Chapter 7.
Shabbat or the Lord’s Day?
I have been taught my entire
life, both in Sunday school as a youngster and in seminary as an adult—and I
was guilty of teaching it myself for many, many years—that the New Testament
says the Disciples met on the first day of the week to break bread,
indicating that they moved the Sabbath to Sunday in honor of the
Resurrection. After having carefully reviewed the scriptural evidence, I now
seriously doubt that is true.
First, we must carefully
consider what the Scriptures have to say about the Sabbath, or Shabbat
in Hebrew, then we will examine Shabbat from the modern Jewish perspective.
In the Torah, G-d
established the seventh day of the week as the day that He was setting aside
[separating or sanctifying] for His children to enjoy particular fellowship
with Him.
Then
G-d said all these words: … “Remember the day, Shabbat, to set it apart for
G-d. You have six days to labor and do all your work, but the seventh day
[not the first day] is a Shabbat for Adonai your G-d. On it,
you are not to do any kind of work—not you, your son or your daughter, not
your male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the foreigner[50] staying with you
inside the gates to your property. For in six days, Adonai made heaven
and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day [not the
first day] he rested. This is why Adonai blessed the day, Shabbat, and
separated it for Himself. [Exodus (Sh'mot) Exodus 20:1,8-11]
Adonai said to Moshe, “Tell the people of
Isra'el: ‘The designated times of Adonai which you are to proclaim as
holy convocations are My designated times. Work is to be done on six days;
but the
seventh day [not the first day]
is a Shabbat of
complete rest, a holy convocation; you are not to do any kind of work; it is
a Shabbat for Adonai, even in your
homes. [Leviticus (Vayikra) 23:1-3]
[Adonai said to Moshe,] “Observe the day of
Shabbat, to set it apart as holy, as Adonai your G-d ordered you to do.
You have six days to labor and do all your work, but the seventh day
[not the first day] is a Shabbat for Adonai your G-d. On it you are
not to do any kind of work—not you, your son or your daughter, not your male
or female slave, not your ox, your donkey or any of your other livestock, and
not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property—so that
your male and female servants can rest just as you do. You are to remember
that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Adonai your G-d brought
you out from there with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore Adonai
your G-d has ordered you to keep the day of Shabbat. [Deuteronomy (D'varim)
5:12-15]
God felt that spending one
day a week with Him was so important that He imposed the death penalty on
anyone who failed to keep that appointment with Him.
Adonai said to Moshe, “Tell the people of Isra'el, ‘You
are to observe my Shabbats; for this is a sign between me and you through all
your generations; so that you will know that I am Adonai, who sets you apart
for me.
Therefore you are to keep my Shabbat, because it is set apart for you.
Everyone who treats it as ordinary must be put to death; for whoever does any
work on it is to be cut off from his people. On
six days work will get done; but the seventh day [not the first day] is
Shabbat, for complete rest, set apart for Adonai. Whoever does any work
on the day of Shabbat must be put to death. The people of Isra'el[51] are to keep the
Shabbat, to observe Shabbat through all their generations as a perpetual
covenant. It is a sign between me and the people of Isra'el forever;
for in six days Adonai made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he
stopped working and rested.’” When he had finished speaking with Moshe on
Mount Sinai, Adonai gave him the two tablets of the testimony, tablets
of stone inscribed by the finger of G-d. [Exodus 31:12-18]
Moshe assembled the whole community of
the people of Isra'el and said to them, “These are the things which Adonai
has ordered you to do. On six days work is to be done, but the seventh day
[not the first day] is to be a holy day for you, a Shabbat of complete rest
in honor of Adonai.
Whoever does any work on it is to be put to death.” [Exodus 35:1-2]
In case someone should make
the claim that Shabbat was part of Jewish Law and therefore not applicable to
non-Jewish believers—even though G-d has specifically said that the Shabbat
applies to the Gentile who associates with Israel—God provided additional
clarification through the prophet Isaiah. All who join themselves to
Adonai, including those who come to Adonai through His Messiah (i.e.,
Gentile Christians), are expected to observe the seventh-day Sabbath.
Here is what Adonai says: “Observe justice, do what is right,
for my salvation is close to coming, my righteousness to being revealed.”
Happy is the person who does this, anyone who grasps it firmly, who keeps
Shabbat and does not profane it, and keeps himself from doing any evil. … And
the foreigners [Gentiles] who join themselves to Adonai to serve him, to love
the name of Adonai, and to be his workers, all who keep Shabbat and do not
profane it, and hold fast to my covenant, I will bring them to my holy
mountain and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings
and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house [the Temple]
will be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” [Isaiah 56: 1-2,7-6]
God promises all—both
Jew and Gentile—who honor His Shabbat a particular delight.
“If you hold back your foot on Shabbat from pursuing your own
interests on My holy day; if you call Shabbat a delight, Adonai’s holy
day, worth honoring; then honor it by not doing your usual things or pursuing
your interests or speaking about them. If you do, you will find delight in Adonai—I
will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage
of your ancestor Ya`akov, for the mouth of Adonai has spoken.” (Isaiah
58:13-14)
God promises that if
Israel will just honor Him by keeping the Shabbat, He will preserve both the
kingdom of David and the safety of Jerusalem as Israel‘s capitol city. [In
fact, many Jews believe that if all Israel will observe just one Shabbat,
Messiah will immediately come.] However, if Israel fails to keep Shabbat,
Jerusalem will be destroyed.
Then Adonai said this to me: “Go, and stand at the People’s
Gate, where the kings of Y'hudah[52] go in and out, and at
all the gates of Yerushalayim[53]; and say to them:
‘Kings of Y'hudah, all Y'hudah and all living in Yerushalayim who enter
through these gates, hear the word of Adonai! Here is what Adonai says: “If
you value your lives, don’t carry anything on Shabbat or bring it in through
the gates of Yerushalayim; don’t carry anything out of your houses on
Shabbat; and don’t do any work. Instead, make Shabbat a holy day. I ordered
your ancestors to do this, but they neither listened nor paid attention;
rather, they stiffened their necks, so that they wouldn’t have to hear or
receive instruction. However, if you will pay careful heed to me,” says
Adonai, “and carry nothing through the gates of this city on Shabbat, but
instead make Shabbat a day which is holy and not for doing work; then kings
and princes occupying the throne of David will enter through the gates of
this city, riding in chariots and on horses. They, their princes, the people
of Y'hudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim will enter; and this city will
be inhabited forever. They will come from the cities of Y'hudah, from the
places surrounding Yerushalayim, from the land of Binyamin[54], from the Sh'felah[55], from the hills and
from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings,
frankincense and thanksgiving sacrifices to the house of Adonai. But if
you will not obey me and make Shabbat a holy day and not carry loads through
the gates of Yerushalayim on Shabbat, then I will set its gates on fire; it
will burn up the palaces of Yerushalayim and not be quenched.” [Jeremiah
17:19-27]
Because Israel failed to
observe G-d’s Shabbats, G-d sent them into the Babylonian captivity.
Those who had escaped the sword he carried off to Bavel[56], and they became
slaves to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia. Thus was
fulfilled the word of Adonai spoken by Yirmeyahu[57], “until the land has
been paid her Shabbats”—for as long as it lay desolate, it kept Shabbat,
until seventy years had passed. [2 Chronicles 36:20,21]
It was Yeshua’s custom to
observe the Shabbat. If we desire to follow Him, we should do as He did.
And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and
as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up
to read. (Luke 4:16, NAS)
Yeshua declared that His
day, the true “Lord’s Day,” is the seventh-day Shabbat.
“For the Son of Man is Lord of Shabbat!” (Matthew 12:8; Luke 6:5)
Yeshua taught that the
Shabbat is to be observed continuously throughout the so-called “Church Age”
and into the so-called “Tribulation Age.”
“So when you see the abomination that causes devastation[58] spoken about through
the prophet Dani'el standing in the Holy Place[59]” (let the reader
understand the allusion), “that will be the time for those in Y'hudah[60] to escape to the
hills. If someone is on the roof, he must not go down to gather his
belongings from his house; if someone is in the field, he must not turn back
to get his coat. What a terrible time it will be for pregnant women and
nursing mothers! Pray that you will not have to escape in winter
or on Shabbat[61]. [Matthew 24:15-19]
The writer of the Epistle to
the Messianic Jews[62], says that
“Shabbat-keeping” remains for all of G-d’s people.
For there is a place where it is said, concerning the seventh
day, “And G-d rested on the seventh day from all His works.” And once more,
our present text says, “They will not enter My rest.” Therefore, since it
still remains for some to enter it, and those who received the Good
News earlier did not enter, He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying
through David, so long afterwards, in the text already given, “Today, if you
hear G-d’s voice, don’t harden your hearts.” For if Y'hoshua[63] had given them rest,
G-d would not have spoken later of another “day.” So there remains a
Shabbat-keeping for G-d’s people. For the one who has entered G-d’s rest
has also rested from his own works, as G-d did from His. [Hebrews 4:4-10]
Though he had been
specifically commissioned by Yeshua to serve Him as the “Emissary to the
Gentiles,” it was still Rav Sha’ul’s custom to observe Shabbat.
According to his usual practice,
Sha’ul went in; and on three Shabbats he gave them drashes[64] from the Tanakh[65], … [Acts 17:2]
Sha’ul also began carrying on discussions
every Shabbat in the synagogue, where he tried to convince both Jews and
Greeks. [Acts 18:4]
… but the others went on from Perga to Pisidian
Antioch, and on Shabbat they went into the synagogue and sat down. [Acts 13:14]
The next Shabbat, nearly the whole city
gathered together to hear the message about the Lord; [Acts 13:44]
Yeshua taught that
everyone is to keep the whole Torah, including Shabbat:
“Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the
Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away,
not so much as a yud[66] or a stroke[67] will pass from the
Torah—not until everything that must happen has happened. So
whoever
disobeys the least of these mitzvot[68]
and teaches
others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But
whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of
Heaven. For I tell you that
unless
your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and
P'rushim[69],
you will
certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven!
[Matthew 5:17-20]
So then, to briefly recap
the Scriptural authority for all believers to observe the seventh-day
Shabbat:
• God set aside (sanctified) the seventh day of
the week for His children to enjoy particular fellowship with Him.
• God imposed the death penalty on anyone who
failed to keep that appointment seventh-day with Him.
• Through the prophet Isaiah, G-d clarified His
intent that all who join themselves to Adonai, both Jew and Gentile,
are expected to observe the seventh-day Sabbath.
• God promises all who honor His
Shabbat—both Jew and Gentile—a particular delight.
• God promised that if Israel would simply
honor His Shabbat, He would preserve both the kingdom of David and the safety
of Jerusalem as Israel’s capitol city. However, if they failed to keep
Shabbat, Jerusalem would be destroyed.
• Because they failed to observe His Shabbats,
G-d sent Israel into the Babylonian captivity for a period of time equal to
the exact number of Shabbats they had ignored.
• It was Yeshua’s custom to observe the
Shabbat. If we desire to follow Him, we should do as He did.
• Yeshua declared that His day, the true
“Lord’s Day,” is the seventh-day Shabbat.
• Yeshua taught that everyone is to keep
the whole Torah, including Shabbat.
• Yeshua taught that the Shabbat is to be
observed continuously throughout the so-called “Church Age” and into the
so-called “Tribulation Age.”
• Though Sha’ul was specifically commissioned
as “the Apostle to the Gentiles,” it was his custom to continue to observe
Shabbat.
• The writer of the Epistle to the Messianic
Jews [Hebrews], says that “Shabbat-keeping” remains for all of G-d’s
people.
Let us now turn our
attention to the modern Jewish understanding of Shabbat, which I believe is
quite probably the same—or at least essentially the same—understanding that
first-century Messianic Jews would have had.
The Shabbat is probably the
best known, but often the least understood, of all Jewish observances. People
who don’t understand Shabbat often think of it as a day of stifling
restrictions, or just a day of worship like Sunday is for most
Gentile Christians. But to the observant Jew, Shabbat is considered a gift
from G-d and a day of great joy. It is often said, “more than Israel has kept
Shabbat, Shabbat has kept Israel.”[70]
In post-Biblical Jewish
poetry, music, and liturgy Shabbat is often described as a bride or a queen,
for whom we eagerly await throughout the entire week. In her “bride” aspect,
we view Shabbat through the eyes of a bridegroom standing at the chuppa
(wedding canopy, equivalent to the altar in a Christian wedding) full of
love, joy, and devotion and eagerly waiting for his bride to appear. In her
“queen” aspect we are to view Shabbat as the “avatar”[71] who reminds us to
“remember” those restrictions that G-d places on our Shabbat activities, and
to keep His day holy and separate from the cares and concerns of the rest of
the week.
Before the development of
the day-names that we use on the modern calendar, Jewish days were counted by
their relationship to Shabbat: First, Second, and Third day of the week,
followed by Third Day Toward Shabbat, Second Day Toward Shabbat, Erev [the
day before] Shabbat and, of course, Shabbat. It was a day that G-d gave to
Israel to be a day of rest on which all the cares of the week could be set
aside, and even the poorest could pursue without interruption the highest and
most honored of all activities, the study of Torah.
To usher in the Shabbat, two
candles are lit and a blessing is recited no later than eighteen minutes
before sunset. Two candles are used to remind us of the two parts of G-d’s
instruction, that we are to “remember” Shabbat, and to “keep it holy.” The
family then attends a brief evening service and returns home for a festive,
leisurely dinner.
Before dinner, the man of
the house recites Kiddush, a prayer or blessing over a cup of
wine sanctifying Shabbat, and the usual prayer or blessing for eating bread
is recited over two loaves of challah, a sweet, “eggy” bread shaped in a
braid. There are two loaves to remind us that when we were in the wilderness,
G-d always provided a double portion of manna on the day before Shabbat.
After dinner, the birkatha-mazon (grace after meals) is recited.
Shabbat morning begins with
the synagogue service that usually begins between 9 and 10 am, and runs until
noon or a little later. After services, the family does Kiddush again,
followed by another leisurely, festive meal (Oneg) that lasts until about 2
pm. In many Messianic Jewish congregations, Kiddush and Oneg are shared by
the entire congregation, quite similar to the traditional “pot luck” or
“covered dish dinner” that is popular in so many Christian congregations.
The afternoon is generally
spent in Torah study, accompanied by lively discussion [“wherever there are
two Jews, there are three opinions”]. Tradition requires that at least three
meals be eaten on Shabbat, and the third is usually a light meal in the late
afternoon.
The end of Shabbat, or
motza'ei Shabbat (Saturday sunset), is marked by Havdalah.
Just as we began Shabbat as early as possible (no later than 18 minutes
before sunset), so we also make Shabbat linger as long as possible, until
three stars are visible, or approximately 40 minutes after sunset, at which
time we perform the concluding ritual called Havdalah (separation,
division).[72],[73]
Three items are used for
Havdalah: a glass of wine, a special multi-wicked candle, and some fragrant
spices (cloves, cinnamon, or bay leaves are commonly used, and kept in a
special decorated holder called a b’samim box).
There are four
Havdalah blessings recited. The first is the traditional blessing over the
wine. The second blessing is recited over the fragrant spices, which
represent a compensation for the loss of the special Shabbat spirit; their
sweet fragrance lingers with us after the departure of the Shabbat bride.
Since we are not permitted
to kindle a flame on Shabbat, the blessing and lighting of the
Havdalah candle truly indicates that Shabbat is over. The fourth and final
blessing is the Havdalah blessing itself, which is the blessing over the
separation of different things. After the Havdalah blessing, we drink the
wine, and extinguish the candle with a few remaining drops of wine.
Thus, on both the ancient
and modern Hebrew calendar, the Havdalah ceremony officially marks the end of
Shabbat and the beginning of “the first day of the week.”
Where, then, in the B’rit
Hadasha (the Apostolic Scriptures or so-called “New Testament”) do we find
the authority for moving G-d’s Shabbat from the seventh day of the week to
the first day of the week?
Nowhere at all! I performed
a computer search of both the King James Version (KJV) and New American
Standard Bible (NAS) which revealed that there are only two
possible references to the first-century Messianic Community meeting on “the
first day of the week,” and when the Shabbat is properly understood, these
two references are most likely referring to motza'ei Shabbat (Saturday
sunset) and Havdalah!
On the first day of the
week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to
them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until
midnight. [Acts 20:7, NAS]
On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as
he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. [1 Corinthians 16:2, NAS]
Thus, I believe that David
Stern correctly interprets these two events as he renders them in The
Complete Jewish Bible:
On
Motza'ei-Shabbat, when we were gathered to break bread,
Sha’ul addressed them. Since he was going to leave the next day, he kept
talking until midnight.
Every week, on Motza'ei-Shabbat, each of you should set some money
aside, according to his resources, and save it up; so that when I come I
won't have to do fundraising.
Yeshua’s Talmidim (Messianic
Jews, every one of them) faithfully observed the entire Shabbat, and met
together in each other’s homes on Motza'ei-Shabbat for the
Havdalah service, which began “about 40 minutes to an hour after sunset … at
the conclusion of Shabbat,” for a fellowship meal after Havdalah, and “Bible
study” and teaching after dinner. Since on the Hebrew calendar, the day
begins and ends at sunset, the Saturday-evening Havdalah service and the meal
which follows actually occur on the first day of the week, but on Saturday
evening, not on Sunday morning according to the western calendar!
The Scriptures tell us that
the Messianic Jews did not abandon the Temple—and we can therefore assume
that they did not abandon the Synagogue, either—and that their numbers
continued to grow daily.
Continuing faithfully and
with singleness of purpose to meet in the Temple courts daily, and breaking
bread in their several homes, they shared their food in joy and simplicity of
heart, praising G-d and having the respect of all the people. And day after
day the Lord kept adding to them those who were being saved. (Acts 2:46-47)
Meanwhile, through the emissaries many signs and miracles continued to be
done among the people. United in mind and purpose, the believers met in
Shlomo’s Colonnade;[74] and no one else dared
to join them. Nevertheless, the people continued to regard them highly; and
throngs of believers were added to the Lord, both men and women. (Acts
5:12-14)
“But,” someone may well ask
(as I used to do), “what about all the biblical references to ‘the Lord’s
Day?’” I performed an additional computer search of both the KJV and the NAS,
and was very surprised to find that the phrase “Lord’s day” appears only
once!
In Revelation 1:10 (NAS)
Yochanan [John] says that he was “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day” (kuriakh hJmevra,
kuriakee hemera). Although I have almost always heard this verse
interpreted as “John was in worship on Sunday when he received this vision,”
this is the only place in all of Scripture that this Greek term is
translated as “the Lord’s day,” and there is absolutely no indication
whatever that Yochanan was referring to the first day of the week.
Thus we again turn to David
Stern’s more accurate rendering in The Complete Jewish Bible for
clarification:
I,
Yochanan, am a brother of yours and a fellow-sharer in the suffering,
kingship and perseverance that come from being united with Yeshua. I had been
exiled to the island called Patmos for having proclaimed the message of G-d
and borne witness to Yeshua. I came to be, in the Spirit, on the Day of
the Lord; and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet, …
In fact, the entire
Book of the Revelation is about events that occur during “the Day of the
Lord,” which is how the term kuriakee hemera
is translated every other time it appears in the
B’rit Hadasha, and it always refers to the period of time in which
Yeshua returns in glory to judge and to reign.
As if to clearly settle the
issue once and for all, Yeshua Himself tells us which day of the week is His
day: “The Son of Man (Messiah Yeshua) is Lord of the Shabbat!”
(Matthew 12:8, Mark 2:28, Luke 6:5)
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