The Certain Gospel: What is the Sabbath? | Luke 6:1-11

What is the Sabbath? I want to offer you two definitions:

“Biblical Sabbath is a twenty-four-hour block of time in which we stop work, enjoy rest, practice delight, and contemplate God.” The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Peter Scazzero

“Saturday; the holy day when Jewish people were commanded not to work.” Luke 1-12 For You by Mike McKinley

Our first definition is more modern and explains how the Sabbath matters for us. Our second definition goes back to the original context of the Sabbath, and how it mattered for the nation of Israel thousands of years ago. Both definitions are good, but does the Bible have a definition? Let’s turn to the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping 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, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (NIV^®)

Why do we throw out this commandment? We don’t do that with any of the other 10 Commandments. The Bible says Jesus perfectly obeyed the law, but that doesn’t mean we can now murder or steal (Matt 5:17-18). Jesus kept Sabbath, and as a follower of Jesus, I believe we’re called to keep a day of Sabbath rest still. In our passage today, Jesus doesn’t end the practice of Sabbath, but clarifies it. He doesn’t say, “You should no longer do this” but rather, “This is how you should do it.” In one sense, Jesus offers us his own definition by first tellings us what the Sabbath is not, and then what it is.

The Sabbath is not… a day for burdensome rules. (Luke 6:1-2)

Luke 6:1-2 One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and his disciples began to pick some heads of grain, rub them in their hands and eat the kernels. Some of the Pharisees asked, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”

When the Pharisees see the disciples picking and eating heads of grain on the Sabbath, they believe they have broken the Sabbath law. They counted the act of plucking as reaping, the act of rubbing as threshing, and the act of eating as preparing a meal, all of which are work. They did all this to get a small gooey pellet of food, which I’m sure tasted like something you can buy at Whole Foods.

For a long time the nation of Israel broke God’s sabbath laws and this is one of the reasons God sent Israel into exile (2 Chronicles 36:21). So as the Jewish people came back to Israel, they created extra rules to prevent themselves from breaking the Sabbath again. If there’s a fence around the Sabbath, they created a fence around the fence so that they wouldn’t come close to breaking the Sabbath. They did this by forbidding 39 activities on the Sabbath, and that day the disciples broke at least four of their rules.

But if you look at the restrictions around the Sabbath in the Bible, there aren’t that many. You’re not supposed to work, collect, prepare food, or start a fire, you’re supposed to rest, and a few others. It doesn’t say you can’t write or erase two letters, but their list of 39 rules said that.

When we add rules to God’s way, we create religion. What a religion based on rules does is create fear, guilt, and anxiety. In the grainfield that day, Jesus challenges their additional rules and the guilt it creates.

There’s a very simple application for us here. The Sabbath is not a day for burdensome rules. As Christians, God gives us a day of rest each week. This is not a day to worry about if you’re doing Sabbath rest right or wrong. Trying to do Sabbath right should not stress you out. However, neither should we use our conviction of Sabbath rest to lord it over others and to look like a superior religious person.

The Sabbath is not… a day for burdensome rules. But does that mean it’s a day for no rules at all? The Bible itself gives some rules for Sabbath rest. Should we just ignore them now because Jesus obeyed them each perfectly on our behalf? Or perhaps, is part of what it means to follow Jesus to have a day of Sabbath rest like him? Some might argue that Sabbath is optional based on Romans 14:5-6a where Paul says to be fully convinced in your own mind about whether one day is special or not. I respect that view, but I still think God provides a day of Sabbath rest, with healthy (not burdensome) boundaries, for our good.

Let’s go back to the fence illustration. Trail Ridge Road is near the town I grew up in, Estes Park Colorado. This road is the “highest continuous paved road in the United States, reaching an elevation of 12,183 feet.” When you drive that road, do you think you feel safer on the stretches of roadway that have a guardrail or the stretches that don’t have a guardrail? You feel much safer when there’s a guardrail. God gives us guardrails for our Sabbath days. The key is to discern his guardrails and not to place our own where we shouldn’t put them.

The Sabbath is… a day for boundaries that liberate. (Luke 6:3-11)

Here we find three boundaries (or principles) of keeping Sabbath rest. We don’t have a story in the Bible of Jesus encountering an overworked individual who never takes a Sabbath. Maybe it’s because most Jews were trying to keep it. I still think we can draw out principles that apply to us who have trouble stopping.

1) Sabbath is a day to have our needs met. (Luke 6:3-4)

Luke 6:3-4 Jesus answered them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God, and taking the consecrated bread, he ate what is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”

In 1 Samuel 21:1-6, David is fleeing from King Saul. Saul wants to kill David because God chose David to be king instead of him. But David and his men quickly run out of provisions and the only food available is consecrated bread that only the Priests were supposed to eat. The priest agrees to give David the bread, and they take and eat it. Jesus is pointing back to this story for two reasons. First, if David used consecrated bread to meet his needs, we can use a Sabbath day to meet our needs.

Mark 2:27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

When we think about our Sabbath day, we should think about it as a day to meet our spiritual, emotional, and physical needs. If I am a glass of water that is poured out over the course of a week, how can I be filled back up on my day of rest?

How can I be filled up spiritually? Maybe I spend time in prayer or reading my Bible or singing or playing an instrument I enjoy.
How can I be filled up emotionally. Maybe Monica and I go for that walk together, or I invite friends over to watch a movie, or we play board games.
How can I be filled up physically? Maybe I sleep in and take a nap or go out for a nice meal, or if you’re like one of our ushers, go run 60 miles.

The Sabbath is a day to have our needs met. The Second reason Jesus tells this story is because King David foreshadowed a greater king to come. King David was a Messianic figure, and so he has special authority. But he wasn’t the true Messiah, God’s final chosen King. Jesus is, and so he claims even greater authority than King David. He is Lord of the Sabbath, which leads us to our second boundary.

2) Sabbath is a day to commune with Christ. (Luke 6:5)

Luke 6:5 Then Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

There’s only one way to truly experience Sabbath rest, and that’s in Christ. Back in Genesis, at the end of the creation account God rested on the seventh day. We read about this in Exodus 20:11. God created the world in six days but entered into a special divine rest on the seventh day. The Bible never tells us God left that state of spiritual rest. In fact, the very first people, Adam and Eve, were supposed to share in this eternal rest with God, but they sinned and separated themselves from God’s rest.

Hebrews 4:9-10 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.

So how can we enter into this rest? Through Christ! That’s why Christ came, to restore our access to our Sabbath rest with our Heavenly Father.

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

We all spend our whole lives looking for this Sabbath rest. We want peace and happiness, but no matter how many vacations we take, or how much exercise we get, or how many football games we watch, we still feel unrested and unsatisfied. See, we can’t find lasting rest in things or experiences, but in a person, Jesus.

Jesus Christ is our Sabbath rest. Jesus stepped down out of heaven and into our unrest. He took the chaos of our sin upon himself on the cross and died. He didn’t stay dead. He rose and ascended into perfect heavenly rest. Now he invites us to come and join him in this rest. He offers us his perfect spiritual rest for our imperfect spiritual unrest. By confessing our sins and believing in him, he gives us his rest. He makes it so that we no longer have to be perfect to please God, so that we’re no longer slaves to sin, and so that we are children of God. We have so much rest in Jesus!

Our day of Sabbath rest is a symbol of much greater rest. Just like the local church is the visible manifestation of the universal church, a day of Sabbath rest is the visible manifestation of our eternal Sabbath rest. When we stop for a day to be in communion with Christ, we tell the world we don’t have to work hard for God to love us. We won’t know full rest until eternity, but we can begin to taste that rest today through spending a day in relationship with him.

Question. Do you spend time communing with Christ on your Sabbath? Is he Lord of your Sabbath? I’ve included a Sabbath assessment quiz in the bulletin that I’d like you to take after the service. It will give you a good idea of whether or not you’re taking a Sabbath rest with Christ or not. First, Sabbath is a day to have our needs met. Second, Sabbath is a day to commune with Christ. Third…

3) Sabbath is a day to do good things. (Luke 6:6-11)

On another Sabbath, Jesus enters the synagogue and there’s a man there with a withered hand. He has some sort of disability that made it so he can’t move or use his right hand. The Pharisees, who loved rules, think that maybe Jesus is going to break another one of their rules by healing on the Sabbath. They said you weren’t supposed to do this except for life-threatening emergencies.

Luke 6:9 Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”

Jesus goes on to heal the man, proving that the Sabbath is a day on which we can do good things, and this makes the Pharisees so mad they are “filled with fury” and begin plotting against Jesus.

Sometimes I feel mad at Jesus for asking me to do good things on my Sabbath day. Like I really don’t like doing home improvement projects or manual labor on Sundays, my Sabbath day. I don’t really like helping people move, but sometimes Jesus asks me to do those good things. And you know what? I’ve had people come help me on their days off, which I’m so grateful for.

The Sabbath is not a day for burdensome rules… But, the Sabbath is a day for boundaries that liberate. There’s a tension here. We don’t want to be burdened by legalism on our Sabbath day, but we could still use some guidance for how to treat this special day. There’s a paradox here.

I want us to take a moment and run everything we’ve learned through a case study. Joshua has always had trouble knowing if he is doing Sabbath right, and because he is more left-brained, more type a, more analytical and organized, he has written down his Sabbath boundaries. He doesn’t want to be a legalistic Pharisee, but he also doesn’t want to ruin the day of rest God has given him. So he has asked us as a church to review what he has put together. First he wrote down his goal for his Sabbath:

Goal: Rest from work, feel refreshed, and spend time with Jesus, family, and friends.

Based on what I understand of the Sabbath, I think Joshua has a good goal. Next he decides when it will be.

Duration: Our Sabbath day starts at church Saturday at 5pm and lasts till Sunday at 5pm.

Of course, Joshua goes to the greatest church in the world, Cornerstone Congregational Church, so he kicks off his day of Sabbath rest by going to church on Saturday evening, even serving with the welcome team. Then he writes down his boundaries for what his family’s Sabbath is, and what it is not.

Our Sabbath is:

1. A day to spend time with Jesus at church through worship and at home through personal and family devotions and prayer.
2. A day to spend time with my wife and children, eating meals, playing outside and games, going on family outings, watching a movie together.
3. A day for our family to spend time with friends (so long as it doesn’t sacrifice family time).
4. A day for each of us to have some alone-time being refreshed or doing what we enjoy (football, hike, paint, read, nap, etc.).
5. A day for us to serve and love others in need.

When I look at these boundaries, I see spiritual, emotional, and physical needs being met. I see intentional communion with Christ, but also communion with Christ throughout the day, and I see lot’s of good things. I do see a danger that if every Sabbath is an opportunity to serve and love others, then you may never rest or spend time with family. Of course, any of these could become Pharisaical rules, so they should all be held loosely. Now let’s look at what his family’s Sabbath is not.

Our Sabbath is not:

1. A day to check emails, finish work projects, or do homework from school.
2. A day to do housework, chores, or home improvement projects.
3. A day to over-consume media or over-commit to sports.
4. A day centered on me, but on Christ.

I think it’s harder to come up with boundaries you won’t do on your Sabbath day, as it’s easy to become legalistic. Joshua doesn’t find home improvement projects relaxing and enjoyable, but some of you may. He tends to work too much, so he needs to remind himself to stay away from email. These boundaries may need to be broken on occasion. Joshua may have to finish work because a deadline is looming, but if a deadline is looming every week, it’s time for him to change jobs. Joshua may also need to prepare for his Sabbath day. The Jews took a day of preparation to get their house clean and food prepared. What can he do to prepare for his Sabbath day? (prepare a meal, do the dishes, take out the trash)

I hope these boundaries don’t feel like legalism to you. Many of you know how to rest naturally and don’t need them. But what I like about them is they actually set Joshua free and they can set us free too. I don’t have to check email today! I don’t have to strain my eyes sitting in front of a computer all day! I don’t have to do dishes! So I want to encourage you to go home, talk with your family, and create your own Sabbath plan to help you enjoy the liberation Christ gives you on this day. Here’s my closing big idea.

The Sabbath is a day of need, a day of communion, a day of good things.

We’re going to close by singing “Resting Place.” The first verse says this, “My faith, has found, a resting place. Not in my work or deed. I trust, the ever-living One. His wounds, for me, shall plead.” We can take a day of rest with Christ because we already have a day of eternal rest in Christ. When we rest, we say, “It’s not about my work” but his. The Sabbath is a day of need, a day of communion, a day of good things.

Pastor Jonathan Romig wrote and preached this message for the people of Cornerstone Congregational Church. Click here to listen to more sermons or click here to read our story.

Photo by DXR – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=36876544