Dr Paul Allen

At the outset, I have to acknowledge that the issues of when to observe the Sabbath and how we observe the Sabbath have not drawn much attention from Lutherans over the years. To this day, Lutherans are guided in large part by the way in which Martin Luther, the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformer, interpreted the Sabbath commandment in his Small and Large Catechisms. In the Small Catechism, Luther renders the biblical text, “You shall sanctify the day of rest” (for the texts of Luther’s catechisms, see The Book of Concord, ed. Robert Kolb and Timothy Wengert [Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 2000]). As you can see, it looks a bit different than how we are perhaps accustomed to reading it. To better grasp the Lutheran view of the Sabbath day, we need to consider both its history and its current understanding. THE GOSPEL AND THE SABBATH Every tradition is shaped by the formative era from which it emerged. This is true also for Lutheranism. When Luther rediscovered the gospel, he stripped

Rightly understood and observed, the seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday) is a precious gift from God. Millions of Christians in my faith community experience it as such. At creation, “God blessed the seventh day and made it holy” (Gen. 2:3; italics supplied); the Sabbath commandment echoes, “The Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” (Ex. 20:11). The Sabbath is also God’s chosen sign of creation and redemption: “that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you” (Ex. 31:13); thus, rightly understood and observed, the Sabbath remains a perpetual antidote to both the theory of naturalistic evolution and to legalism.  Finally, the Sabbath is God’s designated day for rest and worship, “a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation” (Lev. 23:3). Scripture never attributes any of these sacred pronouncements, or explicitly assigns any meaning whatsoever, to any day of the week other than the seventh-day Sabbath. The New Testament upholds the Ten Commandments, including the seventh-day Sabbat

Increasingly, few Christians reserve one day each week for both worship and rest from all forms of work. Should we be disturbed by this? Seventh-day Adventists and Seventh-day Baptists answer “yes,” and claim that the Sabbath day must be Saturday. Certain kinds of Presbyterians and Reformed Christians, along with others influenced by the legacy of the Puritans, equally adamantly answer “yes,” but they insist that Sunday is the Christian Sabbath. Still, others argue for the principle of resting one day in seven but don’t worry about which day of the week it is, since preachers, for example, can scarcely rest on the day they lead worship services. Are any of these three perspectives right? Not really. Jesus declared, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them” (Matt. 5:17; NIV here and throughout). It’s an unusual contrast. Normally, if someone says he is not abolishing something, he goes on to say he is preservin

c. 840 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The Spirit’s Work Within the Old Testament Period The first matter for our consideration is whether there is an empowering work of the Spirit within the Old Testament period itself that is different from his inner-transforming work. As a matter of fact, the empowering work of the Spirit is much more evident than the inner-transforming. For example, select individuals are anointed with the Spirit to prophesy (e.g., Num. 11:24–27; 1 Sam. 10:6, 10; 19:20; 2 Sam. 23:2; 1 Chron. 12:18; 2 Chron. 20:14–17; 24:20; and throughout the prophetic writings), perform miraculous feats (Judg. 14:6, 19; 15:14–17; 1 Kings 18:12), exercise spiritual power in leadership (Judg. 3:10; 6:34; 11:29; 1 Sam. 16:13), or simply carry out their appointed service within God’s household (Ex. 35:30–35). Additionally, in numerous miracle narratives where the Spirit receives no explicit mention, the human agents are prophets whose definitive qualification is the Spirit’s anointi

Curses Against the Pharisees (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 22:23-33 23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.” 29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraha

Ruins of the synagogue in Capernaum. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The view from Tiberias, Galilee, Israel, northward across the Sea of Galilee. The snowy peak in the distance is Mount Hermon. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The reason the geography of Israel is important is because of what it tells me about Jesus . You can see on the map towards the top is the Sea of Galilee . This is where Jesus lived, in a town called Capernaum .  The thing I want you to notice is how far down Jerusalem is from the Sea of Galilee on the map. In a car today, you can get from the Sea of Galilee to Jerusalem in little over 2 hours.  But in the time of Jesus, there weren’t any cars. And so to get there, you walked. This journey would typically take around 7 days. John 21 tells the event of Jesus appearing to the disciples at the Sea on Galilee after he had been crucified.  Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem. He was buried in Jerusalem. He came back to life in Jerusalem. And He appeared to

Observing the Sabbath-closing havdalah ritual in 14th-century Spain. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The fourth commandment anticipated rest by prescribing rest, so that one kept the Sabbath by resting. However, the command soon escaped these confines, in part through its role as a sign of the whole law, and in part through the failure of Israel to find rest in the land.  The stress in the prophets on faithfulness as the heart of Sabbath observance was taken up in the NT, but there it was viewed in the light of what Jesus had done. As God ’s perfect human, Jesus lived the Sabbath day for God, releasing his fellow humans from bondage, bringing them into blessing, and at the last entering himself into God’s rest.  Ultimately, as Lord of the Sabbath , Jesus made it possible for others to follow him into that rest. This means that the Christian ’s task is no longer to keep the Sabbath (Jesus has done that already) but to believe in him. In its final setting, then, the fourth co

Observing the Sabbath-closing havdalah ritual in 14th-century Spain. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) From creation onward, the people of God worshiped on the seventh day of the week. This was a "creation ordinance" that the Creator Himself established by His example, with the intent that His creatures would follow it. He worked six days and called His image-bearers to work (Gen. 2:15); He rested on the seventh day (Gen. 2:2; Ex. 20:11; 31:17) and called His image-bearers to rest. He signified this with His benediction, setting apart the seventh day as "holy" (Gen. 2:3). Later, when the Sabbath command was reiterated, we read: "In six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed" (Ex. 31:17). The word refreshed (Hebrew, naphash) is used only two other times in the Old Testament : once in reference to giving rest to animals, servants, and visitors within Israel (Ex.23:12), and once in reference to David and his men

"And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day." ( Deuteronomy 5:15 ) It is significant that God's Ten Commandments are found twice in the Bible ( Exodus 20:3-17  and  Deuteronomy 5:6-21 ). In fact, "Deuteronomy" means "the Second Law." The two are worded identically, with a few exceptions. The most significant of these changes is in connection with the reason given for obeying the fourth commandment, to "keep the sabbath day."  In Exodus, the reason given is: "For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day" ( Exodus 20:11 ).  Here in "the second law," the reason given is that God saved Israel out of bondage in Egypt, and now was about to enter the Promised Land.

A modern Western worship team leading a contemporary worship session. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) God chose to rest. He worked six days, creating the heavens and the earth and everything that would fill them. And then he, the God who never grows weary, chose to rest. He took sabbath . Why would he do this? Why would the all-powerful God rest? He rested to established a pattern, to establish a flow. There would be times for labor and times for rest. Six days you could earn a living and carry out your day-to-day responsibilities, and on the seventh you were to rest. Six years you could harvest your crops, but on the seventh the fields were to lie fallow. There would be ebb and flow, there would be work and rest. God did not intend all work and no rest; he did not intend all rest and no work. He intended both to flow in a pattern, a dance. Looking at it now, I see three great lessons we learn from a day set apart. Sabbath teaches dependence . Sabbath teaches us to depend upon God