Wasn’t the seventh-day Sabbath instituted at Sinai for the Jews?
“Thou shalt not kill” was also given at Sinai. Does that mean that Cain did not sin by killing his brother? Did God just introduce some commandments and reserve the others to be introduced along with the Sabbath at Sinai? Hardly, for the Bible states that if you break one, you break them all. James 2:10. Thus, God shows that the law is one complete whole and not ten stand-alone rules independent of each other. But there’s even stronger evidence of the Sabbath before Sinai. Genesis 2:2 says: “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.” Therefore, with the Father, Jesus kept the very first Sabbath of this Earth. Genesis 2:2, 3. Genesis 4:3–4 describes Cain bringing an offering to the Lord. Why were Cain and Abel bringing these offerings? A look at the verse as it is in the Hebrew shows us why. The marginal note for the verse reads: “At the end of days,” which is the correct Hebrew rendering. Naturally, the question arises, “At the end of what days?” The very phraseology implies the end of a series of days with a definite beginning and ending.
The only cycle, or grouping of days, mentioned before this is the seven-day cycle of the creation week.
During their 400-plus years in Egypt, the Jewish people had nearly forgotten God. The garb of Egyptian idolatry had covered their God-ordained system. Moses knew he must reacquaint God’s people with God’s ways so he requested of Pharaoh: “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let My people go, that they may hold a feast unto Me in the wilderness…. Let us go…and sacrifice unto the Lord our God.” Exodus 5:1, 3. Pharaoh responded harshly: “Ye make them rest from their burdens.” Exodus 5:5. While this is a correct translation, it does not give the revealing phrasing of the Hebrew, which is literally translated: “Ye cause them to sabbatize.” Shortly before God spoke His law to Israel at Sinai, He gave them a very interesting test of loyalty. Exodus 16 describes God sending bread from heaven, and commanding the people to gather a double portion on Friday, so they would not have to gather on Sabbath, the seventh day. Remember, this is before Sinai. Was there a creation before Sinai? Absolutely. Was there a seventh-day Sabbath before Sinai? Without a doubt. While on Earth, Jesus did not indicate the Sabbath was made only for Jews; it was made for all mankind. Mark 2:27, 28. When the saints are redeemed and living in the New Earth, whether Jew or Gentile by origin, they will worship the Lord on His Sabbath day. Isaiah 66:23.
Why do Sabbath keepers begin and end their worship day at sunset?
While it is customary today to record the days from midnight to midnight, that was never true in biblical times, nor in biblical commands. In the first chapter of Genesis we are informed that each day of Creation began with the evening hours. Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31. This is further clarified in respect to the Sabbath in the book of Leviticus. “From even [evening] unto even, shall ye celebrate your Sabbath.” Leviticus 23:32.
Wouldn’t I be denying Christ’s death and resurrection if I worshiped on the seventh-day Sabbath instead of Sunday, the day Christ rose from the dead?
If the Bible is your rule of faith, there is a simple answer. The Sabbath was not given as a memorial of our Lord’s resurrection, but as a memorial of Creation and redemption. Exodus 20:8–11 and Ezekiel 20:12.
On the other hand, the Christian has been given wonderful memorials of Christ’s death and resurrection—the Lord’s supper and Baptism. Matthew 26:26–28; Romans 6:3–11.
Nowhere in Scripture do we find Christ or the apostles changing the original purpose of observing God’s holy seventh-day Sabbath.
Doesn’t Paul teach in Colossians 2:16, 17 that we are not to make an issue of “sabbath days” in this Christian age?
The seventeenth verse of this chapter reveals the subject of Paul’s concern. These were Jewish feast days that fell on a variety of weekdays which God had commanded Israel to keep as they would the weekly Sabbath. These feast days were merely shadows of things that met their fulfillment through the Messiah.
Jesus never gave the impression that the Ten Commandments, specifically the Sabbath, would be abolished through the work of the Messiah. On the contrary, He upheld the law of God and declared that Heaven and Earth would pass before the law would be changed. Matthew 5:18.
When Jesus Christ died on the cross, didn’t that end the Christian’s obligation to keep the moral law and the seventh-day Sabbath?
Few individuals really believe this, even though they often present it as an argument against keeping the fourth commandment. Common sense requires us to admit that if we are at liberty to break the Sabbath commandment, then we are equally at liberty to break the other nine commandments. Yet, no Christian would concede that it is perfectly right to kill, steal, commit adultery or lie. We are not at liberty to decide which of the Ten Commandments we can discard. James 2:10–12.
When Christ died, it was the law of sacrifice and ceremony that was nailed to the cross. No Christians will be saved without the Ten-Commandment law written on their hearts, producing the fruits of genuine Christian obedience. Hebrews 10:16; John 15:8–10. Keeping the law is the result of entering a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Sabbath keeping is a sign of sanctification, setting apart our life for God’s holy purpose. Ezekiel 20:12.
Where in the New Testament is there evidence of Christians keeping the Sabbath after the resurrection?
Even decades after the resurrection of Christ, Sunday (the first day) is not referred to as the Lord’s day as many claim it to be, and the seventh day (Saturday) is always referred to as the Sabbath. Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1, 2; Luke 23:56; 24:1.
It is true that Paul was a faithful Sabbath keeper. As Christ’s custom was to go into the synagogue every Sabbath day, so was Paul’s custom. Luke 4:16; Acts 17:2. Some might say that Paul went to the synagogue because that is where the Jews were, but it is clear that he also took the Gentiles there. Acts 13:42–44; 18:4.
Christ anticipated that His church would still be keeping the seventh-day Sabbath more than 30 years after his death. Remember, He told His disciples to pray that their flight from Jerusalem not be on the Sabbath day. Matthew 24:20.
There is no mandate, either by Christ or the apostles, for the change of the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day of the week. This is why it took centuries before the pagan custom of Sundaykeeping could be established across the major portions of Europe.
For further reading, see Paul Copan, Is God a Moral Monster? Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2011, chapter 4.
