The Argument that Jesus Broke the Sabbath Examined
Is This the Jesus We Know?
A recent book states offers a sad interpretation of Jesus' preaching: 'It is obvious...that Jesus...is saying that he can do just what he wants to do on any day, even on the Sabbath!' (pg 177) Even if the Son of God can do whatever He wants, this is hardly permission for others to. Again it's irrelevant. But this portrait of Jesus seems so unnatural, we are compelled to ask: Does the author really understand Jesus' teaching about the Sabbath? (Matt 15:12-13)
Jesus' Real Teaching about the Sabbath
As a Teacher of Israel, Jesus gave a clear and spiritually uplifting ruling on Sabbath keeping: One of the major controversies at the time was how the Sabbath should be kept. Some groups like the Essenes were extremely strict. Like a breath of fresh air, Jesus injects some common sense into the discussion. He teaches that itis lawful to do good on the Sabbath. The purpose of the Sabbath is to serve man, the crown of God's creation. The law is good if used lawfully. (1 Tim 1:8) The Sabbath cannot serve man at all if it is revoked! Neither is the Son of Man Lord of the Sabbath, if the Sabbath does not exist. (Mark 2:27) This harmonizes with His complaint that the lawyers had loaded men with unbearable burdens, and with His promise that His own yoke would be light. (Luke 11:46, Matt 11:30) Surely, if Jesus had intended to either move the Sabbath or cancel it, the opportune time to say something would have been during these Sabbath disputes! (The author uses this same argument in defending musical instruments for worship on pg.128!). Instead, Jesus chose to illustrate the spirit of the Sabbath, a spirit of service, by helping people.
A Movable Sabbath
The book finally retreats to the position that the day was simply moved from Saturday to Sunday, at the start of the New Covenant. (pg 178 f) But even if we grant the author's apparently strong argument regarding the moving of the Sabbath, then obviously the principle of the Sabbath has remained entirely intact! (which he admits):
'There may be a principle behind the Sabbath law,..
which demands...that we set time aside each week..' (pg 173, italics his)
Furthermore, if we believe the New Covenant is eternal, then if the Sabbath has simply been moved, no new revelation can surely be expected to then cancel it later. And this seems to be his position:
'The day of the OT was the seventh day of the week,
and the day of the NT was the first day of the week.' (pg 173)
No Agreement on True Sabbath
This explanation of the Sabbath in the NT is naive. The truth of the matter is more subtle than the author understands it to be, but it is no mystery. There is no direct evidence that Jesus commanded the Sabbath to be moved at all, at any specific time, for any reason. The author admits that,
'Jesus himself lived and died under the Judaic Covenant.' (pg 115)
In fact, the central church in Jerusalem (and Paul too!) continued to observe the Sabbath until they were banned from the synagogues. As a matter of fact, the Sabbath was not officially moved to Sunday by the church until the 4th century. This is well known both from Acts, and common history. Later references in Acts and Paul refer to the Gentile churches, not the Jerusalem congregation. All he has shown is why the moving of the Sabbath was so easily accepted by Christians later in history.
A much simpler and more plausible explanation for meetings on the First of the Week is this. It is now known that Jews at the time of Christ were already divided into at least five major religious parties, which were already quarreling fiercely over what calendar to use for worship. Those in control of the temple used a lunar calendar. Protesters used a solar calendar, celebrating holidays at different times, yet continuing to worship at the temple also, like Jesus and His followers. It is likely that a large number of Christians came from these marginalized Jewish groups.
Original Sabbath Unknown
Simplistic solutions to the Sabbath just don't address reality. The Middle East has been under many different calendars, disrupted by numerous empires. No one knows nor can demonstrate on which day the original Sabbath took place. Even the Bible can't tell us, nor can the Jews.
Our modern calendar appears to be inaccurate by several years! But even if we could establish when the Sabbath was kept in Jesus' day, it would be meaningless. The Babylonian lunar calendar brought back by the Jews of the Second Temple has no relation at all to the solar calendar of Moses. The author and his opponents are arguing about nothing.
We have no comment from Jesus, but this silence cannot be interpreted as approval of any calendar given the raging controversy in His times. The apparent approval of a rival calendar by Christians does nothing for the author's argument: If the temple calendar was wrong, then the Sabbath wasn't moved at all, but restored back, and Christians were simply keeping the Sabbath. The situation is even worse for the Adventists, since they would then be reverting to a false Sabbath. But it is likely that the exact Sabbath day was not an issue for Jesus in the light of more serious breaches of law. He merely followed cultural norms to avoid creating a new and totally needless controversy over the day.
Time Zone Problem Unresolved
Jews and Gentiles no longer live in a narrow geographical region of one time zone. Do we clock the Sabbath by Jerusalem time, or by the wording of the command? (dusk to dusk). Do we use Greenwich Mean Time or invent a new system? The world is no longer flat! Finally, we now know that for large areas of the earth near the poles, days and nights are six months long! Year-long Sabbaths are hardly feasable for people living in these regions. Consequently, the commandment has to be modified or interpreted somehow.
For convenience Christians have adopted International time/date standards, but this has no biblical basis at all. This is not merely an academic question, but is debated by Jews and Christians all over the world. Both the author and his opponents offer no suggestions on these practical matters, for they are completely unaware of them. The answer to all these problems is found in the purpose and benefit God intended.
Firstly, for Israelites, the Sabbath is a sign of their own identity. Thus it can be and should be kept, wherever Israelites may find themselves. Locally, Israelites ought to keep sabbath on the same day, to encourage community, minimize inconvenience, and clearly mark it. This requires communicaton and agreement to establish local convention. Similarly, it must not be kept too strictly, because this would transform it from a day of rest and celebration into a burden. Yet, not so leniently that it is indistinguishable from other days.
For Christians, the same concerns apply. The added purpose of celebrating the resurrection may seem to make establishing a basic date for the Middle East both important and plausible. But consider the following: In 1582 Gregory XIII found a miscalculation and decreed to drop October 5th to the 14th and to drop three leap years in every century. In England 11 days (Sept. 3rd - 13th) were dropped in 1752, in addition to other changes. It is unknown by us whether records are even complete enough to count backwards with corrections and establish even the Roman days of the week, and perhaps from there determine Jewish reckonings for the time of Christ. One thing is clear: currently equally qualified and intelligent scholars of every denomination cannot agree upon exact dates, even as to the year, let alone the exact day, of events in the time of Jesus. No one even claims it is humanly possible to reach back to the time of Moses.
Considering the added issue of emergency and other essential services, such as policing, firefighting, ambulance and medical, as well as global commerce, for now it seems reasonable to continue to use established (relaxed) conventions for Sabbath or Sunday worship. We would do so in order to minimize the burden a weekly Holy Day imposes upon the poor and sick. Furthermore, allowing reasonable exceptions for those forced to do shiftwork or provide essential services, we believe is in the Spirit of Christ.
