This is a three part series on the evolution of Sundays, and today we are going to find out just what is Sunday exactly…?
What is Sunday?
A lot changes between the Old Testament and the New Testament, but one thing that doesn’t change is the Sabbath.
It is a holy day.
Old Testament:
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”- Exodus 20:8-11
New Testament:
27 Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28 So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”- Mark 2:27-28
But what did change between the Old Testament and the New Testament was the way the Sabbath was honored.
In the Old Testament (OT) the Sabbath, along with everything, else thanks to the riveting book of Leviticus, had become a strict rule. There was the excessive number of festivals honoring the Sabbath (Leviticus 23) and the Sabbath year (Leviticus 25), and many other intriguing rules that were soon proved impossible to keep.
All this to remind us 2000 years later that we cannot follow rules, we must follow Jesus.
In the New Testament (NT) Jesus does what he does best, and completely shatters the Pharisees’ respect for the Law. He says the Sabbath is not a rule to be abided by, but a day to do good, to glorify God.
“9 Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, 10 and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
11 He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” – Matthew 12: 9-12
In the OT the Sabbath was an obligation. In the NT, the Sabbath becomes a celebration.
The Sabbath was intended to be a day of honoring God through our actions, doing good, and being undistracted by the work so often found Monday-Saturday.
But shouldn't we honor God everyday of the week?
Yes. And the Sabath is a day to continue this honoring of God without the accompanyment of our own agendas. Make sense?
We should always honor God with our lives, but setting aside a day to shed our minds of the Monday-Saturday clutter reminds us of what the clutterless and holy voice of God sounds like, so we are able to face the following 6 days of work with a heart set on Jesus.
SUNDAY-FUNDAY
This Sunday, I encourage you to fill your day with opportunities to honor God through your day. Whether that means scheduling less conference calls or offering your time to someone in need.
The Sabbath is a day to celebrate our Creator by acting in His favor.