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 12:8; Mark 2:27-28; Luke 6:5).

2. Jesus always taught the people on the Sabbath (Luke 4:16, 31; Luke 6:6; Luke 13:10).

3. Paul also always taught on the Sabbath, even long after Christ's death (Acts 13:14, 42-44; Acts 17:2, Acts 18:4).

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 24:20). 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).

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.