We have observed in this space over recent weeks that the Bible directs us to set apart one day each week as a day of rest for the purpose of worshiping God. This is so because 1) God set apart the Sabbath day for that purpose from the time of creation and 2) He requires observance of that day as part of His moral law. “But,” the discerning reader may reply, “that’s what the Old Testament says. What does the New Testament say?” For many have said that the New Testament does away with Sabbath observance altogether. What about it?
Many claim that Jesus Himself abolished the Sabbath, both by His teaching and by His actions. But a careful reading of the gospels reveals that that is not at all the case. First, the Scriptures give every indication that Jesus faithfully and conscientiously obeyed the Fourth Commandment. Luke 4:16 says that it was Jesus’ custom to go into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. Furthermore, in the passages in which many allege that Jesus criticized Sabbath observance, he is really criticizing only the Sabbath laws and practices of the Pharisees (see Matthew 12:1-15; Mark 2:23-3:6; Luke 6:1-11). In Matthew 5:20-48, Jesus over and again condemns the teaching and practice of the Pharisees, and enforces the true meaning of God’s holy law. Similarly, in these passages concerning the Sabbath, Jesus exposes the Pharisees’ legalistic and perverted understanding of God’s law (By Jesus’ time, the Jewish rabbis had developed over 600 man-made laws to corrupt God’s holy day and to obscure its gracious intent). Jesus opposes these false teachers; He does not oppose the Old Testament, the Fourth Commandment, or the God who gave them both!
Think of it. The Jews saw fit to add their own rules and regulations to the Sabbath and thus turn it into a harsh, legalistic, and oppressive affair. When you read the Fourth Commandment, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy”, do you view it as something negative and legalistic? That is, are you interpreting God’s word like the Pharisees? Or do you read it like Jesus, who saw the day as a gift from God, a great blessing and a delight?
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