The One Who Gives True Rest

Please note: This transcript is provided as close to verbatim record of the sermon.

Our Better Rest

Hebrews 3:18–4:13

Introduction

Good morning.

Before we begin the message today, I just have one request. Before I start, I would like all of us here to observe 30 seconds—half a minute—of silence. You do not have to do anything. Just sit in your seats, and we will begin this half a minute of silence.

All right, let’s pray.

Heavenly Father, grant us now the open ears and willing hearts to listen to Your voice today. May Your word pierce our hearts and reveal our great need for the One who is better, the Lord Jesus. Amen.

Good morning. I have been sitting in and participating in our gathered worship on Sunday mornings for more than 20 years now. For many of us here who have been participants as long as I have, or much longer, I think you will agree that there are essentially two short periods of time every Sunday morning where the entire hall and the concourse are just filled with restlessness.

The first, I would say, is at 9:50, ten minutes before the message, after the offering is prayed for and the announcements are being read. The second, I would say, is perhaps at 10:20, ten minutes before the message ends, when you are probably thinking about the lunch that you are going to have. At this point, you will see people start to shift in their seats, start to whip out their phones, maybe start to have small conversations with the people around them. We are people who are very accustomed to this idea of restlessness.

I want to bring us back to the first 30 seconds where we sat in silence. Where did your minds wander to in those 30 seconds? Did you take out your phone to look at it? Were you thinking about something that happened in the week that has been troubling you and was on your mind? We cannot escape this idea of restlessness in our lives.

We find ourselves restless over so many different things. For parents, it may be your child’s examination results. For some of you, it may be a work assignment that you have due this week. As a housewife or a househusband, you may find the undone chores at home causing a lot of restlessness for you. Or for someone who is suffering from illness, it may be a pending medical diagnosis.

Restlessness is all around us, and we find ourselves trying to fight this restlessness by doing a number of things. Some of us enjoy what the Generation Z people call doom-scrolling—mindlessly scrolling through Instagram and YouTube to occupy our time. Some of us enjoy keeping ourselves busy at work, drowning ourselves in our secular work. Some of us, as a response to our restlessness, sleep excessively. I do not know how many of us are like that. Some of us enjoy other things such as shopping, and much more.

But at the heart of it really is this: in all of our restlessness, we all desire some form of rest.

Restlessness is a silent epidemic. In a world that is starved of rest, today’s reading in Hebrews chapter 4 is like a danger sign on the road for our restless souls. It is screaming out that if rest is something so important that we seek, then God’s offer of true rest is something that cannot be ignored.

With that, let us read from the Word together.

Scripture Reading: Hebrews 3:16–4:13

I will read, starting from chapter 3, verse 16:

For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses?
Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness?
And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?
So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Chapter 4:

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said:

“So I swore in My wrath,
‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ”
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.”

Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said:

“Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.”

For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Introduction: Understanding the Structure

When I first read Hebrews 4:1–13 in preparation for today’s message, I was quite confused about what the main point of the passage was. You may feel the same. There are many sentences that seem to repeat themselves, and there are repeated references to Old Testament passages such as Psalm 95.

However, when we take a step back, we begin to see that this passage is structured in a very intentional way. There are essentially two main sections.

The first section consists of the opening paragraph (verses 1–2) and the closing paragraph (verses 11–13). These two are parallel. Both begin with an exhortation to enter God’s rest, followed by a call to examine ourselves through the Word and the gospel.

The second section comprises the middle portions—verses 3–4 and verses 5–10. These are also parallel. Each begins with a warning drawn from Psalm 95, followed by a connection to the idea of Sabbath rest in Genesis 2:2.

This structure is known as a chiastic structure. You can think of it like a sandwich, where the center layers help us understand the outer layers. In other words, the exhortation to enter God’s rest can only be properly understood when we first understand what that rest means.

So today, we will begin from the center and work our way outward. From this passage, we will draw three main lessons about rest.

Lesson 1: True Rest Is Eternally Secured in the Lord Jesus

From Hebrews 3, we saw that the Israelites forfeited their entry into rest—the promised land of Canaan—because of unbelief.

Now Hebrews 4 reveals that Canaan itself was only a shadow of a greater rest still to come.

The word “rest” in Greek is related to the idea of a pause. When we think of rest, we often imagine a break—a weekend after a long work week, or recovery between strenuous activity.

For first-century Jews, rest was built into life through the Sabbath, from Friday evening to Saturday evening—a literal pause from work.

But the rest promised in Hebrews is far greater.

In fact, the author introduces a new word in verse 9—sabbatismos—to describe it:
“There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.”

This is not just any rest. It is a Sabbath kind of rest.

What Is Sabbath Rest?

In verse 4, the author points us back to creation:
“On the seventh day, God rested from all His works.”

God did not rest because He was tired. His rest signified completion. His work was finished—perfect, lacking nothing.

So Sabbath rest is not an intermission; it is completion. It is God declaring, “It is finished.”

Jesus and the True Sabbath

In the Gospels, Jesus challenges the Pharisees’ understanding of the Sabbath. When His disciples plucked grain, He said:

“The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath… the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

And when He healed on the Sabbath, He showed that its true purpose was not legalistic rule-keeping, but life and restoration.

Jesus reveals that Sabbath rest is not merely physical—it is spiritual.

The weekly Sabbath pointed to a deeper need: rest from striving under sin and the law.

So when Jesus says He is Lord of the Sabbath, He is not just redefining rules—He is declaring that He provides the rest.

From Creation to the Cross

Just as God’s work of creation was completed on the seventh day, Jesus’ work of redemption was completed at the cross when He declared:

“It is finished.”

In Him, we cease striving to earn God’s favor. The work has been done.

Rest Is a Person

This means Sabbath rest is not a place.

It is not Canaan.
It is not even heaven.

It is a Person—Jesus Christ.

In Revelation 21, we see the final picture of this rest:

God dwelling with His people.
No more death, mourning, crying, or pain.
The old order has passed away.

This is the completion of rest—eternal security in Christ.

Lesson 2: True Rest Is Endangered by Hardened Hearts

To illustrate this, let me show you a picture of my mother’s hand.

Over the years, through constant work, her hands have become rough and calloused. So much so that she can touch things I cannot, and even fingerprint sensors struggle to recognize her.

This helps us understand what a hardened heart is like.

We often imagine a hardened heart as something like stone—hard from the beginning.

But in reality, it is more like a callus.

It forms gradually.

When skin is repeatedly damaged, it grows back thicker and less sensitive. Over time, it loses sensitivity altogether.

So too with the heart.

A hardened heart does not begin by rejecting God outright. The audience in Hebrews had heard the gospel. They were attending church, perhaps even serving.

But each time they gave in to sin, a little more sensitivity was lost.

Until eventually, the heart became calloused—unresponsive.

The Warning

Paul gives a similar warning in Romans 2:
Because of hardness and an impenitent heart, people store up wrath for themselves.

Hebrews echoes this warning from Psalm 95:
“Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”

A hardened heart prevents entry into God’s rest.

Instead of rest, it leads to judgment—eternal restlessness.

A Sobering Question

Are any of us like this?

Outwardly religious—attending church, serving, fellowshipping—
yet inwardly chasing things that do not satisfy?

Living with a form of godliness but denying its power?

Hardness does not happen overnight. It is gradual.

As C.S. Lewis wrote, the safest road to hell is the gentle slope—without sudden turns, without milestones, without signposts.

So the call is urgent:

“Today… do not harden your hearts.”

Lesson 3: True Rest Is Entered Through Active Faith

The author exhorts us:

“Let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it…
Let us be diligent to enter that rest.”

This leads to our final lesson:

True rest is entered into by active faith.

Verse 2 tells us that the gospel was preached, but it did not benefit some because it was not mixed with faith.

This is not just about intellectual knowledge.

It is about believing with the heart and living it out.

The Power of the Word

Verses 12–13 remind us:

The Word of God is living and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword.
It exposes the deepest parts of our hearts.

Nothing is hidden from God.

The imagery used suggests being completely exposed—vulnerable, unable to hide.

The Word forces us to respond:

Will we repent and believe?
Or reject and disobey?

Rest Is Not Passive

Entering God’s rest is not passive.

It is not merely professing faith—it is active submission, obedience, and daily dying to self.

Hebrews is not a resort; it is a race.

The Yoke of Jesus

Jesus says in Matthew 11:

“Come to me… and I will give you rest…
Take my yoke upon you…”

A yoke joins two oxen together.

It is not about removing work—but sharing the load.

Jesus is not saying, “Do everything yourself.”
Nor is He saying, “I will do everything without you.”

He is saying, “Walk with Me.”

This is rest—not the absence of effort, but partnership with Christ.

Faith is active. It walks in obedience, in humility, in dependence.

Conclusion: Living in Rest

Are we living out an active faith?

Or are we merely observers—listeners but not doers?

Sometimes, like Mary, we are called to sit at Jesus’ feet in stillness.

At other times, we are moved into action out of love.

True rest involves both stillness and movement—resting in Christ while living zealously for Him.

Jesus is better.

He is our better rest.

Final Exhortation

The Jewish day begins at sunset—with rest.

Every day begins with surrender—sleeping, releasing control, trusting God.

Tonight, as we prepare for the week ahead—a time when many feel restless—
let us put aside distractions.

Take a moment to thank God for rest.

And let us learn to live our waking lives the same way we sleep—
in complete surrender and trust in Jesus.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, in the words of Augustine,
“You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in You.”

We thank You that we are not children of wrath, but children secured in Christ.
Help us to live faithfully, without giving room for sin to harden our hearts.
And may we bring the gospel to a restless world.

In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.