The concept of Jesus as our Sabbath rest is deeply rooted in Scripture. The Sabbath was established at creation, when God rested on the seventh day after working for six days (Genesis 2:2-3). This was a day set apart and made holy by God, a day of ceasing from labor and being refreshed. The principle of Sabbath rest continued with the giving of the Ten Commandments, when God commanded His people to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8). They were to do no work on this day, just as God had rested from His work (Exodus 20:9-11).
When Jesus came, He declared Himself to be “Lord of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:28). As Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath. The purpose of the Sabbath was to provide time focused on God, rest from labor, and anticipation of an eternal rest with God. Jesus embodied these purposes. He is our rest and refuge (Matthew 11:28-29), He lived a sinless life for us, accomplishing righteousness on our behalf, and He made a way for us to eternally rest with God by dying for our sins.
Jesus provides true rest for our souls in several key ways:
- He bore our sins on the cross so we can cease from our own works of trying to earn salvation and rest in His finished work (1 Peter 2:24).
- He gives us rest from the burden and condemnation of the law, taking that yoke upon Himself (Matthew 11:28-30).
- He intercedes for us before the Father, giving us rest from worry and fear (Hebrews 7:25).
- He sanctifies us by His Spirit to make us holy as He is holy, giving rest from the struggle against sin (Hebrews 13:12).
- He is always with us through His Spirit, giving rest from loneliness and despair (Matthew 28:20).
- He secures eternal rest for those who trust in Him (Hebrews 4:1-3). One day we will enter our eternal Sabbath rest with Him in heaven.
Jesus embodies the Sabbath principles of ceasing from work, focusing on God, and anticipating eternal rest in several ways:
- We cease from our own works and rest in His finished work (Hebrews 4:10). We no longer try to earn salvation but trust fully in what He accomplished for us.
- We focus on God by abiding in Christ through the Spirit and living for Him (Colossians 2:6-7). He becomes the center of our lives.
- We wait with hope for the eternal rest promised to us, when we will be with God forever (Titus 2:13). The weekly Sabbath gives us a taste of this eternal rest.
Jesus lived a perfect life for us, accomplishing the righteousness we could never achieve. As our Substitute, He met all the demands of the law on our behalf (Romans 8:3-4). His perfect sacrifice paid the penalty we deserved because of our sin (1 Peter 3:18). When we place our trust in Christ, we receive His righteousness credited to our account (Romans 4:22-25). We enter God’s rest by faith in Christ, ceasing from our works and resting in His finished work (Hebrews 4:9-10).
The author of Hebrews uses the example of the Israelites in the wilderness to illustrate entering God’s rest through faith. Although God had promised rest to the Israelites in the Promised Land, most of them did not enter that rest because of unbelief. Their bodies fell in the wilderness because they did not trust God (Hebrews 3:7–4:13). For us today, the promised rest is salvation through faith in Christ. We enter that rest when we believe in Him, but others fail to enter because of unbelief (Hebrews 4:1–3).
Jesus is our source of true Sabbath rest. He invites all who are weary and burdened to come to Him and find rest for their souls (Matthew 11:28–30). When we come to Him in repentance and faith, we find the rest our souls desperately need. We cease from our own works and trust in His finished work for us. We follow Him as Lord of the Sabbath, submitting to His life and righteousness. As we abide in Christ, we experience rest, renewal, and refreshment. One day, we will enter into our eternal Sabbath rest with God in heaven, resting from our labors and reveling in the glorious presence of God.
The Sabbath was always meant to be a shadow and foretaste of Christ (Colossians 2:16–17). He is the substance that casts the shadow. When He came, He showed Himself as the Lord of the Sabbath. He is the reality, the rest for which we were made. When we trust in Him, we are united to Him by faith. We find our true rest in Him alone.
Jesus does not abolish the moral law, but rather He fulfills it perfectly on our behalf (Matthew 5:17). He meets all its requirements through His sinless life. Jesus frees us from sin, which is transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). Through His grace and enabling by the Spirit, we are able to keep the moral law in a new way—not legalistically but out of love for Christ.
The civil and ceremonial aspects of the law, such as detailed Sabbath regulations and rituals, are set aside because they are fulfilled in Christ and no longer binding (Colossians 2:16–17). The moral law remains, and we uphold its central principles as we follow Christ by the Spirit. But we do not try to earn salvation through law-keeping. Rather, we trust in Christ’s finished work and righteousness for us. His grace empowers us to obey God and delight in His law.
The Ten Commandments, including the fourth commandment regarding Sabbath, reveal God’s unchanging moral law. However, the specific regulations about Sabbath observance given to Israel are not binding in the new covenant. The Pharisees added extensive rules about what constituted work and imposed harsh punishments for breaking Sabbath regulations. But Jesus rejected this legalistic approach, focusing instead on doing good on the Sabbath (Mark 3:1–6).
For believers in the new covenant, Sabbath rest serves as a reminder of salvation through faith in Christ (Hebrews 4:2–10). We cease from our own works as we trust in His finished work. Each Lord’s Day (Sunday) points us to the saving work Christ accomplished through His death and resurrection. We celebrate our eternal rest secured by His victory over sin and death. Through the gift of salvation, we can enter God’s presence and experience true rest.
The principle of Sabbath rest remains for God’s people, but the strict regulations given to Israel no longer apply in the same way. Through Christ, we have entered into God’s rest in a way that goes far beyond a day of the week. We rest in His grace daily, reminded of His salvation each Lord’s Day. As we walk by the Spirit, we fulfill God’s moral law, which reflects His unchanging righteousness and love.
The Lord’s Day, celebrated each Sunday, reminds believers of Christ’s resurrection and the eternal life we have through faith in Him. As the early church gathered to worship on Sunday, the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2), they celebrated the new creation inaugurated by Christ’s resurrection. Sunday worship points us to the new covenant salvation secured by Christ and the lasting rest we have in Him. The Sabbath regulations given to Israel find their fulfillment in Christ, who gives eternal rest to all who trust in Him.
The fact that Jesus is our Sabbath rest affects how we live as Christians in several important ways:
- We seek to regularly set aside time to worship God, commune with Christ, and be renewed – on Sundays, our “Lord’s Day,” and all throughout the week (Hebrews 10:24-25). This is the principle of Sabbath.
- We rest from self-reliance in our spiritual lives, ceasing from works-based righteousness, knowing we are saved by God’s grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone (Ephesians 2:8-9).
- We allow Him to redeem our mind, body, emotions and relationships from the effects of the Fall – conflict, pain, restlessness, idolatry – and we embrace the restorative rest He wants to bring into every area of our lives (Matthew 11:28).
- We look forward to an eternity where we will rest from all sin and all labor in His presence forever, reveling in the glory of God (Revelation 14:13). This is our blessed hope.
Because Jesus is our Sabbath rest, we do not try to earn salvation by our own merits. We cease from self-reliance and performance-driven religion. His perfect life and sacrifice accomplished everything required for our salvation. Our good works flow from gratitude, not obligation. We obey because we are saved, not to be saved. Resting in Christ’s finished work frees us from the crushing weight of works-righteousness. We rest.
In summary, Jesus is our Sabbath rest in the fullest sense. He fulfills the whole purpose of the Sabbath for us. When we place our trust in Him, we enter true rest for our souls that surpasses a day of the week. Christ’s finished work and sinless life provide the only ground for our salvation. We cease from our own labors, rest on His redeeming work, and find our purpose and hope in Him alone.