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Conspiracies of Faith: The Sabbath
January 6, 2019

For the past several weeks, we have been studying conspiracies of faith and how these conspiracies have not only clouded the understanding of the faithful, but have also had consequences on believers.  How is that for thousands of years, the day of the week that God had people worship was the Sabbath, a day that fell during the time period of Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, and that somehow without any Biblical citation or scriptural proof, most people today worship on Sunday? Many cite the observance of the Lord's Day, Sunday as the basis for Sunday-keeping when early first-century Christians observed the Sabbath on Saturday. History shows an edict from Roman Emperor Constantine I that prohibited work on Sunday as the springboard that gave the church reason to change the day of the week. Many early church writers show disdain for the Sabbath because of concurrent practices of Judaism. What would Jesus do?

Mark 2:23-28
And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful? And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was an hungred, he, and they that were with him? How he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests, and gave also to them which were with him? 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.

In the passage from Mark, the disciples of Jesus were walking through a corn field on the Sabbath, became hungry, picked corn, and ate. Jesus was challenged by the Pharisees who backed down when Jesus scripturally defended his disciples. If the Sabbath were to be changed from Saturday to Sunday, this situation could have been used by Jesus to explain the change. Instead, Jesus simply stated that the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. This statement from Jesus is often misunderstood. Prior to this statement the law was seen as the Lord of the Sabbath. The law that enforced the Sabbath were man's laws that interpreted the Bible, not what the Bible actually said. A common provision of that law is a Sabbath's Day Journey. That phrase is even mentioned in Acts 1:12. Defined by man, the distance was 2,000 cubits. Nowhere does the Bible define a Sabbath's Day Journey nor is there a commandment for such observance. When Jesus said the Son of Man was Lord of the Sabbath, he was saying that the power of God and not man defined what was right and wrong. Evidently the Pharisees were wrong on this item. What about other Sabbath practices that Jesus challenged? We need only start reading the next chapter of Mark.

Mark 3:1-6
And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against him, how they might destroy him.

The Pharisees also thought that healing on the Sabbath was wrong and sought to destroy Jesus after he healed a man's withered hand. They looked to man's interpretation of the law instead of what was actually commanded. Again, Jesus was showing that it is the power of God and not man that defines right and wrong. Here is what Jesus did. He challenged hypocrisy when encountered. He challenged the belief that man could somehow supersede the law of God. Jesus did not throw out the law of God, which is not to be confused with the laws of man about the law of God. The laws of man about the law of God were thrown out by Jesus. Jesus did come to fulfill the law of God. Notice what he said about the commandments.

Matthew 5:17-19
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus said whoever breaks the least of the commandments (of God, not man's laws about the commandments of God) and teaches others to also break the commandments will be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Fourth Commandment is the commandment about the Sabbath, observed from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, period. You know which day you observe and you know whether you are in the least or great column of the Kingdom of Heaven. But what about the Lord's Day? Is it Sunday, or is it a reference to the great and dreadful day of the Lord? Yet another conspiracy awaits.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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