Remember the Sabbath?

The Sabbath Controversy in Mark 2

In Mark 2, Jesus and His disciples were walking through the grain fields on the Sabbath, which was supposed to be a day of rest. As the fourth commandment says, remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, on that day you shall not work.

As they made their way, the disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. Now according to the Pharisees, that qualified as work, and what they were doing was unlawful. But Jesus said the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

Christ as Lord of the Sabbath and the Fulfillment of the Law

So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. Today we live in what is called the Age of Fulfillment. In Matthew 5 .17, Jesus said I have not come to abolish the law or the prophets, but to fulfill them.

With His death on the cross, He fulfilled the Old Testament laws of the Sabbath. No longer do we have to labor to attain our salvation, which we can't do anyway. Nor do we have to carry the weight of guilt or the burden of legalism.

Rest in Christ and the Meaning of Sabbath Observance

Instead, we can rest in the finished work of Christ. By the way, this is also the meaning of Matthew 11 .28 where He says, Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. As the Apostle Paul writes in Colossians 2 .16, let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.

These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Today we honor the fourth commandment by gathering regularly as the church and celebrating as His body in our common salvation.

Days of Rest, Christian Liberty, and Romans 14

It's still important to have a day of rest, but as Paul says in Romans 14, only those who are weak in the faith argue about which day is better. Welcome that person, he says, but don't quarrel over opinions when we understand the text.