Home   e-Library       中文 
e-Library Home |  Browse By Category |  Study the Bible    
 (Manna 94: Time to Reflect: Our Beliefs)
The Sabbath Is Made for Man

KC Tsai—Toronto, Canada

And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it” (Gen 2:2–3a). Jesus also said: “The Sabbath was made for man” (Mk 2:27b). Everything done by God carries a significant purpose, but many Christians today cannot see the importance of the Sabbath. Some view the Sabbath as part of the Jewish law, which has been phased out and, thus, not pertinent to them. Unbelievably, some others do not even know what the Sabbath is.

ADDRESSING MISCONCEPTIONS

Has the Lord’s Day Replaced the Sabbath?

Today, many Christian denominations observe the “Lord’s Day” instead of the Sabbath. Observed on Sunday, the first day of the week, the Lord's Day is the principal day of worship and the weekly memorial of Jesus Christ’s resurrection.[1] But is it right to replace the Sabbath with Sunday? Is there any biblical evidence to support this change?

First of all, we must understand that even though the Lord Jesus indeed resurrected on the first day of the week (Lk 24:1), He is the eternal God who could not be held by death (Acts 2:24). There is no basis for making the day of the Lord’s resurrection (the first day of the week) superior to the Sabbath day (the last day of the week), which God had established in His eternity. Removing the observance of the Sabbath in our walk of faith is a misinterpretation of God’s eternal purpose. After all, it is because of His unmeasurable love that He made the Sabbath for man.

Second, the phrase “the Lord’s Day” is only mentioned once in the Bible. 

            I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” (Rev 1:10–11)

The apostle John had been exiled to the island of Patmos for “the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:9). Taken by the Spirit to a day near the Lord’s coming, he saw the state of the seven churches of Asia Minor during the end times. That is a day destined by the Lord. The loud voice behind him belonged to the Lord Jesus; John was to record everything that he had seen in a book and deliver it to the seven churches.

The Lord’s Day does not refer to a certain day of the week. It could be any day of the week, or it may point to a certain “time.” For example, the Lord said:

            Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ ” (Lk 7:22–23, emphasis added)

That day” refers to the day the Lord will execute judgment. The “Lord’s Day,” as recorded in the Book of Revelation, has the same meaning.

In summary, there is no biblical basis for changing the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, established by God at the time of creation, to an observance of the Lord’s Day on the first day of the week.

Are All Days the Same?

            One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. (Rom 14:5)

Some people use this verse to argue that the Sabbath should not be esteemed above any other day—that all days should be esteemed the same. However, contextually, this verse is not about the Sabbath. It is about how some Jews still observed days of fasting or abstained from meat, even after believing in the Lord Jesus.

In fact, it was God who set the seventh day apart from the other six days:

            Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. (Gen 2:1–3)

God did not need to rest from His creation. The Creator neither faints nor is weary (Isa 40:28). Rather, the day of rest was created for those who work and grow weary. Besides allowing man to rest from his worldly labor, the Sabbath also allows man to anticipate that promised Sabbath ahead—the eternal rest in heaven (Heb 4:9–11). In other words, not all days are the same.

Did Gentile Believers Keep the Sabbath in Apostolic Times?

Many Christians believe that Sabbath observance is only meant for the chosen people of the Old Testament and that such a requirement of Mosaic Law does not apply to non-Jewish believers. Is such a view correct?

            Also the sons of the foreigner
Who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him,
And to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants—
Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath,
And
holds fast My covenant
Even them I will bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be accepted on My altar;
For
My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” (Isa 56:6–7, emphasis added)

This passage addresses the sons of the foreigner who hold fast God’s covenant. What covenant would a Gentile have with God? The Bible says that they were uncircumcised and, as mentioned in Ephesians, they were “without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph 2:12). Indeed, in the past, the Gentiles were “strangers from the covenants of promise.” But at the Last Supper, Jesus took the cup and said, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Lk 22:20). Through His blood, non-Jewish believers now have a covenant with the Lord Jesus—a covenant which encompasses keeping the Sabbath!

In the Isaiah passage, God also says, “For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.” How can Gentiles enter the temple of God? Did God not declare through the prophet Ezekiel that “No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel” (Ezek 44:9)? In fact, the Jews took this very seriously. After his third missionary journey, when Paul returned to Jerusalem, he was arrested and nearly killed by the Jews. They accused Paul of being “the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore, he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place” (Acts 21:27–29). Because they had seen Paul with Trophimus, an Ephesian, they assumed that Paul had taken this Gentile into the temple.

Therefore, when Isaiah prophesied that the temple of God would be a temple of prayer for all nations, this was a reference to the body of Jesus (Jn 2:21), which is the church established by the Holy Spirit (Eph 1:23). The Gentile believers of the Lord Jesus have to keep from defiling the Sabbath and hold fast His covenant.

The elder James concluded at the end of the Jerusalem Council:

            Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.” (Acts 15:19–21, emphasis added)

This verse proves that, in apostolic times, Gentiles who came to believe in Jesus would listen to the reading of the law every Sabbath in the synagogue. Today, Christians should also have a holy convocation on the Sabbath (Lev 23:3), where we serve God with a reverent and quiet heart and study the teachings of the Bible.

UNDERSTANDING THE TRUTH ABOUT THE SABBATH

Keeping the Sabbath Signifies Belonging to God

According to God’s commandments and decrees, His chosen people kept the Sabbath separate from the nations. God said, “[F]or it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you” (Ex 31:13). Today, the true church of God likewise keeps the Sabbath to be separate from the world. Keeping the Sabbath is also a sign between us and God for countless generations to come. The true worshippers of God observe the Sabbath to honor His covenant, which makes them holy.

Today, the Jewish people keep the Sabbath under the law, whereas we keep the Sabbath under the grace of the Lord Jesus. What is the difference? How do we keep the Sabbath under the grace of the new covenant?

There are several important aspects of the Sabbath that we must grasp; these are well summarized in the words of Jesus:

            And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.” (Mk 2:27–28)

The Sabbath Was Made for Man

After Adam sinned, the earth was cursed. Thorns and thistles began to grow out of the earth, and man had to make a living by the sweat of his face before ultimately returning to dust (Gen 3:18–19). Man’s life would comprise endless toil and labor. In contrast, Adam’s pre-fall life in Eden was not one of hard labor or toil, even though he was told to tend the garden. Man did not have to sweat to make a living, so he did not need a day of rest from his daily labor. Nevertheless, after six days of creation, God blessed the seventh day for man. It was indeed marvelous grace prepared long before man needed it.

Returning to this Edenic state and gaining access to the tree of life is what we all hope for while living in this world (Rev 22:14). Those who eat of the tree of life, which is within the heavenly Jerusalem, will have eternal life. Entering this Jerusalem above grants us our heavenly Sabbath rest (Heb 4:8–9; 12:22–28, ESV). 

God is love, and the Sabbath clearly expresses God’s love. Not only did God establish a cycle of seven days in a week, He also prepared one day each week for man to rest. In addition, through this weekly Sabbath rest, He instills hope for the eternal rest we will enter after ending our labors in this world.

1. Man was not made for the Sabbath

During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He preached the gospel of the heavenly kingdom and, at times, healed the sick on the Sabbath. The Jews, especially the Pharisees, were quick to criticize Him. They pointed to His disciples and questioned, “Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?” (Mk 2:24). These attacks stemmed from their dogmatic adherence to literal requirements of the law as if the Sabbath was more important than the men it was prepared for. Their faith was bounded by laws and customs, and they were unable to understand the eternal love behind God’s establishment of the Sabbath. Jesus’ words (Mk 2:27) were meant to correct this misconception. 

2. Keeping the Sabbath under the law

The Israelites were commanded to keep the Sabbath from generation to generation as an eternal covenant (Ex 31:16–17). It was to be evidence between them and God, and a reminder that God made them holy (Ex 31:13). Today, millennia later, the Jewish people still keep the Sabbath by adhering to the regulations and behavioral boundaries established by their rabbis; these separate them clearly from the world. In this respect, they are like a solitary people who dwell alone.

Many people find it difficult to understand God’s past actions when it comes to Sabbath observance, such as in the example below:

            Now while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation. They put him under guard, because it had not been explained what should be done to him.
Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man must surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” So, as the LORD commanded Moses, all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died. (Num 15:32–36) 

The Israelites who saw the man gathering sticks knew it was not right, so they brought him to Moses. However, it was inaccurate for them to say that “it had not been explained what should be done to him,” since Moses had already told them much earlier:

            Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day.” (Ex 35:2–3)

The law was clear: whoever kindles fire—which constitutes work—shall be put to death! But therein lies humankind’s weakness. They are wont to wonder whether God means what He says—to test God’s stated boundaries: Is God really serious about His commands? Would He really kill a person for a seemingly innocuous act?

This incident shows that God’s words are not uttered meaninglessly or superfluously. He means what He says and does as He says. This characteristic of God is a great assurance. When Jesus says that the Sabbath was made for man, this is a promise of the everlasting grace He has prepared for the world. God’s will is immutable across time and environment. His counsel stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations (Ps 33:11). This Almighty God is determined to give His children His grace of the Sabbath, and His sincere regard for all who observe His Sabbath will never fade away.

Instead of recognizing the deep underlying love of God in the Numbers 15 incident, many people only see the cruelty and unforgiveness of God. Reconsider the incident from this perspective. The man who went out to collect sticks was signaling his unwillingness to enjoy the Sabbath. He despised the mercy and love of God. Like a loving parent who chastens the erring child to teach and protect his other children, God would not allow one man’s ignorance and negligence to cause His Sabbath to be despised by others and the grace in Sabbath to diminish.

The chosen people in the Old Testament saw similar severe punishments throughout their history. They failed to experience the love of God in Sabbath observance. Instead, they developed a sense of insecurity and fear regarding the Sabbath. The apostle John said, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (1 Jn 4:18). The Lord Jesus came to the world to remove such fears through His grace of salvation on the cross.

            And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. (Col 2:13-17, emphasis added)

The Bible says that “he who is hanged is accursed of God” (Deut 21:23b). Our Lord Jesus was hanged on the cross for us. By being hanged, He redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (Gal 3:13). His atonement wiped out the handwriting of the requirements of the law against us.

Festivals are held once a year, the new moon once a month, and the Sabbath once a week. Under the Mosaic Law, there were ordinances of sacrifices designated for these occasions. But these ordinances had been wiped out by the redemption of the Lord Jesus. However, the Sabbath did not emerge when the Ten Commandments and God’s statutes and judgments were decreed. It came immediately after the six days of creation. This is the Sabbath under the grace of the Lord Jesus, which the True Jesus Church keeps and remembers today. 

3. The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath

Therefore, the Sabbath is a servant of the Lord Jesus, serving Him and obeying His commands. It is the Lord Jesus Who decides how man should keep the Sabbath.

            Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, “Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.” And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, “There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.” The Lord then answered him and said, “Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” (Lk 13:10–16)

Difficulties and tribulations are never ending in man’s life on earth. Many people hardly have a moment of respite amidst endless labor and toil that fill the day. They feel like this woman who was bent over and could not raise herself up. The Lord Jesus wants us to be loosed from such bonds, and through His Sabbath, He frees us. He is Lord of the Sabbath, explaining the original purpose behind the Sabbath’s establishment.

The Sabbath enables a person to harmonize with nature, the environment surrounding him, and the people with whom he is in contact. It also affords him time to reconcile with the Lord. After six days of relentless strife, attempting to conquer all that stands in the way of his ambition, he can enjoy a day of inner serenity on the Sabbath.

4. The new covenant: keeping the Sabbath under grace

The True Jesus Church keeps the Sabbath. Apart from the Seventh Day Adventists, almost all mainstream Christian denominations do not. However, unlike the Jews, who keep the Sabbath under the law, the True Jesus Church keeps the Sabbath under grace. What does this comprise?

Sacred work and doing good

            Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.” (Mt 12:5–6)

The Old Testament law required priests to offer sacrifices, set the showbread (Lev 24:8), light the lamps, and burn incense (Ex 30:8) on the Sabbath –they ministered and worked in the temple. The Lord Jesus saw them as blameless, although they profaned the Sabbath. He is greater than the temple, and the church is His body. Therefore, today, we are without fault when doing holy work in church on the Sabbath.

            And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—that they might accuse Him. Then He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” (Mt 12:10–12)

Jesus declared that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. However, it does not imply that one should do good works with no limits or self-control on a Sabbath day. After all, the Sabbath is meant for us to find a quiet time with our Lord.

Turning away from our own pleasures

In our busy and overstimulated lives today, it is difficult for many to put away their cell phones. There are a thousand and one work and life commitments to attend to, and we feel we cannot drop them on a Sabbath day. It is a great pity if we have forgotten the Lord Jesus’ promises about the Sabbath. He wants us to let go of the cumbersome worries and turn to His gracious words on the Sabbath. An intimate relationship with our Lord will build up over time if we do so. 

            If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the LORD honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD;
And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.” (Isa 58:13–14)

God will cause us to ride on the high hills of the earth! What a promise this is. The Lord will bear you on eagles' wings and bring you to Himself! You will have an eagle’s eye to view the troubles and difficulties below. These troubles will become so tiny and insignificant from above, and you will be victorious over whatever troubles you, but only if you turn away your foot from the Sabbath.

Finally, God will “feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,” if you honor the Sabbath and call it a delight. Jacob was originally the second son of Isaac, but God called him His son, His firstborn, when He sent Moses to take the Israelites out of slavery (Ex 4:22). Jacob inherited the blessings God bestowed upon Abraham, a heavenly city built by God (Heb 11:9–10, 16). God will feed us with the heritage of Jacob, our heavenly inheritance, if we observe the Sabbath with a genuine heart.

 

APPENDIX: IS KEEPING THE SABBATH AN ACT OF LEGALISM?

Some claim that observing the Sabbath is a legalistic act, which the apostle Paul denounced multiple times in his epistles. In his ministry, Paul encountered situations where brethren sought justification through the law; they pursued the righteous requirements of the law. This would ultimately nullify the grace of God (Gal 2:21).

Is Sabbath-keeping a legalistic act, a holdover from the law by which we are no longer bound?

Keep and remember the Sabbath” is indeed the fourth of the ten commandments. But keeping the Sabbath is not just an authoritarian command from God, issued without rhyme or reason.

After six days of creation, God sanctified the seventh day, blessed it, and made it holy. This sanctified day is different from the other six days of the week. This is the will of the eternal God, and it will never change. The Sabbath was established before Abraham, before the Israelites came into existence, and before the Mosaic Law was given (Ex 16:23). Thus, the Sabbath was not created for the chosen people in the Old Testament only. God established the Sabbath for all man out of His love and compassion. If a Christian denomination refuses to accept and enjoy the Sabbath, this would be a rejection of God’s love, as though God’s purposeful establishment of the Sabbath were meaningless.  

Therefore, keeping the Sabbath is not an act of legalism, and our church does not advocate legalism. It would be legalistic to keep the Sabbath under the law—this includes restrictions on walking distance, kindling fire (for example, cooking, igniting an engine, switching on a light), and other rituals welcoming a Sabbath and during a Sabbath worship. Today, we are loosed from the bond of these restrictions by Jesus (Lk 13:16).

Jesus also said, “[I]t is lawful to do good on the Sabbath” (Mt 12:12b). He did not encourage people to do whatever they please on the Sabbath, but it is lawful to do good work that is necessary on that day.

Keeping the Sabbath under the grace of Jesus is different from doing so legalistically. To observe is to follow the teachings of Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath.



[1] “Sunday,” Encyclopaedia Britannica, accessed January 6, 2023, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sunday-day-of-week.

PDF Download

Author: KC Tsai
Publisher: True Jesus Church
Date: 05/01/2023
Print
Email
Feedback