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The Sabbath Day  

Yahshua said: “Sabbath was made for man…”(Mark 2:27)

Did He say ‘For the Jews’? No, He said it was for mankind, anyone who desires to observe the Sabbath Day. The word ‘man’ in this scripture is from the greek word, Anthropos, which means, human beings, or mankind. This was not an Old Testament comment either, but a comment made by Yahshua Himself, when He was talking to the religious leaders of the day. Yahweh has one, not two peoples in the earth. He is returning to a perfect bride, made up of Jew and Gentile. Israel was always open to Gentiles, who have desired to be a part of Israel. Read how the ‘strangers’ have always been considered and included by Yahweh and cared for by Him, and adopted into His Israel, His bride to be. Gentiles are called to be ‘partakers’ of the Olive tree and its root. Rom 11:17 "And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;"
Isaiah 56:2,6,7 “Blessed is the man…that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it.” “Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to Yahweh…every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer…for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.” Things haven’t changed, Yahweh does not change. His laws and commandments still stand, for all people who desire to be a part. Yahweh set up the Sabbath day as a ceasing from work and labour day long ago. He rested on and blessed the seventh day, and that blessing has never been removed or changed onto any other day. Keeping His Commandment of honouring the Sabbath day will bring a unique blessing into our lives. The following link is for those desiring to read about when and how the Sabbath was inaugurated by Yahweh in His Covenant. The inauguration of the Sabbath Day.

"Well, every day is a rest now!"
This is another argument against keeping Saturday Sabbath. (Why do Gentiles insist on having it their own way? Jewish people flood into Israel every year from all points of the globe, and no-one ever disputes which day should be kept as Sabbath!)
Every day being a Sabbath is a popular Christian doctrine. It means that no special day needs to be kept, as Yahshua has procured a 'rest' for the people of Yahweh because they have ceased from their own works and now do His (if only...) This is a daily rest some people propagate as a reason not to observe any particular day. But we need to understand the context of this statement, and that this refers to the finished work of Calvary, that it invalidates the self effort once needed to keep the Commandments. We now, in Yahshua, having sins forgiven and the holy Spirit residing in us, so we no longer depend on 'our own works' but on His grace and power to give us victory over sin, thus the 'rest' procured for us.
In Hebrews 4:2 Paul talks of the 'rest' for the people of Elohim (God). This word ‘rest’ means to ‘settle down,’ ‘to colonise’ ‘to repose down.’ It is a play on words. He is using their understanding of the restfulness of Sabbath to make a point, not to invalidate the Sabbath day! Here, we have enlarged on this using Hebrews 4.
Not to instruct others not to observe the day which He himself obviously kept! (For his activities on the Sabbath see: Acts 13:14: Paul and Barnabas observed the Sabbath in the synagogue in Antioch. See also Acts 16:13, Acts 17:2, Acts 18:4 )
The Greek here for rest (Strongs 2663) means the same as the Hebrew, (Strongs 4520) meaning the repose in believing in Yahshua, that we no longer need to struggle, fighting against sin. He is able to cause us to live a righteous life because He has done the work for us, and we can 'rest' in Him. Our 'good works' can avail nothing. The believer in Yahshua no longer has to perform his own 'righteous works' but in depending on His righteousness, and His holy Spirit, is able to rest, leaning into that finished work. An ability to walk in His righteousness, a new, 'resurrected' life in Him, and through the leading and strength and power of the holy Spirit. We are able to find this kind of rest in Yahshua, as we have indeed ‘ceased from our own works.’ Paul, perhaps would be horrified if he thought he had misled us on this point, to break the Commandment of Yahweh!

Yahshua’s activities on the Sabbath Day
Yahshua kept the Sabbath, and He showed us what kinds of activities were acceptable on that day. He always made a point of teaching by example. On the Sabbath day He visited and taught in the Synagogues where the Law was being read and expounded, He also healed people and explained to them about doing good on the Sabbath day.
The only qualification or comment He made about the Sabbath was to show people not to be in bondage to the religious teachings of the day. For example, after healing the paralytic man, He instructed him to 'take up your bed and walk...' Joh 5:8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. Joh 5:9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. Joh 5:10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed. To carry a bed then was obviously against Rabbinic teaching of the day.

Yahshua cut across the dogma and 'religiosity' and man-made rules of the Rabbis, and taught the purity of the Commandment. Yahweh made the Sabbath day for man, and in healing and teaching people on this day Yahshua qualified what this meant. Nowhere do we hear of Yahshua disannulling the day. He encouraged His followers through example to continue to honour the day, and after His death Miriam and the other ladies honoured the day by ‘resting on the Sabbath’ before visiting the tomb. "according to the Commandment" the writer added to make a point.
If Yahshua had desired to change the day or abolish it, He did not get through to His dearest friends, did He? After His death His disciples continued to observe the Sabbath and teach others both Jews and Gentiles to do the same. See Acts 13:42,44 and Acts 18:4 “And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.” “ And the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of Yahweh” “And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.”

In Matthew 24:20 Yahshua, warning the people about the coming destruction of Jerusalem said that they should pray that their flight would not be on the Sabbath day. Would He have said this if He had wanted to abolish it? I think not. Also, He instructed and showed by example what was lawful on the Sabbath. He said, ‘The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath day’ (Mk 3:4) and He also said that it was alright to do good, to 'loosen our donkey,' visit friends and to heal on the Sabbath day. (Mk 2:27, 2:28, 3:4, 4:31, Luke 4:31, 6:1, 14:1, )

If He had abolished the Sabbath day would He have qualified what was allowed? Of course not. In Luke 6:1 the writer (Luke) mentions that the Sabbath they walked through the corn fields was the second Sabbath after the Feast of Passover. If you look at the Greek words here in Strongs Concordance, you can see that Yahshua is actually mentioning the Sabbath in relation to the Feast of Passover. From G1208 and G4413; second first, that is, (specifically) a designation of the Sabbath immediately after the Paschal week (being the second after Passover day, and the first of the seven Sabbaths intervening before Pentecost): - second . . . after the first. ) So, Yahshua not only kept Sabbath, but the Feasts too. If He did not, then surely Luke would have not mentioned it in this account.
Paul, who came later, observed the Sabbath. He did not begin another group, worshipping on Sundays - although we know that they sometimes did meet on Sundays, Act 20:7 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. - Paul preached in the synagogues on the Sabbath day just as he probably always had. He was a Rabbi, of no mean standing... (Acts 13:14) He also advised others to go and listen to Moses being read and taught on the Sabbath day, even Gentiles! (Acts 13:27 and 15:21)

We are not making a point here that Gentiles should or should not keep the Sabbath, for surely this is for their own convictions to answer, from what they read in the scriptures and also how the holy Spirit is dealing with them in conviction and leading. We are simply sharing our findings from the Scriptures. For the holy Spirit is sent to us all "to lead us into all truth." Yahshua said, "I keep My Father's Commandments..." Should we as His followers do the same?

Incidentally, there is no scriptural evidence for changing the day from Saturday (seventh day) to Sunday (first day) whatsoever. Read this link to see who changed the day and how. Yahshua certainly never changed it and neither did His disciples before or after the resurrection. An 'uncomfortable?' saying of Yahshua in Matthew 5:19 could also be mentioned here. Mat 5:18-19 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
If you do decide to experience this Commandment in your own life, the scriptures say, in Exodus 20, that you will enter into blessing. ‘Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day…” You will, perhaps, as we have, find a unique blessing in your life as you walk in this, as in all truths.
And to finish, have a read of this paper by Marc Doyon. Sabbath? In his own words he says that "It is the result of an arduous and ongoing personal quest, countless consultations with Gentile and Messianic believers, Christian leaders from most denominations, nonbelievers and people of all walks of life. All along the process, drafts were submitted to them for advice, corrections, opinions, comments and suggestions. Their input, negative or positive, was very valuable to me since it forced me to look at their opinion from every angle.

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