In our last article we looked at the importance of the Sabbath to Jewish people. According to Exodus 31:16 it says ‘the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath … for a perpetual covenant.’ The next verse, 17, reiterates that it is a sign between God and the children of Israel for ever. From all appearances, the Sabbath in the Torah was meant to distinguish Israel from all the other nations. It served as a memorial to creation. Today, observant Jews have the day off, enjoy a special Sabbath dinner, and spend the time with family and in the synagogue.
The Sabbath to the Christian
In Christendom, there has been much disagreement of how similar, or different, our understanding and practice of Sabbath should be. Some wanted to replicate Jewish practice, while others said it was for ‘Israel only.’
Here are some guidelines:
1. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath: The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Jesus is Lord even of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5). So His principles should supersede anything found in the Old Testament or by rabbinic tradition.
2. Council at Jerusalem: In Acts 15, the Mother Church in Jerusalem, which was predominantly Jewish, had to decide what to do with the many Gentiles in the Diaspora who were coming to faith in Jesus. This especially applied to the growing Gentile church in places like Antioch, where the disciples were first called ‘Christian’ (Acts 11:26). Were Gentiles obliged to be circumcised and keep the law of Moses, including Sabbath? In other words, did Gentiles have to become Jews before they could become a Christian? Short answer: No. Salvation comes from grace through faith, not works (Acts 15:11). The Council at Jerusalem gave Gentile believers four simple principles, all to do with heathen worship: Gentiles were to abstain from fornication, eating blood, strangled meat, and meat offered to idols. That’s it! Not a word about circumcision or Sabbath-keeping was mentioned.
3. Sabbath-keeping needs to be of personal conviction: Romans 14:5: One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
4. First-day of the week: This is Sunday and may also be the Lord’s Day referred to by the Apostle John in Revelation 1:10, when he received the revelation of Jesus Christ on Patmos. Sunday was the day that the empty tomb was discovered. In Acts 20:7, the disciples at Troas (Troy) gathered to break bread and hear the preaching of Paul on Sunday. In 1 Corinthians 16:2, as believers gather together, to also collect the offering at that time, implying that Sunday meetings were common. The logic of moving the day of rest and worship from Saturday to Sunday very early in church history involves several things: Jewish Sabbath was a memorial of creation; Christian Sabbath memorialises the new creation in Messiah; Jewish Sabbath remembers the creation of the first Adam; Christian Sabbath remembers the resurrection of the second Adam. Jewish Sabbath ends the week, the Lord’s Day begins it.
5. Colossians 2:16-17: The purpose of this epistle was to combat an insidious local heresy involving a medley of eastern mysticism, Greek philosophising and Jewish legalism. The antidote was by highlighting that Jesus Christ is Number One in all things. It has this strict warning about not allowing anyone to judge a Colossian believer in the matter of food, drink, holy days or sabbath days. These things are the shadow but Christ is the substance. Our focus should be Christ, not becoming bond-slaves to mandatory Sabbatarianism.
Colossians 2:16-17: Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
6. Saturday Sabbath for Christians: There are some Christian groups that demand Saturday Sabbath observance. The problem with this position is that it is never a ‘stand-alone,’ ‘ala carte’ option - it is a package deal. Such insistence leads to other forms of Old Testament observance which quenches the Holy Spirit and leads to unhealthy legalism. This includes mandatory observance of other Old Testament feasts, double and triple tithing, and religious circumcision. All this is in violation of the teachings of the New Testament, particularly Galatians and Colossians.
In summary, for Christians the general principles of Sabbath are good: a day for rest, refreshment, family, and worship. We should make every effort to practice and enjoy this.
In his book Christ in the Sabbath, Rich Robinson, a Jewish believer in Messiah, writes about his Jewish experience of Sabbath-keeping. After examining this topic from every angle, his conclusion is that for the Christian, ‘Sabbath’ need not be any particular day. We agree.
In our next article, we
will see Sabbath and the bigger picture of Hebrews 4. It will be worth the
wait.
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