The Sabbath

The Sabbath (Hebrew: Shabbat, meaning “to rest” or “to cease all work”) is one of the main Jewish holy days.

 The Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between the Israelites and Jehovah God, and it is explicitly commanded in the Ten Commandments. The Israelites were required to observe the Sabbath on this holy day, which occurred every seven days, as well as on several specific holidays each year, and during the Sabbatical (seventh) and Jubilee (fiftieth) years. According to the Jewish calendar, the weekly Sabbath corresponds to what is now Saturday, beginning at sunset on Friday and ending after two stars appear in the sky on Saturday. When the Sabbath begins, Jews light candles, with the timing determined by the local sunset.

For the Israelites, the Sabbath was originally a joyous day. It was a day for the people to “remember” their salvation, freedom, and deliverance. On this day, “no work” was to be done because God Himself would provide (manna and quail in the wilderness, and water from the rock). People, animals, and the land could all rest and enjoy God’s favor and provision. However, the Pharisees, scribes, and priests added their own subjective rules to the observance of the Sabbath, creating a web of restrictions that oppressed people and turned the Sabbath into a burdensome yoke. The Gospels repeatedly record conflicts between the Lord Jesus and these Jewish leaders, which intensified as Jesus healed people on the Sabbath. When they saw the miracles Jesus performed, they did not give glory to God but instead hated Jesus and sought to kill Him.

In Matthew 12:8, the Lord Jesus said, “For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.” He has the authority to command the Sabbath and to interpret its laws. The King of the kingdom of heaven came to lead people into that kingdom, which means leading them to Himself to find rest and enjoy Sabbath rest in the kingdom. He desires to give people true rest and does not want them to be burdened by the rules of the Sabbath.

The Bible records:

[Matthew 12:5-8] Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.