The Lord’s Day part 2

Article 21: The Lord’s Day

21-1 The first day of the week has been recognized by the Church as the Lord’s Day since apostolic times.1 We believe, therefore, that it ought to be observed by all believers, voluntarily and in love2, as a day set apart as holy to the Lord for the corporate worship of God3, remembrance of the resurrection of our Lord from the dead, and fellowship and mutual encouragement of the saints.4

Review

I suggested last week that the rest God displayed in Genesis 2 on the seventh day is meant to point us to the rest that His people will enjoy with Him.

The end point of creation is rest in the presence of God.

Adam and Eve, through their disobedience disrupted this rest, but God promises the seed in Gen. 3.

Now Lord willing, next week we will get into the book of Hebrews to bring to conclusion our consideration of this article, but let me point something out to us now that might help make the connection between the rest God displays in the Garden, the seed of the woman and the promise of rest for God’s people.

There is a connection between the rest that God displays in the Garden, the seed of the woman and the promise of rest for God’s people.

Hebrews 4 tells us that the original day of rest is still for us to enter by the sacrifice and mediation of Jesus Christ:

Hebrews 4:9–11 ESV

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.

All of this to point out that there is biblical justification to make this connection.

Whether or not the Sabbath command is based upon a creation ordinance is debated.

Many suggest that the Sabbath command is one to be obeyed today because it is a creation ordinance or creation mandate. This is probably the strongest argument for this position. I confess, I’m still a little on the fence about this, but here are some facts to consider:

Nowhere in the creation account us anyone commanded to keep the Sabbath.

The command centers on the prohibition to work.

Exodus 20:8–11 ESV

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep 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, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

The command does not clearly link to worshipping God on a specific day.

Deut 5:12-15 recapitulates the injunction from the Decalogue to keep the Sabbath, but adds something.

Deuteronomy 5:12–15 ESV

“ ‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 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, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

The observance of the Sabbath is linked to liberation from Egypt, functioning as a sign that the Lord has freed Israel from their slavery to the Egyptians. This was specific to Israel and was not connected to creation.

In addition we considered the penalty for not keeping the sabbath. Before the Sinai Covenant, the penalty was a strong rebuke from Moses (see Ex 16:23-30). After the Sinai Covenant was ratified, failing to obey the Sabbath command was death (See Num. 15:32-36). What we can observe in light of the evolution of the penalty is that the Sabbath regulation does not appear to have been in play during the time of the patriarchs. It was new for the people of Israel, since it related to their redemption from Egypt. If this is true (that the Sabbath regulation was not issued until after the time of the patriarchs), then it would not seem right to think of the Sabbath command as a creation ordinance.

To be clear, if a command is rooted in creation it applies today, and Exodus 20:11 seems to link the Sabbath command (4th commandment) to creation. But in addition to, what seems to be the fact that the Patriarchs were not commanded to obey the Sabbath regulation, the fact that the Sabbath command does not appear in the NT. Other commands that we would refer to as creation ordinances like marriage, sexuality, the role of women in the church all appear in the NT, but not the Sabbath command.

I recognize that in and of itself may not be a strong argument for the fourth commandment not being grounded in a creation ordinance, but

But when it comes to understanding the law, the arrival of Jesus in the world and His ministry has profound implications for what we see in the Old Testament. And this is certainly true regarding the Sabbath.

Jesus’ Sabbath Controversies

See Mark 2:23-28; Matt 12:1-8; Luke 6:1-5.

Mark 2:23–28 ESV

One Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and as they made their way, his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. And the Pharisees were saying to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did, when he was in need and was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those who were with him?” And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”

Matthew 12:1–8 ESV

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

Luke 6:1–5 ESV

On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

After the disciples plucked some heads of grain the Pharisees complained to Jesus that they broke the law.

Jesus appeals to David’s taking of the showbread after fleeing from Saul even though the bread was reserved for the priests. (1 Sam. 21:1-6)

The point here is not to demonstrate that it was lawful for Jesus and His disciples to take this wheat on the Sabbath, but to show that

Jesus is the new and final David. Jesus is the King promised according to the covenant with David, and therefore He and His disciples had the right to eat on the Sabbath.

From Matthew’s account, it appears that

The sabbath regulations are subordinate to the temple requirements, but Jesus is greater than the temple. And if the temple requirements are subservient to Jesus, then the sabbath regulations are subservient to Jesus. And if the sabbath regulations are subservient to Jesus, then it is reasonable to conclude that the Sabbath itself stands under the authority of Jesus.

The bottom line here is that this exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees suggest (hints at) the possibility that

The Sabbath must be reinterpreted now that Jesus has come.

Matt 12:9-14; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11.

Matthew 12:9–14 ESV

He went on from there and entered their synagogue. And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

Mark 3:1–6 ESV

Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

Luke 6:6–11 ESV

On another Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, so that they might find a reason to accuse him. But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” And after looking around at them all he said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

One point we can take away from these accounts is that it is fitting to do good on the Sabbath.

But even more significant is that

Jesus exercised His sovereignty over the Sabbath by choosing it as the day He healed others.

He probably healed people on other days, but we are given these accounts to teach us something, and I suggest it is to make clear that

healing on the Sabbath points us back to creation where the Lord’s rest was established in creation, interrupted by man’s disobedience and reestablished through the promise of the seed of the woman.

Jesus’ healing on the sabbath anticipates a world where there is no disease and death.

The sabbath must be interpreted in light of the coming of Christ. If this is true, then this is another indication that the status of the Sabbath was changing.

Pauline Theology

The sabbath was not a major issue in the writings of Paul.

The word sabbath only appears once so that fact alone may leave some wondering why he did not emphasize it more if it was a command to be obeyed by the people of God (including the Gentiles, his main audience). When we consider one of the major issues was the relations between Jews and Gentiles and how social issues were often barriers (food laws, circumcision etc.), you would think the Sabbath would have been addressed by Paul…. that is if it was relevant.

We will consider 3 texts:

Gal. 4:10.

Galatians 4:10 ESV

You observe days and months and seasons and years!

Paul is addressing his opponents who were Jewish, and if you have been part of the Sunday School class on Galatians you know their message was one that mandated circumcision to have peace with God.

Circumcision was an admission rite to the Sinai covenant (Gen. 17:9-14; Ex. 12:44, 48; Lev. 12:3).

Also in this epistle, Paul addresses a dispute that arose over Jewish food laws (2:11-14). It does not seem to be a big jump to assume that Paul’s reference to days and months and seasons and years to include the Sabbath.

Like the food laws and and like circumcision the requirement to keep the Sabbath was a way to mark out the Jews from the Gentiles. Paul makes clear that circumcision was no longer relevant to a right relationship with God and therefore no longer relevant to the Christian life. It appears that he places the Sabbath in that same category.

Rom 14:5-6.

Romans 14:5–6 ESV

One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.

It appears that some felt obliged to adhere to Jewish food laws. And there apparently a dispute arose over the observance of days on the Jewish calendar. Again, it does not seem to be a big jump to assume that some were esteeming the Sabbath and the observance of the Sabbath to the extent that they were seeking to bind the consciences of others.

Paul does not give this debate a great deal of significance. His bottom line is that people should follow their own conscience. Whoever wishes to observe the Sabbath should do so, and those who do not feel compelled should not. People are free to follow the dictates of their own minds.

So Paul was not instructing people to not keep the Sabbath, but he is not teaching it is necessary. In fact, he is teaching it is not necessary.

And just to reference a point I suggested earlier, circumcision, food laws, and I think the Sabbath command are distinctive of the Sinai covenant. Now that Jesus has come, believers are not bound to observe the stipulations of that covenant.

Col 2:16-17.

Colossians 2:16–17 ESV

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

So here we have no doubt that the Sabbath is in view here. This is the only place that sabbath appears in Paul’s writing.

The Sabbath is described as a shadow and the substance belongs to Christ. Of course, we need to know what Paul means here to understand his point.

We are meant to understand shadow as a reference to the lesser that points to the greater. (see Heb. 8:5 & 10:1)

A foreshadow

Hebrews 8:4–5 ESV

Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”

Hebrews 10:1 ESV

For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.

The Sabbath, as part of the Old Covenant, is a shadow that points forward to the substance, which I think is Christ. And if the Sabbath is a shadow, it was never meant to be a permanent ordinance because it was pointing to the rest that the people of God will enjoy in eternity through Christ.

The substance that is Christ has arrived!