The sabbath is a type and a shadow. Christ is the true sabbath. When we enter into Christ, we rest from our own works, and he does his works through us.
Sabbatismos is used here to indicate the
perpetual Sabbath rest to be enjoyed uninterruptedly by believers in their fellowship with the Father and the Son under the New Covenant in contrast to the weekly Sabbath under the Old Covenant of the Law. In this verse the writer is referring to a divine rest into which the believers enter in their relationship with God not just in eternity future but (in my opinion) also in the here and now while still on earth (albeit our spiritual rest will not be perfected until we reach glory in the presence of God).
Hagner - The rare Greek word for Sabbath-rest in this verse (
sabbatismos) is deliberately used by the author in place of the word for “rest” used previously in his argument (katapausis) in order to emphasize that the rest of which he has been speaking is of an eschatological order-indeed, of the order of God’s own sabbath-rest.
God’s sabbath-rest thus becomes a symbol for our rest. (New International biblical commentary: Hebrews)
Craig Evans…
The author of Hebrews admonishes Jewish Christians to enter God’s “rest” (Heb 3–4). The author infers from Scripture and Israel’s history that “there remains a sabbath rest [
sabbatismos] for the people of God” (
Heb 4:9).
The reference here is not to weekly Sabbaths or to any particular holy day, but to the eschatological fulfillment of God’s will.
At this time all believers will enter God’s rest, or sabbath. (Dictionary of New Testament Background : A Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship)
Walter Elwell writes that "the author speaks of a Sabbath rest (Gk. sabbatismos) again to connect the rest that the believer will obtain with the rest of God (
He 4:4;
Ge 2:2,
3).
It refers not to the weekly Sabbath but to eternal salvation as different from and following upon this life of work. It should not be thought that this rest is inactivity, however, for God’s rest is not (
Jn 5:17). Again, note the author’s characteristic emphasis on the futurity of salvation. (Evangelical Commentary on the Bible)
That was the Sabbath, and the God of the Sabbath of Pharisaism; this the rest, the enlightenment, the hope for them who laboured and were heavy laden, and who longed and knew not where to find the true Sabbatismos!
Unger commenting on
Hebrews 4:9,
10 writes that "Redemptive rest is available for God’s people. These verses refer to the rest called
sabbath-keeping (sabbatismos, ‘a state of rest from labor’) which involves the believer’s resting completely in a perfect work of redemption (
Heb 4:3,
4) as God rested from a perfect work of creation,
Heb 4:10. This
rest of redemption reposes wholly in the work of the Cross, and ceases from all self-effort, human merit or legalistic claim as a means either to salvation or sanctification, 10 (cf.
Ep 2:8,
9,
10). It projects the victory of faith in conquest over spiritual enemies (the world, the flesh and the devil). (The new Unger's Bible handbook)
Donald Guthrie - The description of the rest as a sabbath rest is
important because it introduces a word (sabbatismos) which occurs nowhere else. It may have been coined by this writer (so MM), for it effectively differentiates between the spiritual kind of rest and the Canaan rest (the psalm has the word katapausis). (Hebrews: An Introduction and Commentary)
The related word
sabbaton is used in Colossians…
Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a
Sabbath (sabbaton) day-- things which are a
mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. (
Col 2:16;
2:17-
notes)
Comment: Jesus fulfilled the Jewish regulations and celebrations by achieving perfectly the intentions they (and related to our present passage, the Sabbath day in the OT) only pointed to. The Sabbath Day was like a "giant finger" pointing to something far better.
To go back to the old worn out picture is to miss His available rest. How ironic and how tragic. The very rest some attempt to attain by keeping legalistically the Sabbath they actually lose because they miss God's true rest, which was not a day but a Person, Christ Jesus! It is also relevant to note that the command to observe the Sabbath is the
only one of the Ten Commandments
not repeated after Pentecost.
Steven Cole…
The author here uses a unique word for rest (
sabbatismos), translated “Sabbath rest.” Some think that he coined the word.
It calls attention to the spiritual aspect of God’s rest. It goes beyond observing the seventh day as holy. It goes beyond entering the physical Promised Land. This Sabbath rest is a soul-rest.
It is what Jesus promised when He said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and You will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (
Mt. 11:28,
29,
30). (
Hebrews 4:1-11 Cultural Christianity versus Saving Faith)
Compare
rest [
katapausis] in [
Re 14:13-
note]
From the context this
Sabbath rest is one in which a believer can enter today (
Re 14:10-
note) although obviously not as completely and fully as when we are in our future state of glory (
Re 14:13-
note). This Sabbath Rest for a believer is also described in the next verse as a rest from one's own works. What keeps a person from entering this "Sabbath rest"? (
Re 14:11-
note) "
Disobedience" (which in turn in the context is a manifestation of
unbelief - cp
Hebrews 3:18,
19-
note).
Craig Slane - Hebrews anticipates an eschatological “sabbath rest” (sabbatismos) that remains for the people of God (
Heb 4:1-11).
The term sabbatismos appears nowhere else in the New Testament, and may be the writer’s own creation to indicate the superiority of the coming rest to that of the seventh day. Though a superior quality of rest, it is still marked chiefly by the cessation of labor patterned after God’s rest on the seventh day. (Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology)
Exodus 31:13 - But as for you, speak to the
sons of Israel, saying, 'You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a
sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
Comment: Observe God's own interpretation of the meaning of the Sabbath in this verse -- it is a
sign. What is it a sign of? As Youngblood writes
"the sign of the Mosaic covenant is the observance and celebration of the Sabbath day (
Ex 31:13,
17)."
The Sabbath marked Israel out as God’s people. Observing the Sabbath showed that the Israelites were set apart (i.e., holy) to God.
Ray Stedman… in his discussion of The Rest Obtained Is New-Creation Rest (4:8-11)
The use of the term
sabbatismos (“Sabbath-rest”) suggests that
the weekly sabbath given to Israel is only a shadow of the true rest of God. Paul also declares in
Colossians 2:16–17 where he lumps religious festivals, New Moon celebrations and sabbath days together as
“a shadow of the things that were to come, the reality, however, is found in Christ.”
Thus rest has three meanings: (1) the Promised Land; (2) the weekly sabbath; and (3) that which these two prefigure, that cessation from labor which God enjoys and which he invites believers to share.
This third rest not only describes the introduction of believers into eternal life, but also depicts the process by which we will continue to work and live, namely, dependence on God to be at work through us. “It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose” (
Phil 2:13-
note).
This is in many ways the lost secret of Christianity. Along with seeking to do things for God, we are also encouraged to expect God to be at work through us. It is the key to the apostle’s labors: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (
Phil 4:13-
note). Also, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (
Gal 2:20-
note). Note, “I no longer live”—that is, I do not look for any achievement by my own efforts. Rather “Christ lives in me” and the life I live and the things that I do are “by faith”—that is, done in dependence on the Son of God working in and through me.
This makes clear that truly keeping the sabbath is not observing a special day (that is but the shadow of the real sabbath), but sabbath keeping is achieved when the heart rests on the great promise of God to be working through a believer in the normal affairs of living. We cannot depend on our efforts to please God, though we do make decisions and exert efforts.
Dr Robert Morey discusses this passage as it relates to the argument used by some (Seventh Day Adventists) to support the keeping of the OT Sabbath…
The
Hebrews 4:9 Argument
The Sabbatarian Position
In this chapter the author of Hebrews clearly states that there remains for the Christian a Sabbath day of rest.
Examination of This Argument
1. This argument’s greatest proponent was the Puritan, John Owen. But the exegetical evidence against his Sabbatarian position is so great that no classic commentator can be cited who agreed with his interpretation. Even some of the Puritans, such as John Brown, rejected Owen’s interpretation.
With almost all the classic commentaries and exegetes against the Sabbatarian position on Hebrews 4, this at once makes us suspicious of its validity.
2.
A careful exegesis reveals that Hebrews 4 is teaching the exact opposite of the Sabbatarian position. The context is clear on the following points:
a. God’s “rest” in
Hebrews 3:18 stands symbolically for the promised land. Because of unbelief, most of the generation died in the wilderness instead of entering His “rest” (
Heb 3:16,
17,
18,
19).
b. From this Old Testament example, the author now informs his audience that the promise of a greater “rest” stands before them (
Heb 4:1a).
c. This “rest” is of such a nature that:
• We can fall short of it (
Heb 4:1b).
• We fall short if we do not believe the Gospel (
Heb 4:2).
• It is entered into by faith (
Heb 4:3).
d. This “rest” is now drawn from another Old Testament example: God’s Sabbath rest (
Heb 4:4).
e. The author combines God’s Sabbath rest with the “rest” of the promised land (
Heb 4:5), and states that disobedience to the Gospel hinders anyone from entering “rest” (
Heb 4:6).
f. Even now in the age of salvation, the age of “Today” (
Heb 4:7; cf.
2Cor. 6:2), God calls us to enter a “rest”; a rest like God’s Sabbath rest; a rest like that in Canaan (
Heb 4:9).The only reason for putting the word “Sabbath rest” (Greek, sabbatismos,
Heb 4:9) instead of just “rest” as in the rest of the context is that the author had just used God’s “Sabbath” as an illustration or example.
g. The nature of the “rest” or “Sabbath rest” of
Heb 4:9 is explained in
Heb 4:10,
11.
• Just as God ceased forever from His works, even so we are to cease from depending upon or trying to produce works to merit salvation. The works we produce are elsewhere called “dead works” (
Heb 6:1).
• Let us enter the “rest of faith” in the Gospel and persevere to the end. We must not fall into or rest upon dead works.
• The danger to which the author was addressing himself was apostasy, not which day was to be observed by Christians. The audience was tempted to return to Judaism, thus the author exhorts them to persevere in the faith, and he warns them of condemnation if they become disobedient to the Gospel.
The fact that this is the theme of the entire book and the thrust of chapter four is accepted by nearly all commentators.
Why do the Sabbatarians ignore this broader and immediate context? The emphasis in Hebrews 4 is on a future rest that yet awaits all who persevere to the end in faith (cf.
He 10:38,
39), and the author’s fear that by moving back under the Old Covenant they would fall short of that sabbatismos.
The conclusion of the author’s argument is given in
Heb 4:14,
15,
16. In order to enter God’s rest, we must “hold firmly to the faith” (
Heb 4:14) in Christ’s meritorious priestly atonement. Therefore, let us “approach the throne of grace with confidence” (
Heb 4:16) in view of Christ’s work for us.
Conclusion - Hebrews 4
is a passage which shows that God’s Sabbath and the Promised Land were an eschatological foreshadowing of the believer’s rest of faith in the Gospel of salvation, accomplished by the sealing of the New Covenant by the blood of Christ.
Heb. 4:9 does not say “Sabbath day” but rather “Sabbath-like rest” (sabbatismos).
The context rules out the Sabbatarian interpretation, because the emphasis falls not on a day to be observed in this age, but on an eternal rest awaiting all who live by faith until the end (cf.
Heb 3:14). (The encyclopedia of practical Christianity)
Hebrews 4:8-10 Commentary | Precept Austin
