“For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News.”
2 Timothy 1:9-10 NLT
God’s long range plan to Save us is through Jesus Christ. It is not just a little improvement of our old sinful lives. Oh no. It is a complete turnaround. It is a newly created reality. A new life. A new beginning.
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT
Yes. Our Redemption is through Jesus Christ, and it is a new creation. A new life. Christ dying for our sins, 1 Corinthians 15:3, is our title to heaven. Christ re-creating us anew, 2 Corinthians 5:17, is our fitness for heaven. Our Redemption is accomplished by Jesus in His role as the Creator and in His role as the Redeemer blended into one. I hope you can see how the mighty acts of creation continue in the mighty acts of re-creation – our Redemption, which therefore are combined in the mission the Sabbath carries – keeping the memories of our loving Creator, our loving Redeemer alive.
In the next section, I hope to show how Jesus, our Creator and Redeemer, continues to be connected with the seventh day Sabbath in His redemptive work – and by that link and example, maintains the mysterious and powerful mission the seventh day received at the end of the creation week.
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Jewish leaders wanted to know if Jesus was really their Messiah.
“One day some teachers of religious law and Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove your authority.” But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign; but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.”
Matthew 12:38-40 NLT
This could have been any three days. Any three days would have proven – Jesus is their Messiah. But God deliberately arranged it so, that Jesus’ body would be resting in the tomb on the Sabbath day. With it He confirmed that its honour, and its mission, and its function – as intended way back on the seventh day of the creation week – continues. We know that Jesus was in the tomb partially on Friday, then the whole of the Sabbath, and then a portion of Sunday. This was after the Cross. This was the sign of Jonas Jesus was talking about. Staying in His tomb for those three days was a testimony to Jewish leaders that Jesus is indeed their Messiah. And so the Messiah’s mission – who is their Redeemer and ours – is linked to the Sabbath.
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Through the Next-of-kin Redeemer laws, (The book of Ruth wonderfully describes the purpose and functioning of these laws), God foreshadowed the mission of Jesus who, as the promised Messiah, will come as our Next-of-kin Elder Brother – to redeem the fallen human family – who, unable to free ourselves from the slavery to sin – were doomed.
“Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”
Philippians 2:6-8 NLT
This amazing passage shows how much condescension was needed by Jesus to reach us – the fallen human beings. On all accounts, we were lost, doomed to extinction in our sins from which it was not possible for us to escape. But God, in His Son Jesus, came looking for us. Through the Next-of-kin Redeemer laws, God foreshadowed this rescue mission, and here we see how it unfolded. Jesus, putting aside the form of God which was His, made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men – coming down, down, and even more down: then being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself even more, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Only the Life of God was big enough to be the substitute and die in our stead so we could be set free. He did just that through His Son Jesus. But to enable our Redemption – Jesus became one with us. Becoming a human being – and now as the new representative of human race, He died the penalty for our sins – so that we may freely share in life which is His.
“For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.”
2 Corinthians 5:19 NLT
We know that Jesus died around 3 pm on Friday afternoon – it was a time of yearly Passover festival, and 3 pm was the time when the Passover lamb was being slain. A coincidence? I don’t think so. The body of Jesus was put in Joseph’s tomb a little before the Sabbath started. A coincidence? I don’t think so. Jesus rested the Sabbath in the tomb, and early on Sunday morning was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father.
“For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”
Romans 6:4 NLT
A coincidence? I don’t think so. Jesus’ rest on that Sabbath was a testimony to men and angels and demons – that a Life of God was indeed sacrificed. His Life, which Jesus gave of His own free will, was our ransom price.
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Matthew 20:28 NLT
The rest on that Sabbath was not a coincidence. It was the evidence against which no opposing argument can succeed. Jesus Christ the Messiah, the Son of God, was indeed dead. Did He go to heaven as soon as He died? Many Christians believe that at the point of death the conscious part of men go to God immediately. But no. Early on Sunday morning Jesus said to Mary:
““Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’””
John 20:17 NLT
If the life of Jesus in the form of His soul or spirit ascended to God immediately upon His death, then Satan would have some ground to say: No. Jesus didn’t really die. This was all God’s manipulation to make it look so. But no. Jesus did indeed die. His cold body laying in Joseph’s tomb through that Sabbath was the evidence which even the devil could not twist. Christ the God was dead. Only the life of God was big enough to atone for our Redemption. The Sabbath faithfully caries the memory of this grand truth: God has died. His death was the Redemption price for the human race, Salvation for all who would believe. The Sabbath carries this message of God’s Redemption – as it carries the message of God’s Creation.
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Meanwhile the women, who were His disciples, prepared some spices and ointments intending to anoint His body for burial, but were cut short by Sabbath which started at sundown.
“This was done late on Friday afternoon, the day of preparation, as the Sabbath was about to begin. As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where his body was placed. Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body. But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law.”
Luke 23:54-56 NLT
While His followers kept the Sabbath outside, Jesus’ body rested the Sabbath inside the tomb. This was a well deserved Victory Rest – after most gruelling conquest over combined forces of demons and evil men. His body was resting on that Sabbath in the tomb because He has successfully completed the Messianic mission by shedding His blood, which was the redemption price for our salvation.
“He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.”
Ephesians 1:7 NLT
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““Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!””
Luke 1:30-33 NLT
From the above Scripture, we see how Jesus, being born of a human mother – was subject to weaknesses and liabilities of our human body – became our Next-of-kin, our Redeemer. He suffered and died a sacrifice in our stead having taken upon Himself our human nature and the body like we sinners have. In it, He lived a perfect life, and died a perfect death to redeem us. To break the power of sin over us, and to pay the penalty for our sins. Thank You Lord Jesus.
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His body rested in the tomb on that Sabbath day, because with His blood He just obtained eternal redemption for us. After His ascension to heaven sometime not long after His resurrection, He entered the Most Holy Place into the presence of God, and presenting His freshly spilled blood on behalf of sinners – He obtained eternal Redemption for us.
“With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.”
Hebrews 9:12 NLT
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Christ’s body rested in the tomb on that Sabbath, because as a man, Jesus fought an unequal battle with the prince of demons, the devil, and conquered. .
“Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.”
Hebrews 2:14 NLT
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Jesus’ body rested on that Sabbath day, because He just secured eternal life for all who believe in Him.
“And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.”
John 3:14-15 NLT
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Christ was resting in the grave on that Sabbath, because all the Messianic Scriptures were now fulfilled in Him, thus vindicating the truth of the living word of God.
“Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus said, “Listen, we’re going up to Jerusalem, where all the predictions of the prophets concerning the Son of Man will come true. He will be handed over to the Romans, and he will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit upon. They will flog him with a whip and kill him, but on the third day he will rise again.””
Luke 18:31-33 NLT
“They found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked Pilate to have him killed anyway. “When they had done all that the prophecies said about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb.”
Acts of the Apostles 13:28-29 NLT
“But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.”
Isaiah 53:5 NLT
Through these few samples we see how the Redemption purchased for us by the Blood of Jesus is connected with the Sabbath – this was after the Cross – by the unchanging will of God.
All these many Redemption victories, plus a lot more, are entrusted to God’s faithful Sabbath – to keep those memories alive. Therefore, the Sabbath remains.
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We know how keen Jesus was to get back home to His Father. We know that He had power to lay down His life and to take it back again.
““The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.””
John 10:17-18 NLT
Why do you think He didn’t use it?
“And the one who sent me is with me—he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him.”
John 8:29 NLT
Jesus obeyed His Father. As we have already seen, there were many reasons why Jesus needed to stay through the Sabbath in His tomb. Even in his death, Jesus respected the Sabbath. God, His Father, arranged that it should be so. That the body of Jesus should rest in the tomb through that Sabbath day. Jesus respected His Father. His obedience had to be perfect. His righteousness needed to be spotless. This demonstrates that the obedience is a vital part of Salvation. But it also shows that the Father and the Son keep honouring the Sabbath after the Cross as they did before.
Yes. The Sabbath remains.
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When on the Cross Jesus cried out ‘It is finished!’, it announced that the redemption of the lost human race was forever made certain, that heaven was made eternally secure against the accusations and deceptions which Satan could instigate. Christ’s redemptive mission was completed. That was late on Friday afternoon, and then He was placed into a tomb a little before the Sabbath started.
Only wilful blindness can prevent one from seeing in this the relevance to what we are talking about.
Just as at the end of the creation week Jesus “rested from all his work which God created and made.” Genesis 2:3, so likewise here, Jesus rested from all His Redemptive work – on that Sabbath day in the tomb. A coincidence? Certainly not. That Sabbath carries the glory of Christ’s victories. Every Sabbath which comes at the end of each week is a reminder of Christ’s greatness and His glory.
Why the tomb?
That was His mission. He came to die.
“… For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.”
Hebrews 2:14 NLT
“For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.”
Hebrews 10:10 NLT
Throughout all eternity Jesus will carry the scars on His hands and feet from the crucifixion – as emblems of His victory and a reminder of what He has done for us. There is a huge well-deserved Glory in what He has done. It was done by the will of the Father to Save us and to rid the universe of sin and the devil. In the scars of crucifixion there is an awesome power and Glory for Jesus, and we will never forget.
“I see God moving across the deserts from Edom, the Holy One coming from Mount Paran. His brilliant splendour fills the heavens, and the earth is filled with his praise. His coming is as brilliant as the sunrise. Rays of light flash from his hands, where his awesome power is hidden.”
Habakkuk 3:3-4 NLT
“And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.”
Zechariah 13:6 KJV
“… Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.”
Isaiah 49:15-16 NLT
Jesus Christ didn’t come here to seek glory and recognition for Himself. Oh no. His glory is in the fact that He willingly set aside the Divine Glory which is rightfully His; His glory is in the fact that He willingly set aside the Awesome Divine power which is rightfully His; His glory is in the fact that He …
… “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”
Philippians 2:6-8 NLT
Be astonished you heavens, be amazed you earth. The Author of Life, of His own free will – surrenders His own life – and dies! Not just simply dies. He dies a most horrendous, cruel death which demons and evil men could have invented. Most shameful, humiliating and painful death, among ridicule, mockery, and hatred. Scourged for torture and nailed to the cross for a slow agonising death, He does not respond in kind, but says: “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” He knows that by thus giving up His life, He will Redeem many.
I am aware that Christian churches are emphasising Christ’s resurrection at the expense of Christ’s crucifixion. It feels better to a natural man to be associated with the Glory of the Father who called Jesus out of His grave and the new life which followed, than to be associated with blood and gore and pain and ignominy of that awful, appalling Friday.
“They found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked Pilate to have him killed anyway.”
Acts of the Apostles 13:28 NLT
Christ’s resurrection on Sunday was the result of His hard won victories on that dark and painful Friday and His pure, sinless life of the preceding thirty years. However glorious His resurrection was, there is infinitely more glory in the acts transpired on that disgraceful Friday when He secured our Salvation by spilling His Blood, and having endured the torture and the agony of the Cross, ignoring it’s shame and humiliation, He prayed to His Father to forgive them.
That Friday was the judgement day levelled at us sinners. But Jesus took our place and suffered on our behalf, accepting upon Himself the punishment which was meant for us, so we can share in life that is His. He endured the unendurable. He fought for us and won against all odds – at an unimaginable cost to Himself, so we would be set free from the power of sin and the penalty we could never have paid.
“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”
Romans 5:6-8 NLT
The death He died on that Friday, is not a death we human beings die when our time is up. Oh no. The agonising death He died is the just recompense reserved for the rebellious, unrepentant sinners normally called the ‘second death’. It is the death due to every sinner from the fall of Adam to the end of time who rejects the offer of pardon procured at such a colossal price. The second death is the wroth of God unleashed against all ungodly sinners, from which there is no coming back. It is The End.
“But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 2:4-7 NLT
Between the resurrection Sunday and the ignominious Friday, there rests the peaceful Sabbath, the faithful sentinel, watching over the cold body of Jesus during His well deserved victory rest. As the faithful witness, Sabbath has collected to its memory every detail of the gruelling battles fought to secure our Salvation. Sabbath is God’s appointed agency to carry this memory of the Cross and the glory of the Redemption it brings. That is the chiefest Glory the world has ever seen, a tale which will be told and retold throughout all eternity.
Just imagine: The redemption story, the chiefest glory the world has ever witnessed, is combined with the Creation glory. These two pre-eminent historical realities are combined in the mission which God Himself entrusted to His faithful Sabbath to cary! Sabbath is to preserve it safely in its memory for all future ages! To tell and re-tell the treasures God Himself desires to preserve! What an awesome gift, what an amazing institution the Sabbath is! Thank You dear God for Sabbath. Thank You for this sublime companion, which brings us rest and joy, and blessings, and holiness, and the Creation story, and the Redemption Glory, and Your amazing presence. And the hope of a better future when You create New Heavens and a New Earth where love and righteousness dwell.
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Remember those comments made at the beginning of this Sabbath article? Here I will quote them again:
God had plans for the seventh day.
One part of it is to carry the memories of Him as our loving creator God.
Everything God made was in reference to the happiness of the first man and woman – Adam and Eve. Just try to imagine the splendour and riches of the newly created universe, and the freshness and glory of the young Earth as it came perfect from the hand of our loving Creator. No blemish in any direction we look. The profusion of greenery. The riches in colours. The scents in flowers. Fragrances in herbs and barks and fruits. The sparkling creeks – filled with playful water dwelling creatures… On its banks and grasslands – the animals, large and small, both, domestic and wild – grazing peacefully together on soft green grassy meadows. They share gladly their green patch with others who were not given the size and strength as their own. The air is filled with happy flying creatures – amazingly adorned with feathers of colour and resonating with bird songs. Many of them were testing the feel of their newly made nests in the trees, and participating in this new exciting life from above. The precious stones of substantial size and clear transparent beauty laying freely on creek banks and in its crystal bubbling waters. Thrilling the senses. Playing with splitting the light into its rainbow essence. Enhancing life.
And then think of the crowning work of God – Adam and Eve. Created in the Image of God. Observing everything with wonder and awe. Acquainting themselves with their perfect environment. With the creatures great and small. Expressing their gratitude and love to God their Father – who made this amazing splendour. This vision of beauty. This abundance of life – pulsating with His glory. With never ending joy and blessedness.
The sublime beauty of the young pristine world is the account of our history that must be told. The memories of its splendour would warm even the coldest heart. The Sabbath was given a charge to remember, but also to share this rich treasures during its sacred hours.
The second part of God’s plan for the Sabbath is to impart the richest and most meaningful gift in the relationship between heaven and earth – the haven of splendour, where heaven and earth touch in union of the spheres. Six days each week we may work and enjoy the created reality. But on the Seventh day God is offering us better. He is giving us a whole day as it is back in the Spiritual realms. Back with Him. In closest union with Him. Remembering and celebrating Who God is and what He has done. Immersed in His holiness.
“But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.””
John 4:23-24 NLT
“It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. …”
Revelation 1:10 NLT
This last Scripture above is from the apostle John when he was exiled to the island of Patmos as a punishment for preaching the Word of God. It was a Sabbath day, and he was worshiping God by immersing himself into God’s holiness, into the realms of spiritual reality of God and his Master Jesus.
“But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.”
1 Corinthians 2:14 NLT
Everything God does has a purpose. We know that He is the embodiment of love. Divine love. Heavenly love. That love is the other-centred love. That means that everything He does is for the benefit and the blessing of others.
So when He invites us to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth – He had the benefits of those worshipers in mind. The blessedness of being with God in the Spirit realm is beyond human words to express. The knowledge of some things can only be be attained by experiencing it. And God generously offers that joy to those who want to worship Him. Sabbath was made for worship. It was designed for worship. It is blessed and made holy. And God makes Himself available to each and every worshipper – with great joy in His heart.
The second part of that joy is the spatial closeness to His children.
“… For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
2 Corinthians 6:16 NLT
“For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.”
Colossians 1:27 NLT
God desires closest possible union between Himself and His children. Just look at this amazing Scripture which follows:
“God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin.”
1 Corinthians 1:30 NLT
Through the gift of His Holy Spirit, and through this union with Jesus – God Himself is united with us. It is not a coincidence that the Sabbath is perfectly placed to assist with this. Yes. God had big plans for the Sabbath. And this, what we are talking about, is one of them. When God gives a gift, He gives it generously. Sabbath is a perfect gift.
As we have been reminded in this Sabbath article that our Salvation is not just a little improvement of our past sinful lives, but a complete turn around, a new beginning. It is a new creation. New genesis. Jesus called it “born again”, “born of God”. By the virtue of this new creation – accomplished by the willing self-sacrifice of Jesus, the mission of Sabbath encompasses both –Creation and Redemption. This is also confirmed by Jesus resting in the tomb through that Sabbath after completing His Messianic mission. Every one of the Redemption victories is entrusted to God’s faithful Sabbath to cary in its memory for all future ages – eternally. In amazement we can exclaim – Blessed be the Majestic Awesome God for having done all that – and so perfectly. Thank You our Glorious God, and our loving Jesus for this Salvation so rich and so free. Your holy Sabbath will ensure we will never forget, and never take this Amazing Grace for granted.
The celebration and worship of that first seventh day was never to fade from our memory. So God said: “Remember”. Sabbath that comes back regularly at the end of each week is to carry those memories. To help us remember.
God is giving us a chance to see the Sabbath’s extravagant blessings and express our gratitude. It was to perpetuate our sense of kinship to God, and remind us that God is working on the Redemption which is to reunite us with Him. God is expecting our willing obedience, because its benefits are so obvious.
Oh, if only we would recognise “God’s ways”, and humbly follow …