Notes on the SABBATH

We are often told by certain religious teachers that worship on Sunday is wrong, or that Sunday is the new Sabbath. Neither is true. In the Bible we see:

The Creation Sabbath (Gen. 2:3)

After the six days of work on creation we are told that God rested. The Hebrew word Sabbath, meaning “to cease, or to rest.” However, nowhere in this passage is there any instruction to keep the Sabbath. It was not a commandment until Israel became a nation, hundreds of years later.

The Beginning of the Sabbath as a Day of Worship (Ex. 16:23)

The first mention of the Sabbath is on the occasion of the giving of the manna while Israel was on their wilderness journey. It is a command given to Moses for the nation Israel to observe. The language of the text indicates this is a new step in God’s relationship to Israel. There is no indication that Israel had a previous understanding of the Sabbath. Nor is the Sabbath said to be observed before this point in time by man. The purpose of the Sabbath:

• It is a sign between God and Israel (Ex. 31:13). It is clear that the Sabbath was not given to all mankind, but to the nation Israel. Its purpose is NATIONAL in scope.
• It is a memorial of their deliverance from Egypt (Deut. 5:15). It is a memorial to God, not as Creator, but as Deliverer. He Delivered the nation of Israel out of the bondage of Egypt.
• It is for the purpose of worshiping God by the nation of Israel (Lev. 23:3).

The Sabbath in the Gospels.

Those who promote Sabbath keeping try to prove that Jesus taught that it was for all mankind. Their proof text is Mark 2:27—“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” They falsely conclude that since it was made for man and not just the nation Israel, we must obey and observe the Sabbath. It must be pointed out that the only mankind that was commanded it keep the Sabbath was the people of the nation of Israel. No Gentile nation or person was given such a command. Christ was speaking to the nation of Israel when he made the observation. Jesus Himself kept the Sabbath because He was a Jew, “born under the Law” (Gal. 4:4).

The Sabbath in Acts

In the book of Acts there is no mention of the Sabbath except in connection with the Jews and Jewish evangelism (Acts 13:14, 27, 42, 44; 15:21; 16:13; 17:2; 18:4). Notice in each case it a Jewish synagogue that the meeting is taking place, never a church meeting. Paul met on the Sabbath in established Jewish synagogues to preach Christ to them. In contrast, when Paul meets with believers, he does so on the first day of the week (Acts 10:7). Here they had assembled to “break bread” (i.e. communion) and hear the Word. This Scripture points out the fallacy that the Sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday around 300 AD by Constantine. Scripture indicates otherwise; while the Jews met on the Sabbath, believers and the church met on Sunday.

The Sabbath in the Epistles

Paul mentions the Sabbath only twice. First, in Colossians 2:16-17 there is a list of which we are not to let anyone judge us, including “a Sabbath day.” Note it is found in the context of legalism. Paul explicitly condemns those who would judge people on the basis of the keeping of the Sabbath and other legalistic rituals (cf. Gal. 4:9-11). There are two reasons for this:

• The Law has been nailed to the cross and “cancelled” the ordinances against us.
• The foods, festivals and Sabbath were “a mere shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ (Col. 2:17). Thus to cling to a prophetic shadow after the reality of substance came is wrong. The substance replaces the shadow.

The other reference is Hebrews 4:9. Sabbath keepers point to this verse in pride: “There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God.” (While the KJV translates it only as rest, the Greek word is Sabbath—“sabbatismos”). They maintain this means we are to obey and keep the Sabbath. However, notice the following:

• The main subject of the passage is not the Sabbath, but the subject of rest. The word rest is found nine times in this chapter. The Sabbath rest remains, but not the Sabbath. There is a difference.
• The Sabbath rest is identified as “His rest” (Heb. 4:1). This is the rest Israel failed to enter into because of unbelief (Heb. 3:12-19). It could not be the rest of the Sabbath (Saturday), for they had entered and observed it faithfully. Rather, it was the true spiritual rest offered by God of which the Sabbath was a shadow of “His rest.” His rest can only be entered into by faith, not by an outward observance.
• True believers have entered this rest (Heb. 4:3).
• The true Sabbath rest remains (Heb. 4:9). It is not found in a special day of the week, but in Christ. He is the substance. Why is this a Sabbath rest? Because believers have found rest from work (Heb. 4:10). Just as God rested from his work of creation, we can rest in His work of redemption. It is a true rest. We have ceased to work for our salvation and do not depend on our own works to keep our salvation (Titus 3:5; Eph. 2:8-9). Our faith rests in Christ, not in a day of the week.