This is Spoken Gospel.

We’re dedicated to seeing
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode, we see what’s
happening in a Biblical text

and how it sheds light
on Jesus and his gospel.

Let’s jump in.

Moses is currently giving the Israelites instructions
on how to obey the Ten Commandments once they

enter the Promised Land
and drive out the inhabitants.

This section seems to focus most
on the fourth commandment -

Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

Israel is to rest every seven days.

But there are broader rhythms in their
calendar that help them remember as well.

Every seventh year is a sabbatical year.

Israel must release all Hebrew
slaves and forgive all Hebrew debts.

The purpose of this sabbatical year
is definitely about justice for the poor

and equity for the people, but Moses
says something else is going on as well.

When an Israelite releases a
bondservant or forgives a debt

they are enacting a smaller version
of what God did for them in Egypt.

They were slaves and God set them free.

So, when the Sabbatical Year
comes, Israel gets to remember

and reenact the freedom God gave
them by extending it to one another.

This isn’t the only thing on Israel’s
calendar other than the weekly Sabbath.

There are other festivals that
take place every single year:

Passover, the Feast of Weeks,
and the Feast of Booths.

All of these festivals, though
different, serve the same purpose.

Moses repeats it multiple times.

They remind Israel that they used to be
slaves in Egypt, but God rescued them.

Remembering God’s grace leads to loving God.
And loving God leads to obeying God.

In this instance, obedience looks like treating
the poor and enslaved among them with mercy,

as God treated them when
they were poor and enslaved.

The same is true for Christians today.

Except we aren’t called to remember
when Israel was enslaved in Egypt,

but when we were
enslaved to sin and death.

One of the visible reminders we have
been given is the Lord’s Supper.

In it, we remember that Jesus’ body and
blood paid for our sin and saved us from death.

But we don’t observe yearly
or weekly festivals anymore,

because all of them pointed to
Jesus who has now fulfilled them.

Jesus is the final day of Sabbath
rest because in him all work is done.

Jesus is the final Passover because in him
the last sacrifice needed has been made.

We can constantly rest in the completed
work of Jesus day by day and hour by hour.

We can take regular sabbath rest just
by remembering Jesus and his completed work.

And as we remember how we were
slaves and Jesus saved us from death,

we will love him
and obey him.

And one of the main things he
tells us to do out of love for him

is to love the poor
and enslaved around us.

I pray that the Holy Spirit
will open your eyes to see

the God whose salvation changes our
hearts, and that you would see Jesus

as the one who has provided full salvation
to make a people with fully changed hearts.