Do Christians Need Shabbat?
By: Rachel A.
This question came to me recently. However, before I could or can
give the reasons for Shabbat (Sabbath Observance) I have to give you the
correct definition about what Shabbat actually is.
So what is Shabbat? With God it pertains to creation. It’s the
seventh day, the day that God looked at His creation, and then rested. Shabbat
is literally a time to “Cease or desist” whatever you are doing. It is a time
that is Holy and set-apart to give us 24 uninterrupted hours to focus on the
Lord. It’s the time to cease our busy-ness and examine the eternal aspects of
our lives. (Rubin 1998) Since it was created
for us, the least we can do is to treat it special. As my friend Robin once
said “I need this moment of “Ahhh”; this moment where I am able to separate
myself from the world and worship; especially after a busy week.”
So special is the Shabbat that the Lord commanded Israel in the
wilderness to collect twice as much manna on the 6th day, because on
the 7th day there would be none to collect. (Exodus 16:22-30;
20:8-11) So the question has come up “When is Shabbat?” Since the biblical day
starts in the evening, Shabbat starts on Friday evening, just after sunset, and
ends the next day at Sunset. This conclusion is reached by Genesis 1:5b, “so
there was evening, and there was morning.”
For whom is the Sabbath for? Well many will say the 7th
day Sabbath is just for the Jews; however, if we look honestly at the Bible
we’ll see that Shabbat is for the Jews and the aliens living among the Jews. Isaiah
56:6-7a states
“And the foreigners who join
themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the
name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone
who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant—these
I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in
my house of prayer”
“The Sabbath is for all
mankind-given before the Ten Commandments were issued, guarded by Israel for
centuries and guaranteed in eternity to all who trust the Lord.” (Rubin 1998)
At
this point, I know that many of you are scratching your heads saying “Rachel,
sure whatever, but that is Old Testament, we are under a new dispensation…well
again, you must take a look honestly at the proof that the Bible
provides and not what you want the Bible to say.
If you can show me in the Bible where Jesus changed the Shabbat,
then I’d love to see it. In all the New Testament, there isn’t one reference to
people violating the Shabbat. Jesus loved the Shabbat, as did Paul. Even on his
missionary journeys, Paul went to synagogue, not to evangelize, but to worship.
The new testament when speaking of Paul states “As his custom was” when
referencing when exactly Paul went to worship.
Sunday, as the “New Christian Sabbath” comes from the fact that the
Catholic church changed it. “We observe Sunday, instead of Saturday because the
Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea, transferred the solemnity from
Saturday to Sunday.” (Rev. P. Geieman, Converts Catechism of Catholic
Doctrine, p. 50, London, 1934). Others think that Sunday became the new Sabbath,
because “Jesus rose from the dead on the 3rd day.” Since the “day of
First Fruits (Yom HaBikkurim) began immediately after sunset on
Saturday, and Paul calls Messiah “The first fruits of the resurrection.” (1
Cor. 15:20), thus according to tradition, Yom HaBikkurim is most likely
the time of Jesus’ resurrection. However, the FACT remains that the New
Testament tells us when the visitors to the tomb , but silent on the exact time
He rose from the dead.
Sunday, the name that many of us has started to associate with the
worship of God, comes from the early church’s attempt to mix “sun-worship with
SON-worship.” Matter of fact, the idea of calling Sunday “the Lord’s day” was
the idea of Sylvester, Bishop of Rome, who claiming “Apostalic Authority”
decided to make the change. (Historia Ecclestastica, M. Ludovicum
Lucium, Cent. 4, Cap. 10, pp739-740. Edition Basilea, 1642).
While this is my own views, based and written with the help of
Barry and Steffi Rubin, I must note that while it will please God anytime you
worship Him—I do wonder if it pleases Him that so many of His people believe
that the Sabbath has changed from the 7th day of the week to the
first day of the week. In my opinion, it probably doesn’t make Him too pleased
that Christians believe they can just go out and change what God ordains.
“Jesus lived as if Sabbath-keeping were important, going to
synagogue regularly, first with his father, then on his own. One must wonder
why Jesus, who was the agent of Creation and surely as one with the Father, participated
in the development of the Law, would suddenly change the Sabbath.” I can’t make
your mind up for you; however, I can state that I doubt very seriously that
Jesus changed the Shabbat. It has become my hope that you will be more open to
observe the true Shabbat, and receive the special blessings God has for you,
when you observe the 4th commandment.
Bibliography
Rubin, Barry and Steffi. The Sabbath: Entering
God's Rest. Clarksville, MD: Lederer Books, 1998.
*This article was written by Rachel. It does not reflect the views
of her current church. It was written from a belief that before the church can
be extraordinary, it must return to its core values and beliefs.*
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