(Matthew 11:28-30) Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. °Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. °For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
To say Sabbatarians such as Adventists here twist the scriptures in this regard is an understatement. They mangle it. They chew it up and spit it out.
This is a rest the law does not provide. The Sabbath was a temporary respite from labor, carried out the previous six days – physical labor followed by a physical rest from physical work. The Sabbath commandment was a total ban on ANY work on the Sabbath; even the preparation of a meal, where they were to prepare their meals for the Sabbath the day before; the day of preparation, with one interesting statement made in this regard:
(John 19:42) There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.
Whose preparation day? The Jews’ preparation day. Not the preparation day; the Jews’ preparation day before the Sabbath where Sabbatarians try to play cute, and claim the Sabbath was for all mankind, misapplying what Jesus said in Mark 2:27, redefining what “man” meant to the Jews at that time in their culture, where only Jews were “man.”
The Sabbatarian “definition” would mean that it was quite alright for Gentiles to be keeping the Sabbath “according to the commandment” without having to prepare for it…maybe all the Gentiles keeping the Sabbath didn’t eat on the Sabbath, fasting on that day referred to as a feast day in Leviticus 23...
Jesus makes reference to HIS rest for the soul as being in the context of a yoke and burden, with the caveat it is a light yoke and burden, which begs the logical question regarding another yoke and burden that was not so light.
(Galatians 5:1) Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
Here, the liberty found in Christ, being a light yoke and burden, is contrasted to another yoke and burden that was just discussed in the previous verses and account which was about the law, given at Mt. Sinai, starting in verse 21 where Paul asks a question of those who were opting to embrace the law:
(Galatians 4:21) Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
They were unwittingly placing themselves, needlessly, under the yoke and bondage of the law.
Even Peter touches on this theme in Acts 15, during the debate and council at Jerusalem over whether the Gentiles should be required to become Jews first and Christians second by having them undergo circumcision, bringing them under the law according to the law.
(Acts 15:7-11) And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. °And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; °And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. °Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? °But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.
This is one of those passages of Scripture, anathema to Sabbatarians, who insist the law be kept in order to demonstrate one’s devotion and obedience to God, which does no such thing. Theirs is a devotion and obedience to the law; not God. God is not the law, and the law is not God. But the law can be treated as “another god besides God” in that it was graven images of stones given to the faithless Hebrews who had already shown they would not listen to or follow God, where they ended up being given the law; even the Decalogue, not so that they would believe God, but believe Moses, “for ever.” (Ex. 19:9)
Christ Jesus; God Incarnate, offered a rest for the soul; a permanent rest from the evil works of the flesh, ultimately leading to death. This is the “sabbatismos” spoken of in Hebrews 4:9 that Sabbatarians insist is the weekly “shadow” (Col. 2:16-17) Sabbath (“sabbaton”) that was temporary, and for the physical body after six days of physical work. They are blind to the context, having a veil before their eyes. It is a rest that is a cessation of a particular work, even as God ceased from a particular work on the seventh day of Creation Week. It is “God’s Rest” entered into through faith; something the faithless Hebrews (Jews) could not do (Heb. 4:6) but they did enter into the shadow weekly Sabbath.
Those led by the flesh choose the things of the flesh; physical rites and rituals found in the old covenant law; not the new covenant law of faith and the Spirit where those shadows found their fulfillment in the spiritual realities, such as God’s Rest entered into through faith. (Heb. 3:18-19;4:1)
The Hebrews refused the rest found in/with Jesus, for they were quite comfortable with the shadow Sabbath they were given at Sinai, where all is judged according to the flesh by the flesh.
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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )
Acts 17:11
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