Most people read the Old Testament commands on Sabbath as a call to not do work one day each week. In Exodus 20:8-11, God commands the people of Israel, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work…For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.” Certainly, implicit in this Sabbath consecration is a reminder of God’s creation and an effort to imitate God who ceased from work on the seventh day. Yet, there is also more to the Sabbath then merely not doing work.
The fuller purpose behind the Sabbath is restoration. To cease from work once a week is part of a cycle of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual restoration. For example, God commanded the Sabbath so that Israel might remember their restoration from bondage. In Deuteronomy 5:15, God explains that the Sabbath exists to remind Israel of their restoration from Egyptian slavery. They were oppressed and had experienced great suffering, but God delivered and restored them. So, Israel is to remember this form of restoration on the Sabbath as well. Then, moving forward, by the time we get to the prophets, the concept of Sabbath addresses restoration on a grand scale. In Isaiah 65, we see a vision of cosmic restoration in which God will bring this holistic Sabbath rest upon the whole world.
Now, when we consider the scope of chaos and suffering in the world, it does not take long to realize that the world is in need of God’s Sabbath restoration. Humans are plagued by physical and mental bondage. Humans are afflicted by spiritual bondage. We are in need of an everyday Sabbath on this cosmic scale, are we not?
Jesus Heals a Crippled Man
This is the kind of restoration that Jesus sought to bring. In fact, many of his miracles reinforce the concept of Sabbath restoration.
In John 5:1-18, Jesus heals a man who has been handicapped for 38 years and significantly, as verse 9 points out, this miracle takes place on the Sabbath. I do not know why the ESV uses the term “invalid” in this passage. That term is rarely used today and, perhaps, is not helpful. Based off verse 7, this man may be paralyzed or has some form of muscular dystrophy or a nervous system disease. The emphasis, regardless, is placed on the fact that he has been suffering for 38 years. That is more than a lot us have been alive. This man knows suffering! He also knows the loneliness that suffering brings.
Yet, on this day, Jesus, the Savior of the world, comes to him. Jesus spots him out and approaches him. That is amazing! And then with three simple imperatives, he instantly heals the man. All that is required for Jesus to reverse 38 years of paralysis are three commands: “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” Jesus does not need to create some magic potion and then apply it to the man. Jesus does not need to carry the man into the pool. No; Jesus speaks, and the man is healed.
The power of Jesus’ voice is heightened in that the man gets up at once. As soon as Jesus finishes speaking, the muscles and nerves within the man instantly regenerate.The man is so thoroughly healed that he does not stumble as he rises. His legs do not tremble and shake. He does not need to lean on someone. No; he gets up, rolls up his straw mat, and leaves the area. The man has been restored.
Sabbath Restoration is Holistic
The fact that Jesus restores a severely handicapped man on the Sabbath expresses a loud theological statement: Jesus brings Sabbath restoration. He comes to heal – to heal the body, mind, and soul. Another way of looking at this is to say that Jesus is the Sabbath. In Him we find rest and restoration. In Him we find healing. This is Jesus!
More importantly, this healing is not limited to the time that Jesus walked on earth. You see, Jesus came to establish Sabbath restoration and there will be a day in which He brings it about in full. This is what Isaiah 65 prophecies. In Isaiah 65:17-20, God gives us a glimpse of what His restoration will look like. He is going to make all things new. The whole earth will be new and every city in it will be new as well. In the new Jerusalem, “never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed.” What an incredible day of restoration that will be!
I am also certain that Jesus will one day bring complete restoration because of how the Bible ends. The Bible concludes in Revelation 21:1-5 with comprehensive healing. This is our fate in Jesus. We will experience complete restoration because Jesus is the Sabbath and He brings Sabbath restoration.
Finding Hope in the Midst of Pain
If we know this to be true then, brothers and sisters, find hope in this truth about Jesus. I say this because some of you are suffering and hurting, either physically, mentally, or emotionally. Jesus may heal you right now, and I pray He does, but if He does not, take hope knowing that there will be a day in which He will fully restore you.
I also give this exhortation because we will suffer. Some of us will experience deep heartache. Some of us will develop cancer. Some of us will lose a loved one. The shrapnel of our fallen world will hit you. In that moment, take heart knowing that Jesus will one day bring His complete Sabbath restoration. He will heal us. He will reverse the effects of this world. Despite the pain and suffering, we can trust Jesus. He will restore us.We can have this hope because Jesus brings Sabbath restoration.
It is inevitable that the shrapnel of our fallen world will hit you. But take heart knowing that Jesus is our Sabbath and He has come to restore us – body, mind, and soul. Click To Tweet
