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There is no such thing as weariness in the life of faith. Of course we
can be physically weary if we've worked twelve hours straight, or mentally
weary trying to deal with a string of problems that come all at once.
But when we find ourselves feeling spiritually drained so that we're overwhelmed
with the thought of taking even one more step on the road of faith, this
is a sign that we've lost touch with our source of life.
It often happens that believers seem to be moving along with zeal, sharing
life with people, getting things done. Then it's as if they suddenly run
out of gas and everything stops. Perhaps after a month or two, or even
a year or two, they get going again with more zeal than ever. Then again
without warning they burn out. They may be good for one or two more infusions
of life then they seem to die out for good. If you ask them what went
wrong they often say, "I just got tired of it. I couldn't keep it
up any more." There's not one of us who hasn't been through some
of this ... and it will happen to us again until we learn that weariness
in the life of faith is unnecessary. God has provided for every child
of faith a permanent, continuous Sabbath Rest.
"Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets;
I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say
to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will
pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one
of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called
least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them
shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven...."
Matthew 5:17-19
Jesus goes on to define and clarify the law in such a way that we are
driven to throw ourselves on the mercy of God and pursue a righteousness
which comes only from him.
But there is one law about which Jesus is strangely silent in the Sermon
on the Mount. Jesus talks about murder, adultery, covetousness, the idolatry
of mammon, taking God's name in vain, but he says nothing at all about
the law of the Sabbath. Moreover, as Jesus' ministry gets going he is
very soon in trouble with the religious establishment because from their
point of view he's breaking the Sabbath law.
One sabbath as he was going through the grain fields; and as they made
their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees
said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the
sabbath?" And he said to them, "Have you never read what David
did when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him;
how he entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate
the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests
to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?" And he said
to them, "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath;
so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."
Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered
hand. And they watched him, to see whether he would heal him on the sabbath,
so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered
hand, "Come here." And he said to them, "Is it lawful on
the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?" But
they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger; grieved at
their hardness of heart, and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand."
He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out,
and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy
him. Mark 2:23-3:6
Here are two episodes early in Jesus’ ministry which already have
him a target of the leadership of Israel over the sabbath law. In John's
gospel we see this same tension. Jesus heals the man at the pool of Bethesda...on
the Sabbath. He tells him to carry his pallet on the Sabbath. Jesus heals
the man born blind on the Sabbath by making clay... illegal on the Sabbath.
The Pharisees insist, "This is not from God for he does not keep
the Sabbath."
So what was Jesus doing? Abolishing the Sabbath? Changing the law?
"Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets;
I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them." Matthew 5:17
There probably was not a Sabbath day in Jesus’ life from the time
he left infancy, that Jesus wasn't found in the synagogue or the temple.
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to
the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day.... Luke 4:16
But for Jesus the Sabbath was not some meaningless rule to add another
burden to men's lives and to bore them to death. This is what religious
flesh has made the Sabbath ... another burden ... one more thing to weigh
down their lives and weary them and add to their guilt.
What was the purpose of the Sabbath? Very simple: rest. A gift whereby
the human race, worrying its way through life outside the Garden of Eden,
might have a little rest, a little peace, a chance to heal and recover.
“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath..."
Mark 2:27
....a chance to taste a little of the joy of Paradise in the midst of
desolation. Just as night was given for sleep so that our bodies and minds
and earth-weary spirits can be renewed and wake in the morning fresh and
ready for a new day, so the Sabbath was given for an even deeper rest,
a break in the monotony of time whereby we get a taste of eternity to
keep us going.
The Sabbath was for Israel in time what the temple was for Israel in space...a
chance to turn from all the distractions of life and come into God's presence
and find God's peace again. A place of rest. A place of prayer. A place
of cleansing and refreshment.
The Sabbath law actually pointed to the time when everything will be at
rest and the lion will lie down with the Lamb. But the Sabbath law also
points to a time this side of glory when it would be possible to experience
Sabbath rest continuously, even in the midst of the turmoil.
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary,
his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall
run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31
This is a description of a continuous Sabbath rest, a resting even while
we’re in motion, a renewing even while we’re pouring ourselves
out...like eagles that soar without getting tired, like a heart that keeps
pumping for 70, 80, 90 years and never misses a beat.
..."Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up"...
John 2:19
"I will raise it up to be your temple. I will be the place where
you meet God." Jesus could also have said, "Bury me on the sabbath
eve and when the sabbath is past I shall rise from death to be your sabbath,
your continuous rest, your never ending revival."
"...so the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath,"
Mark 2:28
because the whole meaning and power and glory of the Sabbath is found
in him.
Jesus is our sabbath for the weariness of spiritual fatigue.
Many of us are laboring under loads we were never meant to carry. For
instance, we're exhausted trying to carry the load of our own guilt, or
trying to live up to some ridiculous reputation we think we have, or should
have, or trying to achieve some vain goal, or trying to make something
happen that was never meant to happen. Whatever it is we're trying to
carry, Jesus says,
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly
in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy,
and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:28-30
"If you're outside the Kingdom, come in. If you're inside the Kingdom,
leave all that alone and come to me and be renewed. Get under my yoke
and I will teach you how to spend yourself, pour yourself out and never
get weary. In fact, you'll get stronger and fresher all the time. While
your outer man is wasting away, your inner man will be renewed day by
day."
Jesus is our sabbath from the weariness of dissatisfaction.
When you're dissatisfied you tire very quickly. And one of the most unsatisfying,
frustrating situations to be in is to be religious and yet never touch
God. To be reaching out for God and never finding him ... thinking about
God but; never communing with him.
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed,
"If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink..."
John 7:37
Drink what? Drink God. Literally satisfy your thirst with a deep satisfying
draft of God himself.
"He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, Out of his heart
shall flow rivers of living water." John 7:38
Jesus is our sabbath from the weariness of an aimless life.
And how many believers are still drifting, lacking a dominating interest,
a consuming passion .... aimless! And when we lack a dominating interest
we're always tired.
It's much easier to see how absurd other men's goals are than it is to
abandon ourselves to the pursuit of God. Rest comes to our spirits when
we have truly found the way and are walking in it.
"And I will pray the Father, and he will give you_another Counselor,
to be with you for ever....”
John 14:16
When I find myself drifting, losing my sense of purpose, I turn to him
who is the way. And as I walk with him and in his will of mercy I find
God, and in God, peace. There is no such thing as weariness in the life
of faith because the life of faith is lived in a continuous sabbath.
And if we take one day in seven to come together and worship him who is
our Sabbath, it's only because he goes with us into those other six days
to be our daily, heavenly rest.
"The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath,
so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."
Indeed the Son of man is the sabbath.
"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
