NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES: "For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day." (Matthew 12:8; Luke 6:5) [So the Sabbath is the TRUE Lord's Day]
it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. (Matthew 12:12) they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he (Jesus) entered into the synagogue, and taught. (Mark 1:21) And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. (Mark 2:27-28) [Notice: The Sabbath is NOT just for Jews, or Israelites, or Hebrews, or Semites (descendants of Shem), but FOR ALL MANKIND]
And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach (Mark 6:2)
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day (Luke 4:16)
(Jesus) taught them on the sabbath days. (Luke 4:31)
The following Scriptural references: Matthew 12:8, Matthew 12:12, Mark 1:21, Mark 2:27-28, Mark 6:2, Luke 4:16, Luke 4:31, and Luke 6:5 are all points in Scripture that support the Saturday Sabbath command before the cross (While the Old Covenant was still in effect).
The New Covenant (or New Testament) officially began with the death of Jesus Christ upon the cross (Thereby ending the Old Covenant). So yes. The Saturday Sabbath command was in effect before the cross. But after the cross, we learn the Saturday Sabbath command is no longer in effect. For Colossians 2:14-17, and Romans 14:5-6 makes it clear that that it is a command that is no longer in effect anymore. In addition, there is no explicit or non-explicit commands given to believers to keep the Saturday Sabbath in the New Testament. When Paul, and John talk list out various sins (like murder, coveting, theft, etc.), Sabbath breaking is not listed among them. This is what we should expect to see if things are as you say.
God's Moral Laws:
God's moral laws came into existence for man and would forever exist for him after the Fall of Adam and Eve (after they received the knowledge of good and evil). A Moral Law is any law telling you to do good without a specific law telling you that such a thing is so (See Romans 2:14). These moral laws existed before the Law of Moses.
In the New Covenant (or New Testament) these Moral Laws (like: “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” Do not covet,” “Do not commit adultery,” etc.) are repeated from out of the 613 laws within the Law of Moses and they still are in effect (i.e. They have been carried over into the New Testament). However, the Old Testament Law of Moses as a whole or package deal is no more (contractually speaking). Ceremonial Laws or commands: Things like the commands on circumcision, animal sacrifices, the Saturday Sabbath, dietary etc. are no longer binding under the New Covenant. This is because the written Law given to Israel is no longer in effect (as a whole). How so?
Here are a list of verses (showing us the Old Law is no more):
"When God speaks of a "new" covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear." (Hebrews 8:13) (NLT).
”Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.” (Romans 7:4).
"But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter." (Romans 7:6).
"Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;" (Colossians 2:14).
20 "Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
21 (Touch not; taste not; handle not;
22 Which all are to perish with the using; ) after the commandments and doctrines of men?
23 Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body: not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh."
(Colossians 2:20-23).
“By abolishing in His [own crucified] flesh the enmity [caused by] the Law with its decrees and ordinances [which He annulled]; that He from the two might create in Himself one new man [one new quality of humanity out of the two], so making peace.” (Ephesians 2:15) (AMPC).
"The old [former] rule [commandment; regulation] is now set aside [nullified; abolished], because it was weak and useless [ineffective]." (Hebrews 7:18) (EXB).
9 “Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.” (Hebrews 9:9-10).
16 “For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.” (Hebrews 9:16-17).
“And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament…” (Hebrews 9:15).
27 “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:27-28).
50 “Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; “ (Matthew 27:20-51).
8 “Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.” (Hebrews 10:8-9).
“And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.” (Acts of the Apostles 15:1).
“But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” (Acts of the Apostles 15:5).
“Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment” (Acts of the Apostles 15:24).
28 "For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;
29 That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well." (Acts of the Apostles 15:28-29).
7 "But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:
8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?
9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.
10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.
11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious." (2 Corinthians 3:7-11).
“But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 3:14).
You said:
But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day. (Matthew 24:20)
Just because Saturday is still the Sabbath day, it does not mean that the command to keep the Saturday Sabbath is still in effect (Especially in light of Colossians 2:14-17). Plus, Matthew 24:20 was said to those who were in Judaea (See: Matthew 24:16). They were to flee to the mountains if they were in this region. This means they are predominantly Jewish people who regard the Saturday Sabbath (and yet they rejected their own Messiah). So at this point in the Olivet discourse, it is not referring to Gentile believers spread across the globe but to the Jewish people who are stuck in the Old Covenant system, and thus, they would recognize the Sabbath day. Matthew 24:20 is not commanding us to keep the Sabbath. It is merely recognizing a calendar day as being the Sabbath; But it's not a command. In order for it to be a command, it should say: “But pray that your flight be not in winter, neither on the sabbath day (which is an eternal command of God for all men to keep).” But it doesn't say that. So you are seeing something in this verse that it does not specifically say.
You said:
AFTER JESUS' DEATH, HIS DISCIPLES OBSERVED THE SABBATH:
And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment." (Luke 23:55-56)
Luke 23:55-56 is just presenting to us the facts of what was happening. The gospel writer Luke is not saying, “Thou shalt keep the Saturday Sabbath.” Luke is just presenting us the narrative of what is going on. These women were not teaching how we must keep the Sabbath as a part of the New Covenant teachings. Pentecost did not even happen yet. They only did what they have known from before. The women did not know about the change of the Law yet or the teaching by Paul in Colossians 2 that came later. They did not even know that the Gentiles would be later included in God's plan yet. For example: If you were to read in the Old Testament, you can read about lots of commands. But that does not mean you believe that the commands in the Torah on animal sacrifices and the priesthood are still in effect. But if we were to read how if somebody kept these commands after the cross, it does not mean they are acting in accordance with God's New Covenant program, though. This is the same argument you are trying to make with this women obeying the Sabbath before even Pentecost happened. God did not immediately give these women new Covenant teachings to follow Him perfectly after the cross. Certain messengers like Paul were selected instead. For Paul would be the one who would write the majority of the New Testament we have. It was not these women who would write the New Testament so as to teach us. In fact, Jesus told Mary not to touch Him because he needed to ascend to the Father. This shows that they are not perfectly in tune with God's new program in what was going on yet.
You said:
when they (the apostles) departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day." (Acts 13:14)
And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath." (Acts 13:42) [Notice: the Gentiles (non-jews) wanted to hear the word of God on the next Sabbath. Paul DID NOT tell them, "Come back tomorrow, the first day of the week, because that's the day us Christians keep." He had them return the following SABBATH] And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. (Acts 13:44)
The command to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 16 to gather the collection on the first day of the week did not happen until Acts 18. Also, Acts 20 records Christians gathering on the first day of the week (Which would naturally follow Acts 18 per Paul's command). So things were progressively changing. The change of the New Covenant way and it's teachings did not happen overnight. It was a gradual change. New Testament canon of Scripture was being formed at this time. Anyways, the apostles and Gentiles gathering on Sabbath in the synagogue does not mean that the Saturday Sabbath command was in effect after the cross. The apostles did not command the Gentiles to keep the Saturday Sabbath. In fact, they had a great opportunity to bring up the
Sabbath command at the Jerusalem council in Acts of the Apostles 15. But they said that the Gentiles did not have to be circumcised and to keep the Law of Moses. Acts of the Apostles 13:39 says we cannot be justified by keeping the Law of Moses (Which means the Law of Moses is no longer in effect). In Acts 15, the Gentiles were not told to keep the Sabbath command, but they were stressed to... Abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication (Acts of the Apostles 15:29).
“Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.” (Hebrews 9:10).
You said:
For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day. (Acts 15:21)
We have to understand the early church was still learning and growing about God's New Covenant program still. We learn in Acts 21 that Paul was warned by the Holy Spirit not to go to Jerusalem. Yet, Paul wanted to see his fellow Israelites saved because he loved them very much (Romans 9:3). So he went anyways. But he paid the price for this mistake in not heeding the warning of the Spirit to not go to Jerusalem. Paul ended up going back to old ways of the Law in attempting to go through with a purification rite of the Law of Moses, but God stopped him by having him arrested. This led to his time of being a captive and in prison. So when James says that Moses has from old time preached in every city that preach him on the sabbath day, he was not fully aware of all the changes in God's New Covenant program yet. Plus, James was not giving the Gentiles a command to keep the Sabbath in Acts 15:21, either.
Anyways, Paul penned the letter to the Colossians when he was imprisoned by the Romans (Which was long after the Jerusalem council event in Acts 15). Colossians 2:14-17 is the key set of verses that makes it clear that the Saturday Sabbath command is no longer (Note: This would not be the end of the Saturday being the Sabbath, it would simply mark the end of the Sabbath command). Paul made it really clear. There was nothing for him to lose at this point in his life. So the truth came out.
You said:
And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made. (Acts 16:13)
And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures. (Acts 17:2)
And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. (Acts 18:4)
This was merely an evangelistic effort by Paul to reach the Jews. Paul is not declaring any Sabbath command here. These verses are merely giving us a display of the facts of what is going on in regards to the meeting on a certain day. It's not proof that the Sabbath command is still in effect. Paul is not giving any commands and he is not said to be resting on these days according to the commandment.
You said:
For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. (Hebrews 4:4) keeping"] to the people of God." (Hebrews 4:9)
Hebrews 4:4, and Hebrews 4:9 is not proof that that we have to keep the Saturday Sabbath command in the New Testament. These verses do not explicitly or non-explicitly teach the Saturday Sabbath command. On the contrary, they teach a new Sabbath rest.
Hebrews 4:6 says,
“Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:”
Verse 6 here talks about how the Jews did not enter into recognizing their own Messiah (i.e. rest), and they entered not into Christ because of their own unbelief. For if you were to keep reading all the way down to the chapter (with verse 14) it talks about Jesus being our heavenly high priest and how we can obtain mercy and grace in help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:8-9 says,
“For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.”
Some take this to mean Joshua instead of Jesus, and others take this to mean Jesus who was leading Joshua in the taking down of Jericho and it's walls. So if Joshua or Jesus gave the Israelite people rest, he would not aftward spoke of another day. Meaning, the Israelites followed the Law of Moses and the Saturday Sabbath command that gave rest. But if they truly were to have this rest in the shadow or type, then he would not have spoken of another day. The day when Christ would come and give us the true rest in Him.
So Jesus is our rest now under the New Covenant.
“Come unto me, all
ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).
Side Note:
If you do not get what I am saying after this, I will not reply any further. Titus 3:9 tells me not to strive over matters of the Law (i.e. the Old Law). So if you reply, any post (
or posts) will simply go ignored by me. If people want to be under the Old Law, they will listen to you. If they want to follow Jesus and His apostles, they will listen to them. So far, there is NO explicit or non-explicit repeat clear command for keeping the Saturday Sabbath within the New Testament. Try as you might to find such a verse in Scripture, it simply does not exist. You are only making inferences off certain verses (Which people will be able to see for themselves if they want to follow only what is written in God's Holy Word).
, that is why God’s Sabbath law of the 10 commandments cannot be a “shadow law” of Colossians 2:14-17 because it was a part of the “finished work” of creation before sin and before the fall of mankind when man was in perfect harmony with God and sinless. Gods 4th commandment points backward to the creation week *Exodus 20:8-11 as a memorial of creation *Genesis 2:1-3 as proven through the scriptures in the previous section. Pointing backwards as a memorial of creation it is impossible to be a “shadow law” because there was no sin when it was created for all mankind *Mark 2:27. – three down
