The Sabbath and the 3rd commandment

[JosephJohn]

I’ve had a series of questions on “the fulfillment of the law” for a while. Most are resolved but I’m still bothered by the question “why do we keep the third commandment on the lords day (Sunday) instead of on the actual sabbath (Saturday)?” I do understand worshiping on the Lords day and celebrating the paschal feast that day. But I guess I have some literalist tendencies and the commandment itself just reads that it very clearly prohibits work on Saturday (besides of course Christ’s exceptions for works of charity and necessity). If our weekly pattern should follow Gods model of the week- shouldn’t we rest on Saturday even still as Christ did on Holy Saturday and the first Saturday, and celebrate the creation and the recreation as Christ did on the first Sunday and on Easter Sunday.

The last piece to this is some Protestants take this extremely seriously and are quite upset that we Catholics keep the first/eighth day not the seventh… some think we have elevated a man made tradition above the clarity of the Bible. How can we be sure and reassure our brothers and sisters that our modern understanding is in line with God’s will. Why is my argument for the structure of a week above wrong? Why are we not also bound still to rest on Saturday?

 

[po18guy]

New Covenant. The Jewish Sabbath is the last day of the week. The Lord’s day is the first day of the week, completely consistent with a new and everlasting Covenant. Jesus told the Apostles that they would be ejected from the Synagogues. He then rose on the first day, the Holy Spirit descended on the first day, Saint John received the Revelation on the first day, and the Apostles then gathered on the first day.

In all things - all things - remember that Christ gave His Church the unlimited power of binding and loosing. They received direct revelations which are not recorded, but which are reflected in their actions and in the teaching (traditions) they handed on. Christ granted the power of binding and loosing knowing ahead of time what they would choose to do with it. In any event, the Jewish Sabbath is not intended primarily as a day for worship. It is a day of rest.

 

[JosephJohn]

Ok so we assert that there was some sort of revelation like the descending sheet of formerly unclean animals to Peter where this issue was decided. I absolutely understand celebrating the importance of celebrating the Lords day on Sunday in memorial of Creation, the Resurrection, Pentecost. But why do we not also still memorialize and follow the pattern it seems Christ continued and was encoded as law of resting on Saturday alongside our current pattern?

 

[Hodos]

The creation account in Genesis 1-2 institutes the sabbath as blessed and holy in commemoration of the work of creation, and God resting from his work. Though he blessed the sabbath day and made it holy, God’s command to observe a sabbath rest was not given until the Sinai covenant, specifically with the Israelites after they had been delivered from Egypt. The sabbath observation also included the sabbath year where the land was given rest from agricultural tasks (wherein also those who had sold themselves into slavery were freed from their bond), and the year of jubilee where all debts were forgiven and land returned to their owners. Given the context of the sabbath (being tied to God’s work of creation), the specificity of the audience to whom this command is given (the Israelites), the specific time period when it was instituted as an observance (the deliverance of Israel from bondage to Egypt), and the focus of the sabbath laws (rest from work with the specific command to allow domesticated animals and slaves/servants to observe the sabbath), there is more here going on than meets the eye. The sabbath is pointing to God’s providence in delivering Israel from bondage. (To be continued)

 

[Hodos]

When we look at the New Testament, we see some interesting things. Jesus frequently worked on the Sabbath, and in fact, was frequently criticized for healing on the sabbath, or setting people free from physical afflictions. Jesus points out that the priests necessarily work on the Sabbath, and he is similarly about his work (Matthew 12) and emphasizes his Lordship over the Sabbath. Remember, that in the Old Testament, the Sabbath is pointing to God’s providence in deliverance and grace. Later, in Romans and Colossians we see that Paul tells his readers that Sabbath observation is not required. In fact he calls practices such as dietary restrictions and Sabbath observation a shadow of the things to come wherein Christ is the substance or realization of those things. The author of Hebrews goes further, relating sabbath and resting from works, to our resting of our works and entering God’s rest on the basis of the completed work of Christ our high priest.

Why do we observe Sunday as our day of worship and rest? Because it was Sunday when Christ rose from the dead and demonstrated his victory and our deliverance from sin, death, and the devil. While we are free to observe sabbath, sabbath was always intended to point to Christ and his work on our behalf.

Whether we have special esteem for Saturday, or Sunday, or whether we esteem all days as dedicated to the Lord, our focus is always on thanks to Christ, and we do not judge the believing person on such matters.

 

[JosephJohn]

Ok that’s super interesting- thank you for your response @Hodos !

So then can we extend this reasoning to the other of the Ten Commandments. Clearly the prohibition on murder also is where we derive the prohibition of Wrath and to a lesser extent Gossip (murder of character). These laws too are shadows of our modern laws?

So only Jewish people are bound by the commandment in its literal wording and Christians need not be Jews. But the natural law behind the command is to live as free people and to keep a memorial of Creation each week. Do we do anything to keep the “every seventh year and every 50th (I don’t know the exact number) year” as a church?

 

[po18guy]

But why do we not also still memorialize and follow the pattern it seems Christ continued and was encoded as law of resting on Saturday alongside our current pattern?

Jesus was born under the law so as to fulfill the law. When Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant, He inaugurated the New. He set the pattern. He commanded. It was a sea change. Consider: How many times did Jesus say “You have heard it said…but I tell you…”
That is the game changer. The old passed away and the new was born. Saint Paul wrote that when the perfect arrives (Jesus and the New Covenant), the imperfect passes away (Mosaic law, animal sacrifice).

Look at it this way: the Old Covenant had a seventh day of rest - which marked the completion of creation. Our Lord instituted the “new creation”, thus the old rules were gone. Thus, both He and the Apostles could violate the Sabbath and not sin.

Rather than a last day of the week to rest, the New Covenant has a first day in which we are to worship. We are not Jews bound by the Mosaic law. We have a higher law: that of love.

Go back and read the Decalogue once again. Which day does it specify to rest? The seventh. It does not say Saturday - that is what the Jews observe. IIRC, the months were named but not the days.