365 Days of the Great Names of God, Day 282: Lord of the Sabbath

Lord of the Sabbath

"Then Jesus said to them, 'The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.' " (Luke 6:5 NIV)

Dear friends, I have to tell you: I did not really want to write about this name of God.

It wasn't because I don't "like" it. It's because I didn't know what to do with it.

When I think of Sabbath, I think not doing. And in our do-more, be-more, have-more culture, not doing feels unfamiliar and uncertain.

But of course this is all the more reason to consider this name and what it means for you and me in the middle of our everyday lives.

Sabbath means "rest," and the various Hebrew and Greek words that our English translations render as "Sabbath" convey such meanings as "ceasing or coming to an end of activity," "being settled down," "finding tranquility," "to calm," "to comfort," "to refresh," and "a rest that comes from freedom or from the relaxation of a burden" ("New International Encyclopedia of Bible Words," Lawrence O. Richards).

Against this backdrop, here are four observations about the Sabbath from Scripture...threads you might want to weave into your own day of rest.

1. God rested on the seventh day of creation because He had completed His work; we rest so we can continue ours. "By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work" (Genesis 2:2). 

As long as God allows our lives on this earth to continue, He will always have something else for us to do. But we cannot keep doing if we're running on empty tanks; our reservoirs of energy and passion and commitment need to be regularly refilled, and a Sabbath—"ceasing" our ongoing activity for a time—is one way to do that.

2. A Sabbath day is a set-apart day. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy" (Exodus 20:8). 

"Holy" means set apart for some sacred use. Other than God (who is holy not because He is set apart for but because He is set apart from), "holy" objects, people, days, etc. are ordinary on their own but become "holy" because they are reserved for God's use. God, of course, is a 24/7/365 kind of God, and every day of the week belongs to Him. But to keep a certain day holy implies that we reserve it for sacred use. We do things, maybe, that we don't do other days. Or perhaps we don't do things that day that we do do other days.

3. Sabbath rest is meant to renew. "But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards" (Leviticus 25:4).

God prescribed a dormant season for His people's fields and vineyards for the same reason He commanded a Sabbath for His people: to give them—the fields, the vineyards, and the people—time to be renewed. Time to allow life deep within soil and souls to be replenished.

4. The Sabbath is not about restrictions; it's about restoration. It is not about rules; it's about relationship. "Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, 'Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?' He said to them, 'If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.' Then he said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other" (Matthew 12:9-13).

The Pharisees, who liked to make rules where there didn't need to be any, put restrictions on the Sabbath and, as usual, missed the entire point of relationship with God. But, also as usual, Jesus went a different, radical way. He cared for people. He showed them their value. He brought new life. He made whole. We can ask God to do this for us, too—not only the Sabbath but maybe in a special way on the Sabbath. And then out of our restored, renewed, refreshed selves, we can follow Jesus' lead...and do good.

God, in all my striving, let there also be ceasing. In all my running, let there also be resetting. In all my doing, let there also be devotion. And in Your rest, may I be reminded that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath, and the Lord of the Sabbath is Lord of all.