In our last two articles we examined Sabbath. We discovered that it has its theological origins in the creation story in Genesis where we learn that God works and then rests. God created for six days and rested on the seventh. We also learned that the observance of Sabbath, while being an integral part of the life of the people of God for centuries, was only loosely followed until after Israel's return from the Babylonian Exile around 520 BCE. Sabbath became more important upon their return to the land of promise because it was one way for the Jewish people to maintain their cultural and religious identity (no other religions practiced Sabbath). Over time the Sabbath observance was regulated by a series of very specific rules and regulations concerning what a person should or should not do on the day of rest. We can see this today in Orthodox Jewish communities in the United States in that members of these communities live close to their synagogues so that they only have to walk short distances to worship on the Sabbath (in order to be obedient to Sabbath regulations).
When we move to the New Testament we are confronted by what appear to be a series of mixed messages about the Sabbath. On the one hand Jesus appears to observe the Sabbath by faithfully attending synagogue services. We can see this in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 4:16) where we read, "He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom." In this sense Jesus was a very pious Jew who understood that Sabbath required people to gather for worship which always included reading and reflecting on scripture. On the other hand Jesus was not a fan of some of the regulations which restricted what could be done on the Sabbath. His disregard for these regulations was the basis for many of his confrontations with the religious authorities. Among these disagreements were healing on the Sabbath (Mark 3:1-3; Luke 6:8-10; Luke 13:9-16; Luke 14:1-13; John 5:1-18; John 7:21-24) and Jesus' disciples plucking and eating grain on the Sabbath, which was considered work (Mark 2:22-28; Luke 6:1-3).
Jesus' deals with the criticism he receives for violating the Sabbath in two ways. The first is that he offers up very good rabbinic arguments against his opponents. In terms of healing people on the Sabbath Jesus argues that since the Law allows for a farmer to get his ox out of a ditch on the Sabbath in order to save it, he ought to be able to save people who are more precious than oxen (Luke 13:15-17; 14:2-6). His arguments are not simply clever ways to get around the rules and regulations but were based on his understanding of the purpose of Sabbath. He declared that the Sabbath was made for humankind and not humankind for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). In other words the Sabbath was intended for the rest and restoration of humankind. Thus any actions that helped people (such as healing) were acceptable on the Sabbath. The second way in which Jesus responded to criticism of his Sabbath actions was to declare that "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." (Luke 6:5; Mark 2:28; Matthew 12:8) The "Son of Man" was the title Jesus used to describe himself and by so doing made it clear that he was the one, and not the religious leaders, who defined what could or could not be done on the Sabbath.
The Book of Acts, which describes the creation, growth and expansion of the early church, does not spend time dealing with Sabbath controversies. Sabbath is only mentioned as the day of the week on which Jews would gather for worship at which time Paul or some of the other followers of Jesus would tell them the Good News of Jesus death and resurrection. In addition we can catch glimpses of the early church moving its worship (and perhaps Sabbath day) to the first day of the week (Sunday) which was the day of resurrection (I Corinthians 16:1-2; Acts 20:7). Paul addresses this change in two of his letters (Romans 14:5-6; Colossians 2:16-17) where he assures his fellow believers that one can worship the Lord on any day; that there is no need for a special Sabbath day.
No comments:
Post a Comment