The Fourth Commandment decreed the seventh day of the week a day of rest (Exod. 20:8-11). God created the Sabbath for us (Mark 2:27) as a means of keeping our focus on our relationship with him. It marks our identity as belonging to the Lord as his holy people (1 Pet. 2:9-10).
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According to the Mosaic Law, to work on the Sabbath was to desecrate it, since it was considered irreverent and willful disobedience toward God, for which the penalty was death (Exod. 35:2).
This harsh sentence foreshadows God’s final judgment of permanent death on all who live in rebellion against him (Rev. 21:8). This was symbolically enacted out during the Exodus, when the disobedient failed to enter the earthly promised land of Canaan (Num. 14:21-35; Heb. 3:7-19; compare Num. 14:22 with John 12:37).
The fundamental principle of the Jewish Law is love (Matt. 22:36-40) along with mercy that naturally flows from it. Therefore, the ultimate act of disobedience toward Go d is acting without mercy and love. In Christ, we now live according to the Spirit, not by a mandatory conformity to the letter of the Law (Rom. 2:29; 7:6).
Christ not only advocated for mercy, not judgment, but also modeled it (John 8:3-11). On one Sabbath, Jesus’ disciples picked heads of grain to eat as they walked through a field. After the Pharisees pointed out this was unlawful, Jesus replied that God desires mercy, not sacrifice (Matt. 12:1-7; see also, Hos. 6:6; Matt. 9:13).
Our mercy for others was so important to our Lord, that he included it in his beatitudes (Matt. 5:7). Since God extends his mercy to us, he expects us to be merciful to others (Matt. 18:32-35; Luke 6:36; Jam. 2:13).
Finally, the temporal Sabbath rest foreshadows the eternal one (Josh. 21:43-45; Col. 2:16-17; Heb. 4:1-11). Christ is our true Sabbath Rest, because it is only in his divine presence – his love and peace which is beyond all human understanding (Phil. 4:7), that we find complete contentment for our souls.
Good news: You can begin to experience God’s Sabbath Rest, now! Come to the Lord with hearts bursting with mercy, and be blessed with the Eternal Rest.
’Walking with Jesus Series, Refl. #123, Sept. 2025
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Copyright © 2025 by Christopher Clark