In our society, rest can seem like a bad word. We live in a hustle culture—if we aren’t being productive, there’s shame attached to it. Words like ‘lazy’ are used to define days off. Some of us don’t even know how to take time off in the first place. In Stolen Focus by Johann Hari, a
psychologist explains how we are constantly bombarded in today’s world, causing our brains to lose the ability to focus. We need downtime to repair our bodies. In a nutshell, we need REST to be successful.
How does this concept relate to our faith? Rest is actually a commandment from
God—mentioned over 300 times in the Bible.
Read Genesis 2:2
Read Exodus 20:8–11
The Bible defines rest even more clearly: God blessed the 7th day (Saturday), made it holy, and instructed us to rest from regular work.
Read Mark 2:23–28
“The Sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the Sabbath; so the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” In this passage, Jesus (Yeshua) stands against the religious elites who added burdensome rules to the Sabbath—such as forbidding picking grain, spitting on the ground, swatting flies,
or even looking in mirrors on the Sabbath! Jesus was angry because they cared more about rules than the purpose: REST, remembering God, and helping others.
How did Jesus keep the Sabbath? Let’s look at His actions in the New Testament:
- Healings – Mark 2:1–12; Mark 3:1–6; Luke 13:10–17
- Teachings – Luke 4:16–21
- Defended His disciples picking grain to eat – Mark 2:23–28
- Jesus emphasized the Sabbath as a day of good—remembering God and helping others.
- What other ways could we honor the spirit of the Sabbath? One way is to imitate Christ. Ephesians 5:1 says, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us.”
- What does it mean to imitate
Jesus?
To imitate Jesus, we should:- Reflect His teachings.
- Reflect His character.
- Reflect His actions.
If Jesus honored rest, shouldn’t we? If God made a day each week for us to pause, shouldn’t
we listen?- Sabbath—the 7th day, Saturday—is the day we honor God. We cease our regular work, imitate Jesus, and meet as a community. We break bread together. We rest. We
Sabbath. - Jesus is our Sabbath.
Read Hebrews 4:1–11- Let us not neglect rest. Let us honor it. Let us not feel guilty—God wants this for us. Our
bodies and minds need it. If we want to be productive and successful the rest of the time, we
must make rest and Sabbath a priority.
If Jesus honored rest, shouldn’t we? If God made a day each week for us to pause, shouldn’t
we listen? Sabbath—the 7th day, Saturday—is the day we honor God. We cease our regular
work, imitate Jesus, and meet as a community. We break bread together. We rest. We Sabbath. Jesus is our Sabbath.
Read Hebrews 4:1–11
Let us not neglect rest. Let us honor it. Let us not feel guilty—God wants this for us. Our
bodies and minds need it. If we want to be productive and successful the rest of the time, we
must make rest and Sabbath a priority.