THE SABBATH

A. The Origin of the Sabbath 
Our word "Sabbath" comes from the Hebrew word "shabath", which means 
literally "to cease" from labour or activity. The first record of this word 
is found in Genesis 2:2 where we read that God "rested" on the seventh day. 
Actually, because God is omnipotent, He doesn't need to rest, so the 
original meaning "ceased" would be more appropriate. However, God didn't 
only cease from His work of creation on the Sabbath, we also read in 
Genesis 2:3 that God blessed the seventh day and made it holy. So the 
Sabbath was one of the first things taught to man on this earth.

B. The Sabbath in the Old Testament 
The next mention of the Sabbath in the Bible is found in Exodus 16, the 
story of how God provided "manna" for the Israelites to eat. They were to 
collect it every day except Sabbath. On Fridays they had to collect double 
the amount they usually did, and keep some over for the next day. Manna did 
not usually keep overnight, but on Friday nights God miraculously preserved 
it.

God reinforced His original instruction to keep the Sabbath holy by 
including it with the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8-11). Note that the 
reason given for people to keep the Sabbath is that it is to be a 
remembrance day for God's work of creation.

Other texts show how the Jews missed out on blessings which they could have 
had if they had kept the Sabbath: Ezekiel 20:13-15; Amos 8:4-10; Isaiah 
56:1-7; Jeremiah 17:19-27; Nehemiah 13:15-22

C. Did Jesus Keep the Sabbath? 
In John 1:3 we read about Jesus that "Through him all things were made; 
without him nothing was made that has been made." So Jesus was involved in 
that first week of creation, and therefore He must have rested on that 
first Sabbath day. As a man, He also kept the Sabbath: Mark 1:21; Mark 6:2; 
Luke 4:16; Mark 2:28

D. Did Jesus' Followers Keep the Sabbath? 
Over the crucifixion weekend we see a number of people carefully observing 
the Sabbath: Mark 16:1,2 and Luke 23:54-56.

Years after Christ's death, His followers were still keeping the Sabbath: 
Acts 13:14; Acts 13:42; Acts 16:13; Acts 17:2.

E. Has the Sabbath Been Changed? 
1. Because of the resurrection day? The fact that Jesus rose from the dead 
on the Sunday doesn't mean that we should worship on that day. Jesus was 
actually keeping the Sabbath by resting in the tomb over the Sabbath!
2. Because of first-day meetings recorded in the New Testament?  There are 
a few references to meetings held on Sundays:
John 20:19-23 gives an account of the disciples getting together on the 
Sunday of Jesus' resurrection - an obvious thing to do, not an organised 
meeting.
Acts 20:6,7 tells of Paul having a farewell lunch on a Sunday, just before 
he was to leave for Assos. Again, not a regular meeting.
1 Corinthians 16:1,2 gives instructions for the setting aside of money for 
collections on Sundays. This has no connection with a religious meeting, 
and probably Sunday was chosen so as not to interfere with the Sabbath.