The Sabbath &#8211; Do We Keep It?

Nov

The Sabbath – Do We Keep It?

Posted on November 2nd, 2009 in Faith, From the Word by Fred McKinnon

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sabbath-rest

I’m being challenged every day as I read through the Book of Mark. This morning I encountered the story in Mark 2 where the religious leaders challenged Jesus and His disciples because they “plucked heads of grain” on the Sabbath. Jesus responded by saying “27 And he said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.28 So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” (Mark 2: 27-28, ESV – YouVersion.Com)

It seems that Jesus’ response wasn’t challenging the existence of the “sabbath” so much; rather, He was challenging the layers of legalistic rules and regulations that the religious leaders applied to it.

Fast-forward to New Testament, modern-day Christianity. What is our view of the “Sabbath”?

Immediately all of the church lingo comes to mind “every day is now a Sabbath”, “Jesus has become our Sabbath”, “the Sabbath was fulfilled on the cross”, etc. Blah, blah, blah – you see, I’ve been in church since I was steaming up my own diapers … I can quote all of the religious responses. (and let me interject that I’m not trying to suggest that all of those responses are wrong!)

But this is my confession. “I’m not sure I really understand all of those religious responses and how they truly apply”.

“Remember the Sabbath, and keep it holy” is one of the Ten Commandments. That means it’s important. If that no longer applies, how about murder and adultery? Are they no longer relevant?

I am not trying to wander back into the legalistic rules of the Old Covenant – God knew we could never keep those to begin with. We needed the “Law” so that we could see our sin. I do wonder if we carelessly throw it out completely, though.

I’d like your input. What do you believe about “keeping the sabbath holy”? Do you practice “sabbath” – and if so, what does it look like? If you scroll down a bit, you’ll see “Leave a Reply” … and that’s where YOU come into this discussion.

http://pleasingtoyou.blogspot.com Teri Lynne

Fred, Scott & I were actually talking about this very thing a few days ago. Our final determination, the command to observe the Sabbath – which is essentially a command to rest and reflect on the Lord – is applicable to believers. We worship on Sundays to honor and celebrate our Risen Lord but we must still set aside time in our week for that rest/reflection. There have been times in our nation’s history when Sunday served as both – but with the craziness of most church’s programming (especially when you’re on staff!!), Sunday is not a Sabbath.

It’s like an uphill battle, though, to be obedient to this command. Our culture and our churches view “success” through the lens of busy-ness … and the Sabbath command is just the opposite. But, the more I set aside meaningful amounts of time for rest and reflection … unscheduled, unhurried time … the more I find my spirit calm, even in the midst of life’s chaos.

Great post! Looking forward to reading others’ thoughts.

http://www.fredmckinnon.com Fred McKinnon

Teri Lynne,
“Sunday is not a sabbath, especially for church staff” … a huge Amen to that. Joy and I were talking this morning about what it could look like for us to be more intentional about creating and honoring times of “sabbath” as a family. I think we should all explore this further. Let to the default, our culture will be sure we stay busy.

http://www.chrismoncusphoto.com/ Chris Moncus

When I was on staff at Canyon Ridge, taking a sabbath was mandatory. The pastor, in one of his seminary classes, was asked by a professor “why do you blatantly break God’s commandment to take a sabbath and do so while doing His work?” (a close quote)

Studies they found showed that people who took a sabbath were more productive in their other days. When the entire staff got an extra day off, productivity actually went up. They worked harder in their 4 days plus Sunday than in their 5 days plus Sunday and got more done at higher quality.

I know when I have not been taking a day of rest. My work quality lowers. I am less motivated. Etc. It’s after a good chill out day hanging out with Amanda and friends that I feel recharged.

On a spiritual note, the holiness of a Sabbath must be preserved. It’s a day that should be stress-free and open to God. Stress can and will totally interrupt the communication channels between us and God. Holy, as we’ve heard, means “set apart”. If we don’t set it apart it won’t get set apart. We don’t get many accidental days off from work and stress. God has called us to set it apart. Ignoring this day is ignoring a direct command.

In the end, the Sabbath is a time set apart for us to recharge, connect with God, and trust Him that if we give Him one, he will give us the strength do do well in the other 6.
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http://trobee.com Gary

Jesus affirmed all 10 commandments except the 4th. I don’t remember all of the scriptures from Bible college but the bottom line is as you said;

He was rejecting “the layers of legalistic rules and regulations that the religious leaders applied to it” not the Sabbath itself

The old testament principle is work and then rest, the new testament principle is rest and then work. We must observe the principle of Sabbath rest and operate from a position of rest. The 4th commandment was not revoked, “27 And he said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. It is a gift from God and when we view it that way it makes a difference.

Great post, I’ll try to find my notes from BC.
Thanks
http://www.onevoiceworship.org Harold Forbis

Oh Fred, why do you always stir up these issues that make me realize how unspiritual I really am? Just kidding – good post, and a very important matter.

The concept of rest is one that you can see right through the scriptures – starting with the day of rest God took following the six days of creation.

The Sabbath rest commanded in the law of Moses was an interesting thing – a very foreign concept in the ancient world. Fallen man had been condemned to scratch a living from the ground by the sweat of his brow. People had to work continually just to live. Then the Israelites were to separate themselves from work to God one day week. This was to honor God, and was both a blessing of rest for the people, and a demonstration to the other nations around them that their God was the one true God, and they trusted Him to provide for them.

The Levites illustrate doing the work of the Lord in ‘no sweat’ mode, with the linen ephods they were to wear when they went about their duties in the House of God.

The New Testament turn is that we are to labor to enter into the rest of Christ, to take on the light burden and easy yoke of Christ. I like the way Gary said it – OT = work then rest, NT = rest then work. In this way, we separate ourselves to God, to honor Him. It’s a blessing of rest to us, and a demonstration that what we accomplish is not by our might, nor by our power, but by the Spirit of the Lord.

Jesus set us free from the dictates of the law in this sense – I was a slave to the law of “do not kill” when there was murder in my heart that I was forbidden to express. Now, the love of God is shed abroad in my heart, and I’m free to express it all I want. I was a slave to the law of the Sabbath when I was forbidden to work on Saturday and credit my success to my own hard work. Now, I’m crucified with Christ, and living my life by His grace and for His glory, free to do what I see Him doing, abiding in the Vine and acknowledging that He’s the fruit-producer.

I do believe that taking a regular day, and seasons of rest periodically, is the design of God for us to live refreshed mentally, spiritually, and physically. It’s hard to do in many ways, because it requires discipline and faith. But then, that’s the labor we’re called to – to enter into His rest.

Thanks for the post Fred, and thanks everyone for the insights.
http://blog.worshiptherock.com Phil

Hi Fred,

If you’re really interested in this I recommend listening to this teaching on it – I found it very helpful and makes sense to me:

http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/k19

Well worth a listen.

Thanks,

Phil
http://www.benzillascrapping.com Michelle

Fred-very good question. yes, i think it is still important for everyone to have a sabbath, whether it is sunday, saturday, thursday or whatever day you set aside for yourself. to rest & take care of yourself. my boys & i do it after church on sunday. we “loosen” up the rules and if we want to spend all day watching cartoons & just hanging out, that is fine. we don’t do a lot of chores & at the same time there is a serious lock-down on fighting/arguing. not that there isn’t anyway, but i believe for it to really be a day of rest, it also needs to be peaceful as stress zaps us all as humans very powerfully. for the most part, it is very effective & everyone looks forward to it. and i get a nap so that’s totally cool!
http://www.facebook.com/jtcheek J.t. Cheek

Hi Fred, great discussion. I to have been convicted about my view of the Sabbath and my acceptance of empty “churchy” responses that i don’t really understand. And the writings on the life of Jesus have also greatly challenged me. I think what Jesus is showing us here is our gross misinterpretation of the Sabbath. Alot of people today, like the Pharisees interpret it as, a day to do nothing. What God says , is remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. it doesn’t say remember the sabbath and sit on your couch all day. Now don’t get me wrong i think r&r can defintley be a PART of the Sabbath, but i think the overall purpose is for us to take time out of our schedule to focus on God, make sure our lives are centered. When Jesus is saying, the Sabbath was made for man, i think he saying that for each of us that can look different. For some that’s, study, others meditation and prayer. If you look at chapter 3 Jesus, served on the Sabbath by healing someone . I being also someone on staff at a church and being very busy during the week find it challenging to go out into my community and serve. And i use part of my Sabbath to go seeking to connect with those at a local homeless shelter. the definition of Sabbath says a day of rest AND worship. I think its more of a complex thing than just kicking back and watching t.v. but that could be just my own misinterpretation
Jennifer

I’m concerned with michelle’s response in that it doesn’t matter what day we honor sabbath. It does matter. Gen 2:2-3a. The seventh day. It’s like celebrating your birthday or anniversary when your loved one feels like it. Its no longer quite as special anymore. Feels a bit offensive, no?
Jeremy Tremeer

Interesting that you raise the issue! Sabbath is mentioned at creation, dso oes that make it relevant to all mankind or is it just for Jews?

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