The 4th commandment tells the people of God to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. It was to be a day of rest enjoying the presence and blessing of the Lord. This passage has two incidents where the Pharisees criticized the Lord Jesus because of what he did on the Sabbath. The first involved his disciples gleaning and eating. Jesus instructs us that acts of necessity (like eating) are appropriate use of the Sabbath. The second involved healing and Jesus instructs us that acts of mercy are an appropriate use of the Sabbath. Most importantly, Jesus declared that he, the Son of Man, is Lord even of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28).

What is the proper use of the Lord’s Day? From the beginning of the world, God set up a cycle for our living where we are to take one day in seven as a special day to rest in God and rejoice in his presence. In the Old Testament, the people were instructed not to work—to rest and to let their people rest—on one day a week. This was to be a holy Sabbath rest to the Lord.

In the New Testament, we see the continuation of this Creation Ordinance with a few changes. For one, the day has changed from the last day of the week to the first day of the week because it was on the first day of the week (Sunday) that the Lord Jesus rose from the dead. This is the reason for the New Testament change, calling the special day, the Lord’s Day. This was the day that the church gathered for public worship every week. This became the day of rest and worship for the people of God.

There are two errors concerning this day and we are prone to both. One is the error to disregard the specialness of the day and treat it like any other. When we allow all sorts of things to creep in and steal the special time we would have with the Lord and the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day, then we miss the blessing of rest and spiritual refreshment that God knows we need. What a blessing to be able to turn off the siren call of the stores and distracting pull of the TV to be able to focus on God’s present mercy. What a gift to feel the joyful quietness of the Lord’s presence and hear the still small voice of God.

God’s commands are for our good. Following God’s direction is not settling for second best. Why are we tempted to disregard the divinely ordered pattern of holy rest from our labors? Is it not a lack of faith? We are afraid that if we obey God we will miss out.

The other error is to focus on the rules of the day of rest, as if keeping a list of dos and don’ts was in itself the purpose of the day. This was the Pharisees problem. They were more focused on the rules of the day than they were the purpose of the rules. They complained about the disciples picking and eating wheat on the Sabbath, but they did not think to invite the disciples to eat and celebrate the goodness of the Lord with them. They were outraged when Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath. Why did they not use the event to worship the Lord even more because of this healing? Jesus showed that acts of necessity and mercy were appropriate for the Sabbath. He also showed that the rules of the day were not an end in themselves. Man was not made in order for certain rules to be kept. Man was made for the Lord. The observances were to further that relationship.

The answer to both errors is to focus on Jesus. The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. The Lord’s Day is the special day to spend time with the Lord at his house. It is a family reunion with the people of God. The call of the Lord’s day is not to discharge a list of rules. It is a call to take care of our affairs ahead of time and clear our schedules so we can spend unhurried, restful time with our Lord. The Lord knows we need it. He gave us the 4th commandment for our own good. The more we rest in the Lord on his day, the more we will understand what a blessing it is.

I am not going to give a list of don’ts for the Lord’s Day. Instead, I want to share a vision, a dream. I want to encourage you to see the day in new ways and to dream about your relationship with your heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus. What if you viewed the Lord’s Day as a special invitation to spend quality time with the Lord? Would you order your life differently? How often are you chomping at the bit to carry out your plans for your time without any thought to accepting the Lord’s invitation to come away and rest?

In Christ we can rest from our sin. In Christ we can rest from our labors. We can rest from our worries. In Christ we get a taste of our eternal rest. Let that desire rule your heart and you will know what is the best use of your time on the Lord’s Day.