Why don’t Christians keep the Sabbath? This question comes up intermittently and some pointers to an answer were provided by Rev. James Robinson yesterday. Remember that the first Christians were Jews who met early on the first day of the week to worship. Why?
First, they
would attend the synagogue or meet in the temple courts to worship on the Sabbath
(Saturday). This meant to complete their faith as Christian Jews they would meet
the following day to celebrate—the day our Saviour rose from the dead.
Remember
too, that Jesus was crucified on Friday, and it was fitting he should rest
through the Sabbath in a sleep of death, before rising to life early on the
first day of the week. After all, the first day of the week commenced the original
creation process.
So,
Christ rose in re-creation on the first day of the week, which heralded not only
new life for us, but also the promise of His return; some Christians suggest it
is an eighth day. It was natural for the early Christians to celebrate their
faith on the first day, Sunday.
Thus, the Sabbath
was left intact for those first Jewish Christians. But it leaves a question: though
we Christians continue to worship on the Sunday, how do we respect the Sabbath?
While this is no longer a legal requirement, can we honour God’s original charge?
Perhaps it
is no coincidence that for most in the western world, the work week leaves
Saturday a holiday. Most Christians may not attend a Shabbat service, but we
can make it the day of rest as it was originally proclaimed.
Or have we
over time simply transferred the Sabbath to Sunday, so that becomes our “day of
rest”? If we rest on Saturday, we may worship on Sunday, but not necessarily make
it a day of rest. In fact, for many Christians—especially pastors—it’s the
busiest day of the week!
Any other thoughts?
