Meaning of the Sabbath

Of all Biblical subjects, the Sabbath is one of the most misunderstood. It is a subject whose meaning has evaded many people and led to the practice of obsolete rituals in Christianity. I do not claim to be an authority on this subject but rather a student of the same. Hence I welcome you to this amazing journey of discovery.

The Sabbath was initially instituted by God when he rested after completing his work of creation. He sanctified the day and blessed it (Gen 2:2-3).

We encounter the subject of the Sabbath again when the Israelites are on their way to Canaan. Here God sets it as one of the Ten Commandments, a day to be remembered. In it God commands complete cessation from physical work. It was to be observed by every member of the community of Israel (Exodus 20:8-11). Some years later, when the Israelites were still in the desert, God gave Moses further instructions regarding the Sabbath. In Exodus 31:13, God told Moses that the children of Israel were to observe the Sabbath. That the Sabbaths (plural to convey the idea that there were different kinds of Sabbaths, such as the seventh day, the seventh year and the forty ninth year) were to be a sign between man and God. A sign that will make man know that it is God who makes man holy.

When God says that the Sabbath will be a sign between him and the people what does it mean? A ‘sign’ in this context means (according to the English dictionary) a gesture or motion by which a thought is expressed or a command or wish made known. The thought that God wants to be expressed through (the sign of) the observation of the Sabbath is that, it is God who makes us holy.

In order for man to grasp the concept that it is God who makes man holy, man had to cease from all work. To rest fully. During the Sabbath, no one was allowed to carry any weight, it was to be observed by man and beast (Jeremiah 17:21).

As time went by, God further instructed the children of Israel to let the land have a Sabbatical year. Which meant that for six years, Israelites were to cultivate the land and on the seventh year, the land was to be left without any form of farming. The land was to keep a Sabbath to God (Leviticus 25:4).

Of all the Sabbaths, the one that carried all the weight was the Sabbath of Sabbaths or the mega Sabbath. This grand Sabbath was arrived at by counting seven Sabbaths of years multiplied by seven years. The resulting year, 49th, was supposed to be the grand Sabbath, or the mega Sabbath. In this year, a trumpet was to be blown, which was to announce the coming liberation, for in the 50th year, it was to be the year of total rest. In this year, those who had been enslaved, either through debt or poverty were to be freed. Any property that had been sold was to return to the original owner. It was a year of total freedom from all kinds of bondages. It was the year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:8-16).

It was in reference to the year of Jubilee, the main Sabbath, which Isaiah the prophet wrote about in Isaiah 61:1-2. An announcement was supposed to be made before the year of Jubilee or the main Sabbath arrived. It is amazing to note that during the last year of Jesus’ ministry here on earth, on a Sabbath day, he went to a synagogue in Nazareth, his home town, and read Isaiah 61:1-2, closed the book then ‘announced’ that that scripture was being fulfilled in their hearing. Simply put, that the prophesy was being fulfilled. That Christ was announcing the year of Jubilee, the year of freedom from all bondages had arrived. It was to be a year of freedom from oppression (Luke 4:14-21).

Sabbath is a day of rest. No work was to be done on the Sabbath day. Carrying burdens during the Sabbath was totally forbidden. Jesus brings out the true meaning of the Sabbath in a clear way. Through Jesus, we understand that it is not rest from physical burden that Sabbath rest means but rather emotional and spiritual rest, freedom from oppression.

When Jesus healed the lame man beside the pool of Bethesda, he commanded the man to carry his mat and go. Bearing in mind that it was on a Sabbath, a day of rest and cessation from all kinds of work. No burden was supposed to be carried on the Sabbath, yet Jesus commanded him to carry his mat and walk around. Through that act, Jesus did not violate the Sabbath but rather fulfilled it. He clearly portrayed that the rest intended on the Sabbath is the rest attained through freedom from oppression (John 5:9-18). To the Pharisees, observing the Sabbath meant cessation from physical labor, but Jesus addressed the root of the matter, that there might be people who are observing the Sabbath physically yet they are burdened and oppressed spiritually.

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus calls out to anyone who is weary and burdened with a promise that he will give them rest. By that call, Jesus confirms that he is the Sabbath, that through him the ‘sign’ intended by God to man was fulfilled. The Sabbath was intended to symbolize the rest that is now found in Christ. All the Sabbaths were a sign (Ezekiel 20:12) signaling what was to come through Christ.

It is this rest, found in Jesus, which is spoken of in Hebrews 4:1-12. The rest that Christ offers cannot be found anywhere else, neither can it be attained through any other means apart from him. As I write this, I know that many people are going through difficult times. Many are struggling emotionally and financially. Depression and oppression is rife. It is at this time that I would wish to extend Christ’s invitation to anyone who is burdened by life to run to Jesus. It is In Christ alone that you will find rest from all burdens of life. May you find that rest.