Andreas Slot-Henriksen teaches on what the Bible says about the Sabbath and how the commandment should be understood in light of the new covenant, where Jesus Himself has become the true rest for humanity. The teaching addresses the many common questions that arise: Should the Sabbath still be kept today? Do the Ten Commandments apply in the same way? Are believers called to keep Saturday, Sunday, or even a specific fixed day of rest at all?
It is emphasized that this topic matters because many Christians remain unsure whether they are living rightly before God when it comes to the Sabbath and the day of rest, and because there are circles that even link salvation to whether one keeps the Sabbath according to certain rules. For that reason, the introduction points to the need to return to Scripture and look carefully at both the original institution of the Sabbath and the development that takes place throughout the Old and New Testaments.
Udgangspunktet er skabelsesberetningen, hvor Gud på den syvende dag hviler efter skaberværket og velsigner og helliger den dag som noget særligt, fordi Han hviler fra sit værk. Her vises, at selve ideen om hvile ikke opstår med loven på Sinai, men allerede er forankret i Guds eget eksempel, hvor hvilen er en del af skabelsesrytmen. Senere, i forbindelse med udgangen af Egypten og pagten med Israel, bliver sabbaten gjort til et konkret bud og et tegn på pagten mellem Gud og israelitterne, formuleret i de 10 bud med ordene om at huske sabbatsdagen og holde den hellig, arbejde seks dage og så hvile på den syvende dag uden at nogen i huset – mennesker, trælle, dyr eller fremmede – må udføre arbejde. Det fremhæves, at sabbaten i den mosaïske pagt ikke blot er en praktisk hviledag, men en del af selve grundloven for Guds folk.
The starting point is the creation account, where God rests on the seventh day after His work of creation and blesses and sanctifies that day as something special because He rests from His work. This shows that the very idea of rest does not begin with the law at Sinai, but is already rooted in God’s own example, where rest is built into the rhythm of creation.
Later, in connection with the exodus from Egypt and the covenant with Israel, the Sabbath is made into a specific command and a sign of the covenant between God and the Israelites, formulated in the Ten Commandments with the words to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, to work for six days and then rest on the seventh, with no one in the household — whether people, servants, animals, or foreigners — allowed to work. It is emphasized that in the Mosaic covenant, the Sabbath is not just a practical day off, but part of the very constitutional foundation of God’s people.
Next, an overview is given of how the Sabbath is practiced and regulated within Jewish tradition. It refers to the Talmud, where the oral traditions are collected in long lists of what may and may not be done on the Sabbath — activities such as sowing, plowing, harvesting, tying or untying knots, writing more than one letter, cooking, shearing sheep, weaving, building, demolishing, and much more.
Modern interpretations are also mentioned, where the Sabbath rules are translated into practices such as not driving a car, not turning electrical devices on or off, not pressing elevator or door buttons, not writing text messages or emails, not cooking, shopping, handling money transactions, or doing garden work. This paints a picture of a day where almost every kind of practical activity is regulated or forbidden, and where technical aids such as timers and special “Sabbath modes” are used to avoid direct action — a form of religious creativity that easily shifts the focus away from God’s intention.
The teaching then moves into the Gospels, where Jesus steps into a culture that strongly emphasizes the Sabbath commandment, but has also developed an extensive tradition of additional rules. A key passage is the episode where Jesus and the disciples walk through grainfields on the Sabbath, and the disciples begin to pick heads of grain, which the Pharisees immediately criticize as unlawful work.
Jesus responds by referring to David, who, when he was in need of food, ate the consecrated bread, and He concludes with the words that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath, and that the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. This is presented as a radical shift in perspective: the Sabbath was intended as a gift for human beings, not as a chain, and Jesus places Himself as the one who has the authority to define the true purpose and use of the Sabbath.
The story of the bent-over woman whom Jesus heals on a Sabbath is also included. In this account, the leader of the synagogue is offended that a healing takes place on the day of rest. Jesus exposes the hypocrisy by reminding them that they themselves untie their oxen and donkeys and lead them to water on the Sabbath, and He argues that it must be far more in line with God’s heart to set a person free from sickness, even on that day.
In this way, the healing stories are used to show that God’s intention with rest is not passivity, but that God’s life and goodness are to unfold – even when this breaks with human systems and rules. At the same time, it is underlined that Jesus never tells the disciples that they should avoid healing or doing good work on the Sabbath; on the contrary, they are encouraged to heal the sick, cast out demons, and preach the gospel without making exceptions for particular days.
An important theological thread in the teaching is how the new covenant in Jesus relates to the Law of Moses in general and the Sabbath commandment in particular. It refers to Paul’s words in Romans, where he says that some consider one day more important than another, while others consider all days alike, and that each person should be fully convinced in their own mind, since what truly matters is that whatever is done, is done for the Lord.
This is linked to the teaching on food laws and “weak” and “strong” faith, where Paul urges believers not to judge one another on the basis of outward practices, but to take care not to trip up those who struggle to let go of old habits. It is pointed out that the first Jewish Christians came from a society deeply shaped by the Law of Moses, and that the shift into a new covenant, where the law is fulfilled in Jesus, represented an enormous change.
Next, reference is made to the Letter to the Colossians, where Paul explicitly says that no one should judge believers with regard to food or drink, or in respect to a festival, a new moon, or sabbaths, because these things are only a shadow of what was to come, whereas the reality is Christ Himself. Sabbaths are here understood as a foreshadowing of the rest that comes in Jesus, and not as an eternal condition for salvation in themselves.
In the Letter to the Galatians, Paul warns the believers against turning back to the “weak and miserable forces” by beginning to observe special days, months, seasons, and years as religious requirements, and he expresses fear that his work among them may have been in vain if they let themselves be bound again by the system of the law. It is highlighted that the Galatian church is practically on its way back under bondage to the law, and Paul speaks sharply to them because they are in danger of abandoning the freedom of the gospel.
A key point is Paul’s teaching on circumcision in the Letter to the Galatians, where he says that the one who lets himself be circumcised in order to be justified is obligated to keep the whole law, and thus is cut off from Christ and has fallen away from grace. In this way, a principle is established: if a person tries to be justified by the law at just one point, they bind themselves to the entire law and place themselves outside of grace.
This principle is then applied to the Sabbath: if the Sabbath is kept as a requirement for justification, the whole law must be observed – including all its detailed commands and penalties. James’ letter is mentioned as a confirmation of this: the one who keeps the whole law yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. Therefore, a sharp line is drawn: either a person lives under the law and must bear its full burden, or they live under grace and let righteousness come through faith, working itself out in love.
The teaching also addresses a common claim that Sunday as the Christian gathering day is merely a product of Roman paganism, sun worship, and later church decisions, especially under Constantine. It is acknowledged that, historically, Constantine did establish Sunday as an official day of rest and worship in the empire, but at the same time it is pointed out that Christians had already long before this been gathering on “the first day of the week” to break bread and meet together, as seen for example in Acts and First Corinthians.
Reference is made to early Christian writings where Sunday is described as the day on which God created the world and the day on which Jesus rose from the dead, and that Christians therefore celebrate the resurrection rather than the exodus from Egypt in the same way as the Israelites did. In this light, Sunday is not understood as a new “law-Sabbath,” but as a natural day for Christian fellowship and celebration of the resurrection, without this in itself being turned into a new legal requirement.
The teaching emphasizes that, in the light of Paul’s words, it does not matter which day is used as a day of rest or as a gathering day, as long as it is done for the Lord, and that any day can be a day of rest if it is set apart for resting and seeking God. Rest is warmly affirmed as good and necessary, both physically and emotionally, and it is noted that people today are often poor at resting, but this is not tied to a demand to recreate the old Sabbath system with all its prohibitions.
Instead, it is underlined that the Sabbath was made for the sake of human beings, and that Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath and thus the fulfillment of what the Sabbath was pointing toward. The question then becomes: what is more important – to keep a religious day of rest according to a set of rules, or to let Jesus be the daily rest for the heart in the midst of everyday life?
The teaching unfolds the truth that, in the deepest sense, Jesus is our Sabbath. He invites us to lay all worries, burdens, and efforts on Him, promises to give a peace that is greater than any human understanding, and wants to carry us in everyday life so that rest is no longer limited to one day, but becomes a way of living.
Jesus’ own words are quoted about giving His peace and about coming to Him, all who are weary and burdened, to find rest for their souls, because His yoke is easy and His burden is light. In this way, a picture is drawn of rest that is not primarily about putting work aside one day a week, but about living in trust and surrender to Jesus every day, so that the heart can be at peace even in the midst of busyness and responsibility.
The difference between outward rest and inward rest is made concrete by describing two kinds of people: those who, objectively, do not have very much in their calendar and yet are constantly stressed and worried, and those who are very busy but still carry a deep sense of peace and rest in their hearts. The difference is explained as a question of whether God’s rest has been given space in the heart – whether a person walks alone with their worries, or actively lays them on Jesus in trust that He is in control of their life.
There is a call to seek God not primarily to get answers to every practical question, but to exalt Him for who He is and to thank Him that He is in control. The more the focus is on Jesus Himself and not on one’s own problems, the more deeply rest takes root, and the harder it becomes for everyday challenges to knock a person over
A practical exercise in seeking rest in Jesus is described: to sit down, stretch out one’s hand, and in faith say to Jesus that He may take that hand and be present – not to deliver answers or solutions, but simply to be together. Even though this may feel strange at first, there is an encouragement to keep going, because it is about stepping into a friendship with Jesus where presence and fellowship come before the list of needs.
It is shared on a personal level that if all potential worries were carried alone, depression and breakdown would quickly appear, but because Jesus is peace and rest, worries and depression do not need to be given room. This is not presented as a promise that one will never experience pressure or struggle, but as a testimony that God’s love and rest can be stronger than the burdens that could otherwise knock a person down.
The teaching returns to the question of the Sabbath as a condition for salvation. It warns against movements that teach that a person loses their salvation if they do not keep the Sabbath according to specific patterns, because in practice this shifts the basis of salvation from grace and faith to law-keeping. It is emphasized that if someone keeps the Sabbath on the grounds that it is necessary in order to be justified, then they have placed themselves under the law and must consistently bear the whole burden of the law.
At the same time, it is made very clear that there is absolutely nothing wrong with having a day of rest, celebrating Sunday, or gathering on Saturday, Sunday, or any other day to worship and rest; it only becomes wrong when the day of rest is made into a measure of salvation or spiritual worth. There is an encouragement to rejoice in the opportunities to gather, celebrate the resurrection, have time off, and rest, but without placing a yoke on oneself or on others.
The teaching draws the threads together by pointing out that “sabbath” means rest, and that the deepest fulfillment of the Sabbath today is to walk in God’s rest every day, not to introduce a new religious ritual. In the same way that Jesus intensifies the commandment about not coveting by saying that anyone who looks with lust has already sinned in the heart, the understanding of rest is also sharpened: previously there was one day of rest, but now Jesus is meant to be the rest of the heart every day.
This does not mean that physical rest and breaks are unnecessary – on the contrary, they are recommended as healthy and needed – but the decisive rest is that Jesus is allowed to be the center and the peace in the midst of everything. There is a call to seek God every day, not to be content with a routine evening prayer, but to let Jesus be the center of one’s whole life, so that people around can sense a peace that is contagious and awakens a longing for the same.
The teaching finally lifts the focus to how God’s rest transforms relationships and reactions: when rest lives in the heart, patience grows, irritation lessens, and responses become gentler, because there is no longer the same need to defend oneself and fight in one’s own strength. People who are filled with God’s peace are described as pleasant to be around, while constant grumpiness and bitterness have the opposite effect.
Jesus is held up as the example: He was full of peace, yet could still stand firm, rebuke the Pharisees, and overturn the money changers’ tables without becoming trapped in long-term resentment or bitterness. This combination of truth, righteousness, and deep inner rest is set forward as the ideal. In this way, the Sabbath is not reduced to a question of calendar days, but is raised to the level of a lifestyle in God’s rest, where Jesus is the living Sabbath in the heart, every single day.
Quote from the teaching: “The Sabbath was made for the sake of human beings, but today it is Jesus who is the Sabbath in your heart, if you are willing to let Him be your rest.”
