From Splendor to Shadow

How Christ Upheld the Sabbath

Christ, during His earthly ministry, emphasized the binding claims of the Sabbath. He showed reverence for the institution He Himself had given. In His days the Sabbath had become so perverted that its observance reflected the character of selfish men rather than the character of God. Christ set aside the false teaching which had misrepresented Him. Although followed with merciless hostility by the rabbis, He went straight forward, keeping the Sabbath according to the law of God. SS 96.4

In unmistakable language He testified to His regard for the law. “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets,” He said; “I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17-19, RSV. SS 97.1

The great enemy of man's happiness has made the Sabbath of the fourth commandment an object of special attack. Satan says, “I will work at cross purposes with God. I will set aside God's memorial, the seventh-day Sabbath. I will show the world that the day sanctified by God has been changed. I will obliterate the memory of it. I will place in its stead a day that does not bear the credentials of God, a day that cannot be a sign between God and His people. Through my vicegerent, I will exalt myself. The first day will be extolled, and the Protestant world will receive this spurious sabbath as genuine. I will be the prince of this world. I will so control minds that God's Sabbath shall be a special object of contempt. A sign? I will make the observance of the seventh day a sign of disloyalty to the authorities of earth. Human laws will be made so stringent that men and women will not dare to observe the seventh-day Sabbath. For fear of being without food and clothing, they will join the world in transgressing God's law. The earth will be wholly under my dominion.” Through setting up a false sabbath, the enemy thought “to change times and laws.” But has he really succeeded in changing God's law? He who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, has declared of the seventh-day Sabbath: “It is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations.” “It is a sign ... forever.” Exodus 31:13, 17. The changed signpost is pointing the wrong way, but God has not changed. He is just as jealous for His law now as in the days of Ahab and Elijah. SS 97.2