2.4 The Sabbath Is Today

Tom Marxen The Sabbath 02 October 2023 Hits: 48

Verse: Hebrews 4:3a,7: For we who have believed enter that rest…. “Today, if you hear his voice, do not

harden your hearts”.

Read: Hebrews 3:7-4:15; Psalm 95; John 7:1-24

It is interesting to me that at the Feast of Tabernacles Jesus told his brothers (family brothers) that He

would not be going up the feast because it was not yet His time. The brothers were challenging Jesus to

make Himself known to the large group of people gathered at the feast, as this was one of the yearly

gatherings for the nation of Israel. The brothers did not really believe that Jesus was the Messiah, so

their request was really a challenge to His claim.

John 7:6-9

Jesus said to them, "My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world

cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. You go up to

the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come." After saying this,

he remained in Galilee. ESV

But after a few days (the feast lasted for seven days)…

John 7:14-16

About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. The Jews

therefore marveled, saying, "How is it that this man has learning, when he has never

studied?" ESV

And in the end…

John 7:37-44

On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let

him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart

will flow rivers of living water.'" Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed

in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet

glorified.

When they heard these words, some of the people said, "This really is the Prophet." Others

said, "This is the Christ." But some said, "Is the Christ to come from Galilee? Has not the

Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and comes from Bethlehem,

the village where David was?" So there was a division among the people over him. Some of

them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him. ESV

Jesus is our Sabbath; He is our peace and our place of rest and completion. He is the pattern for us and

the goal: “Until Christ be formed in you…” (Galatians 4:19). And there He was displaying Himself in the

open as His doubting brothers tauntingly suggested. And all it accomplished for the crowds was

arguments. They did not rally to Him and they did not openly reject Him. He was truthful and they

argued amongst themselves. No one believed Him. There was no faith in Him so they missed Him.

The Feast of Tabernacles to this day has not seen a “historical” fulfillment as the Feast of Passover and

Feast of Weeks have. The time is/was not yet right for Jesus to appear at the Feast of Tabernacles much

the same as “there is a Sabbath yet to come”. As we already know, the Sabbath is the conclusion, it is

the culmination of creation. The Feast of Tabernacles is the culmination of the feast cycle in the year.

Sabbath is not only the completion of creation but the completion of redemption. Everything that was

lost in Adam will be redeemed in Jesus Christ. We are waiting for that day.

God’s name revealed to Moses was “I AM who I AM”. I am that I am, I am becoming what I am, I will be

what I will be--all of these attempts at describing what “I AM” means fall short. However, Moses’

revelation was of the one God who is alive, ever-present, ever-creating, self-generating, eternal, and

always right now at this moment, living and being. I AM is always now in the present second. Never

changing His character, yet always creating Himself as He is, was, and will be.

I AM is the Father and the Son, if you have seen the Son you have seen the Father. The gift of the Father

through the Son is the Holy Spirit and they are all one. The mystery of the trinity can go on and on, but

here is my point: while there is not an historical event that we can call the “fulfilled feast”, Jesus tells us

that “any time is right for us.”

Concerning the Sabbath, we are told through the Scriptures:

Heb 3:15

As it is said, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." ESV

And we see the root cause of their failure to find the true Sabbath:

Heb 3:19

So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. ESV

Without Faith it is Impossible to Please God (Hebrews 11:6)

Faith is the substance of things hoped for.

Romans 8:24-25

For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he

sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. ESV

2 Corinthians 4:17-18

For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all

comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For

the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. ESV

1 Peter 1:8-9

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in

him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of

your faith, the salvation of your souls. ESV

Today is the day. If you hear His voice you can enter the Sabbath--the rest of God--right now. It’s not

that you are perfected in the sense that you are “all done” and flawless in your behavior, but if you hear,

do not rebel against that “hearing”.

Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. Hebrews Chapter 11, the “Hebrews

Faith Hall of Fame” chapter. These folks entered into the Sabbath of God. Some had great success

stories and deliverance from terrible things. Some became martyrs. They all believed whether they

experienced the completion in their days or not.

There is a place where we can enter the Sabbath while we are still pushing ahead, while our lives are

incomplete, so to speak. We enter His rest, not our own rest. We are complete in Him, right now in this

present second. I AM becoming what I AM becoming. All the promises are “yes and amen” in Jesus.

Shalom, you are in the Sabbath if you believe.

John 14:27-28

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not