Should Christians Keep the Sabbath?
A quick online search for the word Sabbath, returns a plethora of results. From people who claim you're going to hell of you don't rest each week, to pastors who tell you the 4th commandment is the only one of the 10th commandment that is no longer relevant, you're sure to find a lot of conflicting information
Much of this guidance comes from well meaning type-A pastors who have only ever known a driven lifestyle of go, go, go and always feel a twinge of guilt if they slow down long enough—or from people who have never actually kept a proper Shabbat before.
Is it possible that we have missed God’s intention of the Sabbath for the last two thousand years?
I’ll let you be the judge of that.
And while we could focus on the arguments for and against the Sabbath, I’d like us to walk together in a different direction as we talk about what the Bible actually has to say about this seventh day of rest.
Image of a family resting on the Sabbath overlooking a pastoral countryside (AI Image: The Ancient Way)
In the beginning
In Genesis, the first chapter of the Bible, we read a story of God creating the world, and after the sixth day he steps back, admires his good work—then he rests.
God completed—on the seventh day—His work that He made, and He ceased—on the seventh day—from all His work that He made. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, for on it He ceased from all His work that God created for the purpose of preparing.
—Genesis 2:2-3
After the miraculous deliverance from Egyptian slavery, God provides manna in the desert to feed His people. Moses describes the Sabbath as God’s gift—so important, that God ensured everyone had enough food on Friday so they didn’t have to work to gather food on the Sabbath day.
See, Adonai has given you the Shabbat, so on the sixth day He gives you the bread of two days. Let every man stay in his place, and let no man go out on the seventh day.” So the people rested on the seventh day.
—Exodus 16:29
After Moses ascends to the top of Mount Sinai to meet with the LORD, he returns with the ten words of God’s instructions etched into stone. The 4th one tell us to Remember the Sabbath
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
—Exodus 20:8
We see a glimpse of a deeper meaning as we continue reading the through the Torah. Not only is it a day of rest, but there’s a sacredness about the day that must not be profaned. It’s so important that anyone who does will be cut off from the people. (That’s intense!)
Therefore you are to keep the Shabbat, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it will die, for whoever does any work during Shabbat, that soul will be cut off from the midst of his people.
—Exodus 31:14
In the words of the LORD through the prophets, we see the consequences of not allowing the land to rest every 7th year. That all of those years of toiling and striving to eek a little more out of the earth would result in a forced rest.
In fulfillment of the word of Adonai by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had paid back her Shabbat rests—for as long as it lay desolate—the Shabbat rest was kept till 70 years were complete.
—2 Chronicles 36:21
We could go on with the words of the prophets: Isaiah 56:4-7, 58:12-14, 66:23 and Jeremiah 17:22-27. Verse after verse affirming the importance of the Sabbath day to the LORD.
Resting in the New Covenant
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is accused by the religious leaders of breaking the Sabbath and doing unlawful things. In question are the times his disciples were hungry and plucked grains of wheat to eat, or the times that he healed someone who was in pain.
Rather than disparage the Sabbath, Jesus brings clarity—that the purpose of the Sabbath was to give life and to do good.
Yeshua said to them, “I ask you, is it permitted on Shabbat to do good or to do evil, to save or to destroy a life?”
—Luke 6:9
In fact, it was Jesus who was known for attending the local Jewish synagogue every Sabbath
Now Yeshua was teaching in one of the synagogues on Shabbat.
—Luke 13:10
And it wasn’t just for the purpose of checking off a box. Healing was a frequent activity that Jesus did on the Sabbath.
Now the day was Shabbat when Yeshua made the mud and opened the man’s eyes.
—John 9:14
Over an over He properly interprets the true meaning of the Sabbath. That it’s a gift from the Father intended for us to delight in. It’s a day for healing, restoration, and rest of our souls. A day that the Creator of all things has given us out of his goodness and favor.
Then He said to them, “Shabbat was made for man, and not man for Shabbat.
—Mark 2:27
The author of Hebrews takes it a step further and says that even now, with the new covenant, a Sabbath day of rest still remains for God’s people. That’s it’s a day that points us to the future fulfillment of eternal rest. We can rest in this Messianic reality now, but we look forward to a day when the Sabbath Rest will be every single day.
So there remains a Shabbat rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered God’s rest has also ceased from his own work, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall through the same pattern of disobedience.
—Hebrew 4:9-11
What should you DO about the Sabbath?
While some people take the stance that because it’s been “fulfilled” in Jesus, it doesn’t matter any more or that keeping the Sabbath would be a desecration of Jesus’ sacrifice, I offer up an alternative.
Jesus didn’t cancel the Shema, the greatest commandment and He didn’t cancel the Sabbath. Rather, he showed us the true purpose of the Sabbath—a day created by our Father for healing and shalom.
In our especially western culture of never-ending busyness, most of us have an incomplete picture of what it means to truly stop from our labor. We remember Valentines Day, Memorial Day, and Mother’s Day and many other special days, but balk at remembering the Sabbath. We have glorified nonstop work and faith in ourselves at the expense of God’s gift to us.
What if our Father is inviting us still, today to enter into a day of rest?
What if He’s asking us to try it?
To experience this eternity in a day?
What if through an intentional day of Sabbath rest He’s wanting to give us a taste of the world to come?
To release our need for control and the burden of everything depending on us.
What if this radical, counter-cultural rhythm prescribed by God would give us life and not death?
Too often, we dive into the minutiae—should we do this, should we not do that—and before we know it we’ve missed that the entire point of a Sabbath Day of rest is for the healing of our souls.
What if you made a decision to enter into that rest as you remember the Sabbath Day?
Practice Makes Perfect
There’s another facet of buried in the instruction to Sabbath every single week.
Like the children of Israel, we’re not very good at this resting business. So we need time to practice it every seven days. We go through the rhythm of work and we rest.
We get a taste of delight.
Our souls are filled up.
We trust God a little more.
Then we forget.
We try to take matters into our own hands.
We try to sustain ourselves.
We ignore our Father’s instructions.
But then we remember again.
We realize he was right.
And we rest in His provision.
Didn’t quite get it “right” by resting this week? That’s ok—the seventh day is coming again. Week after week.
And as we begin to practice this rhythm of rest and grace and abundance, we are practicing for the world to come. Without the practice of Sabbath, I think it’s very likely that we’d arrive in the world to come and feel quite a bit unsettled because we haven’t learned to be familiar with our Father’s provision.
Conclusion
So as a Christian, I encourage you to Remember and Keep the Sabbath just like Jesus did. To embrace our Father’s way with intention and devotion.
To simply take one step and try it.
I believe that on the other side of that step, you’ll find a rest you didn’t know was possible. You’ll discover a delight that only our Father can abundantly give. You’ll find healing for your soul that you didn’t know was accessible.
Shabbat Shalom my friend—may you enter into His rest this week!
Is the practice of sabbath resonating with you, but you’re not quite sure where to start? Good news—you’re not alone!
8 years ago My family and I were in the same place. And so after stumbling through the amazing discovery of the Sabbath, we decided to put together a free guide on How to Sabbath. It includes our story, practical tips, along with a printable pdf of Messianic Kiddush Prayers. Go check it out, and as always, please reach out if you have any questions!
