Come to Me and I Will Give You Rest! Part II

"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" Matthew 11:28-30.

In this meditation we will address the rest that Jesus promised, "I will give you rest… you will find rest for your souls."

The physical and spiritual rest that our Creator provides from the labor and heavy burdens of life is found in the heart of God's law of love. Let's take a look at that. "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work; you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it" Exodus 20:8-11.

The Sabbath is a memorial of creation. It refers back to creation week. "Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made" Genesis 2:1-3.

The Sabbath is also a memorial to the freedom God gave the children of Israel when He freed them from slavery and brought them out of Egypt. In Deuteronomy 5:12-14, Moses quotes the Sabbath commandment and in verse 15 states, "And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day." The Sabbath is a memorial to the freedom God gives His people when He brings them out of the slavery of sin that has held them in bondage.

The Sabbath is also a memorial of redemption. Jesus rested from all His labor on the seventh day following His crucifixion. And He was resurrected on the first day of the week to begin a new phase of His ministry.

Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath" Mark 2:27. The Sabbath is a day of rest at the end of every week that is also a celebration of life that embraces and unites creation, redemption and final restoration; the past, the present and the future. The Sabbath is a time to experience the blessings of salvation provided to us by our Creator, Savior and Friend. It is a day to worship God, enjoy the fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ, and to provide service to those in need. The Sabbath provides not only physical rest, it provides rejuvenation and renewing of our souls. "I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them… Hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God" Ezekiel 20:12, 20.

Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments… If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me" John 14:15, 23, 24.

Resting on the Sabbath is an expression of our love and commitment to God. Our life is a measure of time and the way we spend time is indicative of where our interests and loyalties lie. We have no time for those whom we do not care for, but we share our time with those we love, honor and respect. Sharing our time with the invisible God on His Holy Day is evidence of our relationship with Him.

The Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, is the Lord's day. "For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath" Matthew 12:8. So why do most Christians in the world today keep the first day of the week as the Sabbath rather than the seventh day? History reveals the answer to that question. Over several centuries following the destruction of Jerusalem about 70 AD, the transition of the Sabbath from the seventh day of the week to the first day of the week was the result of many factors including Jewish, pagan and Christian influences. A scholarly description of this transition is in a book published in 1977 by the Pontifical Gregorian University Press in Rome titled From Sabbath to Sunday, by Samuele Bacchiocchi. "The adoption of Sunday observance in place of the Sabbath did not occur in the primitive Church of Jerusalem by virtue of the authority of Christ or of the Apostles, but rather took place several decades later, seemingly in the Church of Rome… The complete application of the Sabbath commandment of a bodily rest to Sunday was not accomplished before the fifth and sixth centuries." From Sabbath to Sunday, pp. 309, 310.

The first day of the week Sabbath is a tradition of the elders of the Christian church from several centuries AD, much like the traditions of church elders in Christ's day. Jesus spoke of the traditions of church elders that transgress the commandments of God (See Matthew 15:1-9). He quoted from Isaiah, "These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" Matthew 15:8, 9.

Paul provides encouragement and wise council, "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power" Colossians 2:8-10.

The Sabbath is an amazing gift of rest and freedom from the work and worry of the rest of the week. It is a sign between God and His people who are loyal to Him. If we change the day, our loyalty is not to the Lord of the Sabbath, but to the traditions of men and we miss the values that God has to share with us on His special day.

"I will give you rest... you will find rest for your souls."