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| How to Keep The True Sabbath
- What Jesus Taught |
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No other institution which was committed to the Jews tended
so fully to distinguish them from surrounding nations as did the Sabbath.
God designed that its observance should designate them as His worshipers.
It was to be a token of their separation from idolatry, and their
connection with the true God. But in order to keep the Sabbath holy,
men must themselves be holy. Through faith they must become partakers
of the righteousness of Christ. When the command was given to Israel,
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," the Lord said
also to them, "Ye shall be holy men unto Me." Ex. 20:8;
22:31. Only thus could the Sabbath distinguish Israel as the worshipers
of God.
As the Jews departed from God, and failed to make the righteousness
of Christ their own by faith, the Sabbath lost its significance to
them. Satan was seeking to exalt himself and to draw men away from
Christ, and he worked to pervert the Sabbath, because it is the sign
of the power of Christ. The Jewish leaders accomplished the will of
Satan by surrounding God's rest day with burdensome requirements.
In the days of Christ the Sabbath had become so perverted that its
observance reflected the character of selfish and arbitrary men rather
than the character of the loving heavenly Father. The rabbis virtually
represented God as giving laws which it was impossible for men to
obey. They led the people to look upon God as a tyrant, and to think
that the observance of the Sabbath, as He required it, made men hard-hearted
and cruel. It was the work of Christ to clear away these misconceptions.
Although the rabbis followed Him with merciless hostility, He did
not even appear to conform to their requirements, but went straight
forward, keeping the Sabbath according to the law of God.
Upon one Sabbath day, as the Saviour and His disciples returned from
the place of worship, they passed through a field of ripening grain.
Jesus had continued His work to a late hour, and while passing through
the fields, the disciples began to gather the heads of grain, and
to eat the kernels after rubbing them in their hands. On any other
day this act would have excited no comment, for one passing through
a field of grain, an orchard, or a vineyard, was at liberty to gather
what he desired to eat. See Deut. 23:24, 25. But to do this on the
Sabbath was held to be an act of desecration. Not only was the gathering
of the grain a kind of reaping, but the rubbing of it in the hands
was a kind of threshing. Thus, in the opinion of the rabbis, there
was a double offense.
The spies at once complained to Jesus, saying, "Behold, Thy disciples
do that which is not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day."
When accused of Sabbathbreaking at Bethesda, Jesus defended Himself
by affirming His Sonship to God, and declaring that He worked in harmony
with the Father. Now that the disciples are attacked, He cites His
accusers to examples from the Old Testament, acts performed on the
Sabbath by those who were in the service of God.
The Jewish teachers prided themselves on their knowledge of the Scriptures,
and in the Saviour's answer there was an implied rebuke for their
ignorance of the Sacred Writings. "Have ye not read so much as
this," He said, "what David did, when himself was an hungered,
and they which were with him; how he went into the house of God, and
did take and eat the shewbread, . . . which it is not lawful to eat
but for the priests alone?" "And He said unto them, The
Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." "Have
ye not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath days the priests in
the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? But I say unto
you, That in this place is one greater than the temple." "The
Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." Luke 6:3, 4; Mark 2:27,
28; Matt. 12:5, 6.
If it was right for David to satisfy his hunger by eating of the bread
that had been set apart to a holy use, then it was right for the disciples
to supply their need by plucking the grain upon the sacred hours of
the Sabbath. Again, the priests in the temple performed greater labor
on the Sabbath than upon other days. The same labor in secular business
would be sinful; but the work of the priests was in the service of
God. They were performing those rites that pointed to the redeeming
power of Christ, and their labor was in harmony with the object of
the Sabbath. But now Christ Himself had come. The disciples, in doing
the work of Christ, were engaged in God's service, and that which
was necessary for the accomplishment of this work it was right to
do on the Sabbath day.
Christ would teach His disciples and His enemies that the service
of God is first of all. The object of God's work in this world is
the redemption of man; therefore that which is necessary to be done
on the Sabbath in the accomplishment of this work is in accord with
the Sabbath law. Jesus then crowned His argument by declaring Himself
the "Lord of the Sabbath,"--One above all question and above
all law. This infinite Judge acquits the disciples of blame, appealing
to the very statutes they are accused of violating.
Jesus did not let the matter pass with administering a rebuke to His
enemies. He declared that in their blindness they had mistaken the
object of the Sabbath. He said, "If ye had known what this meaneth,
I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned
the guiltless." Matt. 12:7. Their many heartless rites could
not supply the
lack of that truthful integrity and tender love which will ever characterize
the true worshiper of God.
Again Christ reiterated the truth that the sacrifices were in themselves
of no value. They were a means, and not an end. Their object was to
direct men to the Saviour, and thus to bring them into harmony with
God. It is the service of love that God values. When this is lacking,
the mere round of ceremony is an offense to Him. So with the Sabbath.
It was designed to bring men into communion with God; but when the
mind was absorbed with wearisome rites, the object of the Sabbath
was thwarted. Its mere outward observance was a mockery.
 Upon
another Sabbath, as Jesus entered a synagogue. He saw there a man
who had a withered hand. The Pharisees watched Him, eager to see what
He would do. The Saviour well knew that in healing on the Sabbath
He would be regarded as a transgressor, but He did not hesitate to
break down the wall of traditional requirements that barricaded the
Sabbath. Jesus bade the afflicted man stand forth, and then asked,
"Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil?
to save life, or to kill?" It was a maxim among the Jews that
a failure to do good, when one had opportunity, was to do evil; to
neglect to save life was to kill. Thus Jesus met the rabbis on their
own ground. "But they held their peace. And when He had looked
round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of
their hearts, He saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And
he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other."
Mark 3:4, 5.
When questioned, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days?"
Jesus answered, "What man shall there be among you, that shall
have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will
he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better
than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days."
Matt. 12:10-12.
The spies dared not answer Christ in the presence of the multitude,
for fear of involving themselves in difficulty. They knew that He
had spoken the truth. Rather than violate their traditions, they would
leave a man to suffer, while they would relieve a brute because of
the loss to the owner if it were neglected. Thus greater care was
shown for a dumb animal than for man, who is made in the image of
God. This illustrates the working of all false religions. They originate
in man's desire to exalt himself above God, but they result in degrading
man below the brute. Every religion that wars against the sovereignty
of God defrauds man of the glory which was his at the creation, and
which is to be restored to him in Christ. Every false religion teaches
its adherents to be careless of human needs, sufferings, and rights.
The gospel places a high value upon humanity as the purchase of the
blood of Christ, and it teaches a tender regard for the wants and
woes of man. The Lord says, "I will make a man more precious
than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir." Isa.
13:12.
When Jesus turned upon the Pharisees with the question whether it
was lawful on the Sabbath day to do good or to do evil, to save life
or to kill, He confronted them with their own wicked purposes. They
were hunting His life with bitter hatred, while He was saving life
and bringing happiness to multitudes. Was it better to slay upon the
Sabbath, as they were planning to do, than to heal the afflicted,
as He had done? Was it more righteous to have murder in the heart
upon God's holy day than love to all men, which finds expression in
deeds of mercy?
In the healing of the withered hand, Jesus condemned the custom of
the Jews, and left the fourth commandment standing as God had given
it. "It is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days," He declared.
By sweeping away the senseless restrictions of the Jews, Christ honored
the Sabbath, while those who complained of Him were dishonoring God's
holy day.
Those who hold that Christ abolished the law teach that He broke the
Sabbath and justified His disciples in doing the same. Thus they are
really taking the same ground as did the caviling Jews. In this they
contradict the testimony of Christ Himself, who declared, "I
have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love." John
15:10. Neither the Saviour nor His followers broke the law of the
Sabbath. Christ was a living representative of the law. No violation
of its holy precepts was found in His life. Looking upon a nation
of witnesses who were seeking occasion to condemn Him, He could say
unchallenged, "Which of you convicteth Me of sin?" John
8:46, R. V.
The Saviour had not come to set aside what patriarchs and prophets
had spoken; for He Himself had spoken through these representative
men. All the truths of God's word came from Him. But these priceless
gems had been placed in false settings. Their precious light had been
made to minister to error. God desired them to be removed from their
settings of error and replaced in the framework of truth. This work
only a divine hand could accomplish. By its connection with error,
the truth had been serving the cause of the enemy of God and man.
Christ had come to place it where it would glorify God, and work the
salvation of humanity.
"The Sabbath was made for
man, and not man for the Sabbath," Jesus said. The institutions
that God has established are for the benefit of mankind. "All
things are for your sakes." "Whether Paul, or Apollos, or
Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things
to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's."
2 Cor. 4:15; 1 Cor. 3:22, 23. The law of Ten Commandments, of which
the Sabbath forms a part, God gave to His people as a blessing. "The
Lord commanded us," said Moses, "to do all these statutes,
to fear the Lord our God, for our good always, that He might preserve
us alive." Deut. 6:24. And through the psalmist the message was
given to Israel, "Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His
presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord He is God: it is He that
hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep
of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His
courts with praise." Ps. 100:2-4. And of all who keep "the
Sabbath from polluting it," the Lord declares, "Even them
will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house
of prayer." Isa. 56:6, 7.
 "Wherefore
the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." These words are
full of instruction and comfort. Because the Sabbath was made for
man, it is the Lord's day. It belongs to Christ. For "all things
were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made."
John 1:3. Since He made all things, He made the Sabbath. By Him it
was set apart as a memorial of the work of creation. It points to
Him as both the Creator and the Sanctifier. It declares that He who
created all things in heaven and in earth, and by whom all things
hold together, is the head of the church, and that by His power we
are reconciled to God. For, speaking of Israel, He said, "I gave
them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might
know that I am the Lord that sanctify them,"--make them holy.
Ezek. 20:12. Then the Sabbath is a sign of Christ's power to make
us holy. And it is given to all whom Christ makes holy. As a sign
of His sanctifying power, the Sabbath is given to all who through
Christ become a part of the Israel of God.
And the Lord says, "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath,
from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight,
the holy of the Lord, honorable; . . . then shalt thou delight thyself
in the Lord." Isa. 58:13, 14. To all who receive the Sabbath
as a sign of Christ's creative and redeeming power, it will be a delight.
Seeing Christ in it, they delight themselves in Him. The Sabbath points
them to the works of creation as an evidence of His mighty power in
redemption. While it calls to mind the lost peace of Eden, it tells
of peace restored through the Saviour. And every object in nature
repeats His invitation, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and
are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matt 11:28.
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The Sabbath for the World The Sabbath
was embodied in the law given from Sinai; but it was not
then first made known as a day of rest. The people of
Israel had a knowledge of it before they came to Sinai.
On the way there the Sabbath was kept. When some profaned
it, the Lord reproved them, saying, "How long refuse
ye to keep My commandments and My laws?" Ex.
16:28.
The Sabbath was not for Israel only, but for the world.
It had been made known to man in Eden, and, like the other
precepts of the Decalogue, it is of imperishable obligation.
Of that law of which the fourth commandment forms a part,
Christ declares, "Till heaven and earth pass, one
jot or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law."
So long as the heavens and the earth endure, the Sabbath
will continue as a sign of the Creator's power. And when
Eden shall bloom on earth again, God's holy rest day will
be honored by all beneath the sun. "From one Sabbath
to another" the inhabitants of the glorified new
earth shall go up "to worship before Me, saith the
Lord." Matt. 5:18;
Isa. 66:23. |
"The Desire of Ages" was declared
the best book on the life of Jesus Christ, outside of
the Bible, by the chief librarian of the Library of Congress.
This book will help you to know Jesus better and understand
His parables and teachings. The text on this webpage is
an excerpt from this classic,
110 year old, book.
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