In the book of Revelation, we have this remarkable image: Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. Perhaps you have seen the familiar painting hung in most Protestant Sunday school rooms of a meek Jesus knocking on a door with only an inward knob as a picture of evangelism. You need to open your heart and let him in.

Jesus is always seeking to save sinners; that is wonderfully true. But it is the risen Lord here in John’s Apocalypse speaking to the lukewarm church in Laodicea with these haunting words: For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked (Rev 3:17).

I hear Jesus knocking, asking the church to let him in.

Do you hear the knock? Or are you too busy buying things and paying bills? Do we fill our quiet with sounds like the TV blaring or headphones pounding? Are we preoccupied running our machines or our mouths, incessantly talking and arguing? I am not condemning; I am responding appropriately to the provocative image of Jesus in Revelation.

And so, in our study, Learning to Delight in God, we have been exploring shabbat as a means of answering Jesus’ knock and intentionally opening the door. As Lord of the Sabbath, he wants to be welcomed anew into our hearts, houses, and communities of faith. The LORD God, creator of the heavens and earth, desires to dwell amidst his people. And with his presence comes shalom.

Selah.

Oh, the riches that come forth as we continue to mine the creation account. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation (1:31-2:1-3).

The seventh day, by divine design, was the culmination of creation. The number seven speaks of completion, wholeness, and purpose. God finished his work with the seventh day (the Sabbath) by creating shabbat, the rest of ceasing and entering into. Then, say the sages of Israel, he was finished.

In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed (Exodus 31:17). It should come as no surprise that we hear this same invitation to rest and refreshment from God’s Son, Israel’s Messiah: 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 (Matt:28-30).

Why do we experience so little rest and refreshment? Given these promises, why is there a lack of shalom in our lives?

It bears repeating that Christians are incredibly stressed because the world has an intense conforming power seeking to distort everything. It is like these glasses I need to compensate for my aging eyes. I always wear them and don’t even think about them being on. That is the way it is with the values of the world. You don’t even think about them. You don’t even realize you’ve got the world’s spectacles on and are looking through its distorted lenses.

I have dedicated my adult life to teaching the Bible from the Hebraic perspective of Jesus and his early church. The language, literature, and culture of Second Temple Judaism present a perspective much different from our own, one Jesus and his early church understood. In light of his crucifixion and resurrection, the New Testament offers that biblical worldview to every nation in every generation.

God’s Word is an antidote to the societal sickness that infects and influences the institutionalized church. The spiritual practice of shabbat is hearing Messiah’s knock and opening the door. When He comes in, we see everything clearly in the light of his glory. Regularly entering his rest and finding refreshment is part of our biblical heritage.

Your Savior desires greater intimacy with you.

So powerful is the shabbat principle that it influences those around us and the very creation itself with the blessing of God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates (Ex 20:10).

The Jewish community begins their Sabbath with a meal. There is profound biblical insight in that act. The Father and Mother bless the Lord, one another, and then their children. These expressions of blessing represent the heart of God our Father. We receive the blessing of his presence and take that with us as we re-enter our six-day working life.

Again, I am painting a picture of divine opportunity in the New Covenant, not obligation. I know you can see the difference. And in the gift of shabbat as a spiritual discipline, you can see the wisdom of a loving Father in whom you delight.

You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm (Deut 5: 15). The gift of ceasing and resting is a time in which you are reminded that you are the created image and likeness of the one true God, that you were redeemed by the Son from slavery to sin and Satan, and that his Spirit now indwells you.

We can lose sight of what is important so quickly and easily.

I want you to see and feel the rhythm of God’s work as Creator and Redeemer in both presentations of the Ten Commandments. Why shabbat?

• For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. (Ex 20:11).
• The Lord your God brought you out from captivity with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm (Deut 5:15).

Here is the bottom line. Shabbat is an opportunity to be free from our preoccupation with self by being Father-focused, Christ-centered, and Spirit-saturated.

Do you hear Jesus knocking? Get up and open the door!