Talking With Jesus About The Sabbath

But which day is the "Lord's day"? Of which day are you Lord?

"For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:8).

There are seven days in the week, which day is the Sabbath?

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it" (Exodus 20:8).

But, Lord, which is the seventh day, Saturday or Sunday?

"Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. But he said to them, `Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him'" (Mark 16:2, 6). (note: Sunday is the first day of the seven day week. That makes the previous day, Saturday the seventh day).

But Lord, didn't you abolish the law that contains the Sabbath commandment?

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17).

Did you change one of the commandments so your followers would keep the first day of the week instead of the seventh?

"For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled" (Matthew 5:18).

But Lord, isn't Saturday a Jewish day? Isn't the seventh day the Sabbath of the Jews?

"And He said to them, `The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath'" (Mark 2:27). (note: the Sabbath was made at creation, 2,000 years before there were any Jews. Genesis 2:1-3).

Is it true that your followers no longer observed the seventh day Sabbath after your crucifixion?

"That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near. And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment" (Luke 23:54-56).

But didn't the apostle Paul observe Sunday with your followers in honor of your resurrection?

"Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures," (Acts 17:2).

Those must have been Jews. Didn't he meet with the Jews on the Sabbath and the Greeks on Sunday?

"And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks" (Acts 18:4). "So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God" (Acts 13:42-44).

Lord, do we have to keep the Sabbath commandment?

"If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love" (John 15:10).

But isn't it enough that I love you and live by the law of love?

"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John 14:15).

Lord, does that mean all of them?

"For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, `Do not commit adultery,' also said, `Do not murder.' Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty" (James 2:10-12).

I think that if we try to follow Jesus, that is all that is necessary.

"He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked" (1 John 2:6).

How did you walk Lord? What was your custom?

"So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read" (Luke 4:16).

Lord, that was over 1,900 years ago. If you were here today wouldn't you keep a different day?

"For I am the LORD, I do not change..." (Malachi 3:6). "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).

Is it necessary to keep the commandments to receive everlasting life?

"...if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments" (Matthew 19:17).

Why do you insist on the seventh day? I worship you every day. Isn't Sunday as good as Saturday?

"Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made" (Genesis 2:3). "Behold, I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it" (Numbers 23:20).

What difference does it make which day I keep? One day is as good as the other.

"And the LORD said to Moses, `How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws'" (Exodus 16:28)?

Well, it seems to me that if I keep one day in seven, that ought to be enough.

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death" (Proverbs 16:25).

But Lord, won't my claim of faith get me into your kingdom?

"Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven" (Matthew 7:21).

Lord, even though I don't keep all your commandments, I do pray!

"One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination" (Proverbs 28:9).

Lord, what about the people who work miracles in your name? Some heal the sick and do wonderful things in your name. Yet they don't keep the Sabbath! What about them?

"Many will say to Me in that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, `I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" (Matthew 7:22-23).

I know the Sabbath is right; but my business would suffer if I closed. I might loose my job. I wouldn't get ahead in the world!

"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul" (Mark 8:36)?

Wouldn't it be better for me to work on the Sabbath than risk my family suffering?

"...I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread" (Psalms 37:25) "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:32-33).

My friends will ridicule and laugh at me!

"Listen to Me, you who know righteousness, you people in whose heart is My law: do not fear the reproach of men, nor be afraid of their insults" (Isaiah 51:7). "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:11-12). "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you" (John 15:18).

What if my family does not agree? If I go against their wishes it will cause division.

"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me" (Matthew 10:37) "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:33).

I'm afraid I won't be able to withstand any trials; I'm too weak!

"And He said to me, `My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).

What about the ministers who say your Sabbath and law is done away with?

"To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20). "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matthew 18:6).

Lord, will we keep the Sabbath when you return?

"For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me," says the LORD, `So shall your descendants and your name remain. And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,' says the LORD" (Isaiah 66:22-23).

OK Lord, with your help, I will obey you and keep the Sabbath.

"His lord said to him, `Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord'" (Matthew 25:21).

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