How did you spend your Sunday? Did you go to church or not? Were you thankful for a "day off?" Did you think whether you "got something" out of church or worship today? Maybe you didn't even think about church, worship, or religion. How often we think only in terms of whether a particular day fulfilled our needs, wants, and desires.
Today's sermon was about "Sanctifying the Sabbath." It came out my series on the Old Testament book of Nehemiah. You may remember that Nehemiah became governor of the people of Israel after they returned from the 70 years of captivity. Nehemiah led the people in the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem and the re-establishment of the Jewish state. After the people celebrated the completion of the work they, like us, struggled to keep faithful and to keep their faith practice alive. The necessities of life crowded in.
My text was from Nehemiah 13:15-22. In that text we see that the people "profaned" the Sabbath day by engaging in work, buying, and selling. They were trying make a living. They made the Sabbath day like any other day, and so "profaned" the day that God had set aside as holy and they made it common. The Jewish leaders that permitted it and the people risked bringing the return of God's judgment on them as he had recently by sending them to exile. Nehemiah confronted the leaders and then enforced the Sabbath law as governor.
This all sounds very Old Testament and strange to our New Testament ears. You may wonder what this has to do with us who are free from the bondage of the law. We must remember that when God created all things he established for us three basic "creation ordinances" that framed human existence. God established marriage, the intimate completing union between one man and one woman. He established work as a good thing for humans to do to the glory of God. He established the weekly cycle of life, six days of work and one day of rest by God's own example (Genesis 2:3). God set in motion the parameters of our existence in physical and moral/ethical life.
All this was codified in the Mosaic law and summarized in the 10 commandments. Israel's civil, religious, and moral laws were unified. They all pointed to the Christ to come. Exodus 20:11 reminds us the Sabbath command is a creation ordinance and looks back. Deuteronomy 5:15 reminds us that the Sabbath has a redemptive purpose and looks forward. Jesus Christ fulfilled all this and claimed the Sabbath as his own(Matthew 12:8). Hebrews 4:8-11 teaches us that our real Sabbath rest awaits us in the future of Jesus Christ's fulfilled kingdom.
What is my point? The moral law, the ten commandments, applies to all of us (Romans 1:18-32; 2:14-16). Christ has fulfilled the law for us and we are to be a holy people (I Peter 1:9-12). The weekly Sabbath, now the first day of the week because of Christ's resurrection (John 20:1,19,26, Revelation 1:10), is a great reminder of the mercy of God to us in Christ, a promise of our eternal rest, and a day of rest in Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. We should rejoice and sanctify the day as a day for God and rest from the world. It isn't legalism but freedom in Christ to step back from the world, to rest in Christ, and to be renewed in our Christ focused faith. The day isn't about us but it is about Jesus Christ and his work. Do you see the Sabbath as a day of delight? (Isaiah 58:13,14). The Sabbath is a witness to a dying world of the life to come, of Christ's redeeming work, and of our eternal hope!
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