Saturday, May 31, 2014 [Sabbath]
28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
(John 19:28-30, NIV)
As a teacher there was never a day that I left my classroom and headed home thinking that I had completed anything. There was always more paperwork to complete, more homework or tests to grade, more parents to call, and more lessons to plan. It was difficult for me to establish and maintain boundaries because I always felt like I was in work mode, desperately trying to reach this "finishing line." I was so anxious most of the time, worried about whether I had done enough, whether what I had done was good enough, that I would dive into work even on the weekend, still trying to finish. This affected everything. I hardly ever felt like I rested and I would periodically bring work issues into my time with my wife (not a good move…). I couldn't rest because I felt like I needed to finish everything.
Then I learned about the Sabbath. This changed everything. God created the for us to rest…in Him (Mark 2:27). It's not simply about resting by not doing work. It's about refraining from work because God has already completed the work (see Exodus 20:9-11 below). It's a trust thing! We actually have to "deny [ourselves]" (Lev. 23:32) and fight our tendency to want to "finish" or "do" everything ourselves and trust God. For the Jews, that fight began by remembering how God had freed Israel from the oppression of Egypt (Deut. 5:15). That liberation was not won because the Israelites did anything – it was God who did it, He finished the work!
Enter Jesus. Here in John 19 we read Jesus' very own words, which bring me so much joy – "It is finished." Like the Lord freed the Israelites from the oppression of Egypt, Jesus frees us from the oppression of sin, a work that we would never ever be able to finish. We could never attain that blessed status of "good enough" because it requires perfection. The only "enough" suitable to God is 100% and we missed that mark on the day of our birth. There is no penance for human sin apart from the Blood of Jesus Christ.
You and I need to rest…in Him. We are anxious, worried, freaked out, intimidated, and restless, because we do not take the time to rest in Jesus. He finished everything at creation (Ex. 20:11, Jn. 1:1-3). That is what the Sabbath is for – to REMEMBER and REST. What must it take for us to trust God enough to REST? What else must He do to prove Himself?
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Exodus 20:9-11
9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 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. 11 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.
Leviticus 23:32
32 It is a day of sabbath rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath."
Deuteronomy 5:15
15 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
John 1:1-3, 14
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made… 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Mark 2:27
27 Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.
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