The Sabbath is for Christians

Introduction

Since states amended their state sabbath laws, Christians have grown accustomed to the Christian Sabbath being a debatable topic. This isn’t to say that all Christians throughout history have agreed on the Christian Sabbath. However, the vast majority of Bible-believing Christians throughout the centuries have believed in the abiding validity of the Ten Commandments including the Fourth. The following essay lays out some of the major arguments supporting the Christian Sabbath. First, I will clear up (hopefully) a big misunderstanding that the Sabbath was a bad thing in the Old Covenant. Second, I will give some arguments for a Sunday Sabbath for Christians. Finally, I will give some advice for application. So, what are we waiting for?

Three Reasons the Old Covenant Sabbath was Good

Many Christian arguments against a Christian Sabbath rest on an assumption that Jesus came to abolish the Sabbath. The assumption goes something like the old covenant Sabbath burdened believers; Jesus came to relieve people from those burdens. For a long time, I believed this. I assumed the Pharisees and religious leaders in the New Testament represented the Sabbath correctly in their debates with Jesus, which is why Jesus had to get rid of it. The three reasons below show why I should not have trusted the Pharisees.

The Old Covenant Sabbath Was Important to God

The Sabbath was not merely a cultural distinction for ancient Israel. The Sabbath is central to understanding the Old Testament. The Old Testament gives a lot of attention to the Sabbath. The Fourth Word is the longest commandment of the Ten. Sabbath observance is mentioned more than the other Ten throughout the Old Testament (eleven times in the Torah and over one hundred times in the Old Testament). The two times the Ten Commandments are given to Israel, the Fourth Commandment finds its grounding on the two most important events in the Old Testament—the creation of the universe (Ex 20:11) and Israel’s deliverance from Egypt (Deut 5:15). The Fourth Commandment was important to the Old Covenant because it was important to God. Even the New Testament emphasizes the Sabbath. When Jesus began His ministry, He quickly called himself Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28). The Sabbath is important to God and His plan.  

The Old Covenant Sabbath Pointed to a Preexisting Sabbath

God grounded the first giving of the Fourth Commandment on His creation of the cosmos. Since God worked for six days and rested for one, so should God’s people work for six and rest for one (Ex 20:11). God rested before Adam’s fall and sin entered the world. The Christian-Sabbath argument rests on the same instinct to explain where we get our seven-day week. Earth science class taught us that days come from rotation of earth on axis, months come from the cycles of the moon, and a year is a full revolution around the sun. But what about the week? There’s no argument from nature for dividing our time into weeks. That’s because the revelation of a seven-day week came outside of nature; it’s supernatural revelation. God created the universe in six days with the aim toward the day of Sabbath rest. The six days of creation culminate in God’s final day of rest.

Right here is probably the best part to explain that the biblical concept of Sabbath doesn’t simply mean “recovery from work.” God didn’t get tired making the universe in six days. The seventh day wasn’t God taking a sick day in from work. God doesn’t need to sleep and recover like we do (Ps 121:3-4). God intended His day of rest to be a day of communion and fellowship with His people. Genesis 1 gives us a big-picture view of the seven days of creation. Genesis 2 shows us a detailed view of what day six looked like. There’s no mention of Adam spending days by himself, which means God put Adam into a deep sleep on the sixth day (Gen 2:21). If Adam slept in the evening of the sixth day, he woke on the morning of the seventh to meet his bride, Eve. What happens in the next chapter is what happened on the seventh day. We know that’s the day that Adam and Eve sinned. But what was God doing on His day of rest? He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day (Gen 3:8). He was walking to meet His people (Gen 3:9). Sabbath is a day God meets with His people to “rest” with them. Sadly, we don’t get to see what Sabbath rest looked like before sin entered the world. However, the rest of Scripture further demonstrates God desired His people to spend the Sabbath day with Him (Ex 31:13). Notice, the Sabbath week existed before the Old Covenant. God commanded Israel to “remember” the Sabbath (Ex 20:8) because the Sabbath existed before they existed. God wants His people to look back and remember the reason for their rest (Heb 4:9-11). The reason for Sabbath is that God gives it.

But in the pharisaical mind, God is a bureaucrat. He has red tape, paperwork, and endless requirements for all His gifts. If He gives a day of rest, there must be strings attached. That’s why the Pharisees nagged Jesus about His disciples eating grain on the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-24). “There’s not a law that says you can eat grain today!” They understood God is a miser. But Jesus came to correct that misunderstanding. God is a giver. He gave the Sabbath to bless man, not to burden man with red tape (Mark 2:27).

The Old Covenant Sabbath Taught Israel what Sabbath Means

The Sabbath was an object lesson for Israel on how to view God’s rest. God reveals His expectations for the Sabbath throughout the Old Testament. And He shows that the day of rest had a very didactic function.

Every Sabbath day, God required the priests in the temple to offer extra offerings (Num 28), and He expected everyday people to assemble and hear a reading from the law by a local Levite (Lev 23:3). The Sabbath was a day of sacrifice, worship, and teaching.

The Sabbath was also a gift of refreshment and rest (Ex 23:12). Households found rest and refreshment in God on the Sabbath (Ex 31:16-17). On God’s Day, you don’t work overtime for Him, you receive rest from Him.

Every seventh year was a sabbath year, and every fiftieth year was a mega-sabbath, a Jubilee. Land could be sold for fifty years but returned to the original owner at Jubilee (Lev 25). Sabbath restored wealth. Most importantly, slaves were freed during Jubilee (Deut 15:1-2; Ex 21:1-2; Lev 25:40-41). Sabbath liberated the enslaved. So, pulling an ox from a ditch isn’t an exception to Sabbath rules. It fulfills Sabbath by giving rest to the suffering ox (Luke 14:5).

All Jewish holidays were Sabbaths. The days you feasted with other Israelites were sabbath days. They celebrated with rest from work and worship (Numbers 28:9-29:38). This is why we should also think of the Sabbath day as a weekly holiday and celebration (Leviticus 23:3-4). It’s like God commanded His people celebrate Christmas every week. Even the most important sacrifice, the Day of Atonement, was a Sabbath (Lev 23:28, 32). Israel was not to do any work on that day. Leviticus 16 explains this was the day Israel heard that their sins were forgiven (Lev 16:16). Not only do you celebrate on the Sabbath, but you also received assurance of your forgiveness on a Sabbath.

So, to summarize, these holy days taught Israel how to be holy (Ex 31:13, 16). But how? By stopping work for themselves and remembering God’s work for us. By spending time with their families. By gathering to hear God’s word. By celebrating with festivity and feasts. By freeing the slave. By forgiving sins. This is how the Sabbath taught Israel to be holy, by being restored by God. And this is what Jesus came to do. 

He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered. They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” And He said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. Mark 3:1-5

Jesus shows us God’s intent with the Sabbath was to bless, restore, and to sanctify. We can’t eliminate Sabbath from the new covenant without fundamentally changing the generosity of God.

How Christ Changes the Old Covenant Sabbath in the New Covenant

When you’re building a house, you do a bunch of different things depending on where you are in the process. Home builders know how fast walls and a roof can come up while it takes days to put in the plumbing and electricity. If God’s plan of redemption was like building a house, the old covenant was like pouring the slab and framing the house. The new covenant is like putting up sheetrock and painting walls. Although I argue for a Christian Sabbath, I’m not arguing for a continuous, unchanged Sabbath from Sinai to today. In the age of Christ, things change but the plan remains the same. Below are four ways Christ changes Sabbath by progressing Sabbath.

Christ is Lord of the Sabbath, not Destroyer of the Sabbath

As I mentioned earlier, most of us read our New Testaments as if the Pharisees understood the Old Testament correctly. Since they were super serious with the law, we assume they got it right. So, when Jesus comes and rebukes the Pharisees, we act like Jesus also rebuked the law the Pharisees claimed to defend. But this is a misreading of the facts. They neglected weightier matters of the law (Matt 23:23). They raised their tradition above God’s clear commands (Mark 7:1-13). They also plotted to murder Jesus (Matt 12:14). Since the Pharisees were neglectful, legalistic murderers, why then do we think they represent the proper interpretation of the old covenant Sabbath?

Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28). He shows that Sabbath feeds hungry bellies (Mark 2:23-26; Deut 23:25). He shows that the Sabbath restores a man to work (Mark 3:1-6; Ex 31:17). He shows that the Sabbath values men more than sheep (Matt 12:11-12). He shows that the Sabbath brings sight to the blind (John 9). Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. He is not the Lord of nothing. All that Jesus rules over, He blesses.

The New Covenant Fulfills What Old Covenant Sabbath(s) Pointed to

The major proof text people use arguing against a Christian Sabbath comes from Colossians 2. In Colossians 2:16-17, Paul argues that the crucifixion of Christ brought an end to the old covenant system. They were the shadow. He is the substance. Here is the passage in context: 

13When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. 16Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day— 17things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. Colossians 2:13–17

This text shows that the old covenant Sabbath and festivals were fulfilled in Christ. Christians no longer celebrate Passover, nor do we rest on Saturday. These Sabbaths were shadows of what is to come (v. 17). But we need to ask a very important and often not-asked question, what does it mean for Christ to fulfill things in the old covenant? What does it mean that the old covenant Sabbaths were shadows of Christ?

Paul uses this shadow language two times in Hebrews. The first place he uses it is in Hebrews 8 speaking of the sacrificial ministry of the high priest in the tabernacle. He says this:

1Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, 2a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. 3For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer. 4Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; 5who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “See,” He says, “that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.” 6But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. Hebrews 8:1–6

Here, Paul says the sacrifices given in the tabernacle were copies and shadows (v. 5) of the ministry of Christ. Jesus fulfills what the old covenant sacrificial system shadowed. He made the old covenant sacrifices obsolete (Heb 8:13) by bringing better sacrifices. In the new covenant, Christ fulfills every aspect of the old covenant sacrificial system through His perfect sacrifice (Heb 9:1-15). It is only because our great high priest offered himself as a sacrifice, we as priests in the new covenant offer ourselves as a living sacrifice in our worship (Rom 12:1; 1 Peter 2:4-10). So, Christ fulfilling the old covenant sacrifices does not end sacrifice in the new covenant. What Christ fulfills in the old covenant is not erased in the new; it is merely understood for its true significance.

Because of the superiority of the new covenant nailed down in the previous chapters, Paul can refer to the second instance of “shadows” in Hebrews 10:1

For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. 

Here, Paul says the old covenant sacrifices were inferior because they could not forgive of sins. They could not forgive sins since they had to be offered continually. The old covenant pointed to things better than it could realistically bring. Bu the new covenant points to Christ, who brings things better than the new covenant can explain.

Let me summarize the argument I’ve made thus far and make my point. First, I showed the relationship between Christ fulfilling the old covenant Sabbaths and the old covenant sacrificial system; they both were “shadows.” The old covenant Sabbaths pointed to Christ who fulfilled them in His death and resurrection (Col 2:13-17). The old covenant sacrifices also pointed to Christ (Heb 8-9). Then, I made the point that Christ fulfilling the sacrifices in the old covenant did not erase sacrifices in the new covenant. Christians still offer sacrifices today (Rom 12:1). Now, let me connect the dots. Just as Christ fulfilled the sacrificial system in the old covenant by establishing better sacrifices, He has also fulfilled the Sabbath in the old covenant by establishing a better Sabbath.

Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, “As I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest,” although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; and again in this passage, “They shall not enter My rest.” Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. Hebrews 4:1-11

Your shadow proves both you and the light behind you is real. The shadows of the old covenant prove Jesus, His sacrifice, and His Sabbath are also real. When you argue that the old covenant shadows disprove the new-covenant Sabbath, it’s like arguing that your shadow on the ground disproves you.

Christ fulfilled the old covenant sacrifices in His death. He redefined sacrifices for the new covenant in His resurrection. The same principle applies to Sabbath. The old covenant sabbaths and holidays Moses gave to Israel no longer apply to us in the new covenant. Christ gave us a better Sabbath on the first day of the week when He defeated death. Christians work the remaining six days of the week from the position of rest. We live fully for seven days per week because Christ defeated death on the first day of the week. We work as God’s workmanship for six days (Eph 2:10) because God gave us rest on the first day.

The New Covenant Celebrates the Lord’s Day as the Christian Sabbath

We’ve already established that Christians no longer worship on Saturday (Col 2:16-17). But does this mean we no longer worship on a particular day? Is “Sabbath” for Christians just a spiritual thing we “keep” in our hearts? Does this mean we no longer have an actual day of rest? The old covenant believers had 68 Sabbaths counting Saturdays and holidays, and not counting Sabbath years and Jubilee. Do Christians in the new covenant not have any day of rest and worship? Should we work seven-days per week non-stop until we die? If we no longer have a Sabbath, when do we worship with the church? These are questions concerning time in the new covenant. Let’s see if we can find some answers in the New Testament.

I believe we can find the answer to the question from when Jesus rose from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection redefined the entire cosmos. Before Jesus’ resurrection, death had a perfect record. It didn’t matter how many days people lived because eventually death would win. That is until Jesus died. He is the one man death couldn’t beat. Before Jesus, everyone lived in a world where death beat everyone. Now, we all live in a world where Jesus beat death. Because Jesus rose from the dead, we live in a new world.

In the old world, God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. In the new world, Jesus defeated death and rested on the eighth day[1], on the Sunday of a new week. What’s pertinent to our discussion on the Sabbath is that the New Testament authors do not refer to Sunday as the first day of the week. They refer to it as “first Sabbath” or “first [day] Sabbath.” Jesus rose from the dead on the first Sabbath (Matt 28:1). Mary came to the tomb on the first Sabbath (Mark 16:1-2). Jesus, then, appeared to Mary on the first Sabbath (Mark 16:9). He visited the disciples on that day, the first Sabbath (John 20:19). And when he visited them a week later, it was on, you guessed it, the first Sabbath (John 20:26). To put an exclamation on this point, Pentecost also occurred on the first Sabbath (Lev 23:15-16; Acts 2:1).

My argument is that immediately after Jesus put an end to the old covenant Sabbath, the New Testament wants us to notice there’s a new Sabbath for the new covenant. We call it the Lord’s Day (Rev 1:10) because that’s when Jesus rose from the dead. But it’s also our first day of Sabbath because we meet and serve one another on that day (1 Cor 16:1-2). There remains a Sabbath rest for God’s people because Christ entered into His rest upon remaking the world just like God entered His rest after making the world (Heb 4:4-10).

The Christian Sabbath is the Adverb for Christian Life

Many languages speak of time with adverbs and adverbal phrases. We call them temporal adverbs. “Continually,” “lately,” “first,” “last” are all temporal adverbs. In the New Testament we are told to do certain things with a temporal adverb. For example, Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” The word “continually” is a temporal adverb in this verse. Paul teaches we should, on a continual basis, worship God. But me must ask the question, how continual? Every year? Every month? Is it up to how you feel?

Here's another example of a temporal adverb, this time though it’s an adverbial phrase from 1 Corinthians 11:

25In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes. 1 Corinthians 11:25–26

Paul says we proclaim the Lord’s death “as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup.” Now we come to another quandary, how often? Every quarter? Every fifth Sunday? Whenever you feel like it?

Let’s let the rhythms of our life match the rhythm in scripture. Jesus didn’t erase the week when He rose from the dead. In fact, He gave us a new week. Let’s worship Him at the beginning of the week to honor the day He entered into His rest. Let’s not forsake gathering together to celebrate His victory over death (Heb 10:25). Let’s assemble as Christians on Sunday because it’s the Lord’s Day.

How to Sabbath Like a Christian?

            All this explanation doesn’t mean anything unless it gets worked out into the real world. So how do we work out our rest like a Christian? I don’t have all the answers, but I have four principles that will at least get you pointed in the right direction.  

Get to, not Got to

The most important thing a Christian can do when it comes to observing the Sabbath on Sunday is not make a list of dos and don’ts. A list of rules invites the very pharisaical spirit that Jesus rebuked. Instead, I recommend striving to make the time of Sabbath as enjoyable, festive, and relaxing as possible where you are now. Start with where you are, not where you think you should be. If you don’t attend Sunday worship consistently because other things keep coming up, then start with where you are. Start going to church! If you’ve got a strict personality and you notice nobody at home enjoys the Lord’s Day, then start with where you are. Take the family to the park and play kickball. You get to enjoy God’s good gifts, so enjoy them!

Christians Assemble!

Every now and then as I move along through preaching books of the Bible, I come across a passage that I know will help a particular person that next Sunday. I prepare all week with this person in mind. I pray for them as I ponder the application. And when I get up to the pulpit to preach, they aren’t there.

God has given tremendous blessing to you by giving you the church. He gives you His word and will for your life. He gives you the unity of His Holy Spirit with the fellowship of the saints. He gives encouragement in the singing. He provides shoulders to cry on when you’re grieving and shouts of praise when your succeeding. When you miss church on Sundays you are missing out on God’s good gifts for your life. Even when you’re traveling or on vacation, plan to attend worship with a church. I promise the Lord will bless that decision.

Work from. Work toward.

Since we begin each week with the Christian Sabbath, we begin each week with rest, worship, and joy. The rest of our week comes after Sunday. We work hard because God’s grace is free. We strive to be good fathers and mothers because God has already given us the grace when we aren’t good. We work from Sunday. We work from grace.

We also work toward Sunday. We organize our week to worship God the next Sunday. Yeah, we may be providentially hindered some weeks with sickness or bad weather, but we live each week with our eye toward the next Sunday. This means preparing for worship on Saturday night. Some families have a “Sabbath dinner” on Saturday night with their family and church friends to prepare their hearts for worship the next day. They feast because God is a celebratory God. They also feast so they can eat leftovers on Sunday. Whether you practice this or not, Sabbath forces you to put your work into six days instead of using the seventh day to catch up from last week or to get a head for this week.

Exceptions Prove the Rule

Eventually when Christians start thinking about applying the Sabbath to their lives, they run into what-if questions. “What if I get sick?” “What if the car breaks down?” “What if my boss calls me into work?” Let me say from the beginning that you have to answer most of these questions with wisdom and a desire to please God.

Here are a few categories to think through on those Sundays that are exceptional: providence, mercy, necessity. First, are you providentially hindered from celebrating the Sabbath the typical way? Did the Lord bring about an unusual circumstance that prohibits you from typical worship and rest? If you or one of your kids wake up on Sunday morning with a stomach bug, you’re actually fulfilling the Sabbath by caring for the sick (Mark 3:4-5). If you can’t leave your home on Sunday because there’s three feet of snow on the ground, then worship the Lord as a household.

Second, does a work of mercy prohibit you from typical Sabbath rest or worship? If you miss the worship service on Sunday because you helped an elderly lady stranded on the interstate, you’re fulfilling the intent of the Sabbath. The example above of taking care of a sick child also applies here. Let me also offer one word of caution. Some personalities see this exception and want to make a rule out of it. You drive the long way to church so you can be more likely to see someone stranded on the side of the road, and two months later you’re volunteering at the animal shelter on Sundays to take care of stranded puppies. Remember, the Sabbath was a gift for you, not the other way around (Mark 2:27).

Finally, does a necessary work prohibit you from normal Sabbath observance? Are a pack of wolves surrounding your herd of sheep? Did your well freeze and you need to fix the pipe? Are you a doctor and are on call on Sundays? These “exceptions” only prove the rule that Sabbath exists as a gift for God’s creation.

Conclusion

            God gives good gifts. One of the best gifts He gives is rest. He gives rest from our work, rest from our toil here on earth, and rest from our enslavement to sin. Christians should be the most rested people on the planet because we have a Lord and Savior who gives it freely to us.

[1] The Old Testament anticipates the concept of the eighth day as a day of rest and new beginnings. Circumcision, what initiated males into the covenant, didn’t happen a week after the baby was born, but eight days (Gen 17:12; Lev 12:3). Another example is that eight after the Feast of Booths Israel held a special convocation (Bible study), which was also a sabbath (Lev 23:36; Neh 8:18).