1. Who is Lord of What?
2. What is the Sabbath?
שָׁבַת֙ = rest - commanded in Exodus 16:23
So that God’s people would remember they are:
1. Ezekiel 20:10-12:
2. Exodus 20:8-11: to honour the pattern of
3. Deuteronomy 5:12-15:
Colossians 2:16-17: Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
3. Lord of the Sabbath
12:8: For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.
Jesus is greater
Jesus >
Jesus >
Jesus >
Jesus >
4. Priorities of the Lord
Matthew 23:23 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
Resources for further understanding of the Sabbath
Here are a selection of resources to get started - plenty has been written about this from different positions so do read more widely than this if you want to dig in!
Videos and Podcasts
- OVERVIEW (5 min): biblical theology of Sabbath
- DEBATE (2 hours - broken up!): Is Sunday the Christian Sabbath? Great model of respectful, theologically generous debate between friends: Two views are Christian Sabbath position (i.e. Christians are commanded to rest on the 1st day of the week - Sunday VS fulfilment view (i.e. We are not bound to keep a Christian Sabbath). Debate starts from 4:38. VIDEO or PODCAST available
- DISCUSSION (30 min): between Sinclair Ferguson and W. Robert Godfrey from a Creation ordinance perspective
- QUICK FIRE 7 POINTS (5 min): from perspective of Sabbath is fulfilled but rest is a good principle
Articles
Defining the Debate: well articulated short read by R C Sproul about the different dimensions of the debate on the Sabbath, including a mention about recreation on the Sabbath:
Series of three short articles on different positions:
Overview of the positions with a clear favourite of ‘fulfilment view’
Christians should keep the Sabbath short read
Bible overview of Sabbath with ‘fulfilment view’ conclusion
Book
Perspectives on the Sabbath. ed Christopher John Donato (£10.99 on Kindle)
This book presents in point-counterpoint form the four most common views of the Sabbath commandment that have arisen throughout church history, representing the major positions held among Christians today.
• Skip MacCarty presents the Seventh Day Adventist view.
• Joseph Pipa presents the view that our day of rest is now Sunday.
• Charles Arand explains Luther’s variation.
• Craig Blomberg argues that the Sabbath was fulfilled in Christ, so not required for Christians.