CHRIST AND THE SABBATH- BY PASTOR GREG ELKAN

First of all, contrary to what many assume, the Sabbath was not a unique day of worship; the Sabbath was a day of _rest!_ Worship and sacrifices was a _daily_ activity under the Law, not something reserved for a special day of the week. While there were special commands regarding the offerings to be offered on the Sabbath (Num 28:9-10), what distinguished the Sabbath from other days was not the worship, but the cessation of work, (Lev 23:3)! What – and why – is the Sabbath? The Sabbath was a day of rest that played an integral role in the Mosaic Law. Anyone familiar with scriptures will be able to say this much. _Why_ the Sabbath was inaugurated, on the other hand, is where much of the misunderstanding is._“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”_ – Ex 20:8  

What work? Was it the work of farming the land, herding cattle or hunting game? 

NO! 

Scriptures clearly states that the purpose of the Law was to serve as _types_ and _shadows_ of Christ (Col 2:17; Heb 8:5; 10:1). 

The “work” that the Sabbath alludes to, therefore, is not physical work but the work of righteousness. From all of antiquity, human beings have always developed systems to atone for their sins and to gain freedom from it: through sacrifices, oblations, acts of penance and piety, pilgrimages, etc. It is an eternal work that is never completed because the Sin problem still remains. 

The Sabbath was therefore instituted as a standing illustration of God’s gift of righteousness by faith, wherein we _cease_ from our labour of righteousness and _rest_ we find in Christ, the “Lord of the Sabbath” (2Cor Mt 12:8).

This is the message of the 4th chapter of Hebrews. The “rest” of the Sabbath can only be found in Christ. Even though they “rested” every 7th day of the week, the Holy Spirit says, _“There remains… a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His,”_ (Heb 4:9-10 NIV).

Christ is the Sabbath – our rest from labouring to earn God’s righteousness, and our deliverance from the bondage of sin, (Gen 2:2; Dt 5:15). 

 

AMEN

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

PASTOR GREG ELKAN

- Nigeria

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