After Jesus was brought down from the cross and put in the tomb, it was sealed and guards were placed to make sure that the disciples wouldn’t come and steal the body and claim that Jesus rose from the grave.
Here is what the Bible tells us happened next:
The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. Luke 23:55-56 (NIV)
The Sabbath, for Jesus and His followers, was a valuable day of connection with God. On this particular Sabbath, I can imagine that Jesus’ followers took the time to reflect on everything they had experienced in losing their friend, their teacher, and their messiah.
They were going through the worst moment of their lives, having lost everything, and having no hope.
You may be feeling the same way right now with everything going on in your life. This may be the worst thing you have ever gone through.
I contend that in this time of such uncertainty and hopelessness, we need the Sabbath more than ever. So I would like to share with you a simple reminder of what keeping the Sabbath is all about.
First…
Sabbath is for rest.
Never before do we have such a need for rest. Especially emotional and mental rest.
With the saturation of media, panic, fake news, hysteria, misinformation, and ruthlessness, especially online, we are in dire need of resting.
I would recommend that this Sabbath you just unplug from coronavirus news and information. Trust me, it will all be there the next day waiting for you. God is offering you a time to just leave it all behind you and rest.
Rest your body.
Rest your mind.
Rest in him.
Second…
Sabbath is for restoration.
Jesus restored a man’s hand on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:1-14), and Jesus can restore you.
Man, do we take a beating during the week! Bosses asking more and more of us. Office politics taking it’s toll. Customers who are never happy. Family squabbles that don’t seem to get any better. Bills that need to get paid.
And with this virus issue we continue to take our hits. Some of them in the area of health, both physical and mental, some in the area of finances, others in the area of socialization. We are all getting beat up right now.
And God is inviting us to step away from that, once a week, and get restored and rejuvenated. Put it behind you, come to God, spend time connecting with Him, and let Him do His work in your heart.
Third…
Sabbath is for release.
Jesus released a woman from a demonic disability (Luke 13:10-17) on the Sabbath. She was freed from the oppression in her life.
God wants to release us from our bondage.
For many of us we are in bondage to what happens to us during the week. Our calendars and responsibilities are our masters. We think we are in control but then we look back at the week and find out that we are just slaves to the expectations of others.
God is saying to forget about our calendars and what others expect of us and to just be with Him. Find freedom in worshipping God and being in his presence.
Sabbath is not about what you don’t have or can’t do.
Sabbath is about what you do have and can do.
So on your next Sabbath, seek to find rest, restoration, and release. If we do this each Sabbath, we will persevere, and get through these challenging times.
Don’ t forget that after the disciples got through their misery on Sabbath, they experienced His majesty on Sunday. You can have that experience too.
Let me know how you are gonna spend your next Sabbath. Email me at milton@ktsy.org
To hear more on this topic check out Chaplain Milton’s sermon on YouTube. Link is below.
