Sabbath Day
March 22, 2008
The Fourth Commandment: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Exodus 20:8-11 NIV).
This is “Holy Saturday” of “Holy Week.” The day is observed by our recognition that Jesus rested on the Sabbath (Saturday).
The way they reckoned the days back when Jesus was buried was different from the way we “Westerners” figure them. We use a different type of calendar. Our Saturday started at 12:01 a.m. today. But their method of counting days was different, and Saturday began at sundown on Friday. That’s the way they counted days. The Sabbath always began at sundown on Friday, and ended at sundown on Saturday.
Jesus was crucified and buried before sundown on Friday; therefore he was in the tomb on Friday. He rested in the tomb during the entire Sabbath, which was from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday. He was still in the tomb as the first day of the week (Sunday) arrived at sundown on Saturday. Therefore he was in the tomb three days.
Low in the grave he lay, Jesus my Savior, waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord. Up from the grave he arose, with a mighty triumph o’er his foes. He arose the victor of a dark domain, and he lives forever with his saints to reign. He arose. He arose. Hallelujah, Christ arose!