The Lord of the Sabbath
By: Dr. Gregory S. Neal
I’ve led a couple of church-pilgrimages to Israel. These journeys are always powerful, deeply spiritual events in which I have been blessed to experience not only the places were so many of the events in the Scriptures took place, but also the way of life for the people who live there now - the Jews and the Palestinians. It’s an incredible place, and there are so many subtle (and not-so-subtle) differences from the way of life here. One of those differences is the practice of sabbath keeping.
For example: in Israel you’ll discover something called Sabbath Day elevators. These elevators are set to always be in motion, going up and down, stopping on every floor of the building from the top to bottom, then the bottom to the top. Rather than having to do the work of pushing a floor button, observant Jews just step into a Sabbath elevator and take a ride up, or down, until they get to the floor they want, and then they step off. The other, non-Sabbath elevators are still running, and the gentiles are welcome to take them on the Sabbath day; when I did, it never failed that many of those who were waiting for space on a Sabbath elevator would, instead, get on a regular elevator with me and would ask for their floor … and, since I was always happy to help them keep their Sabbath, I got a kick out of pressing the floor buttons for them.
The word “Sabbath” is a transliteration of the Hebrew word: Shabbat. Shabbat’s root is very expansive: it’s made up of three basic consonants: the “sh”, the “ve”, and the “te”. Ancient Hebrew was composed of just consonants, with the vowels being supplied by context and providing much of the precise meaning, including the critical parts of speech. This one word has dozens of meanings in Hebrew, with multiple nuances, but they all trace back to a similar idea. For example: sheyveyt can mean seat or throne, home or dwelling, the end, the disappearance, the termination, the conclusion, or the place where motion comes to a rest. And right there, you begin to find the origin of the concept behind the word: Shabbat. Instead of the “ye” sound it has the “a” sound, and the soft “v” becomes a hard “b.” Shabbat is a resting place, a time of rest, and the act of resting. As found in the the 10 Commandments: Et-Yom HaShabat means: “The Sabbath Day.”
The Sabbath is a day of rest, a day of ceasing from labor, a day to do nothing … ideally, absolutely nothing other than honoring God, family, faith, and community. The perfect form of Sabbath keeping, for me at least, might be to stay in bed ... not easily possible, I know, but you get the idea. You do no work. Not even cooking.
“Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. (Exodus 20:8-11)
Sabbath keeping means taking time out of one's busy life to rest. If it was good enough for God, it’s good enough for us! Sadly, so often we can get very legalistic in trying to keep the sabbath. Jesus’ disciples were doing what could be defined as work on the sabbath day: they were, after a fashion, “harvesting crops.” They were “plucking heads of grain” as they walked along through the fields. When challenged on it, Jesus referenced an event where King David, whom the Pharisees greatly respected, ate the Bread of Presence from the Holy of Holies, and gave some of it to his companions who also ate it. That was a big no-no; it was a sin for David to do that … a sin at least as great as breaking the Sabbath. Only the Priests were supposed to consume the blessed bread that had rested in the Shakina of Yahweh's presence; but David ate it, even though he wasn’t a priest, and the Pharisees of Jesus’ time didn’t condemn him for it. David’s need – his hunger and the hunger of his companions – justified the eating.
Jesus was drawing a direct analogy from this when he said:
“The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.”
Keeping the Sabbath — indeed, keeping the entire law — is actualized by keeping the greatest commandment: “Love the Lord Your God.” This truth is exemplified further by Jesus' healing a man in the synagogue on the Sabbath.
“Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. (Mark 3:1-6)
I find it amazing that Jesus healing someone on the sabbath day would be considered “work,” but it was. Even though his intention was to do good: to care for the ill, to express God’s love, grace, and compassion to someone in need, it was nevertheless still considered “work.” As a result, some of those who saw it began to conspire together to destroy Jesus! Please don’t misunderstand me: sabbath keeping is vitally important; there is no question about that. It is important for good physical, emotional, and spiritual health. How do you give yourself time to rest? Do you give yourself time to physically, emotionally, and spiritually rest? That's an important question to consider.
As we move to the very end of the Church year, approach the season of Advent and the annual insanity of the Holiday Season – the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas – I want to encourage us all to take time to rest ... rest and be mindful of all that God has done for us these past many months. Please, take a time of Sabbath rest. You don't have to do it on a specific day, but if you can that will be very helpful for for maintaining the Discipline of Sabbath rest; if you can at least make it consistent, you’ll find that to be helpful, too. It also doesn’t have to happen a specific way, for there are many forms of rest. But, it does need to happen. Jesus, the Lord of our Sabbath, makes that very clear … yes, perhaps even especially through healing on the Sabbath.
© 2021 Dr. Gregory S. Neal
All Rights Reserved
As a popular teacher, preacher, and retreat leader, Dr. Neal is known for his ability to translate complex theological concepts into common, everyday terms. HIs preaching and teaching ministry is in demand around the world, and much of his work can be found on this website. He is the author of several books, including Grace Upon Grace: Sacramental Theology and the Christian Life, which is in its second edition, and Seeking the Shepherd's Arms: Reflections from the Pastoral Side of Life, a work of devotional literature. Both of these books are currently available from Amazon.com.