The
command to keep the Sabbath was first given in the law
of Moses and is part of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8-11;
Deuteronomy 5:12-15). The word sabbath comes from a Hebrew
root that means "to rest, cease, desist, leave off" (Gesenius).
On the pain of death, the Israelites were not to do any
work on the Sabbath-not even cooking, lighting a fire,
gathering firewood, or traveling (Exodus 16:23-30; 20:8-11;
31:12-17; 3@:1-3; Numbers 15:32-26). While the Sabbath
was a day of worship, sacred assembly, and special sacrifices
in the Tabernacle and Temple ("an holy convocation"),
for the average person it was primarily a day of rest
at home ("a sabbath of rest...in all your dwellings")
(Leviticus 23:3). Historians agree that synagogues and
local Sabbath worship at them did not come into existence
until after the destruction of the Temple in 721 B.C.
Several
passages of Scripture disclose that the Sabbath was given
uniquely to the nation of Israel: "Verily my sabbaths
ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout
your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD
that doth sanctify you" (Exodus 31:13). (See Ezekiel 20:12-13.)
"And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of
Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence
through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore
the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day"
(Deuteronomy 5:15).
These
passages also reveal a twofold significance for the Sabbath
law. First, as we have already seen, the Sabbath provided
a weekly day of rest from all work. It was instituted
for people's physical, mental, and spiritual well-being,
not because the day itself was sacred. As Jesus said,
"The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath"
(Mark 2:27). This provision of rest was especially significant
to the Israelites, for the Sabbath was a constant, vivid
reminder that God had delivered them from slavery and
entered into covenant relationship with them.
Second,
the Sabbath served to sanctify the nation of lsrael, that
is, to set it apart or separate it from all other nations,
for no other nation observed the Sabbath. Along with laws
concerning diet, farming practices, and clothing, the
Sabbath law distinguished the Israelites from everyone
else and identified them physically as Jehovah's chosen
people.
The
Sabbath and the New Covenant
The
church today is not under God's covenant with lsrael as
epitomized by the Ten Commandments, but under the new
covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34-; Romans 7:5-6; Galatians
3:23-35; 4-:21-31). As a result, the church no longer
observes the physical signs and ceremonies of the old
covenant, such as circumcision (Galatians 6:15). God and
His Word are unchanging, but some of His commands relate
only to certain people or a certain time. While God's
moral law never changes, Christians are not subject to
the ceremonial law of the Old Testament (Mark 7:14--19;
Acts 11:5-9; 15:1-29).
The
Jewish Sabbath was part of that ceremonial law; the Sabbath
is not inherently moral. In Isaiah 1:10-20 God contrasted
ceremonial observances-including blood sacrifices, feasts,
and Sabbaths-with moral standards, saying He detested
the Israelites' keeping of the former because they did
not live up to the latter.
If
Sabbath keeping were a universal, eternal moral duty,
God would not have expressed displeasure with it under
any circumstances.
Similarly,
Jesus compared the Sabbath to other ceremonial law, which
could be superseded even under the old covenant in cases
of higher moral need (Matthew 12:1-13). Jesus and Paul
affirmed the moral law of the Old Testament; they referred
to some of the Ten Commandments as stating eternal moral
standards, but it is notable that they did not mention
the Sabbath law in these references (Mark 10:19; 12:28-31;
Romans 13:8-10).
God
used the ceremonial law including blood sacrifices, dietary
laws, circumcision, Sabbaths, and feasts-as types and
shadows of truth to be found in Christ and His gospel.
Since we now have the substance, or reality, we no longer
need to observe the types and shadows. "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"
(Colossians 2:16-17).
Other
New Testament passages also show that Sabbath keeping
is not a requirement of the new covenant. It is permissible
to regard a certain day as special, but it is wrong to
make it a moral duty for oneself or others. "One man esteemeth
one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike.
Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that
regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he
that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard
it...Let us not therefore judge one another any more"
(Romans 14-:5-6, 13). "How turn ye again to the weak and
beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in
bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour
in vain" (Galatians 4-:9-11).
Jesus
observed the Sabbath because He was a Jew living under
the old covenant. For the same reason, He was circumcised
and observed the Jewish feast days. At the same time,
Jesus claimed to be the Lord of the Sabbath, indicating
that He could apply or change it as He saw fit (Mark 2:28).
At
first, Jewish Christians apparently kept the Sabbath as
part of their culture. In Acts 10-11 Peter and the Jewish
church were still adhering to Jewish dietary laws for
the same reason. In Acts 21 Paul underwent a Jewish purification
ceremony, which included a Temple offering, in order to
reassure Jews that he was not trying to destroy their
culture. He also attended synagogues often in order to
preach to Jews. But in Acts 15 the Jerusalem Council ruled
that Gentile Christians did not have to keep the law of
Moses, except for four items that they listed in a letter
to all the Gentile churches. Significantly, the Sabbath
was not one of them.
Some
people point to the creation story as proof that the Sabbath
law is eternal. God "ended his work" of creation and "rested"
on the seventh day; moreover, He "blessed the seventh
day, and sanctified it" (Genesis 2:2-3). When God gave
the Ten Commandments, He cited this precedent as justification
for the Sabbath law (Exodus 20:1 1; 31:17).
Since
Genesis was one of the five books of the law originally
written for Israel, the creation story was naturally used
to support the Sabbath command to lsrael. While the Genesis
account indicates the need for a weekly day of rest, it
does not command Sabbath observance as such. The Bible
nowhere states that people before the law observed the
Sabbath as a day of rest or worship. Moreover, due to
many changes in calendars over the centuries, it is impossible
to say that the seventh day of Genesis 2 is the modern
Saturday.
We
should also note that the Bible nowhere indicates that
the Sabbath has been changed to Sunday or that God intends
for Sunday to be a new Christian Sabbath.
It
should be pointed out that few persons keep the Sabbath
law today. in order to do so, a person could not perform
any work or light a fire. Thus he could not use any type
of stove, heater, internal combustion engine, or electricity.
Moreover, he could not cause anyone else to violate the
Sabbath, which he would do if he ate in a restaurant or
used utilities, the telephone, or the radio.
Worship
on Sunday
Christians
are to be faithful to local church meetings whenever they
are held (Hebrews 10:25), and any day is appropriate for
a special spiritual observance (Romans 14-:5-6).
From
the earliest times, Christians have usually conducted
their main worship services on Sunday. Early believers
chose the day of Christ's resurrection to emphasize that
they were not under the old covenant, which the Sabbath
symbolized, but under the new covenant, which His resurrection
instituted. Thus the believers at Troas met on the first
day of the week for worship (Acts 20:7), and Paul instructed
the Corinthians to collect offerings on the first day
(I Corinthians 16:2). John was "in the Spirit on the Lord's
day" when Jesus appeared to him in a vision (Revelation
1:10).
Jesus
Himself established the precedent of meeting on the first
day. Not only did He first appear to His assembled disciples
on the evening of His resurrection day (John 20:19), but
His next appearance to the group was on the same day one
week later (John 20:26). ("After eight days" is reckoned
in the ancient Jewish manner, counting both the starting
and ending day.) And the Holy Spirit fell on the assembled
disciples on Pentecost Sunday.
Sunday
was a normal work day in the pagan Roman Empire, so Christians
usually met on that day in the early morning or in the
evening. After Emperor Constantine made Christianity legal
and then began supporting it, he proclaimed Sunday an
official holiday. He did not originate Sunday worship
but merely legalized and facilitated the existing practice.
However, his action did encourage the view that Sunday
was a new Christian Sabbath.
Spiritual
Application
From
the Sabbath law we can draw a principle of enduring importance
and continuing application: the need to provide a time
of rest for our bodies and our spirits. In addition, Colossians
2:16-17 speaks of a deeper significance, describing the
Sabbath as a type or foreshadowing of a greater reality
to be found in Christ. Like the Levitical sacrifices,
the Sabbaths are fulfilled in Him.
In
other words, the Sabbath points to the spiritual rest
that Jesus promised. "Come unto me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden," He invited, "and I will give you
rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am
meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your
souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew
11:28-30). Significantly, in the passage immediately after
this statement, Jesus indicated that the Sabbath law was
ceremonial in nature and asserted His lordship over it
(Matthew 12:1-13).
It
is specifically through the baptism of the Holy Spirit
with the initial sign of speaking in tongues that we partake
of the spiritual rest Christ provides. Isaiah 28:11-12
promises, "For with stammering lips and another tongue
will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is
the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and
this is the refreshing."
The
Apostle Peter apparently alluded to this promise when
he preached in Acts 3:19, "Repent ye therefore, and be
converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the
times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the
Lord." The last clause of this verse describes the gift
of the Holy Spirit, as shown by Acts 2:38, a parallel
statement from another sermon of Peter's: "Repent, and
be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost."
We
also receive sanctification, or power to separate from
sin and identify with Christ, through the indwelling Holy
Spirit (1 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:2). Just as the
physical Sabbath provided physical rest and sanctification
for the Israelites under the old covenant, so the indwelling
Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, provides spiritual
rest and sanctification for the church under the new covenant.
Just as the Sabbath was a constant reminder of Israel's
deliverance from bondage and of their covenant relationship
with God, so the Holy Spirit is a constant reminder of
our deliverance from sin and of our new covenant relationship
with God. The Spirit gives us power over sin (Acts 1:8;
Romans 8:4-), and the Spirit effects the new covenant
in our hearts (II Corinthians 3:3; Hebrews 8:8-11). By
living in the Spirit, we enjoy the true Sabbath every
day.
The
enduring significance of the Sabbath is beautifully described
in Hebrews 3:7-4-:11. Because of their unbelief, the Israelites
did not enter into the rest that God provided for them,
but the church today still has a promise of spiritual
rest. And according to Hebrews 4-:4-, this spiritual rest
is the true and ultimate fulfillment of God's rest on
the seventh day of creation.
Hebrews
4-:9 states emphatically, there remaineth therefore a
rest to the people of God:' The word rest here a translation
of the Greek word sabbatismos, which literally means a
Sabbath keeping or a Sabbath rest (Thayer). Does this
verse refer to physical Old Testament Sabbath observance?
No. The next verse states that our Sabbath consists of
resting, or ceasing, from our works,just as God did from
His (Hebrews 4:10). In other words, to enjoy true spiritual
rest, we must renounce the works of the flesh and stop
trying to earn salvation by our own works. Instead, we
must exercise faith in Christ's work on our behalf. Through
faith, we receive His Holy Spirit and live daily by the
Spirit's guidance and power. The Spirit works in us to
regenerate and sanctify, thus preparing us for the eternal
Sabbath rest.
Of
course, true faith is not passive; it is an active reliance
upon God that issues forth in obedience. Thus Hebrews
4-:11 admonishes, "Let us labour {be diligent, make every
effort} therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man
fall after the same example of unbelief."
Yes,
we have a Sabbath rest-the refreshing presence and sanctifying
power of the Holy Spirit that we enjoy every day. And,
yes, the ultimate Sabbath rest awaits us still-eternal
rest in the presence of the One to whom the Old Testament
Sabbath points: Jesus Christ our Lord.
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