Ángel
Manuel Rodríguez
I.
Introduction
In
this paper we will use the final form of the biblical text to develop
the Adventist view on the biblical Sabbath. Scholars commonly use the
historical critical approach when dealing with this subject. They have
been mainly interested in the origin and historical development of the
commandment[1] and consequently they concluded that only the historical
critical methodology will produce adequate results. In our case the primary
interest is theological and doctrinal. We would like to move beyond a
biblical theology that is conceived as a descriptive historical discipline.
John J. Collins is right, "Historical criticism, consistently understood,
is not compatible with a confessional theology that is committed to specific
doctrines on the basis of faith."[2] Perhaps that is one of the reasons
Pope John II used in the Apostolic Letter Dies Domini the biblical
text in its final canonical form to develop the theology and modern relevance
of the Sabbath commandment. We will use that same approach.
The
Adventist view of the Sabbath commandment as designating the seventh day
as a day of rest required by God for fellowship and communion with Him
is based on the facts that according to the Bible it originated during
creation week. It was observed by Jesus and the apostles and there is
no evidence in the biblical text to support the claim that the commandment
was transferred from the seventh day to the first day of the week.
II.
Creation Sabbath and the Sabbath Commandment
A. Gen
2:1-3 and the Sabbath
According
to the biblical creation narrative the Sabbath originated at the end of
creation week as an expression of the divine will (Gen 2:1-3). It is common
among Protestants to argue that Gen 2:1-3 does not contain a commandment
addressed to humans but that it simply describes what God did on the seventh
day. The argument is that the Sabbath as a commandment was given to the
Israelites through the covenant; it is a Jewish law. Here we agree with
Dies Domini: "If the first page of the Book of Genesis presents
God's 'work' as an example for man, the same is true of God's 'rest.'"[3]
That conclusion can be supported on several different grounds.
1. Humans
as the Image of God and the Sabbath
The
creation narrative describes humans as unique intelligent creatures within
a world brought into existence by God. That singularity is located in
the fact that they were created in the image of God (1:27). They were
to reflect the actions of God, the character of God and to represent Him
within the rest of creation. The idea that God rested from His works ascribes
to God a human need in order to demonstrate to humans how He planned to
supply it for them.[4] The anthropomorphic language clearly points to
God's concern for humans who do not only need to work but also to separate
a particular time to enjoy deep personal communion with the Creator. The
divine action-God's rest-reveals His willingness to join humans in fellowship
during the seventh day. It is the Creator, not the creature, who determines
the time of rest.
Adventist theologian
Hans K. LaRondelle stated, "Without the divine communion and fellowship
on the seventh day, without man's entering into God's rest on that day,
the whole creation would be cut off from its Maker and necessarily have
to find its purpose and sense in itself. Then God's rest indeed would
rather be the cryptic indication of God's return to the aseity (the absolute
self-existence) of the inner glory of His being and existence, leaving
man and the world to themselves." He adds, "God's rest then means His
ceasing the work of creation in order to be free for the fellowship
with man, the object of his love, for the rejoicing and celebration of
His completed work together with his son on earth, the imago Dei,
his festive partner."[5]
2. God
Blessed the Sabbath
In the creation
narrative God is described as blessing the seventh day. That probably
means, as suggested by the use of the same verb in Exod 20:11, that "through
it he [God] mediates the divine blessing to the person who keeps it."[6]
The blessing itself is undefined and that has led some to conclude that
what defines it is the next verb in the sentence, God "sanctified it."[7]
That is to say, the blessing is to be understood in terms of holiness
in the sense of separation and election.[8] But the combination of the
two verbs found in the text is unique in the Old Testament and unless
there are very compelling reasons to consider them to be synonyms it is
better to keep them apart as expressing two different actions.[9] If the
verb "to bless" (brk) expresses the basic idea of bestowing benefits
upon something or someone,[10] then when God blessed the Sabbath He bestowed
it with benefits that would be enjoyed by those who will keep it. A day
that is not blessed is a day deprived of positive content for human beings
(Jer 20:14).[11] The blessing pronounced by God on the seventh day was
not for the benefit of God but for those who where present with Him, enjoying
communion and fellowship with him, within the fraction of time called
seventh day.
3. God
Declared Holy the Seventh Day
The declaration
of the seventh day as holy time is intriguing. The Bible contains rituals
for the sanctification of persons, things and places but there is no ritual
prescribed for the sanctification of the Sabbath. Only the creation story
informs us that its holiness is the result of a divine declaration. Throughout
the rest of the Old Testament the holiness of that day is presupposed.
For the Old Testament writers as well as for the people of God the creation
Sabbath was the same as the seventh day Sabbath mentioned in the commandment.
Humans did not declare that day holy but they were responsible to keep
it holy, to preserve its holiness, by obeying the commandment. That particular
day participates in a unique way of the holiness of God because He rested
on it and endowed it with holiness.
The holiness of
the Sabbath is not described in the text as a provisional status that
was to wear out at the end of the day. There is no de-sanctification ritual
for the seventh day declared holy by God during creation week. By sanctifying
it God placed it permanently apart for a particular religious use. Since
according to the creation narrative Adam and Eve had been created on the
sixth day, they experienced the holiness of the seventh day with God.
When the Creator made the seventh day holy by separating it from the six
workdays He "provided a gift for the whole of mankind for all time. The
person who keeps the seventh-day Sabbath holy follows the Exemplar's archetypal
pattern (Gen. 2:3) and meets with Him on that day of rest."[12] It is
important to emphasize that "the seventh day is the very first thing to
be hallowed in Scripture, to acquire that special status that properly
belongs to God alone. In this way Genesis emphasizes the sacredness of
the Sabbath. Coupled with the threefold reference to God resting from
all his work on that day, these verses give the clearest of hints of how
man created in the divine image should conduct himself on the seventh
day."[13]
B. Exodus
16 and the Sabbath
The first biblical
reference to the observance of the Sabbath commandment is recorded in
Exod 16 where instructions are given concerning the observance of the
Sabbath in the context of the provision of manna. On Friday the people
gathered twice as much as during the other days in order to have enough
for the Sabbath (16:22-26). The ease with which the narrative flows and
the almost casual way in which the Sabbath is introduced have suggested
to a number of scholars that the narrative presupposes the Sabbath institution.[14]
When the leaders of the people observed the people gathering a double
portion on the sixth day they went to Moses and reported it to him. Moses
reminded them that the next day was the Sabbath day (16:22-23).
The fundamental
issue in the narrative is not that now for the first time the Sabbath
was given to Israel but rather how to keep the Sabbath holy in the context
of the experience of the manna. In other words, the story deals with a
very practical issue related to proper Sabbath observance. Brevard S.
Childs commented, that in the story "the existence of the Sabbath is assumed
by the writer. But his was a natural question. If the manna fell every
day and could not be stored, what happened on the Sabbath? The story answers
this question . . . . In the verses which follow Moses explains in detail
the nature of the Sabbath and what it entails. It stems from a command
of God; it is a day of special rest; it is set apart from the ordinary
and dedicated to God. . ."[15] The present canonical form of the text
suggests that the only way to explain the existence of the Sabbath during
the exodus is by going back to Gen 2:1-3.
C. Exod
20:8-11: The Sabbath Commandment
At Sinai the Sabbath
commandment was officially entrusted to Israel (Exod 20:8-11; Deut 5:12-15).
In Exod 20:8 the people are commanded to "remember the Sabbath day," while
Deut 5:12 says, "Observe the Sabbath day." The use of different verbs
does not introduce any significant change in the commandment. It is well
known that the verb "to remember" (zkr) is used in legal contexts
in the sense of "to keep, to observe"[16] (cf. Ps 103:18). The verb "remember"
has not only a retrospective connotation-recalling a past event to commemorate
it-but also a prospective one[17]-to keep in mind in order to obey it.
In both cases the recalling implies a present significance, which in this
case consists in keeping the Sabbath holy. That verb is also important
in that it suggests that the Sabbath "commandment is not given to Israel
for the first time at Sinai (cf. 16:22ff.), but at Sinai Israel is only
exhorted to remember what had been an obligation from the beginning."[18]
According to Exod
20:8, the Sabbath commemorates the fact that God is the Creator who rested
on the seventh day. It explains the origin of the Sabbath by locating
it in the divine rest after creation.[19] Therefore, "keeping the Sabbath
holy is an emulation of God's actions at the time of creation."[20] The
reason why the Sabbath must be observed is that on that day God rested
and that He blessed and sanctified it. Consequently, "Israel could hardly
do otherwise."[21] In fact the Sabbath rest is extended to all; "it is
not simply something for Israel to keep; even animals and strangers are
to honor it. Yet the divine rest is more than a humanitarian gesture or
a paradigm for creaturely resting-because God did so, the creatures should.
It is a religious act with cosmic implications."[22]
The version of the
commandment recorder in Deut 5 introduces new ideas that emphasize the
purpose and reasons to observe the Sabbath rather than its origin as is
the case in Exodus.[23] One of the reasons given for keeping the Sabbath
holy is that "the Lord your God commanded you" to do that (5:12). Its
origin and normative force is grounded in God's loving will for His people.
But more specifically, the Sabbath is to be kept holy in memory of the
deliverance of Israel from Egypt. This is different from what we found
in Exodus where the reason given is "that the sabbath has been a holy
day since creation."[24] According to Deuteronomy, obeying the command
accomplishes two purposes: "You will remember the redemptive work of God
on your behalf, and you will provide rest for the slaves under your control.
So in the case of Exodus, the community is called to remember and to obey
out that memory; in the Deuteronomistic form, the community obeys to keep
alive the memory of redemption and to bring about the provision of rest
from toil for all members of the community."[25]
Deuteronomy introduces
into the commandment a soteriological dimension that constitutes it into
a memorial of redemption. Consequently the theological significance of
the Sabbath commandment has been greatly enriched. Now "the fundamental
significance of the Sabbath is both to remind us of God's creation (Ex.
20:8-11) and to bring to remembrance the freedom from servitude of any
form, achieved by God and extended to all human beings (cf. Ex. 23:13)."[26]
One should not conclude that in Deuteronomy the Sabbath was instituted
because of the Exodus; it is rather that "because of the deliverance from
Egypt, Israel is urged to observe the Sabbath . . ."[27] D. Mark
2:27: Jesus and Creation Sabbath.
One of the passages
in the New Testament that locates the origin of the Sabbath commandment
in the creation story is Mark 2:27: "The Sabbath was made [ginomai]
for man, and not man for the Sabbath." There are two main details in the
text that deserve our attention. First, the term "man." Some have argued
that since the text is an aphorism the term "man" does not refer to the
Jews or to humanity in general. The passage, it is argued, is not addressing
that question or establishing those distinctions.[28] Nevertheless, even
if the saying was an aphorism, and that is not certain, it is difficult
to deny that the Greek term anthropos is being used here in a generic
way to refer to humans and not to a particular race (e.g. Jews).
Second, the verb
ginomai should not be understood as "simply a circumlocution for
God's action."[29] Such generalization is too vague and leaves unanswered
the question of the specific divine action the biblical writer had in
mind. The verb can and should be translated here "was made/created." This
is one of the possible usages of the verb in the New Testament and nicely
fits the present text.[30] Besides, the parallelism between "the Sabbath
was made for man" and the implicit use of the same verb in the second
part of the verse-"man was not [made] for the Sabbath"--strongly suggests
that the verb means "was created." The text's starting point is the creation
account, the moment when humans were created and the Sabbath was instituted.[31]
God's intention was that the Sabbath "be a blessing to man, a day of physical
rest, but also a day devoted to spiritual exercises. The Pharisees treated
the day as though man were created to serve the Sabbath, rather than the
Sabbath meeting the needs of man."[32] In Mark Jesus was restating the
true nature and purpose of the Sabbath commandment by taking his readers
back to the creation origin of the Sabbath.[33]
E. Summary
The biblical text
places the origin of the Sabbath in God's work during the creation week.
His work, followed by rest, anticipated and modeled what was to be the
experience of the human race. The Creator in His own activity revealed
the interaction of work and rest that will characterize the mode of existence
of humans. He did not have to create in six days and then rest on the
seventh; but by doing that He was establishing a pattern for His intelligent
creatures.
It was God who blessed
and sanctified the Sabbath endowing it with benefits for those who observe
it and setting it apart as a day not only for physical rest but also as
a day for communion with the Holy One. The day was intended to be of great
benefit for the human race. This was reaffirmed by Jesus at a time when
the commandment was overloaded with regulations that made its observance
a heavy burden. The original joy of Sabbath observance was restored by
Jesus by pointing to the true nature of the creation Sabbath and its significance
in his redemptive work and Messianic authority.[34]
The fact that the
Sabbath originated during creation week clearly implies that it was instituted
for the benefit of the human race. No particular group or race
has control over the blessedness and sanctity of the Sabbath. The sequence
of work and rest on the Sabbath established by God at the beginning belongs
to the human race. The observance of the Sabbath by "all flesh," that
is to say by humankind, becomes in Isaiah an eschatological expectation
that will become a reality in the new heavens and the new earth (Isa 66:23).[35]
It is true that
at Sinai God entrusted the commandment to the Israelites but He also made
it clear to them that its origin was located in the divine rest on the
seventh day after His six days of work. In the context of Israel's deliverance
from Egypt the theology of the Sabbath was significantly enriched by including
in its observance a theology of redemption. The Sabbath became a memorial
of God's creation and of His redemptive work on behalf of His people-an
act of recreation. The Christological basis for Sabbath observance was
already anticipated in the Old Testament when the Sabbath was directly
associated with God's salvific activity.
III.
Perpetuity of the Sabbath Commandment
There
are no hints in the Old Testament that the Sabbath commandment, as preserved
in the Decalogue, was to be terminated or modified. Yet, Christianity
is seriously divided concerning the validity of the Sabbath commandment
for Christian believers. Adventists believe that there is no clear evidence
in the New Testament to support the idea that biblical Sabbath keeping
was changed to Sunday observance. We recognize that the change did take
place soon after the apostolic era, but an examination of the New Testament
passages dealing with the subject reveals that the Sabbath commandment
was observed in the apostolic church.
A.
Jewish Christians and Sabbath Observance
There seems to be
widespread agreement among scholars that the Jewish Christian communities
of the New Testament observed the Sabbath. It is nevertheless necessary
for us to summarize the evidence in order to explore its implications.
1. Jesus
and the Sabbath
We should begin
with Jesus. Luke 4:16 states that Jesus went to Nazareth and "as was His
custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read."
It is irrelevant whether one takes the phrase "as was his custom" to refer
to Jesus' habit of teaching in the synagogue (4:15)[36] or to his practice
of going to the synagogue during the Sabbath.[37] The fact remains that
the passage is stating, in agreement with the rest of the New Testament,
that "Jesus participated in the sabbath worship,"[38] that is to say,
he was obedient to the commandment.
The gospels demonstrate
that Jesus did not anticipate the abrogation or modification of the Sabbath
commandment during his ministry or after his resurrection. In fact the
saying found in Matt 24:20-"Pray that your flight will not be in the winter,
or on a Sabbath"-suggests that he expected his disciples to keep the Sabbath
long after his resurrection and ascension.[39] "Christians were exhorted
to pray that their flight would not have to occur on the Sabbath day out
of respect for their observance of that day. They could flee on that day
if they had to, but they were to pray that they would not have to in order
to keep that day as a day of rest and worship, not a day of travel."[40]
The Sabbath controversies
between Jesus and the Jews also indicate that he was not setting the Sabbath
aside or pointing to the time when it will be transmuted into something
else. Studies have shown that before 70 AD one of the most important issues
of discussion concerning the Sabbath in Jewish circles was precisely what
could be done during the Sabbath.[41] The discussions and disagreements
did not have the purpose of questioning the validity of the Sabbath commandment.
Jesus addressed the issue in order to liberate the Sabbath from the regulations
imposed on it by Jewish traditions. Let us briefly examine the passages
describing the controversies recorded in Mark with parallels in Matt and
Luke.
Mark 2:23-26//Matt
12:1-8//Luke 6:1-5: The disciples were walking through the grainfields
on the Sabbath picking the heads of grain and eating when the Pharisees
accused them and Jesus of violating the Sabbath. The Torah prohibited
harvesting during the Sabbath (Exod 34:21), but it would be difficult
to argue that the disciples were farmers harvesting during the Sabbath.[42]
The law allowed plucking ears of grain from a field (Deut 23:26), but
this was forbidden by the Jews during the Sabbath.[43] According to the
Pharisees Jesus and the disciples had violated the Jewish halakah.[44]
In order to justify
the behavior of the disciples Jesus refers to two exceptional cases; one
related to David and the other to the priests and the temple. Most probably
the reference to David was used to show that providing for human need
can under certain circumstances override the law.[45] This is supported
by the saying in verse 27, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man
for the Sabbath." Matthew adds the experience of the priests who worked
in the temple during the Sabbath (12:5). The point is that if the priests
are not guilty of violating the Sabbath, "how much more innocent are the
disciples, who are 'serving' Jesus, 'one greater than the temple.'"[46]
In fact, Mark states that Jesus is "Lord even of the Sabbath," that is
to say, it is he who determines how the Sabbath is to be kept.[47] But
there is more to it. The statement "not only affirms the authority of
Jesus, the Son of man, to reinterpret Sabbath law, but asserts also that
the Sabbath remains God's day. Designed for the welfare of men and women,
the proper use of the Sabbath is determined by the Son of man. As a human
figure, he best knows human needs; as a divine figure, he has the authority
to say how the Lord's day should be used."[48]
Mark 3:1-6//Matt
12:9-14//Luke 6:6-11: The story is about the healing of a man with
a withered hand. The discussion is concerning what is lawful or permitted
during the Sabbath and its main purpose is to demonstrate that Jesus is
indeed Lord over the Sabbath, that is to say that he is the one who determines
how the Sabbath should to be kept.[49] In the process the law is not challenged
or set aside by him. The Jewish halakah allowed for healing during the
Sabbath when life was being threatened.[50] According to Mark Jesus considered
"withholding the cure of the man's paralyzed hand, even for a few hours,
tantamount to killing him, and performing the cure immediately tantamount
to saving his life."[51] Doing good cannot wait for the Sabbath to end
because doing good is not incompatible with the Sabbath! His messianic
mission was to restore fullness of life to suffering humanity and the
Sabbath witnessed to that redemptive activity. Human traditions were not
to impose limits to his work on behalf of suffering humanity.[52] Matthew
is more explicit in the rejection of halakhic regulations by asking whether
a person whose sheep fell into a pit during the Sabbath was not willing
to lift it out of the pit (12:11).[53] The point is that humans are more
valuable than a sheep and the conclusion he draws from it is that "it
is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." Obviously Jesus was not rejecting
or modifying the commandment but determining how it should be properly
kept.[54]
John 5:1-18:
In the gospel of John we find two important incidents dealing with Sabbath
controversies. The first is the healing of the lame man by the pool of
Bethesda on the Sabbath. When charged with violating the Sabbath Jesus
justified his action saying, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself
am working" (5:17). Several comments on that statement are in order. First,
it was accepted by the Jews that God's work is not interrupted by the
Sabbath, that His role as Judge and Sustainer of the world never stops.[55]
Jesus justifies his work of mercy during the Sabbath by identifying it
with the work of his Father, thus making a profound Christological statement
concerning his relationship with the Father. They are both performing
a work of redemption.[56]
Second, the fact
that God works "until now" shows that God's work of mercy and redemption
was never considered by Him to be incompatible with the human observance
of the Sabbath commandment. By implication Jesus' work of redemption during
the Sabbath is not incompatible with proper Sabbath observance. Hence
Jesus was not abolishing the Sabbath.[57] Through his action he was stating
that "the sabbath command does not mean doing nothing (aria), but
the doing of the work of God."[58]
Third, the debate
between Jesus and the Jews on this incident was resumed in 7:19-24, where
Jesus explicitly argues that Sabbath observance is compatible with works
of mercy and love. He justified his work on the Sabbath by reference to
the law of circumcision that in some cases allowed it to be performed
during the Sabbath, superseding the commandment. The point is that "if
circumcision, involving only one of a mans's members, is allowed, how
much more the healing of the whole man!"[59] What John is showing is that
"Jesus' work of healing on the sabbath cannot even be regarded as breaking
the Law. Jesus is fulfilling God's deepest intentions, recognizable in
the Torah itself."[60]
John 9: Jesus
healed the blind man on the Sabbath by kneading clay with his saliva,
placing it on the eyes of the man and sending him to wash it off at the
pool of Siloam. Raymond F. Brown lists three reasons why the Jews charged
Jesus with not keeping the Sabbath. First, Jesus could have waited until
after the Sabbath to heal him; the man's life was not threatened. Second,
kneading was forbidden on Sabbath; third, in some cases anointing the
eyes on Sabbath was condemned; and finally, one may "not put fasting spittle
on the eyes on the Sabbath."[61] This shows that Jesus was breaking the
Sabbath only in the eyes of the Jewish leaders, but the implication is
that he himself was not violating the Torah; he was performing the works
of God (9:3). What John is disputing "is the manner, not the fact, of
Jesus' Sabbath observance."[62]
2. Other
Jewish Christians
Our brief review
of the Sabbath controversies in the gospels has demonstrated that at least
the Matthean community, formed mainly by Jewish believers, were keeping
the Sabbath. There is no indication that would support the view that according
to Mark and John Jesus abolished the Sabbath commandment. Even Luke explicitly
states that the women who followed Jesus to the cross saw where he was
buried and then "returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the
Sabbath they rested according to the commandment" (Luke23:56). We also
read about Paul's practice of going to the synagogue on the Sabbath, which
does not simply mean that he went there to make Christian disciples but
also because as a Jew he kept the Sabbath (Acts 13:14, 44; 16:13; 17:2;
18:4). It is true that the "freedom claimed by Jesus with respect to the
Sabbath constitutes, in all the Gospels, one of the main grievances that
the scribes and pharisees have against him. There is, however, no indication
that Jesus had broken or even that he had merely wished to break with
the observance of the third commandment of the Decalogue. Nor is there
any evidence that he asked or even permitted his disciples to do so. Quite
the contrary is the case."[63]
B. Gentile
Christians and Sabbath Observance
Did Gentile Christians
observe the Sabbath during the time of the apostles? As indicated above
scholars are willing to grant that Jewish-Christians kept the Sabbath
but that its observance was not required from Gentile converts. The conclusion
is primarily based on the silence of the New Testament concerning any
such requirement for Gentiles. But the argument from silence is not decisive
because it could also be interpreted as suggesting that Sabbath observance
by all Christians was taken for granted. It is true that the commandment
is not quoted in the New Testament but neither is the commandment against
the worship of images explicitly mentioned or cited anywhere in the apostolic
writings.
Some have found
it significant that the apostolic decree recorded in Acts 15:20, 28-29
does not mention the Sabbath as a requirement for Gentile Christians.
We should recall that the purpose of the council was not to determine
what was to be expected of Gentiles with respect to the Torah, but to
regulate their behavior in such a way that it would not be offensive to
Jewish Christians. Hardly anything else would have created more friction
between Gentile and Jewish believers than the Gentile violation of the
sanctity of the Sabbath. There is no evidence in the New Testament to
demonstrate that such controversy was going on.[64]
We should also recall
that at this early period in the history of the church most of the Gentiles
who became Christians were "Godfearers" who were seriously attracted to
Judaism and who attended the synagogue and were observing the Sabbath
before they became Christians (Acts 16:14; 18:2, 4).[65] In addition many
Gentiles who converted to Judaism, proselytes, also became Christians
and they obviously were Sabbath keepers (13:43). It is difficult to conceive
of the idea that these new Christian converts were taught that Sabbath
observance was irrelevant for them without any evidence from the New Testament
to support it.
There is also evidence
indicating that some type of Sabbath observance was practiced among Gentiles
who were not attached to Judaism in any way but who were attracted to
some of its ideas. On account of the Diaspora the Jews had become very
visible throughout the Roman Empire[66] and probably quite influential.
The state recognized the importance the Sabbath had for the Jews and exempted
them from military service, from appearing in court during the Sabbath,
and they were not required to work during the seventh day.[67] Their Sabbath
observance became well-known and many non-Jews, under the influence of
the Jews, did not work on the Sabbath, perhaps because they thought it
was a day of misfortune or for other superstitious reasons.[68]
If Gentile Christians
were not expected to keep the Sabbath we should be able to find some evidence
of it in the New Testament. What we find is the opposite. If we go back
to the Sabbath controversies in the Gospels it would not be difficult
to realize that the question debated between Jesus and the Jewish leaders
was not whether it was necessary to keep the Sabbath but how the Sabbath
was to be observed.[69] This is something that we would expect to find
in the Gospel of Matthew, written to Jewish-Christians, but it is also
found in Mark and Luke whose primary gentile audience is not questioned.
We acknowledge that in those controversies other theological issues are
involved and that in some cases the Sabbath is a foil for deeper theological
issues like, for instance, the authority of Jesus and his Messianic role.
However, the fact that the Gospel writers selected the Sabbath controversies
to convey their message also indicates that the topic was very much alive
in the communities they were addressing. More significantly, the way they
dealt with the subject of the Sabbath presupposes that the communities,
Jewish and Gentiles alike, were in need of instruction concerning Sabbath
observance. The fundamental issue appears to have been whether they
should follow the Jewish traditions, the halakah, or not. The Gospel writers
used the ministry and experience of Jesus to instruct them on how to keep
the Sabbath as Christians. In the Old Testament God modeled Sabbath observance
after His work of creation, now in the New Testament Jesus is presented
as the model to be followed in proper Sabbath keeping.
A brief look at
the Gospel of Luke, written to Gentile Christians, supports our main argument.
The word "Sabbath" appears in Luke twenty-one times and eight additional
times in Acts. Luke introduces (4:16) and closes Jesus ministry (23:54)
with references to the Sabbath and then adds that the women rested on
the Sabbath "according to the commandment" (23:56). Luke describes Jesus
and his followers as habitual Sabbath keepers.[70] If we examine the Sabbath
controversies in the Gospel it would not be difficult to identify one
of the key issues in the discussions. In 6:2 the Pharisees asked Jesus,
"Why do you do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" In the second incident
recorded in 6:6-11, Jesus asked the Pharisees, "I ask you, is it lawful
to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath?" In both cases the concern is
proper Sabbath observance and not whether the Sabbath should be kept or
not. The same applies to the Sabbath controversies that are unique to
Luke. In 13:16 Jesus asked, "Should she not have been released from this
bond on the Sabbath day?," implying that it was lawful to heal her on
the Sabbath. In the final case, recorded in 14:1-6, we find the more traditional
question, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?" It is obvious
that with respect to the Sabbath the fundamental issue was defining proper
Sabbath observance.
When Jesus says in
Luke 6:5, "The Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath" Luke is saying that
he has "the right to authoritatively represent the divine intention for
the sabbath. . . . In this new situation the Son of Man is able to open
up the full potential of the sabbath as God's gift to humankind."[71]
The Sabbath is for him a day of liberation from suffering and needs, a
channel for loving actions. The references to the Sabbath in the gospels
clearly show that the Christian communities were concerned about it. One
could argue that perhaps the issue was whether one should or should not
observe the Sabbath, or a conflict between the church and the synagogue,[72]
but the evidence clearly supports the conviction that the Gospels are
instructing Jews and Gentile Christians on how to keep the Sabbath.[73]
C. Summary
The New Testament
contains irrefutable evidence to the effect that Jesus and his disciples
observed the seventh day Sabbath. It is also clear that the Jewish Christian
communities also kept the Sabbath during the apostolic period. Such practice
should not be explained away arguing that it was the result of a poor
understanding of the implications of the gospel of Jesus on the Jewish
law. Jesus, according to the Gospels, observed the Sabbath and made it
a day in which he brought rest to the sick and to those oppressed by evil
powers. He expected his followers to enjoy the benefits of true Sabbath
observance.
The Sabbath controversies
recorded in the Gospels had the fundamental purpose of instructing the
Jewish and Gentile communities to which they were sent on proper Sabbath
observance.[74] Jesus' attitude and ministry during the holy hours of
the Sabbath modeled for them Christian Sabbath keeping and demonstrated
that the legalistic approach of the Jewish halakah was not to be followed
by his church.
There is no indication
in the teachings and ministry of Jesus that would support the conviction
that he was setting the Sabbath apart as irrelevant for the church or
that he was instituting or planning to institute a new day of rest for
his church. He did anticipate the end of the temple services and the sacrificial
system, what is usually called the ceremonial or ritual law. But the Sabbath
law was upheld by him as a permanent revelation of the will of his Father.
IV.
Controversial Texts
Are
there hints in the New Testament pointing to the possibility that the
Sabbath commandment was either fulfilled in Christ, giving Christian believers
freedom from the commandment, or that a new Christian day of worship was
slowly being introduced in Christian worship? The debate among Christians
on those issues continues without indications of a final resolution. Yet
the questions that are raised are of great importance since they deal
with the expression of God's will for His church. We will briefly examine
the passages usually employed to indicate that during the New Testament
era the Sabbath was being set aside by the church.
A. Romans
14:5: A Matter of Conscience
Some have used Rom
14:5 to argue that, according to Paul, Sabbath observance was optional,
a matter of personal choice in accordance to one's conscience.[75] That
statement has serious implications for the Sabbath commandment in the
Christian church. It would suggest that during the time of Paul the commandment
was not considered binding on Christians and that a transition from its
observance to its rejection was already in process. It would also suggest
or imply that the church was being left free to select any particular
day for worship. We should examine the passage more carefully.
1. Paul
Was Not Describing Biblical Practices
Some
presuppose that Paul is discussing in our passage Old Testament practices
that are now considered by him of little or no value for Christians. That
is not the case. Notice that some of the recipients of the letter to the
Romans believed that one should abstain from eating meat and drinking
wine (14:2, 21). However, the Old Testament does not require total abstention
from animal flesh but only of the flesh of some animals (Lev 11).[76]
Neither does the OT consider grape juice improper for ingestion.[77] It
was forbidden only to the High Priest and the Nazarite. Paul is discussing
food that was considered common (koin�s, the term used in 14:14)
and therefore not proper for consumption under certain circumstances.
The reference is not to regulations found in the Torah that could or could
not be followed based on the conscience of the individual.
Paul says that the
weak values one day more than another but he does not explicitly state
the reason for the distinction. There is not an explicit statement from
Paul indicating what was done during that day or whether the day was considered
holy. There are no references in the chapter to the holy days of the Old
Testament. Whatever it was, the strong valued every day as the same for
the purpose or activity that he or she had in mind. Hence, the problem
was not the activity but deciding which day was the best day to perform
a particular activity. Those to whom he wrote understood clearly what
he had in mind, but we should be judicious and not jump to unsubstantiated
conclusions, e.g. that Paul is dealing here with the Sabbath commandment.[78]
That is not stated or suggested by the text and the simple mention of
the word "days" does not justify that conclusion. The discussion does
not seem to be about the Old Testament Torah.
2. Paul
Was Not Emphasizing the Days[79]
Paul dedicates only
two verses to the subject of "days" and about 21 to the issue of food.
Had he been discussing the Sabbath he would have had to develop his thought
much more because of the potential controversial nature of this subject.
This suggests that for Paul selecting one day over another was a personal
matter and not an issue he wanted to regulate for the church. Therefore
the issue is not keeping the Sabbath or not keeping the Sabbath but the
use of days for some other reason or purpose. In fact, there is nothing
in the context about "observing/keeping" a day; it simply deals with "preferring/selecting
one day to another" for some particular purpose.[80] We should remember
that during the New Testament period the Sabbath was a communal day of
worship. Was Paul, then, saying that Christians could now come to worship
any day they want based on personal preferences? Would not this create
serious confusion in the church? If the other apostles selected a particular
day for communal worship, would not that be in opposition to Paul's advice
in Rom 14? Why selec another day if all are of equal significance?
3. Paul
Was Not Facing Legalism
Paul is addressing
a problem in the church based on differences of opinion among the members
on matters he did not consider to be a threat to the gospel. Whatever
church members were doing, they were not going against God's revealed
will; therefore he does not condemn the practices but gives advice on
how to accept the differences in Christian love. The fundamental issue
is the unity of the church and the preservation of that unity in spite
of diversity of opinion in some unimportant areas. Paul is not attacking
false teachers who are promoting legalism among believers.
What should we conclude?
Different suggestions have been given concerning Paul's reference to "days,"
none of which have gained general support.[81] That intimates that the
text does not contain enough information to allow us clearly to understand
the problems addressed by Paul. We can only offer hypothesis, as Kaesemann
recognizes.[82] We have shown that it is easier and safer to exclude possibilities
(e.g., the Sabbath commandment) than to argue for particular hypothesis.
Nevertheless, the reference to "days" in the context of abstention from
certain foods suggests days of fasting. This is the conclusion reached
by some Adventist[83] and non-Adventist[84] scholars.[85] According to
them Paul was probably addressing the practice of days of fasting during
which certain foods were considered common and improper for consumption.
This would explain the dispute over food. In addition some individuals
considered certain days as good days for fasting while others considered
all to be of equal value.[86]
B. Col
2:16-17; Gal 3:10: Special Days
Colossians 2:16-23
is exegetically one of the most difficult passages to interpret in the
New Testament. Part of the problem is the difficulties one faces in understanding
the terminology used there and the extent to which Paul is quoting from
his opponents. The other problem is defining the type of false teaching
that was being promoted among church members. There is no scholarly consensus
on those issues. Those who believe that the polemic is aimed mainly at
Judaism find in the passage evidence to argue for the irrelevance of the
Sabbath commandment for Christians.[87] But recent studies have supported
the more traditional conviction that in Colossians we are not dealing
with traditional Judaism but with a syncretistic movement in which Jewish
elements are present.[88] The Jewish elements are usually found particularly
in the phrase "in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival
or a new moon or a Sabbath day."
For our purpose
one of the key terms in that sentence is "Sabbath day." Is it referring
to the seventh day Sabbath of the Old Testament or is it designating something
else? Some Adventists have argued that the reference is not to the commandment
because the Sabbath could not be described as "shadow of what is to come"
(2:17); it was instituted before sin came into the world. It has been
common to argue that the Greek term for Sabbath used here is plural in
form (sabbaton) and that it is better to apply it to the ceremonial
Sabbaths associated with the Israelite festivals.[89] They could properly
be described as shadows pointing to the work of the Messiah. More recently
Adventist scholars have concluded that the phrase "festival or a new moon
or a Sabbath day" seems to describe a yearly, monthly and weekly sequence
making it difficult to retain the more common view. This has led to some
other interpretational possibilities based on the context and on the use
of the phrase "festival, new moon, Sabbath." For some the term "Sabbath"
here is referring to the Jewish halakah, the "teachings of men" mentioned
in the context (2:22).[90] Others argue that the list is designating the
sacrifices offered during those religious occasions and not to the occasions
themselves.[91] The sacrifices were a shadow of the sacrificial death
of the Messiah.
The reference to
the Sabbath is problematic for all interpreters because of the context
in which it is found. Although the common tendency is to find in it a
reference to the commandment there are still those who, based on the fact
that the sequence is yearly, monthly and weekly, consider it possible
and probable that the reference is not to the commandment itself but to
the week. In other words, the term sabbaton should be translated
"week,"[92] a usage found elsewhere in the New Testament (e.g. Luke 18:11;
Mark 16:9).[93] That possibility "cannot be ruled out completely (in which
case the phrase would refer to weekly, monthly, and probably annual festivals)."[94]
But even if the term
sabbatton designates the seventh day, the Sabbath, as it probably
does, we should be extremely careful concerning the significance we attach
to that usage. The term is employed in the context of a syncretistic "heresy"
and therefore its original biblical significance has been altered. Paul
is reacting to syncretistic practices promoted by the false teachers with
respect to eating, drinking and festivals. The use of the verb "to judge"
in 2:16 is very important for a correct grasping of the meaning of the
passage. When Paul says, "no one is to act as your judge in regard to,"
he is in fact saying, "Let no one determine or regulate your eating, drinking
. . ."[95] In other words the false teachers are not requiring submission
to those practices but determining the way they should be performed on
the basis of their own teachings. Paul correctly designates those regulations
as "commandments and teachings of men" (2:22; cf. 2:8).
Paul is in fact
warning "the Colossians not against the observances of these practices
as such, but against 'anyone' (tis) who passes judgment on how
to eat, to drink, and to observe sacred times. The judge who passed judgment
is not Paul but the Colossian false teachers who imposed 'regulations'
(Col 2:20) on how to observe these practices in order to achieve 'rigor
of devotion and self-abasement and severity to the body' (Col 2:23)."[96]
What Paul is rejecting is not "the teachings of Moses but their perverted
use by the Colossian false teachers."[97] He does not have in view "the
Jewish observance of these days as an expression of Israel's obedience
to God's law and a token of her election . . . What moves him here is
the wrong motive involved when the observance of holy festivals is made
part of the worship advocated at Colossae in recognition of the 'elements
of the universe', the astral powers which direct the course of the stars
and regulate the calendar."[98]
We can conclude
that Paul is simply condemning "not the principle of Sabbath keeping but
its perversion" or "superstitious observance."[99] We have already indicated
that such type of Sabbath observance may have been quite common outside
Jewish circles. Therefore, based on Col 2:16 one cannot theorize that
Paul was promoting or teaching the abolition of the Sabbath commandment.[100]
He was rejecting the attempt of the false teachers to impose their views
on believers concerning how to observe it.[101] They were misusing the
commandment but its misuse does not invalidate the commandment itself.[102]
In the case of Gal
4:10 we are also dealing with superstitious observance of days and not
with the proper observance of the biblical Sabbath. Scholars have debated
whether when Paul says, "You observe days and months and seasons and years"
he was referring to the Jewish calendar of religious days or to pagan
practices.[103] Several comments are in order. First, there is no explicit
mention of the Sabbath in the text, although one could presume
that it is included under the plural "days." But the fact that the plural
is used suggests that Paul did not necessarily have in mind the issue
of Sabbath keeping.[104] Second, one could argue that since the conflict
in Galatians is against some Jewish practices the passage under consideration
must be referring to Jewish holy days that would include that Sabbath.
But even if that were the case, the observance of the Sabbath is not necessarily
being rejected. Paul would, then, be reacting only to religious
practices that threatened the integrity and effectiveness of the gospel
of salvation that is exclusively through Christ. It would be difficult
to argue that Paul is here rejecting all types of holy days.
Finally, the verb
paraterein ("observe") suggests that we are not dealing here with
a wholesome observance of Jewish religious days but with superstitious
beliefs. The verb paraterein is not the verb used in the LXX or
the rest of the New Testament to refer to the observance, for instance,
of the Sabbath. That verb expresses not only the idea of carefully observing
the cultic calendar but also the action of calculating the arrival of
the days and the seasons. This verb "seems to have the sense of anxious,
scrupulous, well-informed observance in one's own interest, which does
not fit the traditional celebration of the Sabbath or other Jewish feasts
but does fit regard for point or spans of time which are evaluated positively
or negatively from the standpoint of the calendar or astrology. Naturally
it is conceivable that Jewish feasts, especially in the Hellenistic sphere,
were regarded and celebrated superstitiously."[105] The calendar rejected
here is most probably of pagan origin and consequently we should not read
into it proper Sabbath observance.[106]
C. Matt
11:28-30 and Heb 4:1-11: Eschatological Rest and the Sabbath
1. Matthew
11:29-30
It has been argued
that the rest promised by Jesus to his followers in Matt 11:28-30 was
the eschatological Sabbath rest already present and available in Jesus'
work of redemption for those who come to him.[107] This presupposes that
the Old Testament Sabbath had a typological function that was already
being met in Jesus and implies that true Sabbath observance is a life
of rest in him.[108] The question is whether that is a correct reading
of the text in its context.
First, the idea
that the Sabbath had a typological function in the Old Testament pointing
to a future eschatological rest does not seem to be based on clear biblical
evidence. Articles on the Hebrew word sabbat in the Old Testament
do not even mention the possibility that the Sabbath was used to designate
the eschatological rest in the future world.[109] There is no eschatological
Sabbath in the Old Testament although, as we already mentioned, there
are references to the fact that in the future world the Sabbath was to
be kept.[110] However, the concept is found in Rabbinic literature[111]
and the tendency has been to read it back into the OT. But even if the
Sabbath had an eschatological content in the OT, it is clear from Isa
66:23 that the realization of that hope in Israel was not perceived to
mean or imply that the weekly Sabbath rest will come to an end.
Second, Jesus' statement,
"I will give you rest" should be interpreted by the context in which it
is used.[112] This rest is offered by him to the "weary and heavy laden,"
mentioned in 11:28. The verb "heavy laden" (phortizo) is also used
in Luke 11:46 to refer to Jewish interpretations of the law which have
become a burden for the people.[113] This interpretation is supported
by the reference to the light "burden" (portion) that Jesus places
on his followers (11:30).[114]
The term "yoke"
is also important. It was employed by the Jews and in the New Testament
to refer to the Law (cf. Acts 15:10; Gal 5:1).[115] In Matt 11:29-30 Jesus
is offering to his followers "his teachings as the definite interpretation
of the law"[116] and describing them as easy and light. The nature of
that "yoke" is illustrated in the Sabbath controversies recorded in Matt
12:1-14[117] where the rigidity of the Pharisees' regulations is contrasted
with Jesus' views on the Sabbath and his concern for the well-being of
the people. One could suggest that "the easiness of the yoke and the lightness
of the burden are based on relationships with the meek and humble Jesus,
which brings rest in the present. Though Jesus can hardly be accused of
laxity, his teachings about Sabbath observance in the following pericopes
(Matt 12:1-8, 9-14) distinguish him from the Pharisees by their 'lightness'
of burden."[118] Such ideas should not be divorced from the meaning or
significance of the rest he is offering his followers.
The "rest" that
Jesus is offering is an eschatological rest in the sense that in him the
end of the old age and the beginning of the new one is already a reality.
In context that rest liberates from the burdensome impositions of human
regulations and frees the individual to enjoy the true intent of the law
in submission to him. "This rest is not idleness but the peace and contentment
and fullness of life that come with knowing and doing the truth as revealed
by God's Son, who is always with his people."[119] The connection between
Matt 11:28-30 and the Sabbath controversies in the following chapter suggests
that the rest Jesus is offering includes the full enjoyment of the Sabbath
rest. Therefore the rest he brings is not one that liberates from the
Sabbath commandment but the rest that also includes the enjoyment of the
commandment liberated from the burden of human regulations. Neither is
his rest the eschatological fulfillment of the Sabbath rest that liberates
the believer from the literal observance of the commandment.[120] What
Jesus offers "is not a vacation from the law but a less burdensome way
of fulfilling it. . . The 'rest' is made possible through the provision
of a new yoke."[121]
2. Hebrews
4:1-11
This section of
the epistle to the Hebrews has been interpreted as evidence for the observance
of the Sabbath commandment in the Christian community,[122] but also as
evidence for a new Christian understanding of the Sabbath in terms of
discharging our "duty of Sabbath observance . . . by exercising faith"
and not through literal obedience to the commandment.[123] Others have
concluded that "this passage tells us nothing about Christian observance
or non-observance of the Sabbath."[124] This simply shows that the connection
made in the text between God's offer of rest to His people and the reference
to the Sabbath is not as clear as some may think and that therefore we
should be careful not to read into the text more than it allows.
First, we
should recognize that the main purpose of Heb 3:7-4:11 is to emphasize
the need for perseverance and faithfulness in the Christian community.[125]
The discussion of God's rest is subordinate to that more specific goal.
That explains why there is not a detailed discussion of the nature of
the rest that God offered His people in the past but that is still available
to them "today." It also clarifies the emphasis found throughout Heb 4
on the problem of unbelief and disobedience and the need for diligence
in the Christian life.
Second, the
ultimate purpose or goal of perseverance and faithfulness is to make sure
that believers will enter God's rest. The exodus generation did not enter
that rest, even though it was available to them, because of their unbelief.
In fact it had been available to God's people since the creation of the
world. The fact that the people of God in the Old Testament did not enter
God's rest means that it is still available to Christians. But they should
learn from the Exodus generation and avoid hardening their hearts with
unbelief.
Third, the
rest is basically an eschatological promise that, though offered to the
Israelites, has not yet been realized. It remains to be fulfilled (4:1,
9) and believers are exhorted to make every effort to enter this rest
(4:11). Yet it seems at the same time to be a present experience: "For
we who have believed enter that rest" (4:3). Probably what we find here
is the New Testament tension between the "already/not yet" of Christian
eschatology. Hebrews emphasizes what God has done for us through Christ
as our sacrifice and high priest but at the same time there is the recognition
that "God's people are still pilgrims and strangers on this earth on the
way to the heavenly goal, living by hope. That is, the gospel comes to
us as both fact and promise. So it is with rest in 4:1-11. God's people
even now may enter it, but they will experience rest in its fullness only
at the second coming."[126] We are obviously dealing here with the eschatological
significance of the biblical concept of rest.[127]
Fourth, although
the rest is not clearly defined by the author, it follows from what we
have said that in its broadest sense it is the "bliss of salvation in
Jesus Christ, into which we enter by faith in Him-a joy that is already
a reality of Christians but that will attain an even deeper dimension
in our eternal home with God."[128] Since Hebrews does not explore the
specific nature of that rest, we should avoid unnecessary speculations.[129]
Fifth, Ps
95:11 is used to demonstrate that the promise of rest found in the Old
Testament has remained unfulfilled not because of God's unwillingness
to fulfill it but because of the unbelief of His people. Therefore it
cannot be identified with entrance into the land of Canaan.[130] The Sabbath
rest is not being equated with the eschatological rest but is being used
to suggest that, like the Sabbath rest, the eschatological rest "finds
its roots and essence in God's own primordial Sabbath."[131] From the
perspective of the author, the eschatological rest and the Sabbath are
both temporal and historical experiences.[132]
Sixth, the
Sabbath rest illustrates the nature of the rest that is still available
as a rest that requires cessation from one's works. This is a characteristic
of both the seventh day and the eschatological rest. One could say that
Heb 4:10 "models the rest after the Sabbath of Gen 2,2; it is a 'rest
from works.'"[133] The works Hebrews is referring to are not specifically
identified but it could be suggested that contextually they are not the
works of the law. The Pauline discussion of justification by faith versus
justification by the works of the law is foreign to the argument of the
epistle.[134] Based on Heb 3:6, one could suggest that the works Hebrews
mentions are probably the result of "the evil, unbelieving heart, hardened
by sin, that brings forth rebellion, disobedience, and unfaithfulness.
In contrast to this way that marked ancient Israel, God holds out for
us the way of faith, one that trusts God and goes forward with patience
and perseverance."[135]
Seventh, the
rest that remains-sabbatismos (4:9)-is the rest that was left unfulfilled
in the Old Testament-katapausis.[136] But the word sabbatismos
makes its own contribution to the discussion in that it clearly defines
the eschatological katapausis ("rest") as God's Sabbath-like rest.
That is to say, the Sabbath rest is used to illustrate the nature of the
eschatological rest.[137] This is important in that it suggests that for
the author of Hebrews the theology of the Sabbath was so meaningful that
he used it to interpret God's eschatological rest.[138] The context does
not support the suggestion that the Sabbath commandment had been fulfilled
in the rest of salvation that Christ brought, making it unnecessary for
Christians to obey it.[139] The offer of the Sabbath-like rest in the
Old Testament did not require the people to set aside the literal observance
of the Sabbath commandment. The eschatological rest is like the Sabbath
but does not replace it; they are not incompatible. Besides, entering
God's rest in Heb 4 does not mean that the Sabbath is superseded. In order
to enter God's rest the text only requires perseverance and faithfulness,
ceasing from our works, not the rejection of the Sabbath commandment.
Finally, it is important to mention that Heb 4 has absolutely nothing
to say about instituting a new day of rest, e.g. Sunday.
D. The
First Day of the Week in the NT
We should examine
a number of passages in which the first day of the week is mentioned in
order to determine whether or not they provide evidence for an apostolic
practice of meeting for worship during that day. Most of the references
are found in the gospels.
1. Resurrection
Appearances in the Gospels
The first reference
to the first day of the week is found in Matt 28:1: "Now after the Sabbath,
as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week . . ." Matthew is
simply dating the moment when the two women came to the tomb of Jesus.
When the Greek improper preposition opse is used with the genitive,
as in this particular case, it usually means "after (the Sabbath)."[140]
The women waited until the Sabbath ended and then early on Sunday morning
went to the tomb. There is no indication in the text that when Matthew
wrote the gospel Sunday had become a special religious day for Christians.[141]
According to Mark
the women waited until the Sabbath was over to buy spices and then "very
early on the first day of the week they came to the tomb" (16:2). The
sequence is clear: Rested on the Sabbath, after the Sabbath went and bought
the spices and then early on Sunday morning went to the tomb. The longer
ending of Mark makes clear that the resurrection of Jesus took place "early
on the first day of the week" (16:9), that he appeared to Mary Magdalene
probably that same day, to two disciples who "were walking along on their
way to the country" (16:12; cf. Luke 24:13-35), and that "He appeared
to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at the table" (v. 14).
In none of these apparitions of the resurrected Lord is it explicitly
indicated that it was Sunday or that there was a religious activity directly
associated with that day.
Luke uses the expression
"first day of the week, at early dawn" to date the moment when the women
went to the tomb of Jesus to anoint his body (24:1). According to Luke,
the reason they waited until the first day was because "on the Sabbath
day they rested according to the commandment" (23:56). If Luke were here
promoting the religious observance of a particular day, that would be
Sabbath and not Sunday. Interestingly, when the two men appeared to the
women they referred to the resurrection of Jesus as taking place on "the
third day" (24:7).
Late on the first
day of the week Jesus appeared to two of his disciples on the road to
Emmaus. In the incident the first day is not mentioned but the context
indicates that it was Sunday because Luke introduces the narrative stating
that it took place "on the same day," the day when Jesus resurrected (24:13).
Besides, the disciples said to Jesus, "It is the third day since these
things happened" (24:21). They avoided any explicit reference to the "first
day of the week" calling it the "third day." As an act of hospitality
they invited the stranger to stay with them that evening to eat. During
the meal Jesus took the bread, blessed it and gave it to them (24:30).
At that moment their eyes were opened and they recognized in the stranger
their Lord; then he "vanished from their sight" (24:31). This is hardly
a celebration of the Eucharist and neither does it provide the "basis
for making a connection with an invocation for the risen Lord to be present
in the eucharistic celebration."[142] In Luke, meals are often "the site
for revelatory discourse and the prospect of genuine fellowship characteristic
of the kingdom of God. Also in keeping with other meal scenes in the Gospel
of Luke, once he is at the table, Jesus' role shifts. He is no longer
the honored guest but the host of the meal, and it is in this role that
he distributes the bread."[143] The incident serves to reaffirm the fact
that the Jesus who died is the same one who is now alive. That message
was conveyed by the two disciples to the eleven who were in Jerusalem.
The time for Jesus'
apparition to the eleven disciples narrated in 24:36-49 is not given.
Jesus asked for food not as a religious act, for instance to celebrate
the Eucharist, but to demonstrate that he was alive, that he had resurrected
from the dead (24:41-42).[144] There is no evidence here of a religious
act celebrated during a sacred day. Luke "has used the well-attested tradition
of Jesus' eating with his disciples after the resurrection (Jn. 21:13;
Acts 1:4; 10:41) to stress the reality of his presence with them, and
he has not developed allusions to the feeding of the multitude or the
Last Supper."[145]
John records a visit
of Mary Magdalene to the tomb of Jesus "on the first day of the week"
(20:1). Later on, in "the evening of that day, the first day of the week"
(20:19), Jesus appeared to his disciples who had gathered together in
a room "for fear of the Jews." This was not a religious meeting taking
place during a Sunday evening religious service. Thomas was not present
at this occasion and when informed by the others about the resurrection
of Jesus he was doubtful. "After eight days" Jesus appeared to the disciples
again and Thomas was with them (20:26). This would have probably been
the following Sunday night.[146] All other manifestations of Jesus to
the disciples had taken place during the same day he was resurrected but
this one is dated to a week later on the first day of the week. If John
was assigning a particular significance to that fact he did not express
it, giving the impression that he was simply dating the event.[147] Again
the disciples were not celebrating a religious service but hiding behind
locked doors. However, we should not conclude that Jesus appeared to the
disciples only during the first day of the week. John tells about another
manifestation of Jesus to the disciples without informing us concerning
the day of the week in which it took place (John 21:1-14). The chief purpose
of this particular apparition was "to reinstate Peter as a legitimate
member of the apostolic band after his tragic betrayal of the Master."[148]
The day had no particular significance in itself.
Most of the references
to the "first day of the week" in the gospels designate the specific day
in which Jesus was resurrected and appeared to the disciples. There is
only one case in which it designated another Sunday but there is no evidence
that this was done in order to identify that day as a particularly sacred
day. The fact that not all of Jesus' manifestations to the disciples occurred
on the first day of the week should alert us against claiming that the
day was holy because of his post-resurrection appearances on that day.[149]
Jesus was with the disciples forty days after his resurrection but there
is no hint in the New Testament to suggest that during that time he met
with them during the "first day of the week." We have not found any evidence
in the gospels to support the idea that the early apostolic church associated
the "first day of the week" with religious services or activities, or
that the day was beginning to replace the seventh-day Sabbath.
2. Acts
20:7-12: Meeting at Troas
The first day of
the week is mentioned in Acts in the context of Paul's short stay in Troas
on his way to Jerusalem. This was unquestionably a religious gathering
for the purpose of breaking bread. A significant number of scholars find
here clear evidence of the early Christian practice of having religious
services on the first day of the week. But a look at the text indicates
that the issues are much more complex and that consequently we should
be more careful before drawing conclusions.
First, we have to
ask, was this a regular church meeting? The evidence shows that it was
not. The church came together to listen to Paul who was leaving the following
day. To conclude that this incident describes what was the habitual practice
of the church is to read into it later ecclesiastical practices which
were not followed in the apostolic church.
Second, at what
time of the day was the meeting held? The passage suggests that it did
not take place Sunday morning or even Sunday afternoon. It was an evening
meeting. "The reference to the use of lights and to the prolongation of
the service past midnight, even till daybreak, plus the deep sleep of
Eutychus, make it obvious that this was a night gathering."[150] The fact
that the breaking of the bread took place after midnight also suggests
that this was an evening meeting, otherwise they could have broken the
bread during the day.
Third,
to which day of the week is the phrase "first day of the week" referring?
This may sound like a strange question, but it is necessary to raise it
because the meeting took place during the evening. The answer will depend
on the system that Luke used to reckon the day. Was he using the Jewish
system according to which the day begins and ends at sunset? In that case
the service took place on what we would call today Saturday night. Did
he follow the Roman system that reckoned the day from midnight to midnight?
In that case the meeting took place on Sunday night but the breaking of
the bread would have occurred after midnight, on early Monday morning.
What is the correct answer? The text is not clear and therefore we should
be very careful not to use it to support a particular theory of Sunday
observance in the early church. Luke 23:56-24:1 suggests that Luke used
the Jewish system rather than the Roman. The women rested on the Sabbath
from sunset to sunset and after the Sabbath bought the spices.[151] But,
whatever is the case, the fact remains that the text does not consider
Sunday to be a holy day during which the church met for religious activities.
Finally, was the
breaking of the bread a celebration of the Lord's Supper, a fellowship
dinner or both? It may have been a celebration of the Lord's Supper but
that is not totally clear since it took place after midnight and there
is no mention of prayers or wine. In any case there are so many unknowns
in the passage that we should avoid building too much on it. As we have
stated, there is no certainty "regarding the night involved: Was it Saturday-Sunday
or Sunday-Monday? In either case, the gathering was exceptional-a farewell
gathering for the great missionary and his traveling companions. Nor is
it certain that the Lord's Supper was celebrated. The expression 'to break
the bread' could refer to the beginning of a farewell supper. But granting
the possibility that this was more than a farewell fellowship meal, there
is no evidence that this had become a weekly practice."[152]
3. 1
Corinthians 16:1-2: Collection and the First Day of the Week
This is probably
the earliest reference to the first day of the week in Christian writings
and is mentioned in the context of Paul's collection for the saints in
Jerusalem. Paul urged the Corinthians to have the offering ready before
his arrival: "On the first day of every week each one of you is to put
aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when
I come" (1 Cor 16:2). The obvious question is, why did he select Sunday
as the day when the money was to be set apart? Some find here "the first
piece of evidence to show that Christians observed that day, though there
is no reason to doubt that it was their custom from the first."[153] But
the answer to the question is not that simple.
First, there is
absolutely nothing in the text or its context to suggest that Paul considered
the first day of the week a special holy day for Christians to assemble
for worship. Closer to the truth are those who argue that "it is doubtful
whether there is any liturgical significance in this mention of the
first day of every week, except that the week was plainly introduced
to the Gentile churches from the earliest days."[154] It is a special
pleading to suggest that one should not exclude from the text the possibility
of a regular assembly on that day.[155] Second, setting the money apart
was to be done at home and not in a public meeting. In fact nothing is
said about taking the money to the Christian assembly on that very same
day.[156] It is true that the collection is a religious act of worship
(Rom 15:27),[157] but Paul is not saying that this is connected in any
way with the religious nature of the first day. One should not presuppose
that religious acts were limited to one day a week in the church. Third,
the reason for separating the money at home was that Paul did not want
a "last-minute, superficial scraping around for funds as an unplanned
off-the-cuff gesture."[158]
We still have to
deal directly with the question of the specific reference to the first
day of the week. The truth is that no specific reason is given by Paul
for the selection of that particular day. Whatever reason we may give
will be imported into the text from some other sources or from our own
preconceived ideas.[159] The text itself, as we suggested, does not indicate
that its selection was based on the sacredness of the day. Hence the suggestion
made by some that the reason may have been of a pragmatic nature-that
day may have been a pay day in imperial Rome.[160] It could also be that
by "first day of the week" Paul simply meant every week; in other words,
he was "encouraging others among his churches to set aside funds weekly
in an orderly fashion so when he arrived there would be a full allotment
for the saints."[161]
E. Revelation
1:10: The Lord's Day
The common opinion
among scholars is that the phrase "the Lord's Day" in Rev 1:10 designates
Sunday as the day when John had his first vision. Obviously that would
not mean that in John's time Sunday had already replaced the seventh-day
Sabbath as a day of worship. Others have argued that the phrase is referring
to Easter Sunday[162] or to the eschatological day of the Lord,[163] but
both views have been rejected.[164] Two main reasons are adduced to support
the Sunday theory. The first one is that already during the apostolic
period the first day of the week was being used by Christians as a day
of worship to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord. But as we have suggested
the biblical evidence does not support that conclusion. It is also important
to observe that in the rest of the New Testament Sunday is called the
"first day of the week" and never the "Lord's Day." John himself, in his
gospel, refers to Sunday as "the first day of the week" (John 20:1, 19).
It is particularly striking that John will use the traditional designation
for Sunday in the gospel and then in Revelation, written at approximately
the same time, use a totally new name for Sunday; a name that as far as
we know was not being used by the apostles to refer to Sunday.[165] The
term used by John, kyriakos ("belonging to the Lord"),[166] was
known and used among Christians as evidenced by the fact that in 1 Cor
11:20 Paul calls the Lord's Supper kyriakon deipnon ("the Lord's
Meal"),[167] but it was not used to designate the first day of the week.
The second argument
used to support the theory that "the Lord's Day" designates Sunday is
that Christian writers from the second century believed that Rev 1:10
was referring to Sunday. That is to say, they used the phrase "Lord's
day" as a designation for Sunday. But the fact is that the evidence available
from the first part of the second century is not as conclusive as some
have suggested. Take for instance Didache 14.1. The phrase kata
kyriaken de kyriou ("according to the Lord's [!] of the Lord") is
a complex and difficult one and consequently different interpretations
have been given to it.[168] The truth is that "no really convincing explanation
of this old phrase . . . has yet been suggested."[169] Notice that the
noun "day" is not found in the text and that has led some to conclude
that the adjective kyriake is used here as a technical term for
"Lord's Day." But there is no linguistic evidence to support the theory
that at the beginning of the second century the meaning of kyriake
hemera was transferred to kyriake. We find it counter-productive
to use this obscure passage to clarify what John had in mind in Rev 1:10.
The next use of
the term kyriake is found in Ignatius' letter to the Magnesians
9.1, but the passage is also difficult to understand. The Greek reading
differs from the Latin[170] and scholars in general have opted for the
Latin text. Again the word "day" is not present in the text. The difficulties
with the passage are such that even some of those who read it as a reference
to Sunday feel uncomfortable with it. One of them asks, "Can we be sure
that kyriake here means Sunday and not Easter? Since the emphasis
is on ways of life, we cannot too easily infer that Ignatius must
be referring to a weekly day of Christian worship to balance the
weekly Sabbath . . . The reference to a weekly Lord's Day would seem more
natural, but with the evidence of this text alone we cannot be quite sure."[171]
It would be better to acknowledge that Ignatius is not dealing with days
but with ways of life, the Jewish way of life and the new life of the
Christian symbolized in the resurrection of Christ.[172] The passage under
consideration does not seem to make any contribution toward the understanding
of kuriake hemera in Rev 1:10.
The apocryphal Gospel
of Peter 35 and 50 uses the term kyriake to refer to the day
of the resurrection of Jesus but this "cannot be definitely construed
as allusion to Sunday observance."[173] The significance of this particular
document is that it shows that by the end of the second century kyriake
was being used as a technical term for at least Easter Sunday.[174] The
Acts of Peter appears to use the expression "Lord's Day" to refer
to weekly Christian Sunday,[175] and the same applies to the Acts of
Paul.[176] Possibly the first unambiguous use of the term "Lord's
Day" to designate the weekly Christian Sunday is found in Clement of Alexandria.[177]
It is clear that by the end of the second century kyriake was being
used to refer to Sunday.[178]
This brief and incomplete
overview of the use of the term "Lord's Day" during the second century
illustrates the challenges we confront when attempting to determine the
particular meaning of a phrase used in Rev 1:10 by employing later writings.
The fundamental question could very well be a methodological one. Is it
appropriate to transfer the meaning of a term from late second century
to a document from late first century? The least we can say is that such
an approach is questionable. We already indicated that in the gospel of
John, Sunday is called "first day of the week." Why did not John use the
term "Lord's Day" in the gospel to refer to Sunday? What did he have in
mind when using the expression "Lord's Day?"
If instead of looking
into post-apostolic writings to understand Rev 1:10 we use biblical inter-textual
analysis it would not be difficult to find an answer to our questions.
On the basis of the analogy of the Scriptures we can suggest that "the
Lord's Day" is another way of referring to the seventh-day Sabbath. The
evidence can be summarized as follows:
The Sabbath was set apart for sacred use at Creation (Gen. 2:2,
3).The intermediate agent in that creation, according to several New Testament
passages, was the Lord Jesus Christ. The fourth of the famous Ten Words
describes the seventh day 'as a sabbath to the Lord your God' (Ex. 20:10ff.).
In the book of Isaiah God calls it 'my holy day' and 'the holy day of
the Lord' (Isa. 58:13). All three of the Synoptic Gospels quote Jesus
saying, 'The Son of man is lord even of the sabbath' (Mark 2:28; cf. Matt.
12:8; Luke 6:5).[179]
John
would be simply echoing Jesus' claim to be the Lord of the Sabbath who
as Lord decided to give John this revelation on a Sabbath day. But the
fact remains that "there is not sufficient data given in the book of Revelation
to be certain of the correct interpretation of the phrase 'Lord's Day'
in Revelation 1:10. The popular attempt to equate it with Sunday does
not rest on evidence supplied by the Scriptures but upon post-apostolic
usage of the phrase, long after John's time."[180] Usually it is methodologically
better to work from within the Scriptures itself in trying to understand
the intent of a biblical writer.
F. Summary
Our study of the
controversial passages in the New Testament on the issue of the Sabbath
and the origin of Sunday observance reveals that there is no evidence
to support the suggestion that Christ fulfilled the redemptive meaning
of the Sabbath and that consequently Christians have been liberated from
the literal observance of the commandment. Neither did we find any evidence
that will support the popular conviction that already in the New Testament
the Sabbath was being set aside as a holy day and Sunday was being introduced
as the Christian day of worship.
It could be argued
that when the passages we have studied are evaluated individually the
evidence for Christian Sunday may not appear to be too significant but
that its true persuasive power is located in their cumulative effect.
But we ask, how could the individual pieces of evidence lead to a conclusion
that they were not aiming at or even addressing? The perceived cumulative
effect of the evidence may appear to some to be valid only because what
they are trying to demonstrate-that some type of Sunday observance was
already developing in the apostolic church-is already presupposed, based
on later developments in the history of the church. The fact remains that
the biblical evidence itself does not support that particular conclusion.
V.
General Conclusion
Adventists
believe that the seventh-day Sabbath originated in God who instituted
it at the end of the creation week by setting it apart, blessing and sanctifying
it. That fact was also recognized by Jesus. Therefore we can conclude
that the observance of the seventh day Sabbath is a privilege entrusted
by God to the human race and not only to a particular ethnic or religious
group. At Sinai the preservation of the commandment was placed in the
hands of the Israelites when God incorporated it into the covenant made
with them. It was a memorial of God's creative and redemptive power.
The commandment
was observed by Jesus himself who in his own ministry demonstrated the
redemptive significance of that day. During his Sabbath controversies
with Jewish leaders he reaffirmed the commandment, divested it from the
burdens of human traditions and used it to display his redemptive power
by bringing rest to those who were oppressed by evil powers and sicknesses.
In the gospels Jesus is depicted as a faithful Sabbath keeper who nowhere
hinted at the possibility of dismissing the commandment through the fulfillment
of its redemptive meaning in his own person or by simply initiating a
development that will lead to the institution of Sunday as the day of
worship.
The New Testament
demonstrates that Jewish believers observed the seventh day Sabbath as
a day of rest and worship long after the ascension of Jesus. A careful
reading of the Sabbath controversies, particularly in the gospels of Mark
and Luke, indicates that Gentile Christians also kept the seventh day
Sabbath. The fundamental question in the Sabbath controversies recorded
in the gospels was not whether the Sabbath should be kept but how it should
be kept. The gospel writers used those controversies to instruct Jewish
and Gentile Christians alike on how to observe the commandment.
The idea that for
Paul keeping the commandment was a matter of a personal conviction that
was not to be forced on others lacks New Testament support. Romans 14
is not dealing with Sabbath observance and Gal 4:10 and Col 2:16 are addressing
a misuse of the Sabbath. A misuse of a principle or a divine commandment
does not nullify the principle or the commandment itself.
The first day of
the week is primarily mentioned in the context of the narrative of the
resurrection of Jesus on the third day. It is never called "resurrection
day." None of the references to that day in the New Testament suggest
that it already was a day celebrated by the Christian community to commemorate
the resurrection of Jesus or a day in which the church met to celebrate
the Lord's Supper. It is true that those passages are read by most scholars
as hinting at the early importance of Sunday as a Christian day of worship.
But it is probably fair and correct to suggest that "the emphasis on the
'first day of the week' in the tradition of the Resurrection narratives
is such that, when Sunday worship was practiced, Christians must have
connected it with the Lord's resurrection on a Sunday. Whatever the origin
of Sunday worship, it is evident that, once it became the custom, Christians
familiar with the Gospel traditions would very soon have come to see it
as commemorative of the resurrection."[181] In other words, the references
to the first day of the week in the New Testament were read through the
lenses of post-biblical developments.
But perhaps the
fundamental question is the one of authority: Who has the authority to
significantly change a biblical commandment? If neither Jesus nor the
apostles specifically, clearly and unambiguously set aside the seventh-day
Sabbath commandment, could their authority be extended to others who on
their behalf would do what they did not do? The question is a difficult
one with a long history of debate and analysis, deserving careful study.[182]
However, concerning the Sabbath, Adventists have given priority to the
biblical witness.
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_________________
[1]. Adventist
scholars have looked into the different attempts and theories proposed
to explain the origin of the Sabbath and have concluded with most scholars
that there is not at the present time enough evidence to prove any of
the theories proposed. Among Adventist scholars who have examined this
important issue we find, Niels-Erik A. Andreasen, The OT Sabbath:
A Tradition-Historical Investigation, SBL Dissertation Series 7
(Missoula, MT: University of Montana, 1972), who concluded that "the
Sabbath is older than the OT, and probably older than Israel, but with
our present sources we cannot trace the Sabbath beyond the OT itself
. . . We do not know the forces which were at work in the beginning
to motivate the origin of the Sabbath . . . The ignorance concerning
the origin of the Sabbath is openly admitted in Gen 2:1-3 which introduces
this day as one of God's creative works" (p. 264); Samuelle Bacchiocchi, Divine
Rest for Human Restlessness (Rome: Pontificial Press, 1980), pp.22-26; idem.,
"Remembering the Sabbath: The Creation-Sabbath in Jewish and Christian
History." The Sabbath in Jewish and Christian Traditions. Edited
by Tamara C. Eskenazi, Daniel J. Harrington, Jr., and William H. Shea.
New York: Crossroad, 1991. Pp. 69-97. Gerhard F. Hasel, "The Sabbath
in the Pentateuch," in The Sabbath in Scripture and History, Kenneth
A. Strand, ed. (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1982), pp. 21-22; idem.,
"Sabbath," Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 5, edited by David Noel
Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1992), pp. 850-51, where he concluded
that
"in spite of the extensive efforts of more than a century into extra-Israelite
Sabbath origins, it is still shrouded in mystery. No hypothesis whether
astrological, menological, sociological, etymological, or cultic commands
the respect of a scholarly consensus. . . It is, therefore, not surprising
that this quest has been pushed into the background of studies on the
Sabbath in recent years" (p. 851).
[2]. John J. Collins,
"Is a Critical Biblical Theology Possible?" The Hebrew Bible and Its
Interpreters, edited by William Henry Propp, Baruch Halpern, David
Noel Freedman (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1990), p. 14.
[3]. Dies
Domini, I.11
[4]. Roy
Gane, "Sabbath and the New Covenant," Journal of the Adventist Theological
Society 10.1, 2 (1999):312-313.
[5]. Hans
K. LaRondelle, Perfection and Perfectionism (Berrien Springs,
MI: Andrews University Press, 1971), p. 72.
[6]. Josef
Scharbert, "Brk," in Theological Dictionary of the OT,
vol. 2, edited by G. Johannes Botterweck and Helmer Ringgren (Grand
Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1975), p. 295.
[7]. See
Franz Josef Helfmeyer, "Segen und Erwahlung," Biblische Zeitschrift
18 (1974):209-210.
[8]. That
idea has been accepted by some evangelicals; see for instance, Harold
H. P. Dressler, "The Sabbath in the Old Testament," in From Sabbath
to the Lord's Day: A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Investigation,
edited by D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1982), p. 29.
[9]. Christopher
Wright Mitchell, The Meaning of BRK "to Bless" in the Old
Testament
(Atlanta, GA: Scholars, 1987), pp. 64-65, quotes Exod 32:29 as a
parallel passage in which brk is defined by the verb qds,
but the problem is that the verb qds is not used in that particular
passage.
[10]. This
is suggested by Mitchell, Meaning, p. 165.
[11]. Mitchell,
Meaning, p. 117, commenting on Jer 20:14 writes, "The day is blessed
by God, and so is a source of blessing for man. The day of a stillbirth
would be considered 'arûr, cursed, because a tragedy occurred
on it." Unfortunately he does not allow for the use of that same meaning
in Gen 2:3.
[12]. Gerhard
F. Hasel, "The Sabbath in the Pentateuch," in Sabbath in Scripture,
p. 26.
[13]. Gordon
J. Wenham, Genesis 1-15 (Waco, TX: Word, 1987), p. 36. See also
Samuel A. Meier, "The Sabbath and Purification Cycles," in The Sabbath
in Jewish and Christian Traditions, edited by Tamara C. Eskenazi,
Daniel J. Harrington, William H. Shea (New York: Crossroad, 1991),
who refers "to the function of the Sabbath as a conductor of holiness" (p.
9). He also suggests that the fact that the seventh day in Gen is
not called "sabbath day" and that it is associated with the idea
of holiness indicates that its primary function is to provide a rationale
for the cycles of seven found in the cultic materials of the Old
Testament. He did not give due weight to the fact that Gen 1 is dealing
with the first week mentioned in the Scripture and that the day of
rest is called several times "the seventh day." Meier may have a
point in using Gen 1 to clarify the significance of the purificatory
cycles in the cultus. But he seems to misread the evidence when arguing
that the fundamental question in Gen 1 is, "Why are cycles of seven-day
periods so especial?" (p. 4). That
cannot be the case because in Gen the seventh day is a day of rest
for God while in the non-weekly cycles of seven days the idea of
rest does not seem to be present at all; only the idea of holiness is
found there. It would be better to say that the question the text is
answering appears to be, "Why do the Israelites cease activities on
the Sabbath?"
Meier does not deny that this question is also important in the present
text but considers it secondary. In fact, the basic question is, "Why
is the Sabbath a holy day?" It is that fundamental question that allows
for the other two questions to be raised and answered. The Sabbath
is holy because God sanctified it by resting on the seventh day after
His work of creation during the previous six days. That explains why
the Israelites cease to work on the seventh day and why the number "seven" itself
becomes in the Old Testament a symbol of completeness and perfection.
Such symbolic meaning of "seven" is used in the cultic purification
cycles to point to the completeness of the cleansing process that
leads to sanctification. In other words, the symbolic meaning of "seven" is
transferred and applied to other non-weekly purificatory cycles of
seven days in order to clarify the significance of those cycles.
[14]. According
to Nahum M. Sarna, in Exod 16 the Sabbath "is assumed to be in force.
. . This text assumes the Sabbath to have been an established institution
before Sinai" (Exploring Exodus: The Heritage of Biblical Israel [New
York: Schocken, 1986], p. 147). This is denied by Dressler,"Sabbath,"
p. 24, but he does not provide any information to support his argument.
He simply states that "the passage allows the view that the institution
of the Sabbath was unknown to the people of Israel at this time." The
only supporting evidence he provides is a reference to Martin Buber, Moses
(Oxford: East and West Library, 1946), p. 80; but Buber himself wrote
on p. 81, that the Sabbath "is not introduced for the first time even
in the wilderness of Sin, where the manna is found. Here, too, it is
proclaimed as something which is already in existence."
[15]. Brevard
S. Childs, The Book of Exodus: A Critical and Theological Commentary
(Philadelphia, PA: Westminster, 1974), p. 290. George A. F. Knight comments,
"This passage does not deal with Ex's idea of the origin of the weekly
Sabbath referred to in the 'Fourth Commandment'" (Theology as Narration:
A Commentary on the Book of Exodus [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans,
1976], p. 118).
[16]. Andrew
Bowling, "Zakar," in, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament,
vol. 1, edited by R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., Bruce K.
Waltke (Chicago: Moody Press, 1980), p. 241; H. Eising, "Zakhar,"in Theological
Dictionary of the Old Testament, vol. 4, edited by G. Johannes
Botterweck, Helmer Ringgren (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1980), p.
68; Leslie C. Allen,
"Zkr I," in New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology
and Exegesis, vol. 1, edited by Willem A. VanGemeren (Grand Rapids,
MI: Zondervan, 1997), p. 1102.
[17]. Eising,
"Zakhar," pp. 66-67; also Hasel, "Sabbath in the Pentateuch," p.
30.
[18]. Childs,
Exodus, p. 316.
[19]. Jeffrey
H. Tigay, The JPS Torah Commentary: Deuteronomy (Philadelphia:
Jewish Publication Society, 1996), p. 69.
[20]. Ibid.,
p. 68.
[21]. John
I. Durham, Exodus (Waco, TX: Word, 1987), p. 290.
[22]. Terence
E. Fretheim, Exodus (Louisville, KY: John Knox, 1991), p. 229.
He goes on to develop that idea: "God's resting is a divine act that
builds into the very created order of things a working/resting rhythm.
Only when that rhythm is honored by all is the creation what God intended
it to be. The sabbath is thus a divinely given means for all creatures
to be in tune with the created order of things. Even more, sabbath-keeping
is an act of creation-keeping. To keep the sabbath is to participate
in God's intention for the rhythm of creation. Not keeping the sabbath
is a violation of the created order; it returns one aspect of that
order to chaos" (p. 230).
[23]. Tigay,
Deuteronomy, p. 69.
[24]. Patrick
D. Miller, Deuteronomy (Louisville, KY: John Knox, 1990), p. 80.
[26]. Hasel,
"Sabbath in the Pentateuch," p. 32. See also the useful discussion of
Michel Sales, "The Fulfillment of the Sabbath: From the Holiness of
the Seventh Day to God's Resting in God," Communion 21 (Spring,
1994):30-35.
[27]. Moshe
Weinfeld, Deuteronomy 1-11 (New York: Doubleday, 1991), p. 309.
Deuteronomy is not primarily dealing with the question, why do we rest
on the Sabbath, the seventh day?, but rather with the question, what
do we remember on the seventh day? What does it memorialize? Exodus
answers that question saying that the Sabbath is a memorial of creation-God
is remembered as the source of existence. But Exodus also answers the
question, why do we rest on the seventh day? The answer is, because
God sanctified, blessed and rested on that day. Therefore there are
two reasons for observing the Sabbath (Meier, "Sabbath," p. 4), but
one reason for resting or keeping the Sabbath on the seventh day.
[28]. D. A. Carson, "Jesus and the Sabbath in the Four Gospels," in From
Sabbath to Lord's Day: A Biblical, Historical and Theological Investigation,
edited by D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
1982), p. 65.
[29]. Ibid.
Carson is attempting to demonstrate that Jesus was not referring to the
creation Sabbath.
[30]. Frederick
William Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the NT and other Early
Christian Literature (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 2000),
p. 197. See also Joel Marcus, Mark 1-8: A New Translation with Introduction
and Commentary (New York: Doubleday, 2000), p. 242.
[31]. Robert
A. Guelich, Mark 1:-8:26 (Dallas, TX: Word, 1989), p. 124.
[32]. Walter
F. Specht, "The Sabbath in the New Testament," in The Sabbath in Scripture
and History, edited by Kenneth A. Strand (Washington, D.C.: Review
and Herald, 1982), p. 96. Lamar Williamson, Jr., Mark (Louisville,
KY: John Knox, 1983), p. 74, comments that Mark 2:27 "grounds Sabbath
law in the welfare of humankind, making explicit the essential humanitarian
argument for the preceding counter question. It challenges every legalism
which makes of the Sabbath a burden to bear rather than renewal for
the road."
[33]. Willy
Rordorf, Sunday: The History of the Day of Rest and Worship in the
Earliest Centuries of the Christian Era (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster,
1968), p. 63, argues that in Mark 2:27 the Sabbath is being set aside
by Jesus. He acknowledges that when God instituted the Sabbath he intended
it to be a blessing for humans and not a hardship. When it became a
hardship, that is to say, when it "failed in its divine purpose" then "rebellion
against it or disregard of it was no sin." He seems to ignore that
the misuse of the commandment does not nullify it. What was needed
was a restatement of God's original purpose and, according to Mark,
that is what Jesus was doing. Robert Banks, Jesus and the Law in
the Synoptic Tradition
(New York: Cambridge University Press, 1975), argued that Mark intended
the saying "to be understood in as comprehensive a way as possible and
no doubt regarded it as setting to one side the relevant Mosaic regulations"
(p. 119). But then he adds that the early Christian communities did not
clearly understand the radical implications of Jesus' statement. One
wonders, whether it is Banks himself who has exaggerated the implications
of the Markan passage. It is more logical to conclude that the gentile
community to which Mark was writing did understand him correctly as
saying that Jesus was not setting the Sabbath commandment aside.
[34]. After analyzing Jesus' healings on Sabbath Banks concluded that "there
is nothing to support the view that abrogation of the sabbath was at
the heart of his teaching, not even that he was approving occasional
breaches of the sabbath law in the face of some special need. More adequate
is the claim that his authority over it was employed to bring to realization
its original and fundamental purpose. What Jesus, in fact, takes up,
however, is not a particular orientation towards the sabbath-law, but
the demand that the sabbath be orientated towards, interpreted by, and
obeyed in accordance with, his own person and work. This is more than
a return to the original purpose of the sabbath in creation, for it
is linked with the re-creation of man that is taking place through his
own ministry" (Jesus and the
Law, p. 131).
[35]. Gerhard F. Hasel and W. G. C. Murdoch, "The Sabbath in the Prophetic
and Historical Literature of the Old Testament," in The Sabbath in
Scripture and History,
edited by Kenneth A. Strand (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald, 1982),
comment, "In the realm of the new creation beyond history there will
be total restoration of the break brought about by sin. 'All flesh'
in the sense of all mankind, the redeemed remnant of all times, will
worship before the Lord Sabbath after Sabbath. As the Sabbath was the
climax of the first creation and destined for all mankind (Gen. 2:1-3),
so the Sabbath will again be the climax of the new creation and destined
again for all mankind in the new heaven and the new earth" (p. 49).
[36]. E.g., I. Howard Marshall, The Gospel of Luke: A Commentary on
the Greek Text
(Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1978), p. 181; John Nolland, Luke 1-9:20
(Dallas, TX: Word, 1989), p. 195; and B. Chilton, "Announcement in Mazara:
An Analysis of Luke 4:16-21," in Gospel Perspectives: Studies of
History and Tradition in the Four Gospels, vol. 2, edited by R.
T. France and D. Wenham (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1981), pp. 152-53.
Max M. B. Turner,
"The Sabbath, Sunday, and the Law in Luke/Acts," in From Sabbath to
Lord's Day, edited by D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
1982), p. 103, argues that the fact that the reference is primarily
to Jesus' habit of teaching in the synagogue the passage "provides
little real evidence of theological commitment on behalf of
Jesus . . . to Sabbath worship."
The distinction he is making presupposes that at the very beginning of
his ministry Jesus had already decided that the Sabbath commandment
was not longer binding on him and his followers, but there is no evidence
to support such speculation. As we will see the Sabbath controversies
between Jesus and the Jews do not support that conclusion. Possibly
one of the best answers to that type of reasoning comes from Paul Jewett:
"There can be little doubt, then, that Jesus, as devout Jew, observed
the Sabbath. To feature him as the grand innovator, who swept it aside
in the name of liberty, is to remake Jesus in the image of the Enlightenment"
(The Lord's Day [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1971], pp. 34-35).
[37]. E.g., Gerhard F. Hasel, "Sabbath," in Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 5,
p. 854; Leon Morris, Luke (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1988), p.
115; and Walter L. Liefeld, "Luke," in Expositor's Bible Commentary,
vol. 8, edited by Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984),
p. 866.
[38]. W. Beilner, "Sabbaton sabbath; week," in Exegetical Dictionary
of the NT, vol. 3, edited by Horst Balz and Gerhard Schneider (Grand
Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1993), p. 220; and Walter Specht, "Sabbath in
the NT," p. 94. It has been argued by Heather A. McKay, Sabbath
and Synagogue: The Question of Sabbath Worship in ancient Judaism (Leiden:
Brill, 2001), that the synagogue was not considered to be a place
of worship before the third century of the Christian era. Pieter W.
van der Horst,
"Was de synagogue voor 70 een plaats van eredients op sabbat?" Bijdragen
(1999): 125-146, has demonstrated that the synagogue was a place of worship
even before 70 AD.
[39]. The most recent study of this saying was prepared by Yong-Eui Yang, Jesus
and the Sabbath in Matthew's Gospel (Sheffield: Academic Press,
1997), pp. 230-241. He lists nine different interpretations of the
Sabbath in that passage, evaluates all of them and concludes that the
best option is that it is referring to serious physical obstacles that
would make the flight during the Sabbath difficult for Christian believers
(e.g., the gates of the city would be locked, difficult to obtain provisions,
suspension of traveling services). But such difficulties have been
exaggerated by him. William H. Shea reacted, "The physical obstacles
to a mandatory flight on the Sabbath day would have been minimal. People
from inside Jerusalem could have exited through the eastern gates of
the temple which also served as gates of the city. Other gates probably
were open in peace time to permit worshipers to take the most direct
route to the temple area. . . When the actual 'physical obstacles'
are studied in detail and not left in generalities, it can be seen
that these were not major considerations in determining whether to
flee on Sabbath or not" ("The Sabbath on Matthew
24:20," unpublished manuscript, n.d.). It is better to be cautious and
conclude that, "While the point of the reference to the sabbath is hardly
clear, probably what is meant is that an urgent flight on the sabbath
would make any sabbath observance impossible . . . This apparently
would still have been a serious matter for the Jewish-Christian membership
of Matthew's church" (Donald A. Hagner, Matthew 14-28 [Dallas,
TX: Word, 1995], p.702); cf. Daniel A. J. Harrington, The Gospel
of Matthew
(Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1991), p. 337, who comments that
"for Matthew and his community Sabbath observance remained a live issue."
See also his "Sabbath Tensions: Matthew 12:1-14 and Other New Testament
Texts,"in The Sabbath in Jewish and Christian Traditions, edited
by Tamara C. Eskenazi, Daniel J. Harrington, William H. Shea (New York:
Crossroad, 1991), p. 56, where he clearly states, "Matthew's insertion
of 'on the Sabbath' presupposes that the Matthean community was still
observing the Sabbath." W. D. Davies and Dale C. Allison, Jr., The
Gospel According to Saint Matthew, vol. 3 (Edinburgh: T & T Clark,
1997), p. 350, suggest that in Matthew the Sabbath was still in
force (see also, vol. 2, pp. 304-28). Cf. Michel Sales, " Fulfillment
of the Sabbath," p.38.
[40]. Shea,
"Matthew 24:20," p. 11; cf. Specht, "Sabbath," p. 103.
[41]. See
Anthony J. Saldarini, "Comparing the Traditions: New Testament and Rabbinic
Judaism," Bulletin for Biblical Research 7 (1997):197-199.
[42]. D. A Carson, "Jesus and the Sabbath in the Four Gospels," p. 61,
comments,
"In this instance the disciples are neither farmers nor housewives who
are trying to slip in a little overtime on the sly; they are ex-fishermen
and ex-businessmen, itinerant preachers doing nothing amiss." See also
Henry Efferin, "The Sabbath Controversy Based on Matthew 12:1-8," Stulos
Theological Journal 1 (May 1993):44 who suggests, "Actually the
disciples were not reaping on the Sabbath, as was forbidden by the
Mosaic Law (Exod 34:21), but were simply satisfying their hunger
according to the provision of Deuteronomy 23:25."
[43]. W. Beilner, "Sabbaton sabbath; week," p. 220; see, M.Sabb.
7:2, and Yang, Jesus and the Sabbath, p. 174.
[44]. See John Mark Hicks, "The Sabbath Controversy in Matthew: An Exegesis
of Matthew 12:1-14," Restoration Quarterly 27 (1984):81, comments
that the accusation of Jews "is not based directly on the Torah, but
is rooted in oral tradition."
[45]. Specht, "Sabbath in the NT," p. 95, and Harrington, "Sabbath Tension," p.
48. It has been argued that since Mark does not say that the disciples
were hungry the connection with the need for food of David and his soldiers
is not clear. Hence our suggestion, it is argued, is not valid (e.g.,
S. Westerholm, "Sabbath," in Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels,
edited by Joel B. Green and Scot McKnight [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity,
1992], p. 717). But that argument is seriously weakened by the fact
that the disciples obviously were hungry and in need of food, as is
made clear in Matt 12:1. We will not deny that the reference to David
may also have some important Christological implications (see Yang, Jesus
and the Sabbath, pp. 175-176).
[46]. Davis and Allison, Matthew, vol. 2, p. 313. This is a case
where a controversy over the Sabbath provides the occasion for Jesus
to raise the question of his messianic authority (this is argued, among
others, by Yang, Jesus
and the Sabbath, pp.180-181). Yang goes too far when he concludes
that Jesus fulfilled the typological significance of the temple and
of the Sabbath, thus fulfilling the ultimate goal of the OT (pp. 109,
182). In the story the discussion is not whether the Sabbath is in some
way valid or invalid for the disciples but about the Jewish traditions
and Jesus' authority to define proper Sabbath observance.
[47]. See for instance, Hicks, "Sabbath Controversy," p. 89. According
to Yang,
Jesus and the Sabbath, one can find in the OT clear evidence indicating
that God was Lord of the Sabbath. Surprinsingly, now in the NT Jesus
declares himself Lord of the Sabbath. He goes on to argue that the Lordship
of Jesus over the Sabbath implies that "now the matter of real importance
is no longer merely keeping the literal regulations of the sabbath law,
but accepting Jesus as the messiah and receiving the eschatological
rest (= redemption) present in him" (pp. 193-194). Although in principle
what he is saying is right that does not weaken in any way the normativeness
of the Sabbath commandment. The fact that in the OT God was Lord of
the Sabbath was not incompatible with the observance of the commandment
by the people.
[48]. Williamson, Jr., Mark, p. 74. D. A. Carson, "Sabbath in
the four Gospels,"
p. 66, speculates when he argues that the fact that Jesus is Lord
of the Sabbath "raises the possibility of a future change or reinterpretation
of the Sabbath, in precisely the same way that His professed superiority
over the Temple raises certain possibilities about ritual law. No details
of that nature are spelled out here, but the verse arouses expectation."
Such speculation is not supported by the text. Concerning the temple,
Jesus made clear that the temple and its services will come to an end
through the institution of a new system of worship and the actual destruction
of the building (John 4:21-24; cf. Matt 24:1-2), but he never said anything
similar concerning the Sabbath. See also Efferin, "Sabbath Controversy,"
pp. 47-48, who states, "So the issue here is not whether or not we should
retain the Sabbath, but that the Sabbath should be reassessed in light
of Christian motivation. Jesus Himself kept the Sabbath in vigorous
joy (Luke 4:16), and worship was the breathing of His soul."
[49]. Eduard Lohse, "Sabbaton," in Theological Dictionary of
the NT,
vol. 7, edited by Gerhard Friedrich (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1971),
p. 24.
[50]. Davies and Allison, Matthew, vol. 2, p. 318, and Yang, Jesus and the
Sabbath, p. 200.
[51]. Marcus, Mark 1-8, p. 252. He adds, "If Jesus is 'the holy
one of God,' whose holiness implies the apocalyptic destruction of demons
and disease (cf. 1:24), then his Sabbath-day healing of the man with
the paralyzed hand is a fulfillment rather than an infraction of the
commandment to 'remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy'" (pp. 252-253).
[52]. Davies and Allison believe that in this case Jesus was not countering "God's
will as declared in the written Torah but rather 'the precepts of man'.
Scripture nowhere prohibits healing on the sabbath, especially if nothing
more is involved than asking a man to stretch forth his hand. . . .
Jesus evidently sought opportunities to illustrate how the casuistry
of the oral halakah could contradict the demands of love" (Matthew,
vol. 2, p. 318).
[53]. Jewish traditions on this issue are ambivalent. Some taught that
it was correct to feed the animal while in the pit but not to pull it
out of it; while others believed that it was correct to get it out of
the pit. Some even suggested that it would be permissible to throw in
something that the animal could use to get itself out of the pit. See,
Lohse, "Sabbaton,"
p. 25, and Davies and Allison, Matthew, vol. 2, p. 320.
[54]. Harrington, "Sabbath Tensions," pp. 49-50, comments, "The general
principle is that it is permitted to do good on the Sabbath. This principle
assumes that the Sabbath is still observed by the Matthean Christians
but that the Sabbath regulations can be overridden by the need to do
good." It is better
to find here a clarification of the true nature of Sabbath observance.
[55]. See Lohse, "Sabbaton," p. 27.
[56]. The work that Jesus is referring to is not the work of creation
but the work of re-creation or redemption, as demonstrated among others
by Mario Veloso,
El compromiso cristiano: Un estudio sobre la actualidad misionera
en el evangelio de San Juan (Argentina: Zunino Ediciones, 1975),
pp. 122-130. Samuelle Bacchiocchi comments, "Christ appeals to the 'working'
of His Father not to nullify but to clarify the function of the Sabbath.
To understand Christ's defense, one must remember that the Sabbath is
linked both to creation (Gen 2:2-3; Ex 20:11) and redemption
(Deut 5:15). While by interrupting all secular activities the Israelite
was remembering the Creator-God, by acting mercifully toward fellow-beings
he was imitating the Redeemer-God. . . . On the basis of this theology
of the Sabbath admitted by the Jews, Christ defends the legality of
the 'working' that He and His Father perform on the Sabbath" (The
Sabbath Under Crossfire [Berrien Springs, MI: Biblical Perspective,
1998], pp. 164-165).
[57]. D.
A. Carson, "Sabbath in the Four Gospels," p. 82. His argument is that
Jesus was not here dealing with the question of whether the Sabbath
should be kept or not.
[58]. W. Stott, "Sabbath," in New International Dictionary of NT Theology,
vol. 3, edited by Colin Brown (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1971), p.
409.
[59]. Rudolf Schnackenburg, The Gospel According to John, vol.
2 (New York: Seabury Press, 1980), p. 134.
[60]. Ibid. This is also the opinion of Raymond E. Brown, The Gospel
According to John 1-12 (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1966), p. 317,
who suggests that "John succeeds better than do the Synoptic in unfolding
the purpose of healing on the Sabbath. It was not primarily a question
of a sentimental liberalization of a harsh and impractical law. His
miracles on the Sabbath were the accomplishment of the redemptive purpose
for which the Law was given."
[61]. Brown, John 1-12, p. 373.
[62]. Harrington, "Sabbath Tensions," p. 55. According to him, John takes "the
institution of the Sabbath as a 'given'" (p. 54).
[63]. Sales, "Sabbath," p. 37.
[64]. The debate over circumcision in the New Testament illustrates what
happened when a fundamental mark of Jewish identity was rejected by
the apostles. A similar rejection of the Sabbath commandment would have
created a much more tense and difficult controversy. Cf. Turner, "Law
in Luke/Acts,"
pp. 127-128.
[65]. Cf. Horst Balz, "Sebomai worship, revere," in Exegetical Dictionary
of the NT, vol. 3, p. 236. Where a God-fearer is defined as "a Gentile
sympathetic to the synagogue who does not, however, observe the Torah
in its entirety and who above all does not submit to circumcision."
[66]. This is recognized by Strabo in Antiquities XIV.7, 2; cf. Sibyl Or III.271.
[67]. See Jean Juster, Les Juifs dans l'empire romain, leur condition juridique,
economique et sociale, vol. 1 (Paris: Geuthner, 1914), pp. 409-430;
and M. J. Cook, "Judaism, Hellenistic," in The Interpreter's Dictionary
of the Bible: Supplementary Volume, edited by Keith Crim (Nashville,
TN: Abington, 1976), p. 506.
[68]. See Willy Rordorf, Sunday, 29. On the influence of the Sabbath on the
gentile world see Victor A. Tcherikover, "The Sambations," in Corpus
Papyorum Judaicurum, vol. 3 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press,
1964), pp. 43-53.
[69]. Specht, "Sabbath in the NT," p. 94, correctly states, "What then was the issue?
Plainly it was the manner of keeping the Sabbath. The question was not
Should the Sabbath be kept? Rather, it was How should the Sabbath be kept?"
This concept has been carefully explored by Harold Weiss, "The Sabbath
in the Synoptic Gospels," Journal for the Study of the NT 38 (1990):13-27.
His introductory comments are worth quoting: "Most studies have argued
that he [Jesus] openly challenged what is designated as 'Jewish Sabbath
observance' and some have furbther argued that by doing so he had declared
the 'Jewish Law' obsolete. This paper attempts to show that the evidence
on the Sabbath in the Synoptics materials does not support this contention.
To the contrary, the traditions preserved in the Synoptic make clear that
the early Christians who followed Jesus took for granted the validity
of the Sabbath law. What the stories in the Synoptic show us is that they
continued to debate which activities were permissible on the Sabbath"
(p. 13). Saldarini, "Rabbinic Literature," has demonstrated that debates
concerning the Sabbath in Jewish circles were centered on how to keep
the Sabbath and that particularly "the Gospel of Matthew fits into this
developing tradition of specifying the nature of Sabbath observance" (p.
199). He adds, "Matthew does not attack Sabbath observance as such but
rather certain interpretations of Sabbath law which are at variance with
the interpretations handed on in the name of Jesus. . . He disagrees with
other Jewish teachers about the exact requirements of Sabbath observance"
(p. 203).
[70]. See Bacchiocchi, Sabbath Under Crossfire, pp.149-150.
[71]. Nolland, Luke 1:-9:20, p. 258.
[72]. See Braddock, Luke, p. 176, who is undecided.
[73]. "In other words, at least some Christians, of Jewish and Gentile origin inside
and outside Palestine, continued to carry on their worship service on
the Sabbath, and, like all other Jews and Godfearers of the time, were
engaged in defining what kinds of other activities could be performed
lawfully on that day" (Weiss, "Synoptic Gospels," p. 23).
[74]. On some specific details concerning Sabbath observance based on Jesus' redemptive
work, see Bacchiocchi, Sabbath Under Crossfire, pp. 170-172.
[75]. E.g. D. R. de Lacey, "The Sabbath/Sunday Question and the Law in the Pauline
Corpus," in From Sabbath to Lord's Day, edited by D. A. Carson
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1982), p. 182; Peter Stuhlmacher, Paul's
Letter to the Romans (Louisville, KY: Westminster, 1994), p. 224;
James D. G. Dunn, Romans 9-16 (Dallas, TX: Word, 1988), p. 805,
believes that Paul is discussing a dispute among Christians at Rome concerning
the Sabbath but admits that the nature of the disagreement is not clearly
stated by Paul. Nevertheless, he suggests that verse 5 is referring "to
a concern on the part of some Jewish Christians and others who had been
proselytes or God-worshipers lest they abandon a practice of feast days
and sabbath commanded by scripture and sanctified by tradition, a central
concern lest they lose something of fundamental importance within their
Jewish heritage" (p. 806). Dunn argues in this particular case "what was
at stake was nothing less than the whole self-understanding of the new
movement of which Paul was a chief apostle, in other words, the definition
of Christianity itself" (p. 810). Now, if the issue was so serious, why
did Paul deal with it in such a casual way, giving the impression that
it was not that important and that it was finally a matter of personal
opinion?
[76]. Dunn, Romans 9-16, p. 801, acknowledges that Jewish dietary laws did
not require vegetarianism, but goes on to suggest that Paul was "probably
thinking of the whole complex of food laws together, and so expresses
the issue in terms which cover them all." It is safer to stay with the
language Paul uses in order to avoid unnecessary speculations. Brenda
Byrne, Romans (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1996), correctly
comments that "what is alluded to in Romans 14 goes well beyond normal
Jewish practices" (p. 404).
[77]. Ernst Kaesemann, Commentary on Romans (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1980),
p. 367, rules out Jewish orthodoxy "because general abstinence of meat
and wine is not found there."
[78]. Dunn, Romans 9-16, p. 805, believes that the reference is to Jewish feast
days and the Sabbath; Byrne, Romans, p. 412, a little more judiciously
states the Paul is "more likely" referring to the Jewish Sabbath and other
festivals. C. E. B. Cranfield, The Epistle to the Romans (Edinburgh:
T & T Clark, 1979), suggests that "days" designates "the observance of
the special days of the OT ceremonial law (possibly also with the change
from Sabbath to Lord's Day)" (p. 705); Douglas Moon, The Epistle to
the Romans (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996), states that "pinning
down the exact nature of this disagreement over 'days' is difficult since
Paul does not elaborate. . . . Whether the specific point at issue was
the observance of the great Jewish festival, regular days of fasting,
or the Sabbath is difficult to say" (p. 842). But he, then, goes to speculate,
"But we would expect that the Sabbath, at least, would be involved, since
Sabbath observance was, along with food laws (cf. Vv. 2-3), a key Jewish
distinctive in the first century, and surfaced as a point of tension elsewhere
in the early church (see Gal. 4:10 [?]; Col 2:16)" (Ibid.).
[79]. This is also recognized by Dunn, Romans 9-16, p. 805.
[80]. The Greek phrase krinei + para expresses the idea of selection
or preference; the verb itself could be translated "to prefer/choose";
see Danker, Greek-English Lexicon, p. 567; Cranfield, Romans,
vol. 2, p. 704; and Ernst Harald Riesenfeld, "Para," in Theological
Dictionary of the NT, vol. 5, edited by Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard
Friederich. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1967), p. 734.
[81]. Harold Weiss, "Paul and the Judging of Days," Zeitschrift für die neutestamentlichen Wissenschaft 88 (1995):137, list the following different views: "a)
The dispute has primarily to do with popular pagan concerns about establishing
whether a day was fasto or nefasto. b) The dispute cannot
be characterized as centering on a pagan or a Jewish question. Superstitious
concerns about the peculiar powers of different times were part of the
religious syncretism characteristic of that age. At issue were the inroads
of a syncretistic propaganda. c) The question of days was related to the
question of foods, also mentioned in Romans 14. The days in question,
therefore, were fast days which were observed by pagans, Jews and Christians
for not totally dissimilar purposes. d) At issue, primarily, was the Jewish
sabbath."
[82]. Romans,
p. 368.
[83]. Raoul Dederen, "On Esteeming One Day Better Than Another," Andrews University
Seminary Studies 9 (1971):16-35; Bacchiocchi, Sabbath Under Crossfire,
p. 252.
[84]. E.g. M. Rauer, Die 'Schwachen' in Korinth und Rom nach den Paulusbriefen
(Freiburg: Herder, 1923), pp. 180-182; F. Leenhardt, The Epistle to
the Romans (New York: World publishing, 1961), pp. 348-349, who writes,
"Since nothing suggests that we have here to do with Judaizers, we shall
not regard this as an allusion to the Sabbath but to practices of abstinence
and fasting on regular fixed dates;" and Jerome H. Neyrey, Paul, In
Other Word: A Cultural Reading of His Letters (Louisville, KY: Westminster,
1990), p. 69; Joseph A. Fitzmyer, Romans (New York: Doubleday, 1993),
p. 690, does not totally exclude the possibility that the reference is
to Sabbaths, new moons, feasts and jubilees, but argues for fast days.
[85]. Against this position it has been argued that "the parallelism in verse 2, 5,
and 6 suggests that it is the strong and not the weak who observe 'days'"
(De Lacey, "Sabbath/Sunday," p. 182), but the truth is that "Paul does
not explicitly relate this dispute over days to the 'strong' and 'weak.'
but we may be relatively certain that the 'weak' believer was the one
who was 'judging' 'one day to be more important than another day,' while
the 'strong' believer was 'judging each day to be the same'" (Moo, Romans,
pp. 841-842). De Lacey also comments that if fasting is what Paul had
in mind then the clause, "another chooses every day as a fast day"
would have to be distorted to mean, ". . . any day. . ." (Ibid.,
p. 194). He overlooked the fact that the Greek adjective pas does
not only mean "every" but also "any."
[86]. Commenting on fast days Fitzmyer, Romans, p. 690, give as examples of days
of fasting "in NT times, Mondays and Thursdays (Luke 18:12; Did.
8.1). Judaism also developed in time a text called Megillat Tacanit,
'Scroll of Fasting,' which listed days on which it was not permitted to
fast or to mourn. In time, early Christians too came to fast on Wednesdays
and Fridays (Did. 8.1; Herm. Sim. 5.3.7). It appears that Jews
did not fast during the Sabbath.
[87]. E.g. De Lacey, "Sabbath/Sunday," pp. 182-183; N. T. Wright, Colossians and
Philemon (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1986), pp. 118-119; and James
D. G. Dunn, The Epistles of the Colossians and Philemon: A Commentary
on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996), pp. 171-175.
[88]. E.g. Clinton E. Arnold, The Colossian Syncretism: The Interface Between
Christianity and Folk Belief at Colossae (Tubingen: J. C. B Mohr,
1995); Margaret Y. MacDonald, Colossians and Ephesians (Collegeville,
MN: Liturgical Press, 2000), pp. 10-13; and Victor Paul Furnish, "Colossians,
Epistle to," in Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 1, edited by David
Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1992), p. 1092.
[89]. E.g. Kenneth H. Wood, "The 'Sabbath Days' of Colossians 2:16, 17," in The
Sabbath in Scripture and History, edited by Kenneth A. Strand (Washington,
D.C.: Review and Herald, 1982), pp.338-342.
[90]. Richard W. Coffen, "Colossians 2:14-17," Ministry 45 (August 1972):13-15.
[91]. Paul Giem, "Sabbaton in Col 2:16," Andrews University Seminary Studies
19 (1981):195-210. The suggestion is based on the fact that in practically
all the places in the OT where festival, new moon and Sabbath are mentioned
together the main emphasis is on the sacrifices offered on those religious
occasions (Ezek 45:17; Neh 10:33; 1 Chr 23:31; 2 Chr 2:3; 8:13; 31:3).
The only exception is Hosea 2:13.
[92]. Norberto Hugede, Commentaire de l'epistre aux Colossiens (Geneve: Labor
et Fides, 1968), pp. 143-144; cf. MacDonald, Colossians, p. 110.
[93]. See W. Beilner, "Sabbaton," in Exegetical Dictionary of the NT,
vol. 3, p. 222.
[94]. MacDonald, Colossians, p. 110.
[95]. The verb krino expresses the idea of "to pass judgment upon (and thereby
to influence) the lives and actions of other people" (Danker, Greek-English
Lexicon of the NT and Other Early Christian Literature, p. 567). Robert
B. Bratcher and Eugene A. Nida, A Translators Handbook on Paul's Letters
to the Colossians and to Philemon (New York: United Bible Societies,
1977), remark, "The verb krino means primarily 'to judge' (see,
for example, in similar context, Rom 14.3). Here the more general make
rules may be more appropriate" (p. 65). The passage does not identify
the specific regulations promoted by the false teachers for the list of
religious activities listed in 2:16.
[96]. Bacchiocchi, Sabbath Under Crossfire, p. 245. Curtis Vaughan, "Colossians,"
in The Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 11, edited by Frank A.
Gaebelein (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1978), p. 203, acknowledges that
"the false teachers at Colossae laid down rigid restrictions with regard
to eating and drinking and with regard to the