Exodus 16 · a question people ask
Should Christians keep the Sabbath?
Exodus 16 gives the Sabbath to Israel: "the LORD has given you the Sabbath" (16:29). At Sinai it becomes one of the Ten Commandments, rooted in creation: "in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day" (20:11). Jesus went into the synagogue "on the Sabbath day", "as was his custom" (Luke 4:16), and said, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27). Christians who share the same beliefs read what this means for them in three main ways. All agree that rest is God's gift, and that "the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath" (Mark 2:28).
How Christians read it
Where Christians differ, Favor sets out the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
The seventh day still
Those who hold this view note that the seventh day goes back to creation, when "God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy" (Genesis 2:3), before Israel existed, and that the commandment says "the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God" (Exodus 20:10). They read "The Sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27) as keeping the day for everyone.
Genesis 2:3 · Exodus 20:10 · Mark 2:27
The Lord's day
Those who hold this view keep the pattern of one day of rest in seven (Exodus 20:9-10) on Sunday. They point to the first Christians gathering "On the first day of the week" (Acts 20:7; also 1 Corinthians 16:2), and to John being "in the Spirit on the Lord’s day" (Revelation 1:10), which they take to be the first day.
Exodus 20:9-10 · Acts 20:7 · 1 Corinthians 16:2 · Revelation 1:10
Fulfilled in Christ
Those who hold this view read the Sabbath day as one of the things Paul calls "a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s" (Colossians 2:16-17), and leave the keeping of days to each believer: "Let each man be fully assured in his own mind" (Romans 14:5). They find the rest itself in Christ: "There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God" (Hebrews 4:9).
Colossians 2:16-17 · Romans 14:5-6 · Hebrews 4:9-10
The verses
“Behold, because the LORD has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days. Everyone stay in his place. Let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.””
““Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. You shall labor six days, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.”
“He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.”
“He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.””