Israel’s Sabbaths
The sabbath is a topic of controversy, with some people believing we should keep Sunday as the day of rest and others believing Saturday should be the day. One of the Bible study groups discussed the topic and decided each person should keep one day in the week, if possible, but some people must work on Saturday, some on Sunday, and some on both days. We cannot close all hospitals or send all police officers home for the weekend.
The Jews in Jesus’ time kept Saturday and went to the synagogue on that day to worship God. “And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.” Mark 1:21-22. The Christians in the early church worshiped God on the first day, called the Lord’s Day. “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.” Acts 20:7. That meeting with Paul may have occurred on Saturday night or Sunday during the day, as both times were considered part of the first day of the week. We should not judge each other on the day we keep, as long as we try to keep one day. I once talked to a clergyman whose church was close to a hospital. He had a Wednesday service for people that worked in the hospital because they could not come on Sunday. The apostle Paul wrote: “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:” Colossians 2:16. The important topic is the worship of God, not the day of the week.
However, the abbath is part of the Ten Commandments and I believe we should try to get together on one day of the week to worship God, receive teaching from the Bible, have Christian fellowship, and rest our bodies. “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Isaiah 58:13-14.
Israel in the Bible had other sabbaths beside Saturday. The feist of trumpets was the first day of the seventh month. The day of atonement was the tenth day of the seventh month. Pentecost was the fiftieth day after the wave offering of first fruits. The first and seventh days of unleavened bread during Passover week, were sabbaths. All these holy days are recorded in Leviticus chapter 23. They were sabbaths of rest for Israel. Each sabbath started at sundown and ended at sundown the next day.
Therefore, I believe Jesus was crucified on a Thursday. The timeline is as follows: That year, the Passover, (also called the first day of the feast of unleavened bread), started Wednesday at sundown. Jesus and his disciples had the Passover supper. Judas betrayed him later that evening. The chief priests had a trial for him all night with false witnesses. The next day he appeared before Pilate and Herod. Pilate sentenced him to death. He was crucified and died before sunset, still on the Passover. At sundown on Thursday the day after Passover began. That day was a holy day according to Leviticus 23:5-6. He was buried by Joseph of Arimathea that evening. Sundown Friday began another sabbath, the weekly sabbath. Sundown Saturday began the first day of the week. Sometime on Sunday morning he rose from the dead. He was in the tomb Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights and Friday, Saturday, and Sunday days. Three nights and three days, even though the last day was only part of a day.
Most Christians keep our own extra sabbaths. They are Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving. In all these sabbaths we should remember Jesus Christ and the blessings God has given us.
