This Lord’s Day our series of messages on ‘Great Events In The History of Redemption’ will continue as we consider Exodus 16:22-30. In this passage we find the very first use of the word “sabbath” in the Bible, and the record of the Lord’s initial commands regarding the seventh day of the week. What is clear from this passage is that the seventh day was to be one of rest–a holy day, set apart from the others, and dedicated to God for the purpose of renewal and celebration.

Of course, the Lord’s will for the seventh day is codified later in Exodus 20 where we discover the Ten Commandments. The fourth commandment (and later repetitions and expansions of it) specifies in more detail how the day is to be sanctified and used for the glory of God and the good of His Covenant people (Exodus 20:8-11). Then, in Exodus 31:12-17 we learn that the “sabbaths” (note the plural, referring to the weekly sabbath day as well as the seventh year sabbath and fiftieth year sabbath) are a “sign” (v. 13) of the Covenant between Israel and Yahweh, and the penalty for violation is death (v. 15).

Now, what we want to know is, what does the giving of the sabbath (and sabbaths) have to do with God’s plan of redemption and with us as the New Covenant people of God? We are prompted to raise this question in view of something that Jesus Himself claimed. In Matthew 12:8 He said, “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” What does this mean? What does the sabbath have to do with Jesus?