jesus and the ten commandments

“Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.” Exodus 20: 8-11

“God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God. For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said, “In my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest,’” even though this rest has been ready since he made the world. We know it is ready because of the place in the Scriptures where it mentions the seventh day: “On the seventh day God rested from all his work.” But in the other passage God said, “They will never enter my place of rest.” So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.” Now if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God would not have spoken about another day of rest still to come. So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall. For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.” Hebrews 4:1‭-‬13

Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath!” Mark 2:27‭-‬28

Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” Luke 6:9

“I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.” Matthew 5:18

“And Jesus added, “The Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath.” Luke 6:5

“And he answered, “If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn’t you work to pull it out? Of course you would.” Matthew 12:11

“You must keep my Sabbath days of rest and show reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord.” Leviticus 26:2, 19:30, 19:3

“And I gave them my Sabbath days of rest as a sign between them and me. It was to remind them that I am the Lord, who had set them apart to be holy.” Ezekiel 20:12

“It will be a Sabbath day of complete rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. This is a permanent law for you.” Leviticus 16:31

“The people of Israel must keep the Sabbath day by observing it from generation to generation. This is a covenant obligation for all time.” Exodus 31:16

“Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly.” Isaiah 58:13

“Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.” Matthew 5:17

The Sabbath is a controversial subject for some. For that reason I will not dive too terribly deep into the apologetics. I would however like to emphasize the point made in Exodus, the Sabbath was originally set to occur on the Seventh day of the week, which, if you refer to your common Gregorian calendar, falls on a Saturday. I would like to preface this by saying, the Sabbath was part of the covenant established with the Israelites as a symbol to show the other nations that their God was different. So, originally it did not apply to gentiles. However, if you have accepted Christ as your savior, you have been accepted into the family of God, and therefore are like the Jews as it says in these passages; “So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.” Ephesians 2:19 “And if the Gentiles obey God’s law, won’t God declare them to be his own people? For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.” Romans 2:26‭, ‬28‭-‬29 So in that respect we are encouraged to follow God’s laws. However, Paul states many times in his letters that gentiles are not required to follow the Jewish laws, but if they feel convicted, then they need to. 

The subject of circumcision is probably the most heavily disputed Old Testament command between Paul and his congregations (it is a rather sensitive subject) so I will assume that circumcision can also mean other laws as well, he just uses that one for the example. “For it makes no difference whether or not a man has been circumcised. The important thing is to keep God’s commandments”. 1 Corinthians 7:19 Also see Acts chapter 15, “God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith”. Acts of the Apostles 15:8‭-‬9 “For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.” Galatians 5:6

So my conclusion is that though we are not of Jewish heritage, we are still the children of God, therefore we are granted the same rights, privileges, and responsibilities as the Children of God. Therefore observing the Ten commandments is included in that package. As far as the Levitical laws, are concerned, we were freed from that covenant when Jesus died. The Ten Commandments are not a part of the Levitical law, nor were they designed only for the Jews, as I have mentioned and will repeat until you are sick of hearing it, the Ten Commandments were set up to be a guideline for what our relationships with God, man, and our selves are to look like, they are not a law, they are a lifestyle.

Even though the Gentiles were not trying to follow God’s standards, they were made right with God. And it was by faith that this took place. But the people of Israel, who tried so hard to get right with God by keeping the law, never succeeded. Why not? Because they were trying to get right with God by keeping the law instead of by trusting in him. They stumbled over the proverbial rock in their path. God warned them of this in the Scriptures when he said, “I am placing a stone in Jerusalem that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. But anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”  Romans‬ ‭9:25-33.‬ ‭Consequently, the Sabbath became a stumbling block rather than a blessing. This is what Jesus was pointing out when he said the Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath. They had let the rules and details cloud the true meaning of the Sabbath. 

Jesus did not set out to destroy the construct of Sabbath, which is what the Pharisees thought. Rather his intention was to restore the true meaning and intention of Sabbath. “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.” Matthew 5:17-18 This is because the religious leaders of the time had set up many additional rules for the Sabbath, which made the Sabbath more of a chore than a blessing. Jesus wanted the Sabbath to become a day of rest and focus on worshiping God. Jesus was reestablishing the concept that the Sabbath was made for man, and not the man for the Sabbath. Just as it was in the very beginning of time after creation “On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation.” Genesis 2:2-3

Another aspect of the Sabbath that Jesus emphasized was the works aspect. God established the Sabbath as a day of rest, in other words we are to rest from our normal work on the Sabbath. God then emphasized the Sabbath shortly after giving the Israelites the Ten Commandments, while they were wandering in the desert. He did this by giving them manna six days out of the week but not supplying manna on the Seventh day. His purpose was to help the Israelites establish a habit of Sabbath rest that had been lost for centuries. 

Did the Sabbath become obsolete when Jesus fulfilled the law?

The answer is no. God said multiple times in the Old Testament that this commandment specifically was a permanent law for all time; “It will be a Sabbath day of complete rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. This is a permanent law for you.” Leviticus 16:31, ‘“Tell the people of Israel: ‘Be careful to keep my Sabbath day, for the Sabbath is a sign of the covenant between me and you from generation to generation. It is given so you may know that I am the Lord , who makes you holy. The Lord then gave these instructions to Moses: You must keep the Sabbath day, for it is a holy day for you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; anyone who works on that day will be cut off from the community. You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord . Anyone who works on the Sabbath must be put to death. The people of Israel must keep the Sabbath day by observing it from generation to generation. This is a covenant obligation for all time. It is a permanent sign of my covenant with the people of Israel. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day he stopped working and was refreshed.’” Exodus 31:12-17. Some believe that the Old Testament laws were thrown out when Jesus fulfilled the law, but God clearly established the Sabbath as a permanent law, this was continued by the apostles all throughout the New Testament.

So if we can’t work, how then are we supposed to keep the Sabbath?

The author of Hebrews marked the importance of meeting together as Christians in Hebrews 10:25 “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” So if we are supposed to meet together as Christians, and we know that Jesus made it a point to always attend synagogue on the Sabbath, as demonstrated in Luke 4:16 “When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures.” Then we can conclude, going to church on the Sabbath should be our custom as well. Or we could just look back and see that God cleared all this up in Leviticus 23 ‭“You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of complete rest, an official day for holy assembly. It is the Lord’s Sabbath day, and it must be observed wherever you live.” Leviticus 23:3 

Now other than going to church, how else are we supposed to observe the Sabbath? Isaiah gave a beautiful general layout for how our Sabbath is to be spent;  “Keep the Sabbath day holy. Don’t pursue your own interests on that day, but enjoy the Sabbath and speak of it with delight as the Lord’s holy day. Honor the Sabbath in everything you do on that day, and don’t follow your own desires or talk idly.” Isaiah 58:13. I believe that is the most important aspect of the Sabbath, to enjoy it, it is supposed to be like a vacation but every week and focused on worshiping God.

Normally we get really excited about vacations, and tell all our friends how excited we are. That is also how we are to treat the Sabbath, like a weekly vacation. You wouldn’t bring your homework on vacation, would you? You wouldn’t want to separate from the group and go your own way and spend the whole vacation doing your own thing, right? Obviously you would want to enjoy the vacation with those around you, instead of following your own desires. Now the talking idly is a hard one to follow, I think that this could include gossip and the like.

As far as the beliefs to not buy or sell or work on the Sabbath, that comes from the Levitical law; “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day must be a Sabbath day of complete rest, a holy day dedicated to the Lord . Anyone who works on that day must be put to death. You must not even light a fire in any of your homes on the Sabbath.” Exodus 35:2-3 if you think back to that culture, everyone was Jewish so the concept of not buying or selling on the Sabbath is included in the command to not work because everyone in the community was Jewish so in order to buy it would require a Jewish person to break the Sabbath and work for you, in order to sell it would require a Jewish person to break the Sabbath. So although I cannot find a verse that directly says not to buy or sell, it is a given due to the culture. For example, ‘In those days I saw men of Judah treading out their wine presses on the Sabbath. They were also bringing in grain, loading it on donkeys, and bringing their wine, grapes, figs, and all sorts of produce to Jerusalem to sell on the Sabbath. So I rebuked them for selling their produce on that day. Some men from Tyre, who lived in Jerusalem, were bringing in fish and all kinds of merchandise. They were selling it on the Sabbath to the people of Judah—and in Jerusalem at that! So I confronted the nobles of Judah. “Why are you profaning the Sabbath in this evil way?” I asked. “Wasn’t it just this sort of thing that your ancestors did that caused our God to bring all this trouble upon us and our city? Now you are bringing even more wrath upon Israel by permitting the Sabbath to be desecrated in this way!” Then I commanded that the gates of Jerusalem should be shut as darkness fell every Friday evening, not to be opened until the Sabbath ended. I sent some of my own servants to guard the gates so that no merchandise could be brought in on the Sabbath day. ‘ Nehemiah 13:15-19 In this passage Jews were beginning to sell on the Sabbath, and because the men from Tyre came in and had no obligation to the law, they too started selling because they saw no example to do otherwise. But through doing so, they caused the Jews to then be tempted to break the Sabbath by purchasing their goods. So as you can see, it is a vicious cycle that has to stop somewhere.

So, where am I going with this? God has granted us gentiles the opportunity to become a part of His family, He does not care if we follow every single command given to the Israelites in Leviticus, because those things no longer matter. They were set up to be a symbol between God and the Israelites for the other nations to see and know the difference. But when Jesus sacrificed his life for us, he fulfilled the law. The law is no longer the only defining difference between Christian’s and others. It is also no longer the only way to form a relationship with Him. Now we show our difference in how we act and what we say. It is our love that defines us. We are allowed to form a relationship with God through Jesus Christ as our bridge to bridge the gap between our sinful nature and God. 

That being said, I think one of the reasons Jesus chose the Ten Commandments to highlight is because those laws have to do with our relationship with God and with others. They are a permanent command. Those 10 subjects are what form the outward part of our relationship with Christ. Believing and receiving are the inward components, but how you treat others is the outward component. The 10 Commandments were never done away with. They were enhanced, and brought to a much deeper level. Therefore, I believe that the Sabbath is still a very valid command for us today. We are to honor the Sabbath and keep it holy. We are to dedicate that day toward our relationship with God. Other people use that day to party or self indulge, but we are called to use it to refresh our spirit, take a rest from the burdens of the world. To strengthen our relationship with God. I have yet to find a verse that tells us to change which day to make holy, according to my bible, it is still Saturday. That is a personal belief of mine based on the scripture I’ve read and the conviction I’ve received from the Lord. In all reality, unless you too have received the conviction to worship on the Sabbath, the day is not important. 

But what is most important is taking a day, if you choose that day to be Sunday, then make it the Sabbath. Truly take the day off from the world and focus on God that day. Don’t just go to church, although that is a very vital part of the Sabbath, you have to have a rest day. It is how God created our bodies. Why do you think he rested on the Sabbath after creating the world? God is all powerful, he does not get tired nor does he need a rest, so why did he rest on the Seventh Day? Because He knew that we as humans would get tired and worn out and need a day of rest. He wanted to bless us in an immeasurable way before we ever even knew we needed it. 

I encourage you to take the day off this weekend, really rest, spend the day with your family, read scripture, listen to music that honors God, don’t worry about your bills, they’ll be there the next day. Don’t stress over finances or work. Give it to God for the day, truly give it to him. Don’t just sit there and continue to think about it. Let it go, give it to God, just for the day. I have found in my life that taking a Sabbath has benefitted me immensely. Instead of spending the whole weekend fretting about work or school, I give it up to God for a day, and spend my time with my family and in the word. I find that my stress disappears on Friday night when the sun goes down (I honor the Sabbath Friday sunset through Saturday sunset, according to the Jewish calendar). Try it then get back to me. There have been many scientific studies done comparing those who take a rest day and those who don’t. Studies have shown that there are more physical and emotional benefits to taking a rest day.