Understanding Sabbath Today – Is Sunday the day of rest for Christians
One of the ‘Ten Commandments’ is “Remember the
Sabbath day, to keep it holy….” In the old days, the Jewish people set
aside a day in which they did not work, a day to worship. That used to be
on Saturday. Today we worship on Sunday. That was it. Nothing about the real
‘why’ behind the Sabbath or ‘how’ to do Sabbath. Basically, Sabbath was presented
as an old idea that translates to ‘going to church on Sunday’ for us today.
Do We Need to Understand Sabbath?
Why is it important to understand this Sabbath
issue? To begin with, the theme is found first in the “Ten
Commandments,” a brief collection of laws that we claim forms the
backbone of our Judeo-Christian ethic and legal
system. Commandments, as many preachers (too many, perhaps) have
said, “…are not ‘holy suggestions’—they are commandments.” Jesus indicates
rather clearly that these commandments are important (Matthew
5.17-20). Remembering or keeping the Sabbath is one of those commandments,
so we cannot just dismiss Sabbath as we do so many details of Torah
Since the Ten Commandments have been around for
so long, they obviously have value. Since they are part of
religious life, they are obvious targets for those who wish to separate
church and state. How can we understand today these ancient commands especially
the call to keep Sabbath and the value they may have for us?
Understanding Sabbath in the Old
Testament
In order to begin to understand the place of Sabbath
in the Gospel framework, we should have an understanding of Sabbath in
general. The first mention we find of Sabbath in the Bible comes
in Exodus 16:22-30. Just after Moses leads the Hebrew people out of Egypt,
they come to a time in which they are gathering manna to eat. Moses
commands the people to gather enough for two days because “tomorrow is a
Sabbath observance, a holy Sabbath to the Lord” (16:23). Just a short time
later, we find Sabbath in the middle of the Ten Commandments that Moses delivers
to the people, recorded in Exodus 20:8
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six
days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the
LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or
daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner
residing in your towns. For in six days, the LORD made the heavens and the
earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day.
Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus
20:8-11)
Here, the idea of Sabbath is developed a bit more,
calling all living beings in a household to cease from work. Indeed,
“cessation from work” rather than “rest” was the early understanding of
the word —“the idea is not that of relaxation or refreshment, but
cessation from activity.”
The understanding of the Sabbath is really not
developed much more than this in the Old Testament. In
Nehemiah 13:15-22, Isaiah 56:1-7, and Ezekiel 20:8-26, we hear
about Sabbath the breaking of Sabbath, the desecration of the Sabbath, and
calls to return to Sabbath. These passages provide some examples of Sabbath-breaking,
especially the passage in Nehemiah. Reading those verses, the problem is
that it looks like any other day there is nothing different about it. The
actual types of work specifically prohibited in Sabbath law are few: gathering
food, plowing and reaping, kindling a fire, and chopping wood.
These prohibitions indicate a rural or mobile
community. The understanding grows to include the realities of growing urban
life no selling, no carrying goods. In
the Deuteronomic rendering of the Law (Deut. 5:15), the Israelite is not only
to take the Sabbath as a day of rest but also as a day to remember the
deliverance from Egypt, in effect, to make Sabbath a sort of mini-Passover.
These rather general understandings of Sabbath remained
thus until Israel is taken captive in 587BC.At this point due to the captivity,
Sabbath begins to become something more, something distinctively Jewish,
something debated and examined in detail.
Saturday or Sunday?: Which one to follow
Sabbath Was Made for Man and Not Man for the
Sabbath. This verse Jesus spoke in Mark 2:27 is the crux of proof some use for
the validity of Sunday worship. Jesus restored the foundation God instituted in
the Sabbath. The Old Covenant and Law were dissolved with the inauguration of
the Holy Spirit. Sunday “Christian Sabbath” is also unscriptural. As seen
above, there is only one place where Sabbath is highlighted after Paul began to
focus on the Gentiles. “So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or
drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or
Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of reality yet to come. And
Christ himself is that reality.” (Colossians 2:16–17). Jesus Christ by died on
the cross abolished all the laws and brings everyone under grace (Colossians
2:14).
One has to remember that the Sabbath was initially
given to the people of Israel and not the church in the New Testament
However, the Sabbath was an integral part of Old
Testament Law and believers are Christ are free from the bondage of the Law given
through Moses (Galatians 4:1-26; Romans 6:14). Following the Sabbath is no
necessary for the Christians no matter whether it is Saturday or Sunday. The
first day of the week, Sunday, the Lord’s Day (Revelation 1:10) celebrates the
New Creation, with Christ as our resurrected Head. We are not obligated to
follow the Mosaic Sabbath—resting but are now free to follow the risen
Christ—serving.
Also Read – https://www.aproudchristian.com/2020/05/why-we-go-to-church-on-sunday.html