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This bible study gives scriptural proof that Jesus kept the Sabbath day commandment, and based rock solid on the word of God. Its purpose is only to glorify the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you notice any errors you may contact us. If you wish to read the the Greek in this study, and you haven't yet installed the font, then go to the bible study page and do it now, or alternatively you may download it here as a zip file.
GENESIS 2:1-3
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
MARK 2:27-28 (Jesus)
27 And he said to them, The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath:
28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.
JOHN 1:1-3
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 The same was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made.
COLOSSIANS 1:15-16 (Paul about Jesus)
15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature;
16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they
are thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him, and for him.
Note: Jesus did not say that the Sabbath was made for the Jews, he said it was made for man (Mark 2:27). The Greek words translated "man" in this scripture is o anqrwpoj (Gtr. ho anthropos). Look at some definitions of it:
(James Strong p26) "444. anqrwpoj (559x) anthropos ... man-faced i.e. a human being: man (552x), not tr (4x),
misc. (3x).
Anthropos is used (1) generally of a human being, male
or female, without reference to sex or nationality:"
(Joseph H. Thayer p46) "444. anqrwpoj -ou, o, [perh. fr. anhr and
wy, i.e. man's face; ...] It is used 1. univ., with ref. to the genus or nature, without distinction of sex, a human being, whether
male or female: Jn xvi 21. And in this sense a. with the
article, generally, so as to include all human individuals: ..."
Look at some examples of where Jesus used this word, with the definite article elsewhere:
(Matthew 5:18) "Let your light so shine before men,
..."
(Matthew 6:1) "Take heed that you do not your alms before men,
to be seen of them."
(Matthew 19:10) "If the case of the man is
with his wife that it is not good to marry."
(Luke 4:4) "It is written, That man shall not
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."
As you can see, "ho anthropos" is sometimes used of an individual, but mostly of mankind in General. Could any of these scriptures (or any of the many others) mean only Jews? If not, then it doesn't mean Jews in Mark 2:27 either. Jesus could have used the word for Jew if he had meant only Jews. When Israel left Egypt a mixed multitude also went with them (Exodus 12:38), and even under the Old Covenant these Gentiles had to keep the Sabbath day:
(Exodus 12:49) "One law shall be to him who is home-born, and to
the foreigner who sojourns among you."
(Exodus 20:10) "But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your
daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your foreigner who is within your gates:
(Exodus 23:12) "Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest; that your ox and your ass may rest, and the son
of your handmaid, and the foreigner, may be refreshed."
(Leviticus 24:22) "You shall have one manner of law, as well as for the foreigner,
as for one of your own country: for I am the Lord your God."
(Deuteronomy 5:14) "but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God: in it you shall not do any work, you ... nor your foreigner
who is within your gates; ..."
(Isaiah 56:6-7) "Also the sons of the foreigner, who join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD,
to be his servants, every one who keeps the Sabbath from polluting it, and takes hold of my covenant;
Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon
my altar; for my house shall be called an house of prayer for all people."
The word foreigner in all these scriptures refer to someone who was not an Israelite. The Sabbath is never referred to as "the Jewish Sabbath" in the scripture. From the beginning God knew that man would need physical rest, and he provided a day for it. People who ignore this, and work seven days a week, will probably suffer stress, fatigue of some sort, or even ill health. This will not change as long as people are involved in secular work; so as long as it applies, why not set aside the specific day that God ordained and Jesus made? Jesus is the Word of God (John 1:1 with 1:14; Revelation 19:13), he created the Sabbath (John 1:3; Colossians 1:16) for man (Mark 2:27), he was Lord of it (Mark 2:28), and yet Jesus kept it himself perfectly when he was in the flesh (See below). He is the head of the true church of God (Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18), and he has not changed (Hebrews 13:8; 1 Peter 1:25), so if he made it for us, then we need it, and should keep it.
MATTHEW 4:23
23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all
manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
MATTHEW 9:35
35 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the
kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.
MARK 6:2
2 And when the Sabbath day came, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From where has this man
these things? and what wisdom is this which is given to him, that even such mighty works are done by his hands?
LUKE 4:16 (About Jesus)
16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.
LUKE 4:31
31 And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the Sabbath days.
LUKE 6:6
6 And it came to pass on another Sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught: and there was a man whose right hand was withered.
LUKE 13:10
10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
JOHN 15:10 (Jesus)
10 If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.
Note: During his lifetime on earth Jesus kept the Sabbath day perfectly. He regularly taught in the synagogues on the Sabbath day (Matthew 4:23; 9:35; Mark 6:2; Luke 4:31; 6:6; 13:10), and habitually went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day to read the law (Luke 4:16). He said, "I have kept my Father's commandments," (John 10:15), and these commandments included the Sabbath day:
(Exodus 20:8) "Remember the Sabbath day
to keep it holy."
(Exodus 31:13-14) "Surely my Sabbaths you shall keep: ... You shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is
holy to you:"
(Exodus 31:16) "the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their
generations, for a perpetual covenant."
(Deuteronomy 5:12) "Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it."
Did Jesus ever break the Sabbath commandment? No, because he himself said,
"I have kept my Father's commandments," (John 15:10), and God himself
referred to the Sabbath as one of "my commandments" (Exodus 16:28). Also, "sin is the transgression of the law." (1 John 3:4) [look at the
context, it is referring to the ten commandments], and Jesus never sinned (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5). As Jesus was
"made under the law" (Galatians 4:4), he must have kept the Sabbath commandment perfectly, otherwise would have been a sinner.
Every Christian has been called to follow Jesus (Matthew 8:22; 10:38; 19:21; Mark 8:34; 10:21; Luke 9:23; 9:59; 18:22), to be as he was (Matthew 10:25), to
be conformed to his image (Romans 8:29), to walk as he walked (1 John 2:6), to follow his steps (1 Peter 2:21), and to be as he is in this world
(1 John 4:17). They cannot do this without keeping the Sabbath day, because he kept it, and he is
"the same yesterday, and today, and for
the age." (Hebrews 13:8).
Jesus is the head of the church (Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18), which is his body (Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18; 1:24), and it should be in complete
subjection to him in all things (Ephesians 1:22), but it will never be so without keeping the Sabbath day because he taught us to keep it, both by word
(Matthew 5:17-19; 19:17-19; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20), and by example (Matthew 4:23; 9:35; Luke 4:16; John 16:10). When Jesus was alive on the earth, his physical
body was in complete subjection to his spirit, and he habitually went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. If his physical body now,
which is the church (Colossians 1:18; 1:24), was in complete subjection to his spirit, then it would also habitually keep the Sabbath day as Jesus did. As he has
not changed (Hebrews 13:8), the church ought to be keeping the Sabbath day now, and will never be perfected
in this life until it does.
MATTHEW 5:17-19 (Jesus)
17 Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 For amen I say to you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
19 Whoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven:
but whoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
MATTHEW 19:16-19
16 And, behold, one came and said to him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?
17 And he said to him, Why do you call me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if you will enter into life,
keep the commandments.
18 He says to him, Which? Jesus said, You shall do no murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not
bear false witness,
19 Honour your father and your mother: and, you shall love your neighbour as yourself.
MATTHEW 23:1-3
1 Then spoke Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:
3 All therefore whatever they bid you observe, that
observe and do; but do not you do after their works: for they say, and do not do.
MARK 10:17-19
17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled down to him, and asked
him, Good master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
18 And Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
19 You know the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honour your father and
mother.
LUKE 18:18-20
18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
19 And Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good? none is good, except one, that is, God.
20 You know the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour your father and mother.
Note: Jesus could not break any of the ten commandments, because if he did he would be a sinner: "for sin is the transgression of the law." (1 John 3:4). Nor could he teach men to break any of them, or he himself would be least in the kingdom of heaven according to his own words:
(Matthew 5:19) "Whoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
Who, of all men who ever lived, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? It is Jesus! According to his own words then, he must have kept and taught men
to keep every "one of these least commandments." In fact Jesus kept all of the commandments, including observing the Sabbath day (See
#1.22), and here we can see he taught others to do it also (Matthew 19:17-19; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20). He even told people to obey the Scribes and the
Pharisees (Matthew 23:2-3), and they would certainly have told people to keep the Sabbath day! Does the fact that these scriptures do not specifically mention
the first four commandments, mean that we should not keep them? No, because keeping these is an expression of our love for God (See #1.25 Note),
and loving God is the first and great commandment (Matthew 22:37-38).
Jesus' words are still applicable to us today:
(Matthew 24:35) "Heaven and earth shall
pass away, but my words shall not pass away."
(Matthew 19:17) "if you will enter into life, keep the commandments."
(Luke 6:46) "And why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not
the things which I say?"
(John 14:15) "If you love me, keep my commandments."
(John 12:48) "He who rejects me, and does not receive my words, has one who judges him: the word that I have
spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."
The apostle Paul also confirmed the importance of Jesus' words:
(1 Timothy 6:3-4) "If any man teach otherwise, and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing".
MATTHEW 5:17-18 (Jesus)
17 Do not think that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 For amen I say to you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from the law, till all
is fulfilled.
Note 1: Notice that Jesus said, that he did not "come to destroy the law ... but to fulfil." (Matthew 5:17), and from the words of Jesus himself we can know that he did fulfil as much as he could at his first coming, because he said, "I have kept my Father's commandments." (John 15:10). Also when praying to his Father before his death, he said, "I have finished the work which you gave me to do." (John 17:4), and just before he died, he said, "It is finished:" (John 19:30). There are some things, such as the feast of trumpets, for example, which Jesus will fulfil at his second coming (Matthew 24:31; 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16), but this does not mean that he has not fulfilled as much of the law as was expected of him. Does the fact that Jesus fulfilled the law mean that we do not now have to fulfil it? No, that cannot be so because we are expected to be like Jesus:
(Matthew 10:25) "It is enough for the
disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his Lord."
(Romans 8:29) "For whom he did foreknow, he also did
predestine to be conformed to the image of his Son,"
(1 Corinthians 15:48) "as is the heavenly, such are
they also that are heavenly."
(1 Peter 2:21) "For even to this you were called:
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should
follow his steps:"
(1 John 2:6) "He who says he abides in him aught
himself also to walk, even as he walked."
(1 John 4:17) "In this is our love made perfect ... as
he is, so are we in this world."
If Jesus fulfilled the law, and we are meant to "be as our master", "be as our Lord", "be conformed to his image", "follow his steps", "walk, even as he walked", and be "as he is", then we are meant to fulfil the law also as Jesus did. Again there are exceptions, such as the sin offering (Leviticus 16:15-16), and the scapegoat on the day of atonement (Leviticus 16:20-23), where Jesus carried away the sins of the world. That cannot be done by us, but we do need to fulfil that which we can fulfil:
(Romans 8:4) "That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the spirit."
Note 2: Notice that Jesus also said, "Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from the law, till all is fulfilled." (Matthew 5:18). There are two separate conditions here, and nothing of the law will pass away until at least one of these is fulfilled. They are, "Till heaven and earth pass", or "till all is fulfilled". Has heaven and earth passed yet? No:
(2 Peter 3:7-10) "But the heaven and earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved for fire against the day of judgement and perdition of ungodly men. ... the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are in it shall be burned up."
So this condition has not removed anything from the law yet.
Note 3: The other condition, "till all is fulfilled", can be taken in two different ways, one of which is, it can mean "till all (the law) is fulfilled" (See #1.25). However, if we examine the Greek, ewj an panta genhtai, (Gtr. heos an panta genetai), which also occurs elsewhere in scripture (Luke 21:32), and where it is also translated "till all is fulfilled", we can compare it with other parallel scriptures:
(Matthew 24:34) "till all these things
are fulfilled."
(Mark 13:30) "till all these things are done."
Taking these latter three scriptures in context, it seems obvious that they all refer to the events of the end time, before Jesus returns, things which have not happened to the Jews yet. So some could conclude that Jesus' statement "till all is fulfilled" (Matthew 5:18), literally could mean that "one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from the law, until all (end-time events) are fulfilled", in which case, the law must still be completely intact. This being so, the Sabbath day commandment must also be intact, and we still need to fulfil it.
MATTHEW 22:34-40
34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they were all gathered together.
35 Then one of them, who was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
37 Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like it, You shall love your neighbour as yourself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
ROMANS 13:8-10 (Paul)
8 Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
9 For this, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, You shall not covet; and if there
is any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, You shall love your neighbour as yourself.
10 Love works no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
GALATIANS 5:14 (Paul)
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; You shall love your neighbour as yourself.
Note: Does fulfilling of the law mean that we do not have to keep the ten commandments? No, because Jesus said, "all the law" (Matthew 22:40) hangs on the commands to love, which includes all of the ten commandments, not just nine of them. Secondly, we fulfil the law by love (Matthew 22:34-40; Romans 13:8-10; Galatians 5:14), and if we love God with all of our heart and soul, and our neighbour as ourselves, then our love for God is expressed by obedience to his commandments:
(John 14:21-24) "He who has my
commandments, and keeps them, he it is who loves me: ... If a man loves me,
he will keep my words: ... He who does not love me does not keep my sayings:
and the word which you hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me."
(1 John 5:2-3) "By this we know that we love the
children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is
the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not
grievous."
(2 John 6) "And this is love, that we walk after his
commandments."
This is why Jesus taught us two commandments which enable us to fulfil the law:
(Matthew 22:37) "You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your
mind."
(Matthew 22:39) "You shall love your neighbour as
yourself."
The latter one of these two gives us the desire to keep the last six of the ten commandments, whereas faith would give us the ability to keep them. For example:
If we love our father and our mother, would we dishonour them? No, because we would hate to do such a thing, and we would only want to please them.
If we love our neighbours would we kill them? or anyone that they love? No, because we would hate to do such a thing, and we would only want to do what
is best for them. We would not hate them if they offended us, because hate is spiritual murderer (1 John 3:15), and love is the opposite of hate. We
would not speak evil of them, because spiritual death is in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21), and we would not wish to hurt them.
If we love our neighbours, would we steal from them? No, because we would hate to do such a thing, and we would only want to do what is best for them.
Love is a desire to give (John 3:16), and would give us the opposite desire to stealing from them. We would never wish to see them suffer the hurt from
our actions, so love would motivate us to keep this commandment.
If we love our neighbours would we lie to them? No, because the scripture
declares, "A lying tongue hates those who are afflicted by it;" (Proverbs 26:28). Paul declared,
"Therefore putting away lying, speak every man truth
with his neighbour:" (Ephesians 4:25), because speaking the truth to someone is an expression of love. So fulfilling this commandment by love would mean that
we would never lie to our neighbour.
So likewise, love for our neighbours would keep us from breaking any of the commandments that apply to them.
In the same way, if we love God with all of our heart, and with all of our soul, and with all of our mind, would we put other Gods before him? If you
have a wife or a girl friend that you love with your whole heart, would you put other women or girls before them? No way! Love would keep you from it.
Would we make carved images that are an abomination to God, and bow down to them, knowing how much this would hurt God? No way! because our love for God
would keep us from it.
Would we take his name in vain, knowing that it would hurt him? No way!
How then would we not keep the Sabbath, which he made for us (Mark 2:27), knowing that this would be like throwing his gift back in his face?
So there it is, love fulfils the law, and love expresses itself as obedience to God's commandments. Jesus said,
"He who does not love me does not keep my
sayings;" (John 14:24), and one of his sayings was, "keep the commandments." (Matthew 19:17), so people who do not keep the ten commandments
do not fully love Jesus or God.
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