That a special day existed before Jesus Christ was born to Mary is not disputed.

The first full day for Adam and Eve was the one on which God rested from his creative work (Genesis 2 verse 2).  It was a day set apart by God.  It was to be different from the other six.

When God spoke to his people at Sinai he gave them ten words or commands.  They are a restatement of what mankind knew from the beginning.  Hence word four teaches us to remember the weekly day of rest.  It is to be kept holy.

Those who were given the commands knew what that means.  The word holy conveys the idea of being set apart.  It includes the notion of con-secration.  Thus the people of God learned that one day in seven was to treated as sacred.  It was the day of the week on which they would be free to dedicate themselves to God, free from the pressures and responsibilities of everyday life.

It comes as no surprise to us therefore  to discover that down

the years God’s people learned that:

(1) they are to delight in the sabbath day (the day of rest);

(2) they are to honour and use it as God would have it used; and,

(3) the failure to do so incurs God’s displeasure and wrath.

You will find, for example, all three lessons impressed upon us in Isaiah (chapter 58.13f).

What about today?  Does a sabbath still exist?  If so, which day of the week is it?  How is it to be kept?  And who is expected to honour it?  These are important questions.  People had different opinions as to how they are to be answered when Christ Jesus ministered on earth two thousand years ago.  And people answer them in different ways today.

A key issue for us is to discover whether our views add to or take away from the teaching of God’s Word.  To do either is to put the ideas or traditions of people before or above the revealed will of God.

How then should we proceed as we seek to understand God’s will for us concerning a day of rest?

Let me draw your attention to the way the Lord Jesus dealt with a complaint of the Pharisees.  Matthew refers to it in the opening verses of the twelfth chapter of his record of the life of Jesus Christ (Matthew 12. 1-13).

The Pharisees took exception to the fact that the disciples of Jesus plucked and ate heads of grain as they went through fields on a sabbath.  As far as they were concerned that was not lawful.  It entailed breaking one of the 614 rules which they said had to be kept each and every sabbath.  How did Jesus respond to their criticism?

He reminded them of what David did with his friends at Nob when they were hungry.  They ate the special bread kept in the place of worship.  The bread, that is, which only the priests could eat (1 Samuel 21 verse 1ff).  That bread, which consisted of twelve loaves, was replaced every sabbath.  Ahimelech knew that in normal circumstances it was to be eaten only by priests (Exodus 25.30 and 1 Samuel 21.6).  So why did he give it to David?  Because he knew that David and his men were hungry.  He knew that David would be the next king (1 Samuel 16.12f), and that David and his men were on a sacred mission (1 Samuel 21.5).

Why does Jesus draw attention to these facts?  Because he wanted the  Pharisees to see that if David was allowed to set aside such a God-given rule when necessity required it, the Son of God is free to set aside man-made rules or traditions.  The man-made rule of the Pharisees went beyond what God commands.  At a time of need ears of grain in neighbour’s field could be eaten if plucked with the hand but not a sickle (Deuteronomy 23.25).

There is an important principle that is sometimes lost sight of when this incident is considered.  Yes, the Lord Jesus exposes the error of the Pharisees by showing that they added to the word of God.  He also establishes the continued existence of a sabbath.  Please note that at no point does Jesus do away with the observance of a weekly sabbath.  You will not find him doing so on any other occasion either.  His example and teaching are consistent.  The sabbath is made for mankind.  It is for each person’s physical and spiritual good.  Sadly too few see it that way.

The evidence is conclusive.  The Lord Jesus did not abolish the law established at creation.  He freed it from the errors taught by religious people in his day.  As J C Ryle says, “he purified it from man-made additions.”  The way to correct abuse is not by disuse but by right use.  Christ has authority to teach how the day is to be kept for, as he told the Pharisees, he is “greater than the temple” (Matthew 12.6) and “Lord even of the sabbath day” (Matthew 12.8).

This incident establishes two facts.  First, a weekly sabbath still exists.  And secondly, acts of necessity and mercy are allowed on it.  Such acts include feeding the hungry, helping the sick, and rescuing a person or animal in danger.  The first of those three has been addressed above.  The second and third were dealt with in the synagogue to which Jesus next went.  There he was asked whether it is lawful to heal on the sabbath?

The question was prompted by the presence of a man with a withered hand.  How does Jesus respond?  He speaks about the lawfulness of rescuing a sheep from a pit and stresses that people are of greater value than sheep!  He states that “it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” and heals the man with the withered hand (Matthew 12.9-12).

Two questions remain to be addressed: Which is the sabbath day? and Who is to remember to keep it holy?

Some think that Christians have got things wrong.  They do not keep the seventh but the first day of the week as different.  How did that change come about?  Was it lawful?

What you should note, as you seek to  order your life according to God’s Word, is that the sabbath is a creation ordinance.  That means it was established by God in the beginning.  The pattern given is of one day in seven.  Each of us needs a time of rest from our ordinary occupations.  And each of us needs a day each week to focus our minds and hearts and affections upon God without the usual pressures and responsibilities of daily life.  At the beginning it was the first full day of mankind’s existence, the seventh day that God created.  But since the first coming of Christ it has been the first day of the week.  Why?  Because it is the day up which God calls us to remember the resurrection of Christ and also the gift of his Spirit.  Hence that first day of the week is also known as the Lord’s day.

Thus Christians honour the creation ordinance of a sabbath.  They do so on the day that God has set apart.  They honour, love and devote them-selves to Christ on it.  What Christians do is what God calls all people to do, irrespective of their colour, creed or culture.

Let us summarise.  God created the sabbath.  He chooses the day.  He calls us to honour that day.  He has given it to all people everywhere.  Two lessons follow.  First, we must resist any temptation to neglect it.  And two, in the power of the Spirit, we are to keep it holy.

© EPC  31 May 2015