The Sabbath is a Sign

There have always been Saturdays. The creation account in Genesis teaches that God made the world in six days and on the seventh He rested. God instructed Moses to practice it and when writing the Ten Commandments, wrote it in stone for Him (Exodus 20:8).

Jews have been staunch defenders of this commandment. It has even been the subject of many debates. If a person steps in dirt and picks up a stone or some mud, and carries it some distance, have the done work? If someone signs their name, is that work? In modern time, if you press a button to choose a floor and ride an elevator, is that work? Many would say YES to all of the above. (But it seems to me that a person almost has to play dead for a day to not sin.)

As I write this on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, I’m reminded of the significance of this particular Sabbath day. It also causes me to believe that all Sabbaths throughout history are a “type” that points to something greater. This particular Sabbath has special days on either side. We have Jesus spending half a day dying on the day before this Sabbath. By the end of the day — just before the Sabbath began (at sundown) Jesus was dead and buried. Then for a solid day, Jesus laid buried in a tomb. But the new week began with a new day, and on Sunday morning — before the sun was even up — Jesus had risen from the dead.

These half days of life and death (on Friday and Sunday) bracket and draw attention to a solid day of death on the Sabbath. They are like lightning bolts and arrows that point to the special day. On this special day, God rested from His work. God rested in death, and so also (one day) will we. Yet, He is the resurrection and the life. He raised Himself from the dead, and one day, He will raise us from the dead. One day we will rest from our works, and He will make all things new. He will give us bodies like His own — bodies that are sustained and never die. Death will be eliminated as He starts a new creation with a family of believers who want to build a better world in service to an awesome God.