True Rest Comes in Word and Promises :: Hebrews 4:9-13

[Introduction]

If you’ve ever had to work, and work, and work, and work ... if you’ve ever been worn out from work, exhausted, spent, so tired you can’t think ... if you have ever felt like you can’t go on but you have to ... you know how refreshing it is, and what a relief it is, to finally rest.

Rest ... It’s such a welcome word. 

Rest ... kicking back to relax. 

Rest ... No more pressure. No more tension. No more burden. No more pain. No more strain. No more sweating the small stuff. No more wrestling with simply strained nerves. 

Rest ... 

Where are we to find it?  

The evangelist to the Hebrews gives us the answer today. He proclaims that ... 

TRUE REST COMES IN THE WORD AND PROMISES OF GOD

There are three kinds of rest being highlighted in our reading from Hebrews today. 

First is the rest given to us in creation (vv 9-10). Second is the rest given in redemption (v 10). And finally, there is the rest that comes through sanctification (11-13). The Father promised this rest for his people in the beginning. The Son fulfilled it through the cross. And the Spirit delivers it through the Word and Sacrament. True rest comes in the Word and Promises of God.

Listen to our Word of the day from Hebrews chapter 4.

Therefore, a Sabbath-Rest remains for the people of God. For The One who entered into his rest also has rested from his works just as God [did] from his own. May we therefore be eager to enter into that rest in order that no one may fall into the same pattern of disobedience. For the Word of God is living and effective, and is sharper than any two-edged sword, even piercing until the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and criticizing the passions and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden before him, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of him, the Word, which is before us (vv 9-13).

I. The first kind of rest spoken here takes us back to the garden, back to creation. 

After the Genesis of all things ... after God created the heavens and the earth ... light ... the air ... our water and land ... the sun and moon and the stars ... the birds and the fish and the cows ... the grass and trees, our corn and beans ... and most notably, you and me ... God rested. He ceased. 

He literally took a Sabbath ... or Sha-vat in Hebrew. Sabbath is a verb that means to cease or rest. In that first Sabbath, God looked at all that he had made and saw that it was very good. So God blessed the seventh day, and he consecrated it (Gen 2:3) ... that is, he set it apart in service to us, declaring it sacred ... holy ... a day with a special purpose ... time that gives us rest.

It is difficult to paint a more beautiful picture of rest than the one described in Genesis 2. In that rest, man and woman literally had no need. God had planted everything, protected everything ... hedging it in for protection ... nurturing it for growth. He gave us a helper. All the living things ... most notably, man and woman ... were in harmony with God. There was no shame, no bloodshed, no death, no drought, no flood, no pestilence, no sin. We had perfect rest. This is what the Psalmist taught us to sing ... My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of YHWH. My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. ... Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise (Ps 84:2,4). 

But God’s people seldom go along with God’s plan, do we? 

Like the world, we prefer serving ourselves. We tell ourselves we don’t need help with anything ... we don’t need anything ... least of all the forgiveness of sins. Adam and Eve were first in line for this job in the Garden. Though they had been given rest, they immediately began working toward their own knowledge and understanding. They began working on their own creation and their own traditions and their own family ... trying to create something in their own image ... declaring that they should and could nourish themselves. Sadly, Adam and Eve never found what they were looking for. And neither have we.

Instead, like Adam and Eve ... we got what we deserved ... fatigue and disease ... sweat and pain ... sin and death. 

II. We need rest. That’s why God gave us the second kind of rest in our reading.

Although we struggle to remember the third commandment to ... Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy ... our Lord Jesus ... didn’t. He entered His Rest (v 10).

As our readings from both Isaiah 55[:10-11] and Hebrews 4[:12-13] reminds us, The Word of God accomplishes what He desires. In the fullness of time, His Word became flesh to do this very thing ... giving us Sabbath-Rest. The Lord of Heaven and Earth heard our cries and remembered his covenant, his Word. He came down from heaven above to earth below to deliver you ... his people ... to actively lead you his people through the wilderness to the mountain of God, where he reminds you that this is the place you find rest. 

Jesus, who was born without sin, is active without sin. God himself came into communion with us, taking our sin from us through the waters of his own baptism that fulfilled all righteousness (Mt 3:15). Jesus then carried that sin ... your sin, my sin, the world’s sin ... our idolatry and adultery, our disrespect and dishonor, our lusts for more ... your shame and mine, your pain and mine ... He carried it all to the cross, where he was pierced to the division of soul and marrow, thereby criticizing the passions and thoughts of the heart for you. And on the day we call Good, Jesus died for you. He was buried for you. He then became the one who entered into his Sabbath-Rest, completing his work of redemption, just as the Father did from his work of creation. That is what the evangelist to the Hebrews tells us in our reading. 

In death, Jesus entered his rest ... he ceased ... he took a Sabbath from the bloody work of redemption. And because he is just and the justifier of all who trust his Word ... he is now risen! He is risen, indeed! Hallelujah! 

And for you who have faith in him, you will find no greater comforting word than this. A Sabbath-rest remains for the people of God.

III. May we always therefore be eager to enter that rest together in his service to us.

 It is here he enables us to hear and reflect on his Word and promises, to receive His sacraments, and thereby be enabled to rest in the salvation God has won for us. Here, we see the fruit of the Holy Spirit calling, gathering, enlightening, and sanctifying the whole Christian Church on earth. As we return to the Divine Service, we learn this is where we find the true place of Sabbath-Rest. 

Here, we come here to hear the living Word of God. Here, we see how effective it is, announcing the forgiveness of sins, keeping us in the baptism that now saves, and feeding and nourishing the faith that saves at the Lord’s Table. This is where our Great High Priest, our Lord Jesus, comes to us. So may we [ever] draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace for help in good time (4:16).

As your pastor, I have to say that the third commandment may be the one we have the most trouble with here at Trinity. Too many, too often do not come regularly and consistently ... putting aside the work they do, recognizing the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mk 2:27) ... allowing God to complete his holy work in them. Our attendance at the Divine Service in God’s house is much too inconsistent. We all know our own culpability in this ... and we all know neighbors and friends and family both in and out of this congregation who need to hear the Word of God and to receive his gifts regularly. But we can rest here knowing the Word is always before us ... that God does and has forgiven you and your family, friends, and neighbors of this sin and all sin on account of our Lord Jesus Christ, who fulfilled the law for you and freed you by the Gospel. 

[Conclusion]

May we therefore be eager to enter into that rest in order that no one may fall into the same pattern of disobedience. Don’t allow the devil to keep you away. Don’t allow the devil to prevent you or your family from hearing the Gospel and receiving the Sacraments. God’s Word seeks to do his wonderful saving work in you.

Rest in his living word. Rest in his continuous service. Rest in his Thanksgiving. Rest in his Gospel as he reminds you how God has lived for you, died for you, risen from the dead for you, ascended into heaven for you, where he has prepared a place of eternal rest for you. Rest knowing he is coming again for you. May we strive for this rest with joy every day, so that we are all strengthened in faith knowing that his word will accomplish his will ... In Jesus’ name.