Why do we no longer follow the Sabbath?

By David
Published March, 11, 2021

The Fourth Commandment

Of the Ten Commandments only one is really controversial. The Fourth Commandment: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, seen in Exodus 20:8-11, is the only commandment that traditional Protestants (including evangelicals) don't believe applies to them. Why don't we observe the Sabbath laws?

The answer typically given is that this is the only one of the Ten Commandments not reiterated by Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). 1Footnote 1
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It is also never reiterated by the Apostles after Pentacost. That's a fair argument, but there are lots of things Jesus didn't mention in those 3 chapters. So while it is important to consider along with the rest of Scripture, and argument from silence is not a compelling answer.

The other answer is that as New Testament believers we are simply not compelled to follow the Old Testament Law. I believe that's true based on Romans 7:6 "But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter." And Colossians 2:16-17 "Therefore, no one is to act as your judge in regard to food and drink, or in respect to a festival or a new moon, or a Sabbath day—things which are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ."

In Christ we are free from sin having died to sin and the power of sin which is the Law (1 Corinthians 15:56). And Colossians outright says that the Sabbath day is a shadow of things to come in Christ. So is that it? Do we not have to observe the Sabbath because as believers we do not have to follow the Old Testament Law? I do not believe this is the case.

In Exodus 20, God gives a reason for the fourth commandment. In verse 11 He says, "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." The Commandment in Exodus 20:8 may have originated with the Mosaic Law given on Mount Sinai, but the holiness of the Sabbath day and the expectation that it be "remembered" predates it by over 1500 years. The creation of the Sabbath day rest literally happened on the seventh day of the Creation week.

So if the Sabbath day predates the Law, even discarding the Law does not negate the necessity of "remembering the Sabbath to keep it holy". And we see that's true of all of the Ten Commandments. We don't murder because man was created in the image of God. We honor our father and mother because God created us in a natural authority structure that matches the authority structure of the Trinity of His own nature. We don't steal because all things are created by God and He bestows them on whom He wishes, and to steal from man is to steal from God who owns all things.

So if the Ten Commandments are in fact timeless, rather than just a section of the Mosaic Law given to Israel (Romans 9:4), then why do we view the fourth commandment differently than the other nine? And are we correct in doing so? 2Footnote 2
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Some people believe that the Ten Commandments are God's Moral Law, but God's eternal law predates the Mosaic Law.

Rest in the Bible

The word rest is used many times in the Bible both Old and New Testament. And I believe that while not all of the uses are in the same context, they all have similar connotations. There's Genesis 2:2-3 Where God "rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done." In Deuteronomy 12:9-10 Moses says, "When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security"

In Psalm 95 the psalmist encourages the listener to listen to the Lord and not harden their hearts as the Israelites did in the wilderness. And God "swore in My anger, They certainly shall not enter My rest." (Psalm 95:11). This is the rest offered in Deuteronomy 12:9-10. The writer of Hebrews quotes this psalm in Hebrews 3 and in verse 19 explains that "they were not able to enter [the land of Canaan] because of unbelief." When the 12 spies went to spy on Canaan, all Israel (save Joshua and Caleb) rebelled against God and God declared that "not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors." (Numbers 14:23). Those who did not believe God would give them the land died in the wilderness and were not able to rest from their wanderings.

In chapter 4 of Hebrews the author applies the promise of rest to Christ and in verse 3 he says, "For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, 'As I swore in My anger, They certainly shall not enter My rest,' although His works were finished from the foundation of the world." He continues this thought in verse 4 by quoting Genesis 2 "For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: 'And God rested on the seventh day from all His works'". It is clear that the writer of Hebrews connects the Sabbath rest of God to the land promised rest of Israel to the rest we have in Jesus Christ and equates falling away from Christ to Israel's rebellion against God in the wilderness. He calls them both unbelief and disobedience (Heb 3:19, Heb 4:6).

Sabbath Rest in the Old Testament

Hebrews 4:8-11 "For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. Consequently, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let's make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience."

The rest that Joshua had given to Israel, to live in the Promised Land, was never fully realized. Israel moved into Canaan, but never fully drove the Canaanites out of it. Because of this they had strife and struggle from that day forward. Israel still isn’t at rest in their own land. But there was a future fulfillment of the rest promised to Israel. 3Footnote 3
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Romans 11:25-26 - "A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved"

Just as God rested on the seventh day from all His work so we are invited to rest from ours. What is the work that we do? The work that Israel did for millennia and continues to do? The Mosaic Law: trying to please God ourselves to atone for sin. Keeping the Law was burdensome. There were some 613 commandments all with their own contingencies and consequences for breaking them.

The Law had a sacrificial system built in because it was expected that no one would obey it perfectly. There were burnt offerings made for flagrant sins, sin offerings made for sins of ignorance, guilt offerings made for unintentional sins. For both the leaders and lay peoples (Lev 4-5). There were ceremonial cleansings and purification offerings required even when no trespass was committed (e.g. For sex - Lev 15:18 or touching a dead animal - Lev 5:2). On the day of Atonement the High Priest had to make a sacrifice for himself so that he could be clean to make sacrifice for the nation. I’m sure it was exhausting living under the Law. Most people get exhausted just reading the Law.

And to make things harder, the Fourth Commandment was made a burden. In Numbers 15:32-36 God sentences a man to death for working on the Sabbath. Imagine the fear that came across the nation that day. There’s no wonder that the Pharisees set arbitrary limits to the kinds or amount of work one could do on the Sabbath. Better safe than sorry. For example it was taught that you could walk about 2/3 mile on the Sabbath but any more than that was considered work. This is where we get the term Sabbath Day Journey.

In an attempt to please God or stay safe or to be more righteous the religious leaders added their own rules and interpretations to the Law and particularly to the Fourth Commandment. It makes sense from a human perspective, no one wants to get stoned for picking up sticks on the Sabbath, but Jesus calls them out on it.

The Sabbath was made for Man

In Mark 2:23-28 Jesus and His disciples are walking through a field on the Sabbath and some of them begin to pick the heads of the grain and munch on them. The Pharisees noticed and accused Jesus' disciples of "harvesting grain" or working on the Sabbath (Exodus 34:21). Jesus could have easily said, "No, absent-mindedly eating grain fresh off the stock isn't work." But instead he replied in verse 27 "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath."

Why does He say this? Isn't this true of all the Ten Commandments? Do not steal, do not murder, honor your father and mother. These are timeless reflections of God's character and will, but they were commandments given to man to keep his sinful desires in check. All of the Ten Commandments are made for man, so why did Christ single this one out?

An easy answer is to give mankind a day off of work. God's example to rest one day in seven has been very practical throughout human history. But I believe the purpose of the Sabbath was to teach Israel that they can (and must) rest in God. Like all of the Law, the Sabbath was a shadow of things to come (Colossians 2:17).

Israel worked six days and on the seventh they rested. They didn't need to work on the Sabbath because God provided for them, but the significance of this is that even when working, God provided for their every need. Manna fell from Heaven all six of those days. And the manna continued to fall until the day God led them into Canaan and they ate the food of the land. In Canaan God gave them "…great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and carved cisterns which you did not carve out, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant…" (Deuteronomy 6:10-11).

They worked the fields six years and let the field rest on the seventh (Leviticus 25:3-7). This was given as picture of God's provision. Even though they left their fields alone for a whole year there would still be food for them. Verse six goes on to say that "All of you shall have the Sabbath produce of the land as food." Debts were to be canceled on the seventh year (Deuteronomy 15:1). Slaves were to go free on the 49th year, or the Sabbath Sabbath (Leviticus 25:8-12).

Debtors worked to repay their debts until the Sabbath Rest came. Then they were free from their debts. Slaves worked for their masters until the Sabbath Rest came. Then they were free from their bondage. God goes on to say in Leviticus 25:20-22, "But if you say, 'What are we going to eat in the seventh year if we do not sow nor gather in our produce?' then I will so order My blessing for you in the sixth year that it will bring forth the produce for three years. When you are sowing the eighth year, you can still eat old things from the produce, eating the old until the ninth year when its produce comes in."

The Sabbath Rest was a time that God created specifically to give Israel time to relax and enjoy Him: a time to reflect upon all that God had provided and His sustaining blessings. Even though they worked hard their ultimate prosperity came from Him. I think this is why Moses warned the Israelites to "remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth" (Deuteronomy 8:18). He said that eventually they would grow fat and proud in their prosperity (Deuteronomy 8:12-14) and forget that it was God who gave them all they had.

The Sabbath was Given as a Sign

God gave them the Sabbath as a weekly reminder that He alone provides and sustains. In Leviticus 23:3 the Lord calls it a holy convocation or time of assembly of the people. The people were to come together and commune with the Lord and with each other reflecting on His goodness and mercy. 4Footnote 4
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Some Christians believe that Sunday and Communion have taken the place of the Sabbath. There are definitely similarities in purpose and practice, but I don't believe Sunday is the new Sabbath. This was done weekly, as a reminder, but also as a sign of what was to come.

Men resting from work, debs being forgiven, slaves being freed. This was a sign pointing to what would ultimately be fulfilled in Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." In Luke 4:18 He says "He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord."

Jesus is the bread out of Heaven (John 6:35). Though we work strenuously to make ourselves pleasing to God, we alone can do nothing. When Jesus said "the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath" in Mark 2:28 He was declaring Himself as God having authority over the Fourth Commandment. But He was also declaring Himself as the fulfillment of the Fourth Commandment. Jesus was asserting that He was the Sabbath rest we so desperately need. He gives us rest from the works of the Law, He pays our debt of sin, and He releases us from its bondage.

In John 5:17 Jesus, after healing a paralytic on the Sabbath, says "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working." We can rest in Christ because Christ is working. So the question finally arises: Do we need to obey the Fourth Commandment to remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy? Yes, but we don't honor it by staying inside on Saturday, or not turning on our lights, or refusing to drive cars. We obey the commandment by finding our Sabbath Rest in Jesus Christ, by laying aside our works-based righteousness and coming to Him for the righteousness He provides. We come to Him to pay our debt and release us from our bondage. And we commune with other believers regularly; we join together to reflect on the goodness and mercy that Christ demonstrated at the Cross. And we remember the provision that God gives and His grace that sustains us even when we fail to keep His commandments. We keep the Sabbath by clinging to the Lord of the Sabbath.

Footnotes

  1. The Fourth Commandment was also the only one of the Ten Commandments not reiterated by the Apostles after Pentacost.

  2. Some people believe that the Ten Commandments are God's Moral Law, but God's eternal law predates the Mosaic Law. The Ten Commandments were given specifically to Israel, not Gentiles. The fact that God's eternal law and the Ten Commandments given to Moses are similar makes sense since God doesn't change (Malachi 3:6).

  3. Romans 11:25-26 - For I do not want you, brothers and sisters, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written: "THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB."

  4. Some Christians believe that Sunday and Communion have taken the place of the Sabbath because of passages like Acts 20:7 or 1 Corinthians 16:2. There are definitely similarities in purpose and practice, but I don't believe Sunday is the new Sabbath. And I don't believe that going to church on Sunday fulfills the Fourth Commandment.