The Sabbath is no longer relevant in the New Covenant. Jesus is our Sabbath. This is another claim used to summarily declare the seventh day of the week abolished. A key statement supporting this is supposedly found in Hebrews 4.
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Rest of Jesus replaces Sabbath day
Hebrews, chapter 4, is regularly used to declare the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath, abolished and simultaneously to designate Jesus Christ himself as the “true Sabbath.” The argument is that one no longer needs to observe the Sabbath, because Jesus is the Sabbath and with Him one enters into Sabbath rest. The two verses Hebrews 4:9-10 are usually cited in this context:
“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.“
“That makes it clear.” Whoever enters into Jesus’ rest also enters into the day of rest from their own works, that is, the “spiritual Sabbath,” which renders the seventh day superfluous.
However, what this actually means is quite surprising, because a closer look reveals something entirely different..
The truth lies in the details.
Hebrews 4:1-11 (and also chapter 3) contains peculiarities regarding the word “rest,” or rather, what is regularly read simply as “Sabbath.” In Hebrews 4:9, the Greek word for “rest” is “sabbatismos” (“σαββατισμὸς”). And the other passages containing the word “rest” do not use the word for “Sabbath,” but rather the Greek word “katapausis” (“κατάπαυσίν”).
“Sabbatismos” occupies a unique position here. This word does not appear anywhere else in the entire New Testament. It does not fundamentally describe the spiritual aspect of rest, but rather the actual physical cessation of work.
The word “katapausis,” on the other hand, refers to the experience of Sabbath rest, which is expressed as a present spiritual rest.
Reference to creation and consideration
Hebrews 4:4-5 also refers to the important statements in Genesis 2:2 and Psalm 95:11:
“For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.”
While Genesis 2:2 connects the Sabbath with creation and its completion, Psalm 95 describes the ignoring of the day God has declared holy and sanctified, and the consequences that follow.
The “sum” of this statement is contained in Hebrews 4:11:
“Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.“
It remains a Sabbath
Hebrews 4:6-7 states:
“Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.“
And in Hebrews 4:9:
“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.“
Hebrews 4:10 shows what it (still) means to keep the Sabbath:
“For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.“
Sabbatismos leads to Katapausis
The active, conscious observance of the Sabbath (“sabbatismos”) is the outward sign, or visible proof, of wanting to enter into God’s rest through faith and ultimately attaining it. This, in turn, manifests as an inner (spiritual) rest (“katapausis”). The ultimate rest is thus experienced in the present (Hebrews 4:7). This is also connected to the meaning of the Sabbath as the completion of God’s creation. Hebrews 4:9 thus confirms the continuation of the Sabbath in the “New Covenant.”
The introductory assertion that Hebrews 4 abolishes the observance of the Sabbath because Jesus is our Sabbath is, in fact, the exact opposite. Hebrews 4 not only confirms the Sabbath but even elevates it and emphasizes once again the significance of the seventh day of the week. This also refutes the claim that the Sabbath applied only to ancient Israel within the framework of the “Old Covenant.” The Epistle to the Hebrews was, in any case, addressed to the new believers coming from Judaism.
It is obvious that, as descendants of one of twelve tribes, they see themselves as God’s chosen people, which is ultimately correct. Accordingly, their attitude is also to the covenant established by God for this purpose (“Old Covenant”). Hebrews 4 therefore explicitly points out that the Sabbath in its entirety remains valid even in the “New Covenant” (see info).
The essence of the Sabbath
At the same time, Hebrews 4 “reduces” the Sabbath to its true essence. At that time, the interminably elaborate set of rules surrounding the Sabbath was ubiquitous, defined as law by the Pharisees over generations and through oral tradition. However, these are all human ideas, as Jesus Christ himself expressed when he saw no violation of the Sabbath when his disciples plucked the ears of grain on a Sabbath (Info). These are all circumstances by which the Judeans were conditioned.
The spiritual peace experienced today culminates in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, connected with eternal life and also entering into the quasi-1000-year peace of the Millennium (Info).
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Revelation 20:6
Bible verses from King James Version (1611)
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