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Date:         Thu, 7 Jan 1993 09:59:57 EST
From:         Lon Mendelsohn <LMENDELS@CMS.CC.WAYNE.EDU>
Subject:      The Sabbath

It has occurred to me that while I have posted messages on many of
the Jewish holidays and their Messianic significance, I have never
posted anything on the Sabbath, which is second only to the Day of
Atonement in importance.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Because the Sabbath is a weekly festival, it is easy to forget its
importance.  It was the first feast to be established (Gen. 2:1-3)
and it is the only feast whose observance is mandated in one of the
Ten Commandments.  Observance of the Sabbath is centered primarily
around resting.  In resting, Israel commemorated two things:
creation, and the going out from Egypt.

In connection with the creation, Israel was called to rest on the
Sabbath because God rested after creating the universe (Ex. 20:8-
11).  There are several aspects of creation which are commemorated.
First and foremost, the Sabbath is a commemoration of the Creator,
a reminder to us of our creatureliness, i.e., our utter dependence
upon God.  Secondly, the Sabbath commemorates the role that the
human race (through Adam) played in creation.  The creation was not
complete until Adam tilled the earth (Gen. 2:5-7) and named the
animals (Gen. 2:19-20).  Thus, human beings are ennobled in
observing the Sabbath.  Man worked with God to complete the
creation, and is called to rest with God in commemoration of the
completion of creation.

In connection with the going out from Egypt, Israel was called to
rest because God made it possible for them to rest from their
enslavement to the Egyptians (Dt. 5:12-15).  In this sense, the
Sabbath is a type of redemption from the curse aspect of work (Gen.
3:17-19).  There is also a parallel between this aspect of the
Sabbath and the Jubilee Year, in which slaves were freed, debts
were forgiven, and prisoners were released.

Finally, one of the most important things that the Sabbath does for
Israel is to sanctify them (Ex. 31:12-17).  God sanctifies the
Sabbath by declaring it to be holy, and Israel sanctifies the
Sabbath by treating it as holy.  As Israel sanctifies the Sabbath,
God sanctifies Israel, setting that Israel apart as a people
consecrated to His service.

JESUS AND THE SABBATH

From the New Testament accounts, one can get the impression that
Jesus repudiated the Sabbath.  In actuality, He restored observance
of the Sabbath to what it was meant to be.  A large body of
rabbinical regulations had grown up around the Sabbath, making the
Sabbath observance extremely burdensome, and Jesus did away with
these regulations.  Furthermore, Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath in His
life, death, and resurrection.  One of the accounts of the
beginning of Jesus' ministry (Lk. 4:16-21) tells of how Jesus
quoted a passage from Isaiah which has to do with proclamation of
the Jubilee Year.  Jesus proclaims the fulfillment of this passage.
Jesus also promises rest for those who are weary (Mt. 11:28-30).
It is interesting to note that immediately following this passage,
Jesus enters into a debate with the Pharisees over the true meaning
of the Sabbath (12:1-8).  Also, Heb. 4:1-11 speaks of the Sabbath
rest into which Jesus has brought us.  Jesus fulfilled the sabbath
in His death and resurrection.  He died late in afternoon of the
sixth day.  As He died, He proclaimed "It is finished" (Jn. 19:30),
using language almost identical to that which was used to describe
the completion of creation (Gen. 2:1-2).  Jesus rests in the grave
on the Sabbath, in fulfillment of the Sabbath commandment, and in
His rising on the first day, He inaugurates the new creation.  In
fact, the early church often referred to the day of Christ's
resurrection as the Eighth Day of Creation.  Finally, in His return
at the end of the age, Jesus will accomplish the ultimate
fulfillment of the Sabbath, completing the new creation and
bringing final redemption and freedom to all His people.

THE CHRISTIAN AND THE SABBATH

We as Christians also participate in the fulfillment of the
Sabbath.  We both experience and proclaim the new creation
accomplished by Christ, we both experience and proclaim the freedom
and redemption from bondage to sin accomplished by Christ, and we
both experience and proclaim the rest in God available to all who
come to Christ.

THE SABBATH AND THE LORD'S DAY

A final note on the relationship between the Sabbath and the Lord's
Day.  While there are similarities, strictly speaking, the two are
not the same and it is a mistake to apply the Sabbath commandments
to a Christian observance of the Lord's Day.  Observance of the
Lord's Day began as a time of worship set aside on the first day of
week to commemorate Jesus' resurrection.  It was not a day of rest,
since the surrounding culture (initially) made it impossible to
observe it as such.  There are, however significant parallels.  A
subordinate purpose of the Sabbath was to force Israel to set aside
one day a week to worship God, and insofar as Christians do this on
the Lord's Day, they are fulfilling that aspect of the Sabbath.
Additionally, by honoring the Lord who fulfilled the Sabbath,
bringing us into the new creation and the rest of God, freeing us
from bondage to sin, and sanctifying us to Himself, we also fulfil
the Sabbath.

Shalom,

Lon Mendelsohn
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