missio

Today, I taught partially about the Sabbath. We are going straight through the book of Matthew, and this week we were in chapters 11-12. Within our text there were three different facets of the Sabbath presented:

• Sabbath Today - (Matthew 11:25-30) - If we take up Jesus’ yoke (His way of life), then we will be given rest from stress of the day-to-day life. This is our daily Sabbath.
• Sabbath Yesterday - (Matthew 12:1-8) - Jesus, in responding to the Pharisees concerning His harvesting disciples, teaches that the Sabbath not only points to the complete rest that God gives, but points to something greater, seen in the next point.
• Sabbath Tomorrow - (Matthew 12:9-14) - This next story refers to the coming Sabbath. It is a first mention reference to 1 Kings 13, where Jeroboam’s hand is withered then restored. Christ informs us that in Him, perpetual Sabbath is obtained, providing not only complete rest, but complete restoration. When His Kingdom comes fully in power, it will be perpetual Sabbath, with all creation resting and restored.

We also discussed what this meant for our daily lives, and how we should observe the Sabbath. The point of it all is this: Jesus is the Sabbath, and that in Him we have complete rest and restoration. We, however, take a day to remember this (the Lord’s Day) and look forward to His Second Coming, where the eternal Sabbath begins.