Shabbat
Shabbat means rest or cease. It is a commandment from Elohim, and it is holy. Shabbat is on the seventh day of the week, which is on Saturday. When Miriam went to anoint Yeshua’s body after His death, she went on the first day of the week, which is Sunday. John 20:1 “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Miryam from Magdala went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.” Mark 16:1-2 “When Shabbat was over, Miryam of Magdala, Miryam the mother of Ya‘akov, and Shlomit bought spices to go and anoint Yeshua. 2 Very early the next day, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb.” Mark 16:9 “9 When Yeshua rose early Sunday, he appeared first to Miryam of Magdala, from whom he had expelled seven demons.” These verses also confirm that Saturday is shabbat by telling us that Sunday is the first day of the week.
Genesis 2:2-3 “2 On the seventh day God was finished with his work which he had made, so he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 God blessed the seventh day and separated it as holy; because on that day God rested from all his work which he had created, so that it itself could produce.” Exodus 20:8-11 “Remember the day, Shabbat, to set it apart for God. 9 You have six days to labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Shabbat for ADONAI your God. On it, you are not to do any work, not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property. 11 For in six days, ADONAI made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why ADONAI blessed the day, Shabbat, and separated it for himself.”
Yeshua did not come to abolish the Shabbat day, for He himself celebrated shabbat
Luke 4:16 “16 Now when he went to Natzeret, where he had been brought up, on Shabbat he went to the synagogue as usual. He stood up to read,”
Matthew 5:17-18 “17 “Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. 18 Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah — not until everything that must happen has happened.” CJB
Romans 3:31 “31 Does it follow that we abolish Torah by this trusting? Heaven forbids! On the contrary, we confirm Torah.”
Scriptures tell us that “7 For none of us lives only in relation to himself, and none of us dies only in relation to himself;” (Rom. 14:7). Also, “19 Or don’t you know that your body is a temple for the Ruach HaKodesh or Holy Spirit who lives inside you, whom you received from God? The fact is, you don’t belong to yourselves; 20 for you were bought at a price. So, use your bodies to glorify God,” (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
Shabbat is not about restrictions. The Lord Yeshua performed many miracles during Shabbat. It is about love and compassion, the highest expectations from a person. Moreover, Yeshua tells us that he is “8 …Lord of Shabbat!” (Matt. 12:8). Yeshua exercises this authority since He made Shabbat for men. Yeshua is our Shabbat through His death and resurrection, and we can rest assured of shalom, joy, and eternal life. When we cease trying to be good by doing things for ourselves in order to earn salvation, we truly find assurance that we are not alone, and we observe Shabbat by trusting in Yeshua the Messiah. When tribulations of this world knock on our door, we have the assurance that God will be there through our trials, sorrows, and fears. Yeshua tells us “to do good” on Shabbat (Matt. 12:12), and there is only one who is good.
“7 Adonai is good, a stronghold in time of trouble; he takes care of those who take refuge in him,” (Nah. 1:7).
Let us focus our thoughts on Yeshua and His goodness. “2 Always be humble, gentle and patient, bearing with one another in love,” (Eph. 4:2). “Bearing with one another in love,” Would we not be doing these things with Elohim himself? Then Elohim is inviting us to celebrate this important day of rest with Him. Let us concentrate on God by doing the things He wants us to do.
