The Sabbath is in the New Testament

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Submitted October 12, 2012

Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath

Source: Darlene Lausted

I just got back from attending my ninth Feast of Tabernacles . I attended my first Feast years ago on a whim. I had just gotten laid off from my job and my friend Lori said, "Why don't you come spend the Feast with us in Florida?" Eight days on the beach sounds good. I had attended church with Lori in the past, but I still hadn't come to the understanding that God wants us to keep the Sabbath day (Saturday) and His Holy Days. After all, all other Christians don't. So they must have a biblical reason for it, right?

This blog post was sparked by a book I'm reading that said only nine of the Ten Commandments are mentioned in the New Testament. The one missing? The Sabbath, so it isn't necessary to keep it anymore. I, of course, at this point in my life wholeheartedly disagree with that. I'd like to share some of the scriptures that proved to me the keeping the Sabbath is still God's intent.

1. Jesus says He is the Lord of the Sabbath and that the Sabbath was made for man (Matthew 12:8For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
See All...; Mark 2:27-28 [27] And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
[28] Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

See All...; Luke 6:5And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
See All...).

2. Jesus always taught the people on the Sabbath (Luke 4:16And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
See All..., 31; Luke 6:6And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.
See All...; Luke 13:10And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
See All...).

3. Paul also always taught on the Sabbath, even long after Christ's death (Acts 13:14But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down.
See All..., 42-44; Acts 17:2And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
See All..., Acts 18:4And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.
See All...).

4. Jesus talks of the end times in Matthew 24. He says, "Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath day" (Matthew 24:20But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
See All...). Why would it matter that it was the Sabbath day if that day was being done away with?

5. Going back to the Old Testament, the Sabbath has been there since the beginning! "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested...Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it..." (Genesis 2:2-3 [2] 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.
[3] And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

See All...).

Did you know the word Sabbath is mentioned over 50 times in the four Gospel accounts? That is more times than it is mentioned in the entire Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible). I learned that fact from our booklet Sunset to Sunset: God's Sabbath Rest , which I highly recommend reading. I especially found the section "Surprising Admissions About the Sabbath and Sunday " fascinating. Several quotes are mentioned from prominent religious leaders saying there is no biblical basis for Sunday observance.