Did Jesus Abolish the Sabbath Day?

As you ask yourself that question, remember that God instituted the seventh day Sabbath at creation. In Genesis chapter 2 we see that God blessed and sanctified the seventh day. To sanctify means to set apart to God for a holy purpose. God also reiterated the importance of the Sabbath by writing it with His own finger in stone at the heart of the Ten Commandments. Jesus kept the Sabbath. Jesus' followers kept the Sabbath. God showed the prophet Isaiah that we would be keeping the Sabbath for eternity in Heaven. As you read the following arguments that people use to say that the Sabbath was abolished, ask yourself this question: "Are any of these instances enough to say that God altered His final act of creation and modified one of His Ten Commandments?"

Many people argue that Jesus routinely broke the Sabbath, and by His example the Sabbath was abolished. The Pharisees accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath on a number of occasions. Jesus almost always responded in a way that identified the Pharisees as legalists who claimed righteousness based upon their own works. In His rebukes to the Pharisees, did Jesus effectively abolish the Sabbath commandment? Let's take a look at a few of these Sabbath confrontations to see if Jesus did, in fact, abolish the Sabbath day.

Matt 12:1-8
1     At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath through the grainfields, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat.
2     But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath."
3     But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did, when he became hungry, he and his companions;
4     how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?
5     "Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath, and are innocent?
6     "But I say to you, that something greater than the temple is here.
7     "But if you had known what this means, 'I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent.
8     "For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

Mark 3:1-6
1     And He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there with a withe .
2     And they were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, in order that they might accuse Him.
3     And He said to the man with the withe , "Rise and come forward!"
4     And He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?" But they kept silent.
5     And 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.
6     And the Pharisees went out and immediately began taking counsel with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

Luke 13:10-17
10     And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
11     And behold, there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all.
12     And when Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your sickness."
13     And He laid His hands upon her; and immediately she was made erect again, and began glorifying God.
14     And the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the multitude in response, "There are six days in which work should be done; therefore come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day."
15     But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall, and lead him away to water him?
16     "And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?"
17     And as He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire multitude was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.

Luke 14:1-5
1     And it came about when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, that they were watching Him closely.
2     And there, in front of Him was a certain man suffering from dropsy.
3     And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?"
4     But they kept silent. And He took hold of him, and healed him, and sent him away.
5     And He said to them, "Which one of you shall have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day ?"

John 7:21-24
21     Jesus answered and said to them, "I did one deed, and you all marvel.
22     "On this account Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man.
23     "If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath that the Law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath?
24     "Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

Notice in each of these accounts, the discussion is not about whether to keep the Sabbath day, but about how to keep it. Over and over again, we see Jesus and the Pharisees disputing what is lawful to do on the Sabbath. Over and over again we see Jesus demonstrating that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. He even reminds the Pharisees that as God's Son, He is Lord of the Sabbath. He ordained the purpose of the Sabbath from its very inception, and so He alone should be allowed to interpret what activities were consistent with that purpose. God's fourth commandment said simply for the people to keep the Sabbath day holy, to refrain from secular work, and to turn their attentions to God. The Pharisees had taken that simple instruction and blown it up into several hundred laws that specified exactly what one could and could not do on the Sabbath. This was common of most of the laws that God had given them. It was a point that Jesus admonished them for on a number of occasions.

Luke 11:46
46     But He said, "Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers.

Matt 23:2-5
2     saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;
3     therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things, and do not do them.
4     "And they tie up heavy loads, and lay them on men's shoulders ; but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.
5     "But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men

Matt 23:23-28
23     "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
24     "You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25     "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.
26     "You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.
27     "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.
28     "Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Mark 7:6-13
6     And He said to them, "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me.
7     'But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.'
8     "Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men."
9     He was also saying to them, "You nicely set aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.
10     "For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death';
11     but you say, 'If a man says to his father or his mother, anything of mine you might have been helped by is Corban (that is to say, given to God) ,'
12     you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother;
13     thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that."

Jesus' point about the Sabbath was the same as in these other circumstances. The burdensome laws that the Pharisees levied on the people were actually contrary to the laws of God that they were supposed to uphold. What a tragedy! The Sabbath was intended to be a day of rest and delight in the Lord. Instead, the religious leaders had turned it into a day of burden for God's people. This is the true error and sign of legalism. The legalists are always interested in the minimum standard, because their hearts are not true. Jesus reminds them over and over again that if they would get their hearts right with God, then obeying God's commandments would be a joy not a burden. God's commandments were never meant to restrict us, but to bring us joy and peace. Imagine what our world would be like if everyone obeyed all of God's Ten Commandments out of a sense of love toward God and each other. What a wonderful world this would be! God's commandments are not burdensome. God's Sabbath is not burdensome. The Sabbath is a delight.

Isa 58:13-14
13     "If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure, and speaking your own word,
14     Then you will take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

I Jn 5:3
3     For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

God's commandments have always been for our good. The first four commandments tell us how to build and maintain our relationship with God. The last six tell us how to build and maintain our relationships with each other. God's commandments are not a burden; they are a delight. God's Sabbath day is not a burden; it is a delight.

Did Paul or the other Apostles or Disciples abolish the Sabbath with their instructions or teachings?

Col 2:14, 16-17
14     having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
16     Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--
17     things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

Some people use this text to argue that the Sabbath was abolished, and that Paul was instructing the Gentile believers not to keep the Sabbath. In fact, these people argue that not just the Sabbath, but all of the Ten Commandments were abolished and 'nailed to the cross'. But is that what the verse says? Let's look at the context to get a better picture of what Paul was saying here.

Col 2:8-17
8     See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
9     For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
10     and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
11     and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;
12     having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
13     And when 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,
14     having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
15     When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.
16     Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day--
17     things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

Let me show you a number of problems with this argument. First of all, although many Christians will argue that the whole law was 'nailed to the cross', they still consider things like stealing, lying, murder, and adultery to be sins. Secondly, Paul was talking primarily about Jewish traditions, which were added above and beyond the commandments of God. Notice he draws the same distinction that Jesus did between the commandments of God and the 'traditions of men'. Finally, note what was 'nailed to the cross'. Was it the Ten Commandments? No. It was a 'certificate of debt' consisting of 'decrees' which were 'against us' and 'hostile to us'. Are the Ten Commandments against us or hostile to us? No.

Paul was referring to many of the tenets, or 'decrees', of the Mosaic ceremonial law - the law of sacrifices. This fact becomes more evident in verses 16 and 17. Here Paul speaks about food and drink offerings and festivals and then he calls all of these things 'shadows of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.' There were seven annual feasts in the Jewish ceremonial law which were called sabbaths, but which were distinct and different from the weekly Sabbath. All of these festivals pointed forward to Christ and His part in the plan of salvation. Below is a description of one of these feasts - the annual Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur.

Lev 23:27-28, 32
27     "On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the LORD.
28     "Neither shall you do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the LORD your God.
32     "It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath."

But notice as we continue on in the same scripture passage that these ceremonial sabbaths were different and distinct from the weekly Sabbaths. It says 'besides' or apart from the 'Sabbaths of the Lord', which are the weekly Sabbaths. Notice that it also talks about food and drink offerings, or grain offerings and libations, just like Paul did in Col. 2:16.

Lev 23:37-38
37     'These are the appointed times of the LORD which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, to present offerings by fire to the LORD-- burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and libations, each day's matter on its own day--
38     besides those of the Sabbaths of the LORD, and besides your gifts, and besides all your votive and freewill offerings, which you give to the LORD.

These ceremonial sabbaths, along with their sacrifices, were shadows or symbols that pointed forward to Jesus. Jesus was our Passover sacrificial Lamb. He was also the First Fruits offering and is the one whose blood made atonement for our sins. These sacrificial offerings ceased to have any significance when they were 'nailed to the cross' with Christ, who was the One true Sacrifice. But the Sabbath was primarily a memorial to creation, not a shadow of something that pointed forward to Jesus. We can see the truth of this in Paul's actions. He never offered another sacrifice after he became a Christian, however, he kept the Sabbath regularly (see Acts 13:42-44, 17:2).

Here is another scripture passage that people use to argue that the Sabbath has been done away with in the New Testament.

Rom 14:4-6
4     Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5     One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind.
6     He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.

Sometimes it is good no notice what a verse does not say, before we go reading too much into it. Notice that this scripture passage says nothing about worship or about the Sabbath. Is it safe to infer that Paul was talking about the Sabbath day here? Probably not, especially when you consider the context. First of all, Paul's main point deals with judging one another. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that we shouldn't judge one another even about sinful actions. It is God's job to judge, no ours. We cannot be absolutely certain, but when Paul talks here about esteeming one day above another, he is probably referring to days of fasting which the Pharisees had established. God had not commanded these fast days; they were a tradition of the Pharisees. Notice the attitude of the Pharisees towards these traditional days of fasting in the following texts.

Luke 5:33
33     And they said to Him, "The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers; the disciples of the Pharisees also do the same ; but Yours eat and drink."

Luke 18:11-12
11     "The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself , 'God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer.
12     'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.'

It is very likely that Paul is talking about these days of fasting that the Pharisees held as a tradition. Paul is certainly not talking about the Sabbath day. If he were going to do away with one of God's Ten Commandments, surely he would have used more direct language, and a well-developed argument. He does neither in this case.

People also argue that the Sabbath was simply a symbol of God's grace, and that the symbol was fulfilled in Christ. This argument is taken from the fourth chapter of the book of Hebrews. I have included almost the whole chapter here for you to read.

Heb 4:1-16
1     Therefore, let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it.
2     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.
3     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.
4     For He has thus said somewhere concerning the seventh day "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works";
5     and again in this passage "They shall not enter My rest."
6     Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience,
7     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."
8     For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that.
9     There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
10     For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.
11     Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience.
12     For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
13     And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
14     Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession .
15     For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
16     Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need .

The Sabbath is indeed a symbol of grace. The Sabbath is symbolic of many things - grace, sanctification, justification, obedience (see the study entitled 'The Sabbath as a Sign'). The Sabbath is also a memorial of creation and our Creator God. Actually, it is not a symbol of all of those things, but a reminder of them. The sin sacrifices of the Old Testament were a symbol of Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf. After Jesus came and died, the symbols ceased to have meaning. In fact, to keep offering sacrifices would be to deny the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice. So in place of the animal sacrifices, Jesus instituted two reminders of His sacrifice - baptism and communion. By holding communion services, do we deny the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice on our behalf? Certainly NOT! Rather, we reaffirm our faith in His sacrifice. This is also true of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is not a symbol of grace, but a reminder of it. As we observe the weekly Sabbath, we do not deny God's grace; we reaffirm our faith in His grace. The author of Hebrews says as much in verse 9. 'There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God.'

Finally, I want to note something very significant. The word 'Sabbath' appears in the New Testament 62 times. Sixty of those times are in the Gospels and the book of Acts. Every one of these references speaks, either directly or indirectly, about Jesus, the disciples, or the apostles keeping the Sabbath holy. Only two times does the New Testament use the word 'sabbath' in any other way.

I would like you to take a moment to compare the issue of the Sabbath with the issue of circumcision. The issue of circumcision raised such a dispute among the apostles that they all came together for a council in Jerusalem to settle the matter within the church. And circumcision was not even one of God's Ten Commandments. Do you think that it would be realistic to believe that the apostles would get so worked up over a secondary issue that involved breaking a Jewish tradition, and yet remain virtually silent if someone were attempting to do away with one of God's Ten Commandments? It doesn't make any sense. Yet, nowhere in the New Testament do we see the record of any such dispute about the Sabbath among Jesus' followers.

Paul had a lot to say about the relationship between the Law and Grace, as did the other Bible authors. His primary concern was to demonstrate which was the cause and which was the result. He rightly espouses that obedience to the Law is the result of God's Grace. You do not earn God's Grace through the works of the Law. But in all of his writings, Paul never throws away any of God's Ten Commandments. In fact he repeatedly uplifts the Law of God, calling it 'holy, righteous, and good.' Neither does Paul, Jesus, or any of the other disciples or apostles ever even insinuate that the Sabbath day has been eradicated from the Ten Commandments. God's Ten Commandments never became the Nine Commandments. The Ten Commandments are just as true and valid today as they ever were. And Jesus is still the 'Lord of the Sabbath'. Won't you honor Jesus as your Lord and Savior by Remembering His Sabbath day and keeping it Holy? 

 

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