Sabbath Rest

Today, we move on to the next chapter in John. What we find here is conflict. And that conflict erupts because of the Sabbath. Jesus and the Jewish authorities of his day don't exactly see eye-to-eye on this. But there is, in fact, something more that is going on in this conflict, something deeper. The ongoing conflict between Jesus and these leaders is about something more than just the Sabbath. And it’s that ‘something more’ that I want you to see. Please listen as I read our text, John5.1-17.

So, what happened? Jesus finds a man who is seriously sick. Jesus speaks to the man and heals him. Jesus then tells him, in effect, to go home. 'Oh, and don't forget your mat. Be sure you take that with you.' The man starts home, carrying his mat. The Jewish leaders see this, and they go ballistic. ‘Someone is breaking the rules! This man is working on the Sabbath, and we can’t have that.’ Or can we?

Now, things get interesting when it hits you that Jesus could have healed this man on another day of the week. The Sabbath was only one day of the seven. Another day could have worked just as well. I'm pretty sure that Jesus would have found the same man in the same place by the same pool on any other day of that week. And if he had healed him then, there would have been no conflict. This whole thing could have been avoided. But Jesus decides to heal him on a Sabbath day. Why? I can’t help but think that he wants to make a point. And, to be sure, part of that point has to do with the Sabbath, but not as some theological issue for scholars to debate. Behind this question of the Sabbath lies a deeper question. Who is God? That is, what is he like? What kind of person is he? The Bible is a revelation of God. That means the Sabbath is a revelation of God. It explains who he is and what he is like. So, the issue here is not about some detail of religious law. The issue is actually about who God is, and especially who he is toward us. And that’s one major theme in the ongoing conflict between Jesus and the Jewish leaders. Who is God and what is he like? That’s where this conflict about the Sabbath is going to lead us.

Let’s start by understanding some things about the Sabbath. So, there is this from Genesis.

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

Now, that word 'rested' is the translation of the Hebrew word 'shabat' which is where the English word 'Sabbath' comes from. And that makes sense. The Sabbath is about rest. When God created all of this, he built in a day of rest for each week. The Sabbath is a day of rest, and it is that because that’s how God created the universe.

This understanding of the Sabbath shows up in the Ten Commandments.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

The reason given for this Commandment about the Sabbath goes back to when God created all of this. When God had created, he rested. So, God tells Israel that they are to rest, one day in seven.

Now, a question. How serious was God when it came to Israel keeping the Sabbath? Was it all that important? Well, consider this command.

Six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.

I think that we can say that God was pretty serious about this idea of Sabbath-keeping. I’d wager that folk today would think that he was a little too serious about Sabbath-keeping, but we’ll leave that discussion for another time.

So, let’s pull this together. The Sabbath is about resting. God created everyone and everything in such a way that the need for rest is built-in. So, he made a rule about that and included it in his ten rules. He was serious when he made this one of his ten rules, deadly serious. And whatever someone might think about how the Ten Commandments apply today, everyone agrees that all ten were in full force when Jesus was having this conflict with the Jewish leaders of his day.

Now, we’re ready for that deeper issue. As I mentioned, this conflict between Jesus and the Jewish leaders is about more than Sabbath-keeping. It’s about the character of God. We have two very different ways of understanding who God is. That’s what’s going on in this conflict about how to keep the Sabbath.

There is deep disagreement between Jesus and these leaders. It’s helpful to note, however, that there are some things that Jesus and his opponents do agree on when it comes to this rule and the God who established it.

·   They are both talking about the same God, the God of Moses who gave those Ten Commandments to his people.

·   This God makes rules. Sabbath-keeping, having a day of rest, is one of them.

·   This God is dangerous because he expects his rules to be followed. He has been clear about the consequences of refusing to keep this rule about the Sabbath.

Jesus and his opponents agree on these things.

So, now we’re ready to take a look at what they don’t agree on. The first comes up when you ask the question, ‘Why?’ Asking why, at the right time and in the right way, can be very helpful. A good answer to a ‘why’ question can be very revealing. Why did God tell Israel to keep this rule about the Sabbath? How would the Jewish leaders have answered that question? Based on what we know about them it is fair to say that they saw this rule as one of the many hoops that a person needed to jump through in order to prove to God that he was good enough. Clearly, Jesus disagrees with that. More about this in a bit.

Another disagreement shows up in their understanding of God as dangerous. For the Jewish leadership, God is dangerous because he is cold and exacting. One little slip and you’re dead. And that’s why they added to how God described Sabbath‑keeping. Was it wrong for the man in our text to carry his mat on a Sabbath? Was there something that God had said about that? No. The man had not broken God’s Sabbath rule. He broke one of the rules that the leadership added to God’s Sabbath rule. These leaders added to it for what they thought were good reasons. ‘You can never be too careful. This God will just zap you if you’re even a little out of line. So, let’s just add some buffer here to stay far away from even the possibility of breaking his rule – you know, just in case.’ And that makes sense if God is cold and exacting – and merciless.

So, back to our question, ‘What is God like?’ This is how they answered it. He is the kind of God who requires lots of jumping through hoops. And if you fail to do that just so, you’re history.

Now, what about Jesus? How does he answer our question about what God is like? I think that it’s helpful to see that Jesus presented – and still presents – a God who has rules. And this God really expects his rules to be followed. That’s not a common understanding these days, but it’s the truth. It’s why we have ‘The Reading of God’s Law’ as part of each Sunday’s worship. God still has rules, and he still expects them to be followed. But this is where that ‘Why?’ question needs to show up. Why did God give these rules? For Jesus, God’s rules weren’t stepping stones to arrive at some place where you are finally found acceptable. And that’s a good thing. If that were the case no one would be found acceptable. In fact, one of God’s purposes in having those rules was to make that abundantly clear. He wants us to understand ourselves so that we would see that trying to be good enough is a waste of time. It can never work. No one is good enough and no one will ever become good enough. So, here’s the first part of the answer to the question, ‘Why did God give these rules?’ God gave his rules to show us all that we are in serious trouble. We don’t keep his rules. We deserve to be killed.

It’s not just a coincidence that when God established those ten rules he also established animal sacrifice. Those sacrifices functioned as a daily reminder of a simple point. The rules have been broken. Somebody has to die. The animals were a picture of that. They pictured Jesus. We are not killed for breaking God’s rules only because Jesus was killed in our place. A serious look at God’s rules, including Sabbath-keeping, and his expectation that they be kept, will lead to the Cross.

God’s character is displayed in those rules. He established them and he wants all his creatures to keep them. But his goal in that – his answer to the why question – has nothing to do with our proving ourselves good enough. The rules prove the opposite. Our failure points us to Jesus.

But there is another part to the answer to this question, ‘Why did God give these rules?’ Even though we fail to keep this rule about the Sabbath, he still wants us to work at trying to keep it – even though we will do a lousy job of it. And he has a purpose in still insisting on this. He wants us to live well. God made that Sabbath rule for our good. Remember, he made us in such a way that we need to rest, to really rest. So, he made a rule for us to follow. One day out of seven is a day to rest. Trying to keep that rule helps to make life work.

So, while it’s true that Jesus agreed with the leaders that God intends for the rules to be followed, his reasons for why that’s important are so very different from theirs.

Now, all of that is still about our question, ’What is God like?’ He wants his creatures to flourish. That’s why he established the Sabbath in the first place. Creation has this built-in need to rest. The entrance of sin messed that up. But once sin is dealt with – and that’s what Jesus is about – the Sabbath rule is still in place and for the same reason: so that all of God’s creatures can flourish. The God of the Bible is not cold and harsh. He wants us all to flourish. Jesus came to make that clear and as he did there was conflict. The problem that the Jewish leaders had with Jesus was about more than this or that rule. It was about understanding – and enjoying – God.

This still leaves something. I had said that Jesus agreed with the Jewish authorities that God is dangerous. Is he still? Too many today would answer that with a very loud, ‘No’. They would tell us that God is love and therefore he is no longer dangerous. And they would be wrong. God still is dangerous. But, again, you need to ask that ‘Why?’ question. He isn’t dangerous because he’s nasty. He’s dangerous because he cares. He’s dangerous precisely because he is love. When my kids were growing up, they knew that I was dangerous. They knew that because I spanked them. I never spanked in anger. I never just lashed out. And I always discussed with them why I was going to spank them. My goal was to teach them how to live well. And once I explained what was going on, I spanked them. I was dangerous. Ask them. But I was dangerous because I loved my kids. (Still do!) Your God is dangerous. But he is dangerous because he loves you. He wants you to thrive. So, he expects you to keep his rules. But – and this is really important – your God is full of mercy and grace. He doesn’t always spank. There are times when the best way to discipline a child is to tell him, ‘I should spank you for what you did. But I won’t.’

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. ​He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities

Your God is a dangerous God, a God who expects to be obeyed. But he is also a God who is full of love and mercy and grace.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

There is one more piece of the picture that I want to include this morning. If someone understands who God is – as Jesus has revealed him to be – how does that show? Specifically, what does Sabbath‑keeping look like for a person who knows the real God?

Keeping a Sabbath rest once a week is, for this kind of person, an act of submission and trust. The world around us tells us that there is much to do so we had better hurry up and fill each hour so that we can get it all done. As a result, there is this persistent push, push, push. This way of thinking is all around us. It’s built into the expectations of teachers and supervisors and neighbors and family – and churches too. And it is so wrong.

Listen to something else God had Moses write down.

When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the Lord. For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the Lord. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. You shall not reap what grows of itself in your harvest, or gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land.

This is the Sabbath rule applied to the fields. No planting. No harvesting. No reaping. No gathering. And remember that just about everyone back then was a farmer. And they grew what they did not to export it somewhere. They grew what they did so that they could eat.

No growing had significant implications. Such a rule would raise some questions. God anticipated this.

And if you say, ‘What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?’ I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years.

God promised to bless with more than enough food to last.

I do not know if anyone in Israel kept the Sabbath for the land as God commanded. The only way that someone could keep such a Sabbath is by saying, ‘Lord, you know better than I do how best to live. So, I’ll do it your way. I’ll submit to you. And I’ll trust you to keep your word to provide enough food to take care of me and mine.’ You wouldn’t say that to a cold and exacting God. But you would if he were a God of love.

And that is what we need to say also, especially when the pressure from all the different sources around us is upped. In so many situations that’s what the real issue is: submission and trust. And doing that makes sense as you remember who your God is. He is a God of love and he wants you to flourish.

Let me add this. Keeping a weekly Sabbath rest is also an act of witness. It answers the question, ‘What is God like?’, and it does it in a way that the world around you can see. It’s a terrible answer to that question if keeping a Sabbath rest is a matter of merely keeping some rule because you’re supposed to. That’s so very close to the thinking of the Jewish leaders about jumping through hoops. But if it is an act of submission and trust, if it is pursued because you are persuaded that your Father loves you and that he will care of you and yours, then that speaks volumes to those many rushing, harried people around you. That will explain to them something of the character of the God whom you worship. Your God is a dangerous God who is full of love and mercy and grace.

Last thought. I want you to note that I have been careful not to describe any details of what Sabbath-keeping might look like today. It may look one way for you and your family and very different for someone else. The only thing that I have said is that the Sabbath is a day of rest, one day in seven, and I got that from Genesis. As you consider what to do, what changes, if any, to make remember that your God is not cold and exacting. He is full of mercy and grace. Sometimes he prefers slow, gentle change and not something drastic that upends everyone.

So, what is God like? You answer that question by how you live. You answer that question every week when it comes to the Sabbath.