Christian Sabbath: New Testament evidence

A glance at the hundreds of treatises produced since the Reformation on the Sabbath/Sunday subject would convince anyone that the Sabbath has had no rest. J.A. Hessey's bibliographic survey lists more than one thousand treatises for the period up to 1860, and I presume that an equal number of studies have been produced since that time.¹ In recent years more than a dozen dissertations and hundreds of articles have examined anew the theological and historical aspects of the Sabbath/Sunday question. ²

The extensive and continuous investigation of this subject indicates the great importance attached to it. After all, Sabbathkeeping is not merely an abstract theological concept, but a concrete manifestation of the practice of one's faith. If Christians ignore God on the day they regard as the Lord's day, chances are that they will ignore God every day of their lives. Perhaps one of the earliest symptoms of defection from Christianity is indifference toward the day regarded as the holy day--indifference manifested in treating the holy day as a holiday, a time for personal pleasure and profit.

This trend is assuming alarming pro portions in Western Europe and North America, where, according to the World Christian Encyclopedia, some 2,765,000 persons each year cease to be church goers and practicing Christians. ³ Thus the questions of the Biblical validity of Sabbathkeeping and its value for today are no longer academic issues, but are related closely to the larger question of the survival of Christianity itself. Because of this, we who are scholars and religious leaders must reexamine the New Testament teaching on Sabbath keeping to establish its relevance to our society.

I have devoted considerable attention to this subject during the past several years, publishing two books and numerous articles. ⁴ In this presentation I will summarize primarily those parts of my research that have dealt with the New Testament teachings on Sabbath Keeping. For the sake of clarity, I have decided to divide this presentation into three parts, published in four articles. In the first part (article 1) I will present the three prevailing views of the New Testament's teaching on the Sabbath. Next I will present the four major reasons I believe in the permanence of Sabbath keeping (articles 1 and 2). In the third part I will address Paul's attitude toward the law in general (article 3) and toward the Sabbath in particular (article 4).

Three views on the Sabbath in the New Testament

Historically, three major views have been held regarding the New Testament teaching on Sabbathkeeping. We shall designate these views as (1) abrogation of the Sabbath, (2) transference of the Sabbath, and (3) permanence of the Sabbath. Our understanding of the relationship between the Old and New Testaments determines, to a large degree, which of these views we hold.

1. Abrogation of the Sabbath. This view perceives a radical discontinuity between the Old and New Testaments. We can trace it back to some of the early fathers who taught that the Sabbath was a temporary ordinance deriving from Moses, enjoined exclusively upon the Jews because of their unfaithfulness, and abrogated by the coming of Christ. ⁵

Luther and some radical groups such as the Anabaptists and Mennonites elaborated this view in the sixteenth century. The Augsburg Confession (1530) exemplifies this when it states: "Scripture has abrogated the Sabbathday; for it teaches that, since the Gospel has been revealed, all the ceremonies of Moses can be omitted. ⁶

The abrogation view has been redefined and reproposed in numerous recent studies, two of which deserve mention. Willy Rordorf, in Sunday: The History of the Day of Rest and Worship in the Earliest Centuries of the Christian Church, argues that the Sabbath is a "social institution" introduced after the occupation of Canaan and annulled by Christ. And in the newly released symposium From Sabbath to Lord's Day, sponsored by the Tyndale Fellowship for Biblical Research, in Cambridge, and produced by seven scholars who worked together on this project as doctoral and postdoctoral research students at Cambridge University, the writers, appealing to Christ's Messianic claims, argue for the termination of Sabbathkeeping with His coming. By His claims, they maintain, He transcended the Sabbath law and so provided His followers with the necessary freedom to choose a new day of worship.⁷

Summing up, we can say that the abrogation view rests on the existence of a radical discontinuity between the Old and New Testaments, Judaism and Christianity, law and grace. It views the replacement of Sabbathkeeping by Sundaykeeping as a most noticeable evidence of the radical break of Christianity from Judaism.

2. Transference of the Sabbath. A second view sees the principle of Sabbathkeeping in the New Testament as transferred to Sunday rather than abrogated. It understands the Old and New Testaments to have a basic underlying unity. This view arose after the Sunday legislation of Constantine (321), transferring the requirements of the Sabbath to the observance of Sunday.⁸ The theological justification for this transference was developed gradually during the Middle Ages and reached its classic formulation in Thomas Aquinas (c. 1225-1274), who distinguished between a moral and ceremonial aspect within the Sabbath commandment.⁹

John Calvin reproposed Aquinas' distinction and added new qualifications. He saw the moral aspect of the Sabbath, namely its pragmatic function (allowing God to work in us, providing time for church services, protecting dependent workers), transferred to Sunday. ¹⁰ On the other hand, the ceremonial aspect of the Sabbath, namely its significance as the commemoration of Creation and the prefiguration of Christ's redemption-rest, "was abolished . . . on the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ."¹¹

Recently the transference view of the Sabbath has been redefined in such works as This is the Day (1978), by Roger T. Beckwith and Wilfrid Stott, and The Lord's Day (1971), by Paul K. Jewett. These authors endeavor to present Sun day as the continuation and enrichment of the Sabbath.

3. Permanence of the Sabbath. A third view, to which I subscribe, sees Christ's redemptive ministry as clarifying and enriching seventh-day Sabbathkeeping, not nullifying it. Sabbatarians who have held this view are now becoming better known. ¹² Recent studies, for example, have shown that Sabbatarians constituted a respectable group at the time of the Reformation, being listed in some Catholic catalogs of sects immediately after the Lutherans and Calvinists. Oswald Glait and Andreas Fisher successfully propagated Sabbatarian views among Anabaptists in Moravia, Silesia, and Bohemia. ¹³

At the time of the Reformation, seventh-day Sabbathkeepers were present in countries such as Poland, Holland, Germany, France, Hungary, Russia, Turkey, Finland, and Sweden. The Seventh Day Baptists became the leading Sabbatarian church in England during the seventeenth century. ¹⁴ They founded their first church in America at Newport, Rhode Island, in December, 1671. ¹⁵ Seventh Day Baptists were instrumental in bringing the knowledge of the Sabbath to Seventh-day Adventists in the 1840s. Since then more than a dozen denominations have accepted the validity and value of seventh-day Sabbathkeeping. ¹⁶

I am convinced that the New Testament views Sabbathkeeping, not as being abrogated or transferred to Sun day, but as being valid and valuable for Christians. I have detailed the four major reasons for my conclusion in other publications. In the rest of this article and the next I shall briefly summarize these reasons.

Christianity's continuity with Judaism

One reason I believe in the permanence of Sabbathkeeping is that I find a marked continuity between Judaism and Christianity in the New Testament. Historically, the abrogation and the substitution views of the Sabbath have been largely based on the assumption that the coming of Christ brought about a radical discontinuity between Judaism and Christianity. These views allege that the earliest believers perceived themselves as "the New Israel" and felt it necessary to give expression to their new faith by adopting a new place and time of worship.

This conception of Christian origins is inaccurate and misleading. The New Testament recognizes that Christ's coming brought about a certain discontinuity by fulfilling Old Testament promises, but this discontinuity is never interpreted as an abrogation of the Mosaic law in general or of Sabbathkeeping in particular. We must define the discontinuity in the light of the continuity that is evident in the New Testament. Luke, Matthew, and Hebrews demonstrate the presence of that sense of continuity.

1. The sense of continuity in Luke. In his book Luke and the People of God, Jacob Jervell shows that Luke emphasizes the Christian continuity with Judaism.¹⁷ For Luke, the mass conversion of thousands of Jews (Acts 2:41; 4:4; 5:14; 9:42; 12:24; 13:43; 14:1; 17:10-12; 21:20) does not result in a break from Judaism and the formation of a new religion. Rather, it leads to the restoration of an old Israel (see chap. 15:16-18) consisting of believing Jews who are described as "zealous" for the law (chap. 21:20). At the Jerusalem Council, James sees Amos' prophecy (Amos 9:11) about the Gen tiles who would flock to a restored Israel as being fulfilled in the mass conversion of the Jews, through whom salvation is extended to the Gentiles (Acts 15:16- 18). "Thus," as Jervell writes, "the continuity of salvation history has been also insured: Luke is unaware of a break in salvation history." 18

The continuity is also evident in Luke's view of "the law of Moses" (Luke 2:22; 24:44; Acts 13:39; 28:23), which he calls in the words of Stephen, the " 'living oracles' " (chap. 7:38, R.S.V.). In the disputes about the Sabbath, for example, Luke "is con cerned to show that Jesus acted in complete accordance with the law, and that the Jewish leaders were not able to raise any objections."¹⁹

Similarly, in Luke's account of the Jerusalem Council, James appeals to the authority of Moses to defend his proposal regarding the four conditions to be observed by the Gentiles: " 'For from early generations Moses has had in every city those who preach him, for he is read every sabbath in the synagogues' " (chap. 15:21, R.S.V.). Jervell rightly observes that "no matter how the complicated passage Acts 15:21 is to be interpreted in detail, the function of the verse is to validate the decree, and to call upon Moses as witness. Everyone who truly hears Moses knows that the decree expresses what Moses demands from the Gentiles in order that they may live among the Israelites." ²⁰

Respect for the authority of Moses is also indicated by the four ritual laws prescribed for the Gentiles by the Jerusalem Council, which apparently derive from the Mosaic legislation regarding the sojourner dwelling in Israel (Leviticus 17 and 18). ²¹ And Luke frequently connects Christian gatherings with the Temple, the synagogue, and the Sabbath (Acts 3:1; 9:2; 13:14, 42; 17:2; 18:4). In so doing, he indicates this continuity. ²²

2. The sense of continuity in Matthew. Matthew expresses the continuity between Judaism and Christianity in a variety of ways. He presents Jesus' significant teachings, such as the golden rule, as being the essence of the "the law and the prophets" (Matt. 7:12). In Matthew, Jesus specifically tells the rich young man to "keep the commandments" in order to have eternal life (chap. 19:16, 17).

Perhaps Matthew's most emphatic affirmation of continuity is found in Matthew 5:17, 18. Here Jesus states that He came not to abolish but to fulfill the law and the prophets, which are to be valid "till heaven and earth pass." The latter expression clearly goes beyond the earthly ministry of Christ. In the light of the antitheses of the following verses (21-48), to fulfill appears to mean "to clarify," "to explain," the meaning of the law and the prophets. 23 So Matthew sees in Christ, not the termination, but the continuation and realization of the law and the prophets. The latter live on in Christ, who clarifies and in some cases intensifies their teaching (verses 21, 22, 27, 28).

3. Continuity and discontinuity in Hebrews. Hebrews suggests that some Christians were so profoundly aware of continuity with the Old Testament that they actually returned to the practice of the Jewish sacrificial cultus. To counter act this problem, the author explains Christ's coming as setting aside (chap. 7:18), making obsolete (chap. 8:13), and abolishing (chap. 10:9) all the Levitical services associated with the Temple. This discontinuity, however, should not obscure the continuity that is expressed in a variety of ways. The revelation given by God "of old ... by the prophets" continues in that communicated "in these last days" through Christ (chap. 1:1, 2). There is continuity in the redemptive ministry offered typologically in the earthly sanctuary by the priests and antitypically in the heavenly sanctuary by Christ (chapters 7-10). And New Testament believers share the Old Testament worthies' faith and hope (chapters 11, 12).

More specifically, Hebrews evinces continuity in the sabbatismos--a term used in a technical way by Plutarch, Justin, Epiphanius, and the Apostolic Constitutions to designate Sabbath observance which "remains" (apoleipetai), or literally, "is left behind," for the people of God (chap. 4:9). ²⁴ Note that while the author declares the Levitical priesthood and services "abolished" and "ready to vanish away" (chap. 8:13, R.S.V.), he explicitly teaches that Sabbathkeeping is left behind for the people of God.

The respresentative writings we have examined reveal that New Testament believers had a strong sense of continuity with the Old Testament revelation. True, they gradually recognized that Christ's coming had made certain aspects of the Mosaic law, such as those relating to the Levitical ministry, obsolete. But this recognition did not turn them from moral aspects of the law such as Sabbathkeeping. And Paul's writings, which particularly evidence the tension between continuity and discontinuity, confirm this conclusion. We will come to them later.

New Testament's allusions to Creation Sabbath

My second reason for holding to the permanence of Sabbathkeeping is that three New Testament passages allude to the Sabbath's origin at Creation. The view that the Sabbath was abrogated rests on the assumption that Scripture sees Sabbathkeeping not as a Creation ordinance for mankind, but as a Mosaic institution given exclusively to the Jews and abrogated by Christ together with the rest of the Mosaic laws. Such a view, in my opinion, is discredited by the following New Testament passages.

In Mark 2:27 the New Testament first refers to the Creation origin of the Sabbath. The Pharisees had charged Jesus' disciples with Sabbathbreaking because they were plucking and eating raw grain. Jesus responded, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath." Christ refuted the charge of Sabbathbreaking by asserting the fundamental function of the Sabbath as protector of human physical and spiritual well-being.

Our Lord's choice of words is significant. The verb made (ginomai) alludes to the original making of the Sabbath, and the word man (anthropos) suggests its human function. To establish the universal human value of the Sabbath, Christ reverted to its origin right after the creation of man. Why? Because for the Lord the law of the beginning stands supreme. Another example verifies this. In reproving the corruption of marriage that occurred under the Mosaic code, He reverted to its Edenic origin, saying, "From the beginning it was not so" (Matt. 19:8). So Christ traced both marriage and the Sabbath to their Creation origin to clarify their fundamental value for mankind.

John 5:17 contains the second New Testament allusion to the Creation origin of the Sabbath. Charged with healing a paralytic on the Sabbath, Christ defended Himself, saying, " 'My Father is working until now, and I am working' " (N.A.S.B.). In earlier studies of this passage I have shown that God's "working" has been traditionally interpreted as "constant care" (cura continua) or "continuous creation" (creatio continua) and that the adverbial until now has been understood as "continually, always." 25 Such an interpretation generally leads to the conclusion that the continuous working of God, whether in creation or preservation, rescinds the Sabbath law.

This conclusion is unwarranted for at least two reasons. First, because the Gospel of John repeatedly and explicitly identifies the "working" and the "works" of God not with continuous creation or preservation, but with the redemptive mission of Christ (cf. chaps. 4:34; 6:29; 10:37, 38; 14:11; 15:24; 9:3). Second, because until now presupposes not constancy, but a beginning and an end. The beginning is the Creation Sabbath, when God completed Creation; and the end is the final Sabbath, when redemption will be consummated. For God and His creatures, the Sabbaths in between the first and the final Sabbath are not a time of listless resting, but of concerned working for the salvation of human beings (see chap. 9:4). We conclude, therefore, that in this pronouncement Christ alludes to the Creation origin of the Sabbath by means of the adverbial until now.

Hebrews 4:4 holds the third and most explicit reference to the Creation Sabbath. Here the author establishes the universal and spiritual nature of the Sabbath rest by welding together two Old Testament texts, namely Genesis 2:2 and Psalm 95:11. Through the former text he traces the origin of the Sabbath rest to Creation, when "God did rest the seventh day from all his works." By the latter (Ps. 95:11) he explains that by entering personally into God's rest we may find salvation (see Heb. 4:3, 5, 10).

Hebrews, then, traces the origin of the Sabbath not to the time of the Hebrew settlement of Palestine (verse 8), as held by Willy Rordorf, ²⁶ but back to the time of Creation, when "God did rest the seventh day from all his works." This statement's value as proof of the New Testament's linking of the Sabbath and Creation is heightened by the fact that the author is not arguing for the Creation origin of the Sabbath. Rather, he has taken it for granted in explaining God's ultimate purpose for His people.

The three texts we have briefly considered clearly indicate that the New Testament takes for granted the Old Testament account of the Creation origin of the Sabbath (Gen. 2:2, 3; Ex. 20:11). Thus the notion that the Sabbath has a Mosaic origin and an exclusively Jewish nature is totally absent in the New Testament.

In the next article in this series (July, 1985), Dr. Bacchiocchi gives the other two major reasons for his belief in the permanence of the seventh-day Sabbath. These are the redemptive meaning of the Sabbath as expressed in the Sabbath teaching and ministry of Christ, and the New Testament allusions to Sabbathkeeping.--Editors.