Should Christians Observe the Sabbath?

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to YHWH your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant or livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates. For in six days YHWH made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore YHWH blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy”
Exodus 20:8-11

Introduction

The Sabbath (also known as Shabbat) has long been considered a holy day by the nation of Israel in the days of the Old Covenant and down all the way to modern times by the Jews. On this day no work was to be done, with exception to gathering food to eat and helping the needy (Exodus 12:16, Matthew 12:11-12).

Though no direct command in the New Testament states Christians must celebrate the Sabbath like Israel did, some Christians today argue that whether Jew or Gentile, followers of Yeshua (Jesus) are still bound to observe the Sabbath.

In this, some will assert we are still bound to the entire Mosaic Torah, whilst other Christians claim whilst we are free of the Old Mosaic Law, we still must observe the Sabbath as it was one of the 10 commandments, of which they consider “eternal” and “separate” from the Old Covenant Law to Israel.

Some Sabbatarians would argue by means of quoting Yeshua when he said:

• “You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother”. – Mark 10:19
• “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.…”. – Matthew 5:17-19
• “Pray that your flight will not occur in the winter or on the Sabbath. For at that time there will be great tribulation, unmatched from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again”. – Matthew 24:20

Others will bring up references in the scriptures to when Yeshua celebrated the Sabbath, such as Luke 4:16, and others… and will quote from the Tanakh that the Sabbath was an “eternal command” (Exodus 31:16).

However, other Christians make the case that we are not bound to the Old Covenant anymore since the Yeshua the Anointed one’s death, and that we are free from all its observations and statues, which includes the Sabbath, arguing that such a Law was completely fulfilled at the cross:

• “After this, Yeshua, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scriptures might be fulfilled… he said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing his head, he gave up his breath”. – John 19:28, 30
• “…wiping away the handwritten Decrees that held you down and oppressed you. He lifted them out of the way and nailed them on to the starous… Therefore, don’t allow anyone to judge you over [what you] eat or drink, or over festivals such as the New Moons or Sabbaths“. – Colossians 2:14, 16

But which view is correct?

We need to look to the scriptures to see if we can find any verses where Christians are told to keep celebrating the Sabbath by Yeshua, or if after the institution of the New Covenant we see Christians celebrating the Sabbath.

Did Yeshua Command us to Observe the Sabbath?

We must first address the statements by Yeshua, since if Yeshua tells us to celebrate the Sabbath, then there is no question about it and the argument is over.

Yeshua was Specific

In his Sermon to the Jews, it’s clear that Yeshua tells his audience to obey the entire Torah and all its laws until it was accomplished (Matthew 5:17-19). This of course, would have included Sabbath keeping. However, there is an interesting phrase here Yeshua uses, which is “until”:

• “…not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished…”

This statement implies that there would be a time when indeed, the Law as Israel knew it would be somehow set aside or changed.

We also seem to see further hints of this teaching through Yeshua’s various interactions with others in the Gospels as he goes about laying the ground work for the New Covenant in his preaching.

For example, when we pay close attention to Yeshua’s words to the man who asked him how to inherit everlasting life, Yeshua tells him to “observe the commandments”, and we see that he is very specific in his response.

Whilst many Sabbath supporters will stop there and say “ah see, he says obey the 10 commandments, meaning the Sabbath!”, if we read the passage in a wholistic manner we gain additional context:

• “… If you want to enter life, keep the commandments. ‘Which ones?’ he inquired. Yeshua replied, ’You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ ‘All these I have kept’, the young man said. ‘What do I still lack?’ Yeshua answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me‘.” – Matthew 19:17–21

We notice here that when Yeshua was asked “which commandments”, he went on to list only six of them specifically, and not all of them were of the Ten Commandments, but from other portions of the Law.

In this list, he never once said; “you shall celebrate the Sabbath day and keep it holy”. In fact, in all of his speeches, sermons and commandments to those who listened to him, the Sabbath was not once directly mentioned, not even in his famous sermon on the mount when he commanded the Jews to obey the Law until all things were accomplished.

So we cannot use any of these verses here to say that Yeshua commanded anyone to celebrate the Sabbath, as when asked to be specific, he often appeared to leave the Sabbath out of it, and also seemed to imply there was a coming time when people would not celebrate it.

The important question being for us as believers of course, being “when” that time is – something we will get to examining later.

Didn’t Yeshua Celebrate the Sabbath?

But what about Yeshua celebrating the Sabbath himself? Did he not say we should imitate him?

We have to ask; “in what way do we imitate him”? Are we required to grow long beards? Wear robes? Copy his hair style? Be circumcised? Not eat forbidden meats?

All these things Yeshua observed because he as a first century Jewish citizen was required to by the law of the Old Covenant. In fact, because of this there are Christians today who do indeed follow the full Mosaic Torah, such as the Messianics and Hebrew Roots Christians, who cite Matthew 5:17-19 as their proof text for such a doctrine. But as aforementioned, we have seen Yeshua clearly state this was only up “until” a certain time, that is, the “Accomplishment”, so of course until that time, it would be a given that Yeshua would celebrate the Sabbath according to Law.

If the Apostles spoke true on behalf of Yeshua, then scripture tells us that the Accomplishment has already happened, and that the Christian Covenant has released us from such laws (1 Timothy 4:3-5, Romans 2:25-29, 14:1-3, 20). Apostle Paul even stated that those who were insisting that such laws had to still be followed were “rejecting Yeshua” (Galatians 5:1-5) even though these are things Yeshua himself did and ‘had’ to abide by as a Torah following Jew.

So if such is all the case, and the Apostles or such an interpretation of the Apostle’s teachings are not mistaken (another thing we must examine), what way do we imitate Yeshua? It would not be as mime artists, but in our personality and in our loyalty to God (1 Corinthians 11:1, Ephesians 4:24), doing not what Yeshua did “literally” but in spirit by obeying God’s specific commandments to us in appropriate context.

For example, Muslims claim Christianity is a false religion because we do not always bow to the ground in prayer like they do. Often, Muslim apologists will argue that Yeshua himself bowed down in prayer and will cite selected verses of him doing so. In this, they adhere to imitating Yeshua “literally”, not spiritually… In the same way, reasoning that Yeshua celebrated the Sabbath does not necessarily make it equal to a commandment by Yeshua to Christians, especially so if we see evidence in scripture that he taught there would be a coming time where people would not follow the Torah in the way they had previously known it.

Praying that Jerusalem’s Fall not occur on Sabbath

Some believe based on Matthew 24:20 that Yeshua was teaching they pray the fall of Jerusalem not happen on the Sabbath, because their required celebration of it would get in the way of their escape.

If this was what Yeshua meant, however, then the Christians would have been stuck in a predicament where they would have been condemned to sin either way, for Yeshua ‘commanded’ the Christians to flee Jerusalem (Matthew 24:15-16). Do they disobey the command to celebrate the Sabbath or do they disobey the Anointed one’s command to flee to the mountains? Would Yeshua really put them in a catch 22 scenario like that? Damned if you do, damned if you don’t (literally).

Such an idea would also direcly contradict everything he taught regarding the Sabbath, when he said it was lawful to save a life on the Sabbath, even if it meant doing something that was “typically unlawful” (Mark 3:4, Luke 6:4). Clearly then, the idea that Yeshua told his Apostles to pray that the Sabbath not happen because it would impede their escape due to their own restrictive celebration of it, would be inconsistent with his overall teaching, and thus not his meaning.

So what did he likely mean? It is very much possible that context of what Yeshua meant was revealed when he compares the Sabbath to fleeing in the winter…

He did not warn them because it was forbidden to travel in winter, but because it was difficult. Likewise, fleeing on the Sabbath would have been difficult because it was a time the Jews considered holy, and attempting to leave would have proven difficult as they would have likely met Jewish resistance, let alone Roman armies to contend with.

Another consideration were Jewish converts to Christianity who may have been having a hard time of giving up celebrating the Sabbath as it was a long held tradition for them, even though it may have been no longer required for them, just as many Jews had a hard time letting go of other traditions (Acts 16:3, 1 Timothy 4:3).

So indeed, for the sake of these ones, it would have been wise to pray that the flight did not come on the Sabbath, for it would have proven a difficult time for Jewish converts to obey Yeshua and leave Jerusalem behind on the Sabbath day.

Did the Apostles Observe or Command Observance of the Sabbath?

Though Yeshua commanded many things when he was on Earth, he left his Apostles behind in charge to give further commands by means of holy spirit, which is why the New Testament contains some additional commands to Christians after Yeshua leaves his disciples to return to Heaven.

Do we find in any of these holy books or epistles a command to observe the Sabbath, or examples of Christians doing so?

Paul Attended the Sabbath

Based on upon the book of Acts, many cite that we see proof through Paul, that Christians still adhered to celebrating the Sabbath:

• “Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem. But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, “Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on. Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: “Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me” – Acts 13:13–16
• “As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people urged them to continue this message on the next Sabbath. After the synagogue was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God. On the following Sabbath, nearly the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord“. – Acts 13:42-44
• “On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river, where it was customary to find a place of prayer. After sitting down, we spoke to the women who had gathered there”. – Acts 16:13
• “Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Anointed One had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, ‘This Yeshua whom I preach to you is the Messiah.” And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas'”. – Acts 17:1-3
• “After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them. So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks“. – Acts 18:1-4

Based on these scriptures, Sabbath supporters attest that this proves the Christians observed the Sabbath, because Paul attended at least 84 Sabbaths consistently. However, we should take note that not one of these verses say “Paul observed the Sabbath”, but rather, it was his custom to “go and teach” during the Sabbath.

One could quite easily argue that Paul was not celebrating the Sabbath, but was preaching on the Sabbath to take advantage of there being so many Jews (along with Greek converts to Judaism) being all gathered in one place at once, which was a perfect opportunity to preach and teach God fearing people all under one roof.

Another point to consider, is that the Apostles allowed and encouraged Messianic Jews to keep following the Mosaic customs and festivals. So in this respect, though we could justly make an argument the above that Paul attended the synagogue every Sabbath to preach only, it is likely that Paul as a Jewish man would have likewise followed said custom which the Apostles agreed upon, and hence he likely indeed was a Sabbath keeper.

But it’s important to note that this did not reflect a universal Christian law, but was actually a set distiniction between Jewish and Gentile Christians for the sake of cultural sensitivites (Acts 21:21-25).

Did Paul Denounce the Sabbath or Encourage It?

What we don’t see in the entirety of the New Testament after the initiation of the New Covenant, are any verses where Christians are celebrating the Sabbath for its own sake outside of the context of preaching, nor do we see any commandment to.

But what we do see, particularly from Apostle Paul, are scriptures that appear to be to the contrary:

• “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath“, these are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to [the] Anointed One. – Colossians 2:16–17

We see here that Paul seems to say the Sabbath was merely a “shadow” of the things to come in Yeshua, and therefore not to feel judged in regard to the observance of it… Of course, some argue that this verse is being misinterpretered by those who do not follow the Sabbath, and that it is not telling us we are free of the Sabbath for a couple of reasons…

The first reason some argue is that the words in Colossians 2 are not in regard to being free from the Sabbath, but rather, instruction on “how” the Sabbath should be celebrated by Christians, for they would refer to an earlier part of the passage in verse 8 which states;

• “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on [the] Anointed”.

In referrence to this specific verse, some argue that this was talking about unbelievers, false Christians, Pharisees or Pagans trying to taint the Sabbath with their false practices, as it would seem inappropriate to call God’s Sabbath day “a human tradition” or “empty deception”.

Others meanwhile would attest that Paul spoke of certain Jews who were not approving Christians, specifically uncircumcised Gentiles, of celebrating the Sabbath.

They would argue that Paul was encourging the Gentile followers of Yeshua not to feel ashamed, pressured or embarrased over their adherence to the Jewish laws and celebrations despite mockery or persecution from other non-beleiving Gentiles or Jews who were trying to disrupt them via “empty deceptions and human traditions”, and that he was reminding them that they didn’t have to be physically circumcised to celebrate the New Moons and Sabbaths, contrary to what other Jews may have been telling them.

These explanations may appear on the surface to be sound arguments, however, further in the passage, I would draw attention to verses 11 and 14 which state;

• “In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by [the] Anointed and not by human hands… wiping away the handwritten Decrees that held us down and oppressed us, he lifted them out of the way and nailed them on to the timber“.

We see here Paul moves on to the context of the old physical law being irrelevant by introducing the concept of circumcision, that it is now “in the Anointed one” we are “spiritually circumcised”, and that the “decrees” of the Law have been taken away.

From here he then moves on into verses 16–17, with the statement; “therefore, let nobody pass judgement in regard to a Sabbath… for these are shadows of things to come“.

If we follow the logic and flow of the passage, Paul appears to be telling us that the Sabbath is as meaningless as being circumcised, as it is in “the Anointed One” now, of which the “shadows” lead to.

We should take note that when Paul spoke of “empty deceptions and human reasonings” he likely wasn’t referring to the Sabbath at all on any level, neither for or against it, but rather, it would seem to me, that this was just a “general encouragement” to the recepients of his letter, who were new to the Faith.

If we take a step back and try to look at the entire passage in its full context, we will see how Paul first warns the readers not to be taken captive by false teachings in the general sense, which seem to have included “false sources of knowledge” and so he advises them to “keep obeying Yeshua alone”. Following this he then moves on to the subject of the spiritualisation of the Law, during which he appears to be clearly denouncing the practice of the Sabbath, and then he appears to move ‘back’ to the subject of other false teachings, which may have included extreme self denial or strange ascetic practices, along with idolatry and angel religions.

Note how if I colour code the seperate subjects, we gain a better clarity of contextual reading and how one flows into the other. Blue is the subject of being “in Yeshua“, Red is the subject of Pagan teachings and traditions of men, Green is the subject of the Mosaic Law.

• “Therefore, since you’ve accepted the Anointed Yeshua (our Lord), [you must] keep on walking with him… Becoming rooted and built up in him, and growing firmer in your belief in the things that you were taught. [Yes, I want you to] overflow with these things whenever you’re giving thanks. But watch out so that nobody carries you off as a ‘captive’ into the philosophies and empty hopes of human traditions! Because these base things of the world don’t come from the Anointed One. Rather, the divinity fully lives within him bodily, and you’re [also] fully within him, [the one] who’s the head and source of all government and power! For you were ‘circumcised’ into him with a ‘circumcision’ that was done without hands… [it happened] when you stripped away your fleshly bodies though the circumcision of the Anointed One. Then you were all buried with him when [you went] under the water, and you were all raised together by your faith in what God (who raised him from the dead) has done in you! For that’s when you ‘died’ to your errors and the uncircumcised state of your flesh and became ‘alive’ with him. And then he kindly forgave all your errors by wiping away the handwritten Decrees that held us down and oppressed us. He lifted them out of the way and nailed them on to the timber, which stripped away the governments and powers, and openly displayed that this is how he’d conquered them. Therefore, don’t allow anyone to judge you over [what you] eat or drink, or over festivals such as the New Moons or Sabbaths for these were just shadows of things to come, while the realities belong to the Anointed One. And don’t allow anyone to steal your prize by suggesting some lowly form of angel religion and by making strong claims of things that [someone says] he’s seen. For [this man has become] overly impressed with something he just imagined in the flesh, and he’s no longer hanging onto the ‘head. The one who holds the whole ‘body’ together with its joints and ligaments so that it keeps growing with the [type of] growth that comes from The God. However, since you’ve already ‘died’ [when it comes] to the base things of this world (along with the Anointed One), why is it that you (as if you’re still living in this world) are putting yourselves under such laws as ‘don’t feel it,’ ‘don’t taste it,’ or ‘don’t touch it,’ when it comes to things that are just going to be consumed? For these are the commands and teachings of men! Look, it might sound wise (with all its humility, fear of God, and mistreatment of the body), but it’s got no real value… It’s just concerned with [desires of the] flesh“. – Colossians 2:6-23

As we can see, Paul appears to be talking about multiple things at once, all manner of false teachings, which likely were coming from all manner of Jews, Christians and Pagans alike. And Paul was addressing them all in one letter. By being “in Yeshua” and following “his teachings alone”, Paul advocates that will safe guard a Christian from falling into ‘all’ of the above mentioned traps and corruptions of faith, no matter the source or subject.

This included the strange wordly teachings and traditions of men, such as mistreatment of the body and angel worship (which certainly wasn’t part of the Torah), as well as Judaizer teachings, those who were trying to enslave Gentile Christians to the Mosaic Law, just as we see in Acts 15.

The Torah, Sabbath and festivals were not commands and teachings of men, nor were they things “imagined in the flesh”, but originated from God himself (Exodus 31:18, Acts 7:37), and hence it makes sense that Paul would not have been labelling those things in such a catergory, but “mistreatment of the body” and “angel worship” on the other hand was never a part of the Torah, and are likely the things Paul has in mind when he speaks of “man made traditions” in this respect.

However, Paul nevertheless instructs the Christians, specifically Gentiles, to not abide by ‘any’ of the above, the Pagan teachings and the physical Mosiac ritual Laws both.

It was for this reason the 1st-2nd Century Ebonites, a group of Christians who adhered to the Mosaic Law, as well as an extreme form of voluntary poverty and self denial, rejected most if not all of Paul’s writings in their own tradition, and it just may of well been the likes of these Christians in part whom Paul was referring to in this letter:

“Ebionites (Greek: Ἐβιωναῖοι, Ebionaioi, derived from Hebrew אביונים‎ (or אֶבְיוֹנִם‎‎) ebyonim, ebionim, meaning ‘the poor’ or ‘poor ones’) as a term refers to a Jewish Christian sect, which viewed poverty as a blessing, that existed during the early centuries of the Common Era…

Beyond voluntary poverty, the Ebionites were said to practice religious vegetarianism and ritual bathing. They insisted on the necessity of following the Written Law and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount; used one, some or all of the Jewish–Christian gospels, such as the Gospel of the Ebionites, as additional scripture to the Hebrew Bible; and revered James the Just as an exemplar of righteousness and the true successor to Jesus (rather than Peter), while rejecting Paul as a false apostle and an apostate from the Law“. – Wikipedia, Ebionites

Furthermore, we should also note Paul at Romans 14 tells us that some Christians may see “every day as the same”, and can freely choose whether or not “abstain from special days to the Lord” as long as they understand that such observances are not the source of their salvation, but he also says in his letter to the Galatians, that those who “rely” on the Torah and insist that of all its “observances of days and festivals” “must” be adhered to for salvation, are “enslaved” and “under a curse”:

• “One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God”. – Romans 14:5-6
• “Did you receive [God’s] Spirit because you were obeying the [Mosaic] Law, or because you believed in the things that [you] heard?…. Now, everyone who’s relying on the [Mosaic] Law is under a curse, because it’s written: ‘Any man who doesn’t observe and obey all the words of this Law is cursed!’ So it’s obvious that nobody is called ‘righteous’ before God because of obeying the [Mosaic] Law…. But now that you’ve come to know God (or rather, now that God has come to know you), why are you turning back to those weak and sorry [Mosaic] laws, why do you want to become slaves to them once again? For you’ve [gone back to] the observance of days, months, seasons, and years, So I’m afraid that all the work I’ve done on your behalf has been wasted!”. – Galatians 3:2, 10-11, 4:9-11

If this excluded the Sabbath then we could argue that Paul would have said; “Each Christian may view each day as the same and abstain from special days to the Lord-with exception to the Sabbath”, but he never said such a thing.

If Paul was merely speaking of the “correctness of the manner” one celebrates the Sabbath, in the same passage he then asserts that all Christians must celebrate the other festivals, such as the New Moon festival (Colossians 2:16), and the rest of the Mosaic law for that fact.

As aforementioned, some Sabbatarians do in fact follow this line of reasoning and practice the entire Torah, but for Sabbatarians who argue by the reasoning that the Sabbath is still in affect but not the rest of the Law, are out of luck if they are trying to distinguish the two here.

One might perhaps argue that Sabbath was a given, just as we can argue this point of view in regard to the Lord’s Supper being a holy festival we observe by Yeshua’s command. That surely would have been something excluded from Paul’s words in regard to the observances of holy days and festivals. However, as already mentioned, the Sabbath is not ‘once’ directly listed as a command for Christians by Yeshua, nor his Apostles, and Paul’s words clearly were referring to the laws and festivals of the Old Covenant, which Yeshua formally told his listeners in the Gospels to adhere to until “the Accomplishment”.

Again, if we read the fuller context of Paul’s letter to the Romans here, it also sounds very much reminiscent of the beliefs of the Torah abiding vegetarian Ebionites, and we are told how Paul seems to be in disagreement with such a judgemental and legalistic mindset, as he calls such “a weakness of faith”:

• “Therefore, welcome those who are weak in the faith – and don’t try to judge their motives! For one person who has faith will eat anything, but someone else, who’s [spiritually] weak, would [rather] only eat vegetables… Those who eat anything shouldn’t look down on those who don’t, and those who don’t eat anything shouldn’t judge those who do, since God has accepted them both. For who are you to judge the house servant of another, since we each stand or fall before our own master?And we can stand, because the Lord can make us stand! Also, some consider one day as more important than others, while others consider each day to be the same as all the rest. However, each of us should be sure of this in our own minds! Then those who observe a certain day [as holy] should observe it to the Lord. Also, those who eat [anything they wish] should eat it to the Lord, because they’ve thanked God for it. Likewise, those who don’t eat [anything they wish] should abstain to the Lord, since they too have thanked God [for what they’ve received]“. – Romans 14:3-6, 10

It’s for this reason that many Sabbath and Torah observing Christians today even reject Paul’s letters and his position as an Apostle, just as the early Ebionites did.

Is the end of the Sabbath “Future”?

Of course, some would still argue against all of the above in support of the notion of Paul denouncing the Sabbath, by saying “that is in the future” by pointing out the quote;

“Shadow of the things to come“.

They would argue that this “hasn’t come” yet, and thus the Sabbath applies until Yeshua’s return, and thereby link Yeshua’s words regarding to the adherence of the Torah until the “Accomplishment” as a reference to his Second Coming.

However, if this was what Paul meant, then based on the book of Hebrews which uses the same terminology, this would mean that Yeshua’s sacrifice is not yet in effect, and we are all still required to kill animals before God for forgivness until Yeshua’s return:

• “…So [the] Anointed was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. The Law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. If it could, would not the offerings have ceased? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt the guilt of their sins.” – Hebrews 9:28, 10:1–2

However, all Christians agree that we do not have to sacrifice animals anymore, therefore, on the same textual logic, we cannot argue that Paul meant that the end of the Sabbath was “in the future” either, lest we also say the end of sacrifices is also “future”.

Furthermore, this interpretation would not make sense in that Paul says “let nobody judge you” in the ‘present tense’, in regard to the Sabbath. Clearly, Paul’s addressal was making the point that his audience didn’t have to worry about the Sabbath in that ‘present moment’.

Was Paul a False Teacher?

Because the evidence is so strong that Paul was clearly putting down Sabbath observance, many Torah and Sabbath keeping Christians would claim “Paul was the only one” who put down the Sabbath and spiritualised the Mosaic law, and that he must therefore have been a false apostle.

However, reading the book of Acts clearly demonstrates this not to be true, for such an instruction began, not with Paul, but with Apostles Peter and James at the Council of Jerusalem:

• “Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said; ‘The Gentiles must be… required to keep the Law of Moses….’ After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them… ‘Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Yeshua that we are saved, just as they are… Then after they’d finished speaking, James said; …It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God‘…. after that…. this is what was written by their hands; ‘[From] the Apostles and the older brothers, to those gentile brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Kilikia: We’ve heard that there were some who came from us… And they’ve urged you to make changes in your lives (although we really didn’t tell them to do this)…. through the Holy Spirit, it’s become clear to us that we shouldn’t put any burdens on you other than these necessary things; ‘Stay away from things that are sacrificed to idols, from blood, from strangled [animals], and from sexual immorality“. – Acts 15:5, 7, 10-11, 13, 19, 22-24, 28-29

Again, we see the entire council of Apostles instruct the Gentiles on what ‘specific’ ceremonial laws of Moses were to be adhered by, and not only that, they make an appeal to God’s authority in that they claim it was the holy spirit itself which informed them of this!

The Apostles Never Wrote on Keeping Sabbath Observance

Whilst the other commands that were carried over from the original 10 commandments to the New Covenant were repeated over, and over, and over again, by Yeshua, and the Apostles in their letters to the believers, it is worth noting the Sabbath is never mentioned in such manner.

We never see any Apostle discipline a Christian for not keeping the Sabbath in the entire New Testament, nor do they instruct the Gentiles (who are new to the Abrahamic faith) on Sabbath observance in their letters. But we do see them teaching, reminding and disciplining Christians for everything else.

In this respect, if the Sabbath was so vital for true worship, one could reason that we’d surely see it mentioned in the Christian Epistles to the Gentiles amongst the instructions given to them on obdience to the Lord. And this is not an argument from silence, for we’ve seen other scriptures aforementioned above which have declared the Sabbath law no longer in effect.

Isn’t the Sabbath an Everlasting Covenant?

Another argument made is that “the 10 commands along with the Sabbath is an everlasting command” (Exodus 31:16) and therefore is not tied in with the rest of the Old Covenant which was nailed to the cross.

Some will also cite that the Sabbath law predates the Mosaic Law and even the 10 commandments, because God rested on the 7th day of Genesis 1, hence claiming it was “always” a holy day that was to be recognised from the beginning, on the basis of Exodus 20:10-11:

• “But the seventh day is a Sabbath to YHWH your God, on which you must not do any work… For in six days YHWH made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, but on the seventh day He rested. Therefore the YHWH blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy“.

Though Sabbatarians will cite Genesis 1 and Exodus 20 as proof that the Sabbath was “always there” and must “always be followed” even before the Mosaic Law, we should note that neither Abel, Enoch, Job, Noah, nor his sons, not even Abraham, were ever commaned or said to have kept the Sabbath. And yet they knew the seventh day was the blessed holy day God on which rested from his creative works, but God still saw them as righteous (Matthew 8:11, 2 Peter 2:5).

Additionally, it is worth noting that the other laws which were done away within scripture were also said to be “everlasting”, including the laws on foods and circumcising. And though added to the Covenant later, the ritual laws were not said to be distinct from the 10 Commandments, but they were seen as part of a singular Covenant:

• “These are the terms of the covenant YHWH commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab, in addition to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb“. – Deuteronomy 29:1
• “I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you…. God also said to Abraham, “You must keep My covenant—you and your descendants in the generations after you. This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, which you are to keep: Every male among you must be circumcised. You are to circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you“. – Genesis 17:7-11

Hence, if one follows one part of the Old Covenant that was not directly carried over into the New Covenant, which included the Sabbath verbatim, then one must follow all of it, which Apostle Paul instructs Christians, especially Gentiles, ‘not’ to do, for it void’s Yeshua’s achievements:

• “And I again testify to every man who gets circumcised, that he’s thereafter obligated to obey the whole [Mosaic] Law! So those of you who are trying to be called ‘righteous’ by the [Mosaic] Law have voided the Anointed One, and have fallen away from his loving care“. – Galatians 5:3-4
• “For you were ‘circumcised’ into him with a ‘circumcision’ that was done without hands… And then he kindly forgave all your errors by wiping away the handwritten Decrees… Therefore, don’t allow anyone to judge you… in regard to festivals such as the New Moons or Sabbaths, for these were just shadows of things to come, while the realities belong to the Anointed One…”. – Colossians 2:11, 14, 16-17

By these words, we can understand then, that just like circumcising, through Yeshua the Sabbath now appears to be in a new and different form. From physical to spiritual.

The first Covenant with all it’s laws, rituals and festivals, were transformed and spiritualised by the new, as Yah foretold through his prophet Jeremiah:

• “‘It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,’ declares YHWH. ‘This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’ declares YHWH. ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people'”. – Jeremiah 31:32

Christians, whether born as a natural Jew or Gentile, are called as spiritual Jews into the New Covenant, which as we have seen above, is “not like” the Old Covenant.

Is the Sabbath an “Inherently Moral” Command?

In the same line of reason, that because God mentioned the 10 Commandments initially on the mountain as a set of “distinict seperate laws” to the rest of the Old Covenant, it asserted by some that the Sabbath is an “inherent moral command” vital to human nature and society that we must abide by.

It is argued, that because at least nine of the 10 Commandments were intrinsic “moral” and “behavioural laws” given separately to the ritual laws, of which were carried over in both practice and prinicble to the New Testament, this then proves Sabbath keeping is also an intrinsic moral law in both practice and prinicble, as opposed to being one of the ritualistic or symbolic “shadow laws”, of which were implanted into the Old Covenant later after Sinai.

However, we should consider, that the commandment of Sabbath keeping, even if we take note that it was given distinictly as part of the initial moral 10 commandments, was only given the to the physical Hebrews, but never the Gentiles.

As we have already aforementioned, none of the righteous men or women from before the time of Moses, were ever said to have kept the Sabbath to be considered righteous, and no man was ever punished for not keeping it, but they were were certainly punished for many other things, such as violence and stealing.

Hence, if one claims the Sabbath is a distinict and inherent “moral law” to abide by, and was not just a ritualistic shadow of the Mosaic Covenant, then in the same breath we accuse all the righteous men from before the time of Moses, to be inherently immoral… but scripture says no such thing.

In the same style of reasoning Paul claims Gentile Christian men don’t have to be circumcised because “Abraham was considered righteous before he was circumcised” (Romans 4:9-12), likewise, we can argue Gentile Christians can be considered righteous, even outside of physical Sabbath keeping, as Abraham is both the father of the righteous Sabbath observers and righteous non-Sabbath observers.

Gentiles were not born into the Old Covenant, unlike the Hebrew people, in fact the Gentiles weren’t even given the 10 Commandments, rather they were obliged to follow the Edenic and Noahide Laws, which were based upon God’s everlasting moral principles, and these covenants were carried over and given specifically to the Gentile Christians (Genesis 9:1-17, Proverbs 6:16-19, Acts 21:25).

The seventh day indeed may be intrinsically blessed by God to this day, as we are told God blessed it since the time of creation (Genesis 2:3), but a day being blessed and sanctified by God, does not equate to being “commanded to do something” by God on that day. The Sabbath law that was “based upon” the pre-established holy day of God, came much later on Mt Sinai to the Hebrews, and hence appears to be distinct from its initial blessing and santification.

The same pattern can be observed in relation to clean and unclean meats, in that Noah was taught by God that he could eat “anything that moved”, despite the fact that he may have knew of the “clean and unclean” distinictions (Genesis 7:2 8:20, 9:3-4) .

Hence, we have no scripural grounds to claim that Sabbath keeping is an inherently moral or vital law to nature. However, we can certainly learn from its principles of rest, in that we recognise that it is healthy to strike a balance between work and relaxtion. And certainly, we can recognise it as a blessed day and symbol of the completion of God’s creation.

Didn’t Yeshua Say He Didn’t Come to Abolish The Law?

A prolific and very strong argument for following the Old Testament in general and not just the Sabbath is that Yeshua said he did not come to abolish the law, but fulfil it, even warning against anyone fails to observe it, and teaches others to do so until all things were accomplished (Matthew 5:17–19).

However, we know, at least according to the Apostles who claimed to have been inspired by the holy spirit, that many old laws were indeed set aside or transformed through Yeshua as we’ve already established. So were Peter, James, Paul and the other gathered Apostles all false teachers by the time of the council of Jerusalem? Or did Yeshua mean something else?

If we look to the overall context of the Gospels, we see Yeshua is often being accused of apostasy by the Jews, that he was trying to “do away” with the Tanakh and the prophets. Yeshua had to make himself clear, that by establishing a “New Covenant”, he was not destroying the Old Law by means of apostasy or creating a new religion in his own name, but it was the “holy completion” of the old law by means of authorised reformation and transformation.

The word he uses, “fulfil”, is the Greek word “pléroó (πληρόω)”, which means “complete”.

“πληρόω
Definition: to make full, to complete
Usage: I fill, fulfill, complete”. – Strong’s Concordance

This can be argued to mean “add to” or “top up”, as if to fill a cup to the brim, or put a cherry on top of a cake, not removing the cake, but adding its final piece. In this respect, some might claim Yeshua did not “take away” the Mosaic Law, but instead, “was the completion” of the Law, by being its final and everlasting sacrifice, but not removing its statues.

However, it could also mean to “finish” or “complete the purpose of”. In which case, Yeshua completes the Law, by taking it away by completing the initial purpose it was set up for, and it is argued by others that he pronounced such a thing on the cross (John 19:28-30).

But which one is the right interpretation?


We should note, that Yeshua informed his followers from Matthew 5:19-48 that they must abide by the “commandments” he had been specifically listing to them. Many of these commands were clear continuations or an expounding of the Torah. However, others appeared to be clear reforms of old commandments, such as “eye for an eye”:

• “…eye for eye, tooth for tooth…” – Exodus 21:24, Leviticus 24:20, Deuteronomy 19:21
• “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you; Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also”. – Matthew 5:38-39

Hence, it would seem apparent that Yeshua was making some divinely authorised changes to the Torah for his followers in preperation for the coming New Covenant.

Because of this, it can be reasoned that this is the reason he insists not to see these changes as a “destruction” of the Old Law, but as the “foretold fulfilment” of the Old Law, in order that we respect and understand what the New Law and Covenant meant, and that Yeshua was trying to make it clear to his listners that he was not a rebellious upstart or law breaker by doing this, as he was accused of being by his enemies.

It can be additionally argued that if Yeshua wasn’t teaching anything new, then he wouldn’t have had to have made the statement at all to defend himself in regard to not mistaking his words to be an “abolishment of the Law”. Rather, it could seem that his statements show that he was teaching something “new and different”, but that his intent shouldn’t be misunderstood.

In this respect, it may be seen to be in line with the transformation of the Old Covenant Law into the New Covenant Law, fulfilling Yah’s words in Jeremiah, where physical becomes spiritual, as was confirmed by the all Apostles in unison:

• “In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away”. – Hebrews 8:13
• “‘It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,’ declares YHWH. ‘This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,’ declares YHWH. ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people'”. – Jeremiah 31:32

However, on the contrary, if one truly believes that Yeshua did not authorise Christians to no longer be required to follow the Old Law and the Sabbath, then one would be forced to claim that the Apostles had later become false teachers, and that the likes of Peter, James and Paul lied about being directed by God’s holy spirit in this case.

But we see confirmation from Yeshua himself in John’s Gospel, that the “Accomplishment” that he spoke of, that time when people would no longer follow the Torah in the way they formally knew it, did indeed come:

• “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.…”. – Matthew 5:17-19
• “After this, Yeshua, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scriptures might be fulfilled… he said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing his head, he gave up his breath”. – John 19:28, 30

We see that the Accomplishment was not based on the “end of the world” being the time of the end of the Mosaic Law, as some would understand by his words; “the Earth and Heavens shall pass”, but rather it was his sacrifical and fulfilling death that was the thing that would be accomplished before the passing of the Earth and Heavens, which in turn causes the Old Covenant and Law to dissapear and transform into a spiritual Covenant Law, which sets the foundation for the New Heaven and Earth, the Kingdom God which decends here down to us in the future (Revelation 5:10, 21:2).

The New Sabbath

One may then wonder, if it is true that all the other ritual laws have been replaced by spiritual things, then what is the spiritual Sabbath? Is there even a spiritual Sabbath at all? How can we know the Sabbath wasn’t directly carried over to the New Testament ‘along’ with the additional foreshadowed principles, like the other nine commandments?

Yeshua himself, and the Apostles answer this directly in the scriptures:

• “Then Yeshua said to them, ‘The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath‘”. – Luke 6:5
• “All things have been entrusted to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest“. – Matthew 11:27-28
• “Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be deemed to have fallen short of it. For we also received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, since they did not share the faith of those who comprehended it. But we, who actually have believed [what we heard], yes – we do enter into [God’s] Rest. For somewhere He has spoken about the seventh day in this manner: ‘And on the seventh day God rested from all His works. And again, as He says in the passage above: ‘They shall never enter My rest’. There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For whoever enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same pattern of disobedience”. – Hebrews 4:1-5, 10-11

As the Sabbath now appears to be in Yeshua, it is by believing and being “in him” we “enter God’s rest”.

This could then potentially explain why Yeshua told the rich man that only one thing was missing from him at Matthew 19:17 after detailing which of the specific Torah commands he should follow.

“To enter the Sabbath rest that is in Yeshua” is to obey any and all other commands he gives, which in turn fills in all the remaining four commandments that were missing from the list he gave to the rich man. Of course, since that man was a Jew, it could also be simply explained that he was to follow the Law at that time, just as the other Jewish believers of Yeshua did.

The spiritualisation of the Lord being our Sabbath can also explain why Paul could claim the Sabbath was now fully spiritual in the manner that circumcision was, and hence not to judge anyone concerning the literal observance of it.

If the new Sabbath is our faith in Yeshua as the Anointed Lord and Saviour who died for our sins, then we are to have an understanding that the greater symbol and fulfillment of the Sabbath is that our faith in him, not “works“, has saved us, and to try and “work our way” to salvation alone would be to refuse to “rest on the Sabbath”, which would incur death.

Just as refusing to rest on the Sabbath physically in the Mosaic Law resulted in a death sentence, our New Covenant Sabbath rest is to rest in Lord Yeshua himself who releases us from the “work” of the Mosaic Law, but to refuse that faith and rest, is to “void him”, and as a result makes his sacrifice meaningless to us, and therefore we die “working” when we should be “resting” (Galatians 5:4).

Conclusion

Reaching the end of matters, I believe that no direct statement from Yeshua nor the Apostles commands Christians to observe the Sabbath after his death, but I find many scriptures that appear to advocate the opposite.

However, if Yeshua did indeed truly teach that all of his followers, Jew and Gentile, must follow the complete Mosaic Law until the end of time including the Sabbath (Matthew 5:17-19), then in this stead, we also would have to pronounce the likes of Peter, James, Luke and Paul to be false teachers for telling the Gentiles otherwise. In this respect, an individual must make up his or her own mind, in accordance with prayer and their conscience. But we must bear in mind carefully, that we are not opposing the holy spirit of God, which these Apostles claimed gave them the authority to say these things (Acts 15:28).

However, for those who believe the words of the Apostles, and their claims of the holy spirit guiding them to teach that Christians no longer have to practice the Mosaic Law or the Sabbath… Does this mean that if a Christian celebrates a Sabbath he is sinning? Not at all.

It was the Apostle Paul who said likewise, whilst those who abstain from such celebrations freely can, others are free to observe it if they really wish to. So long as a Christian understands that following such customs is not what “saves them” or “makes them righteous” (Galatians 5:3-4, Romans 11:6, Romans 14:5).

Further, there is ample evidence in scripture and secular history that Jewish Christians, who were born and intiated into the Old Covenant Law through physical circumcision, did keep on following traditional Mosaic customs (Acts 21:24). And therefore, if you are a Jewish convert to Yeshua, then by all means, scripture shows that you are in your right as a fleshly descendant of Abraham to keep abiding by the Torah within the framework of the Christianity, again, as long as you do not view the Law as being an achievement of your salvation or own righteousness, but that it is in the Anointed One alone (Acts 15:11, Romans 7:7-25, Romans 11:6, 1 Corinthians 7:19-20).

What is important is that no Christian judge another brother or sister over whether they do or do not celebrate the custom. As Paul said “let each one be convinced in his own mind” and “do not judge anyone in regard to a Sabbath”.

Therefore, if you wish to celebrate, do so, if you do not believe the New Testament requires you to celebrate, then likewise, prayerfully follow your conscience and understanding.

Shabbat Shalom!