What Is Sabbath Rest? (Hebrews 4:1-13)

What is Sabbath rest in Hebrews 4? What does the bible say about rest in the finished work of the cross? How is rest described in Hebrews 4:1-13? Read or listen to this chapter from Work and Rest God’s Way for answers. Table of contentsEntering the Sabbath RestWhat Does the Bible Say About Rest in the Finished Work of the Cross?Work Hard to Rest?Are You in the Wilderness, or Have you Entered the Sabbath Rest?Joshua Is a Type of JesusEgypt Is a Type of the WorldMoses Is a Type of the LawDelivered from Egypt, but Dying in the WildernessFollowing the True and Greater Moses and Joshua Into the Sabbath Rest Entering the Sabbath Rest For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his (Hebrews 4:8–10). A right is a freedom given to people and protected by a government’s laws. For example, American citizens have the right to express themselves, worship as they wish, and vote in elections for public officials. A privilege is an opportunity or advantage given to people who meet certain conditions. For example, driving is a privilege for people who have reached an age, passed a test, and agreed to obey the rules of the road. The author of Hebrews wrote to his readers about a privilege they could be given, and that’s entering “a Sabbath rest.” The condition they had to meet is contained in the words “for the people of God.” If the readers became God’s people, they could experience His rest. Since Gentiles were coming into the church, the Hebrew readers felt as though they were losing their status. The author of Hebrews explains that the only way they could remain the “people of God” was not by descending from Abraham, but by believing: Unbelieving Jews would lose their privileged status even if they were in the Promised Land and even if they observed the Sabbath. Believing Gentiles became the people of God even if they weren’t in the Promised Land and even if they didn’t observe the Sabbath. The words, “there remains” reveal the rest is available now, as opposed to only being available in the future when we get to heaven. The Greek word for “rest” in the previous verses is katapausis, but the word for “Sabbath rest” in Hebrews 4:9 is sabbatismos, and this is the only place it occurs in Scripture. The words “there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God” are similar to Hebrews 4:1 “Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest,” but whereas the Promised Land was in view earlier, now the Sabbath is in view. Just as the Promised Land prefigured God’s rest, so too does the Sabbath. The point the author of Hebrews is making is spiritual rather than physical; he is not primarily referring to physically resting from work. Instead, he is referring to spiritually resting from working for salvation. The Sabbath rest also looks back to creation when “[God] rested from His works.” He rested on the seventh day because His work was finished, and we can rest because the work for our salvation is finished. Just as God didn’t resume working again on the eighth day, we don’t resume working for our salvation on a later day. We enter God’s rest by trusting what Jesus has already and fully accomplished on our behalf. Notice it doesn’t say those who have entered will cease from their works. It says they “[have already] ceased from [their] works as God did from His.” We don’t enter the rest and then cease working for salvation. We have entered the rest because we have ceased working for salvation. What Does the Bible Say About Rest in the Finished Work of the Cross? The priests might have been the hardest workers in the Old Testament. Jesus said, “On the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless” (Matthew 12:5). They didn’t even get to rest on the Sabbath!