appearance, we have only one additional pre-Sinai (the event/place of God’s giving of the Ten Commandments) mention of the Sabbath (Ex 16.22-30).
[2] For example: Special elevators (called Shabbat Elevators) exist in Israel that allow one to simply walk inside and wait for the lift to automatically stop at her/his floor. No one pushes a button (this would be considered work), so the elevator is programmed to stop at each floor every time someone boards. This feature is only turned on during “Shabbat” (or Sabbath).