Posted on 03/03/2024 3:31:37 PM PST by OneVike
Throughout His ministry, Jesus never once broke the fourth commandment which required that all Jews observe the Sabbath. He was after all Jew. However, He did give us a clue that a change to the Sabbath was coming. To make my point, you must first understand that the original manuscripts of the Scriptures were not divided into verses and chapters.
The Old Testament manuscripts were written by scribes for the religious leaders to study. The New Testament manuscripts were letters originally written to be dispersed amongst the believers to read. They were like the letters you receive today. Just a document written in sentences and paragraphs with no verse or chapter numbers.
So you really had to know the transcripts well in order find any information you needed. Finally in the mid 16th century a Frenchman named, Robert Estienne (better known as Robertus Stephanus), would divide the Scriptures into chapters and verses. So today we can find passages by memorizing chapters and verses.
Now I must say, that while I do believe every Word of the Bible is the inspired Word of God, I do not believe that Stephanus's choices of where he decided to split some sentences up into different verses or chapters were inspired. I say so, because there are many instances in the Scriptures where a reader can be distracted or even misled as to what the passage is conveying.
Case in point is chapters 11 and 12 of Matthew's Gospel. I personally believe that he made a mistake by ending Matthew chapter 11 at verse 30. It's my belief that chapter 11 should have had 8 more verses for a total of 38. Thus it would end after the following statement by Jesus,
“For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
(Matthew 12:8)
The following information is quite valuable in the apologetical debate on why so many are mistaken in their belief that Christians should observe Saturday as the Sabbath. Continuing on Jesus' statement in Matthew 12:8, I take you back to the end of Matthew chapter 11. Jesus had just finished telling the crowd that no one born of a woman is greater than John the Baptist, when He started telling everyone to come to Him for rest.
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
(Matthew 11:28-30)
By speaking about the concept of rest, the audience He is speaking to would automatically think of the Sabbath rest which God gave them. They were first told about this gift when Moses presented the Ten Commandments God handed to Him for the people to follow. As Moses read the tablets, he said,
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."
(Exodus 20:8-11)
By the time Jesus started His ministry, the Israelites had been observing the Sabbath for almost 1480 years. They understood that it was a day of rest, even for the animals. A day they were to be free from the labors of life that kept them from communing with God. So, when Jesus starts talking about rest at the end of chapter 11, he continues his thought process on through to verse 8 of chapter 12. So when He calls them to come to Him for rest, and then claims He is the Lord of the Sabbath, it goes without saying that this is all one thought process and thus chapter 11 should have ended at verse 38, with chapter 12 actually beginning at verse 9 where Matthew wrote,
Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue.
(Matthew 12:9)
The next 20 verses do continue the matter of a rest, but not until Jesus moved to another site. Thus it then makes sense to split the chapter after Jesus made His statement about Him being the Lord of the Sabbath, and after he had arrived at a different location.
This is important, because when Jesus died on the cross, He fulfilled all the requirements of the Law, including the one that calls for us to obey the Sabbath, since as He stated, He is our Sabbath. Just as we are not bound by going through a High Priest by offering a sacrifice, we too do not need to follow the Jewish Law. We can reach God through Christ, on any day at anytime we so desire. Without going through the commandments of the law which Christ abolished.
After 1480 years, the Jews showed they could not follow the Law, and with Christ fulfilling it and the ceremonial ones, we are free from it. So with Jesus, being the Lord of the Sabbath, we are free to chose any day, and anytime to gather for communion and celebration of Him with no more legalistic requirements to follow the old obsolete law.
Any Christian following any portion of the Law, is doing what Paul preached against when he chastised the Judaizers who tried to put the Christians back into bondage to the Law. This is one of the things he wrote to the Colossians about when he said,
Let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths
(Colossians 2:16)
Paul also wrote that, if you observe any part of the Old Law, then you must follow it all. Does anyone truly want to be bound by the full weight of a law that God's own people could never follow? The answer is a resounding NO. Praise God, because we are free to worship HIM anywhere, on any day, at anytime by going through the One who fulfilled and abolished the law. Thus setting us free from a Law we could never dream of keeping.
The flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
(Galatians 5:17:18)
Thus if you are not under the law, you are not under any obligations to any of the ceremonial requirements either. Nor are you bound by the Jewish Sabbath as I pointed out above from Paul's letter to the Colossians. Anyone who feels obligated to an abolished symbolism of the Old Law is keeping themselves from truly enjoying all the freedom God offers us through His Son's death and Resurrection.
I now offer two more pieces of evidence. One comes from the mouth of our LORD Jesus Himself, when the rich young ruler asked, "what must i do to have eternal life?" Jesus replied to him;
You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
(Matthew 19:18-19)
The second one comes from Paul's letter to the Jewish Christians in Rome, we learn, not from what he wrote, but rather what he did not write when he listed the commandments we should obey. Mind you, Paul was once a Pharisee of Pharisees, a man who persecuted Jewish converts to Christianity for violating the commandments. So, let us look at what Paul left out when he wrote about the commandments we are to obey in his letter to the Romans.
Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY," "YOU SHALL NOT MURDER," "YOU SHALL NOT STEAL," "YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS," "YOU SHALL NOT COVET," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF." Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
(Romans 13:8-11)
It should be enough to read what Jesus said on this matter, but we also see Paul then teach that which our LORD HIMSELF said. So I ask you, what is NOT included in this list of commandments from Jesus and then Paul about which commandments we should obey to have eternal life? It is the Sabbath. If Paul himself is not obeying the Sabbath, than why would any born again Christian want to follow a regulation from a law that is obsolete? Obsolete, because Jesus fulfilled the letter of the law and became our Sabbath rest.
So many fail to understand that as a Jew, Jesus had to fulfill both the legal laws and ceremonial laws in order to abolish them, because all the high priests and all the blood they spilled never satisfied the law completely so it was never fulfilled. Yet the nano second he died, the curtain separating the inner and outer room was torn by GOD from top to bottom. Jesus fulfilled the requirements of the Law. Thus the new dispensation began that set us free from the law written on stone and the ceremonial regulations. Today we are justified, "Just As If We Have Not Sinned." We are cleansed by HIS blood and freed by the atoning work on the Cross.
Thank GOD we are free, free at last. Free from observing anything the old law said we had to do. Thus our Sabbath in now in Jesus, Who allows us to come straight through HIM as our mediator to GOD. Jesus is our traveling Tabernacle who resides in us, and thus our Sabbath it eternal. Eternal in that everyday is a Sabbath for us, and at any moment we can worship HIM, because we now worship HIM in Spirit and in Truth.
Yet there is more, because when we read what the author of Hebrews wrote, which most scholars agree was an epistle specifically written to the Jewish believers who were still struggling with the confines of the Mosaic law.
In that He say, "A NEW COVENANT, He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
(Hebrews 8:13)
There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.
(Hebrews 4:9-11)
Finally, I share with you what was in the letter from the first council ever held by the elders of the church when the question arose about whether or not Gentile believers should be circumcised. In the letter they pointed out what they should follow, and keeping the Sabbath was NOT among the things they were instructed to follow. Anyone who claims the Sabbath must be kept by Christians, I would suggest you take it up with Peter and James who oversaw the council meeting on what rules the Gentile believers should follow.
Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren. They wrote this letter by them: The apostles, the elders, and the brethren, To the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: Greetings. Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, "You must be circumcised and keep the law"—to whom we gave no such commandment— it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.
(Acts 15:27-29)
Praise God we are free from the bondage of a system that not only whitewashed our sin until a new animal was slain for it's blood to be spilled and sprinkled upon the mercy seat inside the inner room behind a curtain, but also held us hostage to worshipping together only on the sabbath. Once that curtain in the inner room was torn from top to bottom by GOD HIMSELF, we were set free to now enter into the presence of our LORD through our LORD, and commune with our LORD at any time on any day. Thank you JESUS!
The Sabbath is when Christ was circumcised, 8th Day, when Christ rested in the tomb, 15th Day, when Christ stood and declared that any thirst, Come to Him,22nd Day, and when His Holy Spirit came down and fell on about 3,000 saved souls, 29th Day.
No Sun Day, Moon Day,TiwsDay, Woden’s Day, Thor’s Day,Frigg Day,Saturn Days needed to tell His story or to Remember the Sabbath.
No January- Decembers needed either
Just need the Word made Flesh,the Lamb..
And His Lights in the firmament to tell time..
One of God's annual Sabbaths, Pentecost, is when the holy spirit first descended on believers.
——>Of course we can know what laws Abraham kept. It’s clear: Gen_26:5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”
——>Whose laws? Hammarubis? No. Babylonian laws? No. Man’s law? No. GOD’S LAW are the laws he kept and God has laws about adultery. It’s unbelievable that people would make the argument that Abrahams righteousness came from obeying man made laws. The notion that God’s laws did not exist before he revealed them is also not biblically correct.
Plenty of laws on society’s books about killing, stealing, etc... The only reason any of it is a sin is because God’s law says it is. The only reason Joseph knew Adultery was a sin is because someone told him God said it was. That is proof that God’s law was known and existed before Sinai. Those who hate God’s law will deny and hate. That’s what they do and will always do. The Sabbath is #1 on their hate/cult list. Unfortunately for them, they cannot adequately/logically/reasonably explain how Joseph knew Adultery was a “great wickedness and sin against God”.
Gen 39:9....how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
Bringing Hammurabi into it to explain it away is comical and preposterous. They have nothing and they know it. Their attempts to explain it are just pathetic.
...because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws. Marriage and the Sabbath were instituted at creation. Both are holy. God’s 10 commandments addresses both. Only those who hate God’s law would deny this evidence.
The Sabbath is about resting from work. Yes, that does make it a convenient day to worship, BUT it does NOT mean that worship MUST BE DONE on the sabbath or you go to hell.
Was God tired? Was that why He rested after Creation? Or did He do that to show an example. He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised Him. He went to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day He went into the synagogue, as was His custom. And He stood up to read.
Jesus worshiped on the Sabbath. He is to be our Example. Ever read "IF ye love Me, Keep my Commandments"? What do you think that means? Mark 2:27 Jesus declares Himself Lord of the Sabbath. This Lordship does not abolish the Sabbath. Why would Jesus abolish something over which He is Lord of? If you don't want to do what God says, don't. You have free will. You don't have to answer to me, you have to answer to Him.
Yes,the 29th Day of His 4th Month.
Same day Moses came down the mount with the Tables of the Covenant, and about 3,000 were slain..
Same exact day in Exodus was in Acts 2..
That’s the problem with modern Judaism and Christianity.
They don’t know how to tell time like Israel was taught..
What if it does mean that? Is that so implausible that God locks out lawbreakers and people that profane His Sabbath? And what is so bad about Hell anyway? You might like it there. After all there is no God worship on the Sabbath there, and that's what is really important to you. I've posted enough that you can piece together the answer to your post 154. The Sabbath will be celebrated in Heaven. Isaiah 66:23 From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the Lord.
Too bad you choose to exclude yourself from this group.
——>What was changed under the new covenant...
And what didn’t change was God’s law, as quoted from Jeremiah 31:
16“This is the covenant I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord.
I will put My laws in their hearts
and inscribe them on their minds.”
Those who claim Christ as their savior keep his holy 10 commandment law. It’s as simple as that. Say you love Him and don’t keep His commandments? That person is a liar and will not be in heaven.
Yes, except most read it to say "I will put my laws in their hearts (except my Sabbath law) and inscribe them on their minds. Deception plain and simple.
To the bitter end,Amigos?
.
How do you feel about the
3rd Temple Sacrifices?
Christ was the ultimate sacrifice and all others have been abolished by this act. All of the sacrifices before pointed to His death. Now it's over. It's in the history books.
As Is The Sabbath.
.
In your mind. Not Biblical. But if there is no Law, there is no sin. Paul said “do we make void the Law? God forbid. Yea, we establish the Law”. Without the law to point out sin, then you must be sinless. Again, in your mind.
“It was important to the Jerusalem Christians. James forced Paul to shave his head and offer sacrifices to prove he still followed Jewish customs. Why were Jewish Christians still doing that?”
That is a different matter than the 4h Commandment of the Ten Commandmants.
you highlight portion of what I say, and only the part you want to pick apart so you can act as if you are making a point. Yet when you fail to add the caveat I put in that puts things in context.
I’ll stop responding, because you never responded by giving scripture that proves I am wrong, because the scripture you offer does not answer the question asked.
Bye.
Thru a glass darkly
But Then Face to Face !
.
We’re All Pilgrims here
Sunday worship goes back to the time of the Apostles, according to scholar Gary Habermas, not hundreds of years.
Of course, the equinox and the new moon .... it is easy and logical. With this method you can know any day of Biblically History, and when the correct anniversaries are. Rome was the enemy then, it is still the enemy, re the calendar. It hides the truth. Anyone know what day Passover is on? I guess we can look at a calendar, but it is a guess. Everyone waits for the sound of the Trumpet signalling the return of Messiah, you can know pretty close to the day, if you pay attention. Watch therefore, so you are not sleeping. You can’t watch every day, but his return will be on the correct timeline. That is how the Wise men knew the season when Christ was to be born, they watched the signs.
Read Scripture, the Lord literally communed with Moses, and taught him. He wrote it all down. Follow the calendar set down, and you know all the dates. It is really simple.
If you don’t believe you don’t. If you believe, believe it all.
It goes back a long time but only because the Catholic church outlawed the true Sabbath. Three hundred plus years after the death of Christ at the council of Laodecia they made it formal:
The Council of Laodicea states in canon 29:
Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord's Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ.
So after this point it was very dangerous to worship on the biblical Sabbath. You would be bucking the Roman government as well as it's state sponsored religion. The original system that composed the beast and false prophet.
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