Lesson 41 - The Sabbath and the Lord's Day

     The word Sabbath (שָׁבַת shabath) means to cease or rest. It is recorded in Genesis that God “rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done” (Gen. 2:2). That is, God ceased His creative activity of the universe, the earth and mankind. God did not obligate anyone to keep the Sabbath as a special day of rest until He formed the nation of Israel after they were delivered from Egyptian bondage (Ex. 16:23-30). The keeping of the Sabbath was a part of the Mosaic Law given to Israel and was to give them rest from their labor (Ex. 20:8-11; cf. Deut. 5:12-14). The Sabbath was a sign of the Mosaic Covenant (Ex. 31:12-17). God pronounced the death penalty upon all who profaned the Sabbath (Ex. 31:14-15; Num. 15:32-36). Biblical violations of the Sabbath included gathering manna (Ex. 16:23-30), kindling a fire in one’s home (Ex. 35:1-3), gathering wood (Num. 15:32-35), carrying a load (Jer. 17:21-22), or engaging in business (Amos 8:4-6; cf. Neh. 13:15-21). Jesus declared “the Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27); however, over time, Jewish religious leaders invented additional commands for the Sabbath, and it was these additions that made the Sabbath a burden rather than a blessing. As Lord of the Sabbath Jesus declared that acts of necessity and compassion were permitted on the Sabbath (see Matt. 12:10-14; Luke 13:10-17; 14:1-6; John 7:19-24). Jesus kept the Sabbath as the Mosaic Law prescribed, but not according to rabbinic tradition, for which He and His disciples were wrongly attacked (Matt. 12:1-8; John 5:1-9, 16; 9:14-16; Mark 3:1-5; Luke 13:10-17; 14:1-6). The Sabbath was obligatory for Israel alone, and only for the duration of the Mosaic Covenant, which has been replaced with the New Covenant (Heb. 8:6-7, 13).

The Sabbath in the Present Church Age

     Christians are not under the Mosaic Law (Rom. 6:14), but under the Law of Christ (1 Cor. 9:21; Gal. 6:2). God’s commands for Christians living in church age do not obligate us to keep the Sabbath. Christians are warned against setting aside certain days, especially if they think that doing so will merit God’s favor (Gal. 4:9-10).

• "Following the resurrection of Christ, there is no record in the New Testament that the Sabbath was observed by any believer, even in error. Doubtless the multitude of Judaized Christians did observe the Sabbath; but no record of such observance was permitted to appear in the Word of God. In like manner, following the resurrection of Christ, there is no injunction given to Jew, Gentile, or Christian to observe the Sabbath, nor is Sabbath-breaking once mentioned among the numerous lists of possible sins."[1]

Worship on Sunday

     We know from Scripture that Christians met on Sunday, the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2), and it’s possible they did this because it marked the day of the Lord’s resurrection. However, there is no divine command found in Scripture that requires us to gather on Sunday; rather, the Christian is free to observe all days alike, as every day is an opportunity to love and serve the Lord (Rom. 14:5-9).

 

[1] Lewis Sperry Chafer; John F. Walvoord; Major Bible Themes (Grand Rapids, Mich. Zondervan Publishing, 2010), 290.