Congregation Shema Yisrael

About a year and a half ago, I wrote an article called Was the Sabbath Changed from Saturday to Sunday?. In that article, I made an attempt to address the traditional Christian position that the Sabbath, first established by God Himself in Genesis 2:1-3, was changed from Saturday to Sunday observance. The change is usually Biblically justified by the fact that Yeshua (Jesus) was resurrected on the first day of the week, which is usually thought of as Sunday morning (through from the point of view of the Gospel writers, the first day of the week can be anytime after sundown on Saturday night).

“When Shabbat was over, Miryam of Magdala, Miryam the mother of Ya’akov, and Shlomit bought spices in order to go and anoint Yeshua (Jesus). Very early on Sunday, just after sunrise, they went to the tomb.” -Mark 16:1-2 (CJB)

This is typically referred to as “the Lord’s Day”, though it’s not actually called that in any of the Gospel renditions of the resurrection. I think I made my points in the original article rather well, including the understanding that the Sabbath continues to be observed on Saturday to this day, and that Gentile believers as “grafted in”, are also required to observe the Sabbath. I’ve never received any emails suggesting I was incorrect in my arguments, however there are actually two points of contention regarding the Messianic observance of a Saturday Shabbat from a traditional Christian point of view. The first is a Saturday vs. Sunday observance (which was covered in my prior article), and the second is how or if the Sabbath is to be observed, regardless of the day of the week. Let me explain.

Caveat: This article will make more sense if you first read the original Shabbat article, since a lot of the support for a Saturday Shabbat observance is documented there.

The Fourth of the Ten Commandments, as listed in Exodus 20:8 states, “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy”. The commandment is repeated and augmented in a number of other portions of the Torah including the following:

For six days you shall work, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in ploughing time and in harvest time you shall rest. -Exodus 34:21

For six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work; you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you. -Deuteronomy 5:13-14

The passage in Exodus 20 tells the Children of Israel to “remember” the Sabbath day and to “keep it holy” or to “set it apart” (compare to Genesis 2:1-3). Exodus 34 adds that the Children of Israel are to rest on the Sabbath, and Deuteronomy 5 adds more specifics regarding what that rest entails, including having the “resident alien” or “stranger” also rest on the Shabbat. But what does it mean?

Modern Jewish interpretation of the written and oral commandments related to Shabbat observance are vast, at least from most people’s point of view. There is an extensive list of activities that are encouraged and prohibited. Granted, even in Judaism, the Orthodox are more likely to keep a strict Shabbat observance relative to halakha or the Rabbinic customs and traditions, than the Conservative or Reform branches of Judaism (and certainly more than the Messianic movement). In general, Shabbat observance and rest is considered to include a complete cessation of normal work activities from sundown on Friday to Sundown on Saturday. Money is not to be handled and normal commerce is not to be engaged. Ideally, one is not to drive, to kindle a flame, and so on. Shabbat observance generally includes participating in Synagogue prayer and worship, the traditional Torah service, and “delighting” in good food and good company. The Shabbat is considered a 24 hour period (with a few minutes added at either end for good measure) to totally focus on God and God’s redeemed community.

I can’t claim that the Messianic movement even approaches a perfect observance of Shabbat. Unlike the Orthodox Jewish communities, most of us don’t live within walking distance of our worship locations, so we are obligated to drive. Assuming we contribute food for the Shabbat Oneg (“delight”; a communal meal), at least some of us heat up our meals just before eating together. Unless we live in Israel, we live in nations and communities that don’t honor the Saturday Shabbat (it would be easier to do so on a Sunday in most places in America). Messianic and Jewish Shabbat keepers are often confronted with practicalities that inhibit us from a better Shabbat observance (I should mention that Christian churches such as Seventh Day Adventist and Church of God, Seventh Day also keep a Saturday Sabbath, but generally do not honor a larger Torah observance).

The question that’s at the core of this article is, even if the Sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday, does the church “keep the Sabbath”? If you compare how Sunday keeping believers spend a typical Sunday relative to the description of Sabbath keeping in the Bible and Jewish Halakha, the answer is “no”. Actually, it’s probably “no”, even if you just consider the requirements for Shabbat rest and observance in the written Torah, such as the verses I previously quoted from Exodus and Deuteronomy. For instance, “for six days you may labor and do all your work, but…” Does a Sunday keeping Christian feel inhibited about mowing their lawn or cooking a big meal on Sunday? Generally not. Spending money isn’t an issue, since it’s fairly common to go out for Sunday brunch or lunch after church. The stores in my community are fairly empty until church lets out, then they seem to fill up with a lot of well dressed people at about 1 p.m. or so.

I know it sounds like I’m being unkind, but I just want to establish that, in terms of a Biblical interpretation of how to observe the Sabbath, Sunday worshipers don’t appear to “keep” even a portion of the Sabbath. The arguments for not keeping a Bible-related Sabbath are based on the following:

“…do not let anyone judge you…with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ” -Colossians 2:16-17 (NIV)

“One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” -Romans 14:5 (NIV)

The passage from Colossians seems to “water down” Sabbath observance since, after all, it’s just a “shadow of things to come” in Christ (and he already arrived), while the Romans verse seems to imply that there really isn’t any one day that can be considered a Sabbath at all. We’re all free to choose whatever “Sabbath” we want. Of course, you can (and I do) also interpret Colossians as Paul telling his believing Gentile readers not to be upset that their pagan former companions are giving them a hard time about keeping the Biblical Shabbats and Festivals, since those events are a foreshadowing of and a “training for” the Messianic age to come.

Actually, the word “freedom” tends to come into play a lot during this sort of discussion. Since, according to traditional Evangelical theology, the death and resurrection of Christ freed believers from the “burden” of Torah (the Law), we are now free by grace to do pretty much what we want, on Sunday or any other day of the week. I know, that sounds like a cynical statement, but the “right” to be free of any particular constraints of the Bible is an issue so important in the church, that many will argue very aggressively if you (or if I) challenge this “freedom”. It almost sounds like this freedom is freedom from any requirements imposed on us by God at all.

That’s an exaggeration and I’m sure most Christians would strongly disagree with me, but if we believe God actually does have lifestyle requirements for the redeemed community, why do we seem to fight so hard against going along with God’s program? Is it just that we American believers have such a tradition of being “rugged individualists” that we don’t like anyone telling us what to do, including God? Again, I’m sure I’m overstating my point, but if I am, then why is there such a resistance to actually keeping the Sabbath as outlined in the Bible? Even if we accept that by some process not clearly defined in the Bible (or defined at all), the Sabbath is now on Sunday, then where is the directive to play fast and loose with a Shabbat observance, just because of a calendar change?

Of course, if you choose to believe that anything written in the Five Books of Moses (the Torah or the Law) does not apply to the modern Christian (if for no other reason than Moses was addressing the Children of Israel), then I suppose all this is moot. However, if you go down that road, then believing that God created the Universe, keeping the prohibitions against murder and incest, and loving God with all your heart, also come into question. Leaving the Torah out of it, the fact that the Sabbath was established way back in Genesis should illustrate that Sabbath keeping is not just a “Jewish thing” or part of “the Law” (and I actually heard a Christian speaker once refer to this as “pre-Law”).

Rather than jumping through so many theological hoops, it seems far simpler and more straight forward to me just to read the instructions God left for me and to bend my behavior and my life to His will. No, I don’t keep the Shabbat perfectly. I certainly desire to, but both my human willfulness and my life in the diaspora (exile) interfere. Based on the Bible, even if I disregard the “day of the week” issues, there remains a directive from God as to how He wants me to spend my Shabbat day. If I have freedom (and I believe I do), it’s a freedom from my slavery to sin and a secular lifestyle. I have a freedom to more completely obey Him and live His preferred lifestyle for His redeemed community. Refraining from going out to eat or mowing my lawn on Saturday is anything but bondage or a burden. It’s a freedom to put down the concerns of the world for a full and complete day, and to spend it with my Father in Heaven and His Son, my Messiah and Savior. What greater freedom could I have?