One of the arguments that constantly resurfaces over and over again over centuries has to do with the Sabbath. The argument is that we as Christians need to keep a certain day of rest every week. The people who promote this quote the Old Testament.

It´s not correct; it´s entirely based on assuming things or just not knowing any better. There are also a lot of popular Jewish traditions that exist. The first Christians had this same problem when transitioning to the New Covenant. I am going to explain that the Sabbath was originally intended for Jewish laws and not for Christians. First, we need to know what the Sabbath was originally for. Why was this rule way back in Moses’s time established? Most people don’t know why it was made because they don’t read or care why. That’s the truth.

So someone comes up to them and says they have to keep the Sabbath, quotes a verse, and they blindly agree; they don’t ask why. This is why we still have this argument today: no one is reading or thinking about what is said. Jesus had the same difficulty in his time. The Pharisees were condemned by Jesus because they had only followed empty traditions, and these traditions had made the “Word of God” of no effect in their lives personally.

”Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.” (Mark 7:7-9)

To be fair to the Jews in their time, the traditions were originally made to keep people away from breaking the commands of Moses or the Torah. But it only became following the rules, and not God or the reason behind the rules. When our Lord was walking through a field with the twelve, they plucked wheat off the harvest. The Pharisees accused them of breaking the Sabbath.

”At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day. But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him; How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests? Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?” (Matthew 12:3-5)

Now if we just take a moment to read what the old law said concerning these accusations from the Pharisees. In Leviticus 24:5-9, the priests were the only ones allowed to eat this hallowed bread according to the law, yet David not only ate it but was given it by a current priest.

“Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest, and the priest answered David…“There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread.” So the priest gave him hallowed bread, for there was no bread there but the shewbread.” (1 Samuel 21:1–6) This is just a summary of what happened, but it is accurate.

So if David was mentioned by Jesus for breaking a command, why was he spared by God? It’s easy to just see a rule and miss the spirit of it entirely, even for myself. We are so stubborn and sinful and blind sometimes that it can be hard to look past these rules by God and ask, why?

We can see that the reason David was not punished or killed for breaking the command was that he and his men were in need of food. The only food that was present was the special bread for the priests, so it was given to them out of care and love. Something God valued more than the rule itself, something like love looked past the rules and into the intent of them. The priest did not treat the bread as more important than the life of God’s servant. So if God did not condemn David for receiving holy bread in a time of need, why were the Pharisees condemning the disciples of Jesus when they were hungry?

Another significant point Jesus made was about the priests who worked every Sabbath. The original Sabbath command prohibited labor. But every Sabbath the priests had to offer sacrifices, tend to the altar, replace the showbread, and perform temple duties. In other words, they actually worked harder on the Sabbath days than on many other days. So why weren’t they guilty? I hope this is a little easier to answer now that we can both keep trying to look at the intent behind God´s rules.

They were not guilty because they were doing God’s service. The Sabbath law was never meant to stop service to God; if anything, even in the Old Testament, it promoted work for God. God’s rules (even in the OT) were meant to produce worship, service to others, love, love of neighbor, life, and the love of God. That is why later Jesus is quoted (Hosea 6:6) saying, “I will have mercy and not sacrifice.” He would have rather had people practicing good quality´s then just animal sacrifices and bad behavior. I imagine the people who did temple duties in service to God also ate on the Sabbath.

Unfortunately for the Pharisees we see the bad behavior more then good quailitys. They missed the original intent for the Sabbath and why it was made and we see them punishing innocent people, like Jesus apostles. Jesus responds to them with this… “But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.” (Matthew 12:7)

Jesus also said that the Sabbath was originally for man, and not the rule itself for use of abuse. ”And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.” (Mark 2:27)

The Sabbath was originally made for man for rest; too much work can take a toll on the human body. But unfortunately the Jewish people of today have made it into traditions that make even healing a man on the Sabbath illegal. If you were a Jewish rabbi in Israel today and you decided to heal people on the Sabbath day, you would be considered sinning and excommunicated from being a rabbi and banned from Israel most likely entirely.

Jesus addressed this issue with the Jews in his time too. ”And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.” (Matthew 12:10) The main question was if it was illegal according to the Old Law.

If we look back at the Old Law, we don’t see anything about healing; we only see customs being followed, and yes, rest was important to God. God gave the Sabbath as a blessing for people; people were not created merely to serve the Sabbath rule. Jesus puts aside a focus on a day and shows that He is Lord over this day, that He can do good things every single day, and that it is not wrong. Jesus even went so far as to point out that when a sheep falls into a pit on the Sabbath that they go and rescue it on a supposedly rest day.

But when questioned about helping an actual human being who is worth ten times more than an animal, they say it’s not allowed. Do you see the funny reasoning in that logic?

”And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.” (Matthew 12:12-13)

After Jesus heals a man, the Pharisees were very upset, or as the writer says in another verse, “they were filled with madness.” It’s pretty extreme to be so blind about a rule that you are possessed with hate about someone doing good to another individual. Unfortunately, I see this play out exactly with Jewish people in relation to the Palestinians and those poor people that need attention today in almost every area of their lives. What Jesus did was expose that their interpretation had become stricter than scripture itself. There are no rules in the Old Testament about not being allowed to heal on the Sabbath; these are simply made-up opinions or traditions by religious Jewish leaders passed down.

Jesus also came to fulfill the Old Testament and improve on it. So when he asked if it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath, to point out there was no rule condemning it, he goes and says it is lawful and fulfills this Old Testament issue.

”How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.” (Matthew 12:12) Jesus basically promotes working every day in this next verse just as the priests were already doing in the OT.

“And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.” (John 5:16–17)

Jesus promised us that he will give us the rest we need when we learn of him and obey him. When we quit our jobs, as Jesus taught in Matthew 6:24, we are not constantly enslaved to the masters of this world but to Christ. He also promises he will take care of all of our basic needs like food, water, and clothing and many other things too.

”Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Later in the New Testament, Paul, the once hardcore Jewish persecutor, just like the Pharisees, debunks this whole argument about needing to keep the Sabbath.

”Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days.” (Colossians 2:16)

He also says, “One man esteemeth one day above another; another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. (Romans 14:5-6)

So there is Paul explaining to Christians that the Sabbath is not worth fighting over and that a Christian considers every day for the Lord, not just one day in particular.

In Acts we see that some Christians were concerned that they were breaking the Sabbath or sinning. There were false teachers in those groups at the time that tried to bind the heavy yoke of the Old Testament back onto the fresh Christians. So this is addressed in a letter to the churches in Acts, that no such command was given by the leaders.

”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 15:24, 28-29).

And also that if the Christians kept these simple rules, they will do well, but no other rule was given to them regarding Sabbath rules and the old testament.

”For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 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 15;28-29)

I hope you have learned a lot reading this, I know it is quite short and direct but a lot of the information can be used to teach, correct or rebuke for others benefit. Thank you for reading!