Matthew 11:28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
The 4th Commandment is the only Commandment not addressed in the Two Commandments given to us by Jesus when He said And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the First Commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other Commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:30-31)
The 4th Commandment reads 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)
Contrary to what many people believe, the Sabbath day was not a day of Worship. Rather, it was a day of rest. The rules related to the Sabbath Day were many to the point of being ridiculous and the people were bound by them.
The origin of the Sabbath Day is found in the word sabat which means to rest or stop or cease from work. In Old Testament times, the people did not work on the Sabbath. They rested and sought peace from their work. Their entire lifestyle was dictated by the Law and resulted in work. They worked hard to please God and remain in good standing with Him. This was the essence of their lives.
To keep the Law (which they could not do) depended on their continual work. Their lives were all about what they did to keep the Law. The sacrificial and dietary laws were rigorous and demanded constant work on their part. Only on sabat (the Sabbath Day) could they rest from their work to keep the Law and even then they worked to keep the law which demanded that they do no work! Jesus changed all that!
Because Jesus fulfilled the Law, there is no need for believers to work to attempt to keep it. He said Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. (Matthew 5:17) Jesus IS our Sabbath Rest. We find Peace as we Rest in His Finished Work on the Cross which fulfilled all the Law. We no longer have to work constantly to maintain dietary and sacrificial laws. Nor do we have to work to prepare certain foods to keep the Feast Days which all had spiritual significance. All this work had to do with keeping in right standing with God the Father. In other words, it was all done to atone for their sin.
We don’t have to do any of those things because Jesus fulfilled every aspect of all those Laws on the Cross. Jesus is God’s Answer and Remedy for sin. He nailed it all to the Cross and when He did, He ushered in Peace and Rest to the world. Anyone who believes in His Finished Work on the Cross of Calvary can Rest in Him knowing they are in right standing with God. Jesus is the Prince of Peace in this world. We no longer have to work to be in right standing with our Heavenly Father. All we have to do is believe in His Son and His Work on the Cross. Our faith in Him keeps us in right standing with God the Father.
In Him, we have Peace and Rest every day! Jesus IS our Sabbath Rest. Not just one day a week but every day, all day long! He paid it all so we can rest and know the Peace of God. Hallelujah! He said Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. That’s why the 4th Commandment is not addressed by Jesus in the New Covenant.
Faith in Christ Crucified will……..….turn the tide……..in this world.
Resting in His Finished Work, Doreen
www.bettsministries.org
