THE EARLY CHRISTIAN SABBATH - Friends of the Sabbath Australia

The Early Christian Sabbath
Lord (Mark 2:28), and for its proper and spiritual observance He set a right example.
“The Sabbath,” He said, “was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” It was not
made for the Jew, but for all men (Mark 2:27) for their spiritual and physical benefit.
Jesus observed the seventh day Sabbath. He was definitely and consistently a
Sabbath keeper. He worshiped on the Sabbath day. This habit Jesus Christ maintained
from early in His public ministry, according to the Scriptures. On returning to Nazareth
after one of His preaching tours, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, “as His
custom was!' Luke 4:16. Men He was invited to speak, He took the sacred scroll, read
from the prophet Isaiah, and applied the prophecy to Himself. Verses 17-21.
It is argued that on this occasion Jesus was in the synagogue because His mission
sent Him to win the approval of the Jews. This is hardly a cogent argument, because on
that very occasion He antagonized the Jews by what He taught. Verses 22-3 1. The
distinguishing feature of the Sabbath keeping of Jesus was that it was positive rather than
negative. He used the day for doing good. There is a world of significance in His
statement: “Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days!' Matthew 12:12. A
large proportion of Jesus' public speeches and acts were on the Sabbath day.
Why did Jesus insist upon keeping the age-old Sabbath, and keeping it correctly,
in the face of the bitterest opposition from the people He sought to help? One reason is
that He wished to point out what true spiritual living for God is like. This He exemplified
in His life and emphasized in His teachings. Lest the Jews think that He intended to
change anything of fundamental value in the religion they professed, He assured them:
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy,
but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle
shall in nowise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Matthew 5:17, 18. Christ's whole
program of salvation was based upon the things of permanent value which the Old
Testament revealed. His work was to clear away the deadwood of tradition, and to bring
to the Jews a revelation of true heart religion.
There is another reason why He kept the seventh-day Sabbath. There was nothing
else He could do. Again and again He repeated that He had come to do the will of the
Father. The love of God so filled the heart of Jesus that He could do nothing else.
2. God Comes First
WHEN a lawyer on one occasion asked Jesus, “Which is the great commandment
in the law?” Jesus answered him, “Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Matthew 22:36,37. When Jesus laid down
this first great fundamental principle of human living, He added also a second principle:
“Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself.” “On these two commandments,” said Jesus,
“hang all the law and the prophets.” Verses 39, 40.
Here is a complete program for human living. Love-that deep, all-pervading, allembracing
respect and esteem, which in the case of man's attitude toward God includes
reverence-is the characteristic which binds together everything in human experience. If it
is a question of one's relationships with his fellow man, love makes possible the exercise
of the golden rule: “All things whatsoever you would that men should do to you, do you
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