DAILY READING
REFLECTION
The Lord of the Sabbath
by Pr. Dave Mann
The manner of keeping the Sabbath has changed significantly from the Old Testament into the establishment of the early church, and even more so in the present.
The keeping of the Sabbath was originally understood to be from Friday sundown until Saturday sundown. Most Christians now understand the Sabbath to be on Sunday, the first day of the week.
During the time of the 2nd Temple, a few hundred years before Jesus until its destruction in 70 A.D., the people of Israel became more legalistic concerning the observation of the Sabbath. They added laws concerning the weight of something lifted that should not be surpassed, and the length of a journey that could not be surpassed, lest it be considered work.
Jesus brought fresh air to the matter of the Sabbath. He taught it is right to do good on the Sabbath. He also taught that he was the Lord of the Sabbath. This was in preparation for the change of the location of the Sabbath because of the sanctification of the first day of the week by the wonder of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. From the time of the early church, the gathering for the preaching of the Word and the sharing of holy communion happened on the first day of the week, no longer the seventh. Certainly, there was some observation of rest on the new Christian sabbath, but the main point of the Sabbath, the Lord’s Day, was the study of the Word and the celebration of the sacrament.
Centuries later, Martin Luther, in the explanation of the 3rd Commandment, echoed the practice of the Sabbath begun by the early church.
Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not neglect his Word and the preaching of it but regard it as holy and gladly hear and learn it.
However, in the modern age, I am afraid that if we did an on-the-street survey of the question, “How do you observe the Sabbath?” even among Christians the vast majority would respond with embarrassed hemming and hawing. If our children are in sports that practice or play a game on Sunday morning, it is usually the sport that wins the tug-of-war. If we have a business trip and the cheapest flight is on Sunday morning, we fly instead of attending church.
Let us receive the Lord's blessing as we observe the Lord’s Day as our Sabbath to study the Word, to celebrate the Sacrament, and to enjoy much needed rest from our labor.
PRAYER
Dear Lord of the Sabbath, please be Lord of our lives as we honor the day when you rose triumphantly from the dead. Allow us to hear your Word, be nourished by your Sacrament, and enjoy the rest you have planned for us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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