Jesus Kept the Sabbath in the New Testament Times

Jesus Kept the Sabbath in the New Testament Times

Rumors against the truth of the Bible are circulating in Christianity. One of them is, “The Sabbath was never kept in the New Testament times,” or “The Sabbath day was no longer kept after the Crucifixion.” Is this a biblical insistence? First, let’s see whether Jesus, who set an example of faith, kept the Sabbath day or not.

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.

(Luke 4:16)

Luke wrote, “Jesus kept the Sabbath day as was His custom.” Custom means long-established practice or repeated practice. In other words, Jesus regularly worshiped God every Sabbath.

The Apostles Continued to Keep the Sabbath Even After the Crucifixion

Then, did the apostles and saints of the early Church keep the Sabbath? If they had not kept the Sabbath after the Crucifixion, there shouldn’t be any record of them keeping the Sabbath after Jesus died. However, in the Gospel of Luke, the apostles and the saints wrote the situation after Jesus’ death as follows:

Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.

(Luke 23:52–56)

After Jesus’ burial, the saints who followed Jesus kept the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. It means that even after Jesus died, the saints still kept the Sabbath. The apostles and saints of the early Church continued to keep the Sabbath, which Jesus kept as His custom was.

From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days. On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer.

(Acts 16:12–13)

Why were Apostle Paul and his companions looking for a place of prayer on the Sabbath day? It was to worship God. Apostle Paul kept the Sabbath whenever the Sabbath day came even while he was on his missionary journey.

When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures.

(Acts 17:1–2)

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. . . . Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

(Acts 18:1–4)

Thus, we can confirm that Apostle Paul kept the Sabbath day every week as his custom was, following the example of Jesus. Some people say, “Jesus and the apostles kept the Sabbath because they were Jews, but from the Apostolic Age, we, Gentiles, no longer need to keep the Sabbath.” However, Jesus taught us that we must keep the Sabbath day until the end of the age.

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” . . . “Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.”

(Matthew 24:3, 20)

When Jesus taught about the end of the age, He said, “Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.” What else would this mean except that we must keep the Sabbath until the end of the age? The Sabbath is a commandment that Jesus Himself kept and set an example of. It is a commandment that the apostles who were taught by Jesus also kept as their custom was, and that we must keep until the end.