What new testament scriptures point out that believers need not keep Gods sabbath day?
My own thoughts on the matter is that Sabbath is beautiful - but no one, if being honest. comes close to keeping it EXACTLY as others did in the OT
For more clarity,
I have enjoyed fellowshipping/living life with my Messianic Jewish family for years now - and seeing the many varieties that others have on Saturday with Shabbat.
And yet I've often seen it where others tend to condemn folks for times they are unable to make service/synagouge.
This perplexed me whenever such things were said in the name of "You need to Observe the Sabbath!!" - for although Messianic services (i.e. Torah Readings, Prayers/Liturgy, Fellowship, etc.) are wonderful, it was interesting to consider the ways that Sabbath itself did not seem to mandate at any point for others to meet on Saturday for a Corporate gathering - and for those who seemed to condemn others for not making it and somehow "failing to keep Sabbath", it seemed that going strictly by what the Mosaic Code says would leave a lot of people sorely lacking.
When looking at the Sabbath within the Mosaic Torah, I see some thing pretty clear things:
- No work done at all (Ex. 20: 10; Lev. 23: 3; Jer. 17:21-22)
- Exodus 20:10
but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
Exodus 20:9-11 Exodus 20
- Leviticus 23:2-4/ Leviticus 23 “‘There are six days when you may work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a day of sacred assembly. You are not to do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the Lord
- Jeremiah 17:21-23/ Jeremiah 17 This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers. 23 Yet they did not listen or pay attention; they were stiff-necked and would not listen or respond to discipline. 24 But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy by not doing any work on it, 25 then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever. 26 People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings, incense and thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not obey me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’”
- No kindling of a fire (Ex. 35:3):
- Exodus 31:13-15/Exodus 31: Moses assembled the whole Israelite community and said to them, “These are the things the Lord has commanded you to do: 2 For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death.3 Do not light a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”
- No traveling (Ex. 16:29)
- Exodus 16:28: “Eat it today,” Moses said, “because today is a Sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it on the ground today. 26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any.”27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none. 28 Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long will you[a] refuse to keep my commands and my instructions? 29 Bear in mind that the Lord has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day; no one is to go out.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
- No marketing (Neh. 10:31; 13:15,19).
- Nehemiah 10:32 “When the neighboring peoples bring merchandise or grain to sell on the Sabbath, we will not buy from them on the Sabbath or on any holy day. Every seventh year we will forgo working the land and will cancel all debts
- Nehemiah 13: "Remember me for this, O my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services.15In those days I saw men in Judah treading winepresses on the Sabbath and bringing in grain and loading it on donkeys, together with wine, grapes, figs and all other kinds of loads. And they were bringing all this into Jerusalem on the Sabbath. Therefore I warned them against selling food on that day. 16 Men from Tyre who lived in Jerusalem were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise and selling them in Jerusalem on the Sabbath to the people of Judah. 17 I rebuked the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this wicked thing you are doing—desecrating the Sabbath day? 18 Didn’t your forefathers do the same things, so that our God brought all this calamity upon us and upon this city? Now you are stirring up more wrath against Israel by desecrating the Sabbath.”19 When evening shadows fell on the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I ordered the doors to be shut and not opened until the Sabbath was over. I stationed some of my own men at the gates so that no load could be brought in on the Sabbath day.20 Once or twice the merchants and sellers of all kinds of goods spent the night outside Jerusalem. 21 But I warned them and said, “Why do you spend the night by the wall? If you do this again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they no longer came on the Sabbath. 22 Then I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and go and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy.
- Ensuring that one have "... a holy assembly with double the daily offering along with the other offerings. ..meaning, in other words, that you are to give twice as much on the Sabbath (Num. 28:9):
- Numbers 28:9 “‘On the Sabbath day, make an offering of two lambs a year old without defect, together with its drink offering and a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah[c] of fine flour mixed with oil. 10 This is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, in addition to the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.
More things could be said besides that..but it was interesting to me to see how complicated Sabbath was - and how it doesn't really seem (if there's honesty) that anyone really does it as prescribed.
Many Messianic Jews I've fellowshiped with would do things like have celebration gatherings at the end of the day or House warming parties for people after they had just moved in - and if/when going by a strict interpretation of the Sabbath Law, one could not do that. There'd be no allowance of things like fellowship cookouts or barbecues...and you'd not be able to go with friends to a restaurant or get meat that's been flame broiled, nor could you can't cook eggs/ hash browns in the morning due to the rule of not kindling a fire for cooking. I've been amazed that some have even interpreted the OT law as saying one could not drive a car because that'd technically be choosing to "kindle a fire" in the combustion chamber of your engine.
The issue of travel was something that really stood out to me - for as many times as I've heard others be condemned for not making it to either synagouge or service on Saturday, the strict/literal intepretation of the Law would seem to required that believers choose to STAY HOME and not go outside at all. I'm aware that Jews added to this law, allowing only a half mile of travel on the Sabbath which we see observed in the
Brit Chadashah . But at the most literal, the Law says to "stay at home."..if I understand it correctly. That'd mean no travelling to one's local fellowship if one sought to keep this part of the law, as you could not travel to your local ecclesia/gathering unless it was less than one-quarter mile away from home.
Hospital emergencies may be a differing matter since Yeshua healed on the Sabbath (and was accussed of not being faithful in keeping it - as seen in John 5 and
Luke 13 - and he also got food in
Matthew 12 /
Luke 6 in the fields when gleaning to eat.
But for other things, it'd seem to be out of the window - even as basic like walking down in the Park with friends/family. And a lot of activities - as it concerns the part in the Mosaic that says "stay home" would not be allowed. Whether that be playing basketball with family/friends as a way to relax...or choosing to go swimming/travel to a body of water (should one live by a beach - like the
Messianic Fellowships in Hawaii - or living by a pool).
Even basics like getting gas to go to Shabbat service - as you could not "trade" money for gasoline per what it says about the merchants/trading - and in the event your local ecclesia had a bookstore you'd enjoy that had Jewish resources to review....or that there was a bookstore nearby you wanted to enjoy on your day off, you'd not be allowed to buy a CD, teaching series on that morning's message or a book at the store. This would also extend into things like shopping - as I know many Messianic Jews who enjoy doing fellowship activities like going out to resturants to connect with the family....or going to stores to look at enjoyable things they could buy for one another, be it a toy for the child..or roses for the wife from the Husband and a Card for the husband to encourage hm... or food at a festival/Fair that's available on the Weekends - or the movies ...getting some candy and other similar things.
On the law of giving twice as much each week, it didn't seem that many people I've witnessed really did that. We enjoyed learning about Jewish culture/outreach and studying God's law - but I have yet to see people go to Shabbat and give twice as much each week. Even with work - many of the activities that one groups says are relaxing for them and that they don't consider work (i.e. mowing the lawn, decorating the house, exercise, etc.), others would say are a matter of "hard work" that should not be done - and so there does not seem to be anything conclusive on how others define work.
To me, it seems Sabbath laws were so sharp because the work that others did on those days was truly LABOR intensive work rather than things that were more recreational.
