The Fourth Commandment- Part 2
Exodus 20:8
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
It is important to remember that the Sabbath has a purpose. It marks, for us, the completion of creation by God. But, what does it do? Are we commemorating God’s work? Is the Sabbath just a time for us to get some rest?
When the Israelites left Egypt and entered the Promised Land, they were told to keep the Sabbath in order to remember their deliverance from their bondage.
Deuteronomy 5:15
“...remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt ... therefore ... God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.”
It was a holy day, different from other days. But, Paul tells us why it was so special. Do you remember a while back, when we asked what the purpose of the Bible is? The answer we arrived at is that everything in the Bible is pointing to Christ. The prophets, the law, the poetry, the history ... it all exists for one reason - to point us to Christ. Here how Paul applies that to the Sabbath:
Colossians 2:16-17
“Sabbath days ... are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.”
Now, remember in the Sermon On The Mount when Jesus said that He came to fulfill the law? This is what He meant. The Sabbath was pointing to Him and the deliverance from our bondage. What Paul is telling us is that Jesus is our Sabbath!
It is in Him that we find true rest. He has delivered us from our sin. This is what the Sabbath was for. As a Christian, we have ceased from our bondage to the law and we are set free. We are at rest in Christ.
This is what the gospel is all about. The Sabbath has been fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. So, for the Christian, the Sabbath is not just an obligation to behave a certain way on a certain day. We live it every day of our lives. We walk with Jesus.
Hebrews 4:9-11
“So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest...”