The book of Hebrews cleverly weaves together
three themes of rest— 1. the rest promised to Israel from enemies,
2. the physical rest of the weekly Sabbath, and 3. the spiritual rest
through Christ. The conclusion is that
Sabbath-keeping is still necessary for the people of God, the New
Testament Church.
THE
REST PROMISED TO ISRAEL FROM ENEMIES:
The book of Hebrews uses creative comparisons to emphasize to
its largely Jewish audience that the weekly Sabbath is a reminder of more than
the fact that God was the Israelites’ Creator and the One who had delivered
them from slavery in Egypt (Exodus 20:8-11; Deuteronomy
5:12-15).
THE PHYSICAL REST OF THE WEEKLY SABBATH:
David (in
Psalm 95) spoke of a promise of rest long after Joshua led the second
generation of Israel to rest in the Promised Land. This demonstrates that the
rest fulfilled at the time of Joshua was only a type of a greater rest to come (Hebrews 4:6-8).
THE SPIRITUAL REST THROUGH CHRIST:
Now we come to a controversial statement:
“There remains therefore a rest for the
people of God” (Hebrews 4:9).
The Greek word translated “rest” in every other
verse throughout Hebrews 3 and 4 is katapausis. But
the word translated “rest” in Hebrews
4:9 is sabbatismos. This is the only New Testament occurrence of this word.
The Anchor Bible
Dictionary states regarding the meaning of sabbatismos:
“The author of Hebrews affirms in Heb[rews] 4:3-11,
through the joining of quotations from Gen[esis] 2:2 and Ps[alm] 95:7, that the
promised ‘Sabbath rest’ still anticipates a complete realization ‘for the
people of God’ in the … end-time which had been inaugurated with the appearance
of Jesus [Hebrews] 1:1-3
“The experience of ‘Sabbath rest’ points to a present ‘rest’ (katapausis ) reality
in which those ‘who have believed are entering’ (4:3) and it points to a future ‘rest’ reality
(4:11). Physical Sabbath-keeping on the part of the new covenant believer as
affirmed by ‘Sabbath rest’ epitomizes cessation from ‘works’ (4:10) in
commemoration of God’s rest at creation (4:4 = Gen[esis] 2:2) and manifests
faith in the salvation provided by Christ.
“Heb[rews] 4:3-11 affirms that physical ‘Sabbath rest’ (sabbatismos ) is the
weekly outward manifestation of the inner experience of spiritual rest ( katapausis ) in
which the final … rest is … experienced already ‘today’ (4:7). Thus ‘Sabbath
rest’ combines in itself creation-commemoration, salvation-experience,
and eschaton [end-time]-anticipation
as the community of faith moves forward toward the final consummation of total
restoration and rest” (pp. 855-856).
SO IN CONCLUSION:
So
the Sabbath retains its 1. Old Covenant
meanings that identify God’s specially sanctified people (“the people of God”)
and point them back to God as Creator.
Added
to that is the New Covenant meaning of 2. entering into another rest through Jesus Christ,
fulfilled in type by the rest given to Israel during Joshua’s time (Hebrews
4:8).
This
spiritual rest begins now in this life and 3. reaches its consummation in the resurrection to
eternal life at the return of Christ (Revelation 20:6). His return also signals the beginning of the
millennial rest prophesied in the Old Testament.