THE CREATION-SABBATH IN JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN HISTORY
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Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D.
Professor of Theology and Church History
Andrews University


NOTE: I delivered this lecture at a Sabbath Conference held in
Lansing, Michigan on April 6 and 7. The lecture is excerpted from chapter 1
of my book DIVINE REST FOR HUMAN RESTLESSNESS. If you would like to have a
copy of this book or of any other book I have written, feel free to contact
me. If you are interested, I would be glad to send you free of charge a
copy of the newly released color flier which describes each of the twelve
books I have written and provides a sampling 20 reviews from scholars of
all denominations. Just sent me your address.


	The principle and practice of Sabbathkeeping both unites and
divides Judaism and most branches of Christianity. Both religions
recognize the vital role of a weekly "Sabbath day" of worship and spiritual
renewal for the survival of their respective religions. Achad Haam aptly
expresses the vital function of the Sabbath in Jewish history, saying: "We
can affirm without any exaggeration that the Sabbath has preserved the Jews
more than the Jews have preserved the Sabbath."
	The same can be said of the impact of "sabbathkeeping" upon
Christianity. The essence of Christianity, like that of Judaism, is a
relationship with God. Such a relationship grows especially through the
time and opportunities for worship and meditation provided by the
observance of the Sabbath day. In a speech delivered on November 13, 1862,
President Abraham Lincoln emphasized the vital function of the Sabbath,
saying: "As we keep or break the Sabbath day, we nobly save or meanly lose
the last and best hope by which man arises."2 Obviously Lincoln was
thinking of Sunday as the Christian Sabbath. This does not detract from
the fact that one of America's outstanding presidents viewed Sabbathkeeping
as the last and best hope that can renew and elevate human beings.
	The survival of both Judaism and Christianity as dynamic religions
may well be dependent upon the survival of the observance of their
respective "Sabbaths." In Western European nations where only 10% or less
of the Christian population attend church services on the day traditionally
regarded as the "Lord's Day," the survival of Christianity is threatened.
Social analysts already speak of the "post-Christian" era in Western
Europe.
	Sabbathkeeping, however, not only unites but also divides Judaism
from most branches of Christianity. The division is caused not only by the
different day of the week on which Jews and most Christians observe their
respective "Sabbaths," but also by their different understandings of the
origin and nature of the Sabbath. Most Sundaykeeping Christians have
historically viewed seventh-day Sabbathkeeping as a Jewish institution,
deriving from Moses and abrogated by Christ at the Cross. The tendency has
been to attach a negative, Jewish stigma to seventh-day Sabbathkeeping, by
identifying it with the Jewish dispensation allegedly based on salvation
through legal obedience.
	Sundaykeeping, on the other hand, has been associated with the
Christian dispensation based on salvation through faith by grace. Thus
Sabbathkeeping historically has been perceived as a trademark of Judaism.
Within Christianity itself those Christians who have retained seventh-day
Sabbathkeeping have often been stigmatized as Judaizers, holding onto an
outdated Jewish superstition.

	Objective. The purpose of my presentation is to outline the
historical process which led the majority of Christians to view seventh-day
Sabbathkeeping as a negative Jewish practice. I would like to trace this
historical process by focusing on how the question of the origin and nature
of the Sabbath have been debated both in Jewish and Christian history.
	We shall give special attention to the attempts made by Catholics
and Protestants to differentiate between a moral (creational) and a
ceremonial (Mosaic) aspect of the Sabbath commandment in order to sanction
the observance of Sunday as the Christian Sabbath. The thesis of this
presentation is that the controversy over the origin and nature of the
Sabbath has not only widened the gulf between Judaism and Christianity, but
has also left many Christians confused as to why they should observe Sunday
as a holy Sabbath day. In the final part of my presentation we shall
reflect on the importance of the message of the Sabbath for our Christian
life today.


THE CREATION-SABBATH IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

	The question of the origin of the Sabbath has been debated on and
off throughout both Jewish and Christian history, and especially during
this past century. The discovery of alleged parallels between the
Babylonian monthly Shabattu to the Biblical Shabbat over a century ago has
lead a number of scholars to argue that the Sabbath originated at the time
of Moses or after the settlement in Canaan because of socio-economic or
astrological-astronomic considerations A major reason why the question of
the origin of the Sabbath has attracted much attention is because with it
is bound the larger question of whether or not the principle and practice
of seventh-day Sabbathkeeping is binding upon Christians.
	Those who believe that the Sabbath was established by God at
creation for the benefit of mankind, accept its observance as a creation
ordinance binding upon all, Jews and Christians. On the other hand, those
who hold that the Sabbath originated at the time of Moses or later, regard
the Sabbath as a Jewish institution not applicable to Christians. In view
of these implications, it is important to briefly examine how the question
of the origin of the Sabbath.

	Genesis 2:2-3. The Biblical view of the origin of the Sabbath is
unequivocal: the Sabbath, as seventh day, originated at the completion of
the creation week as a result of three divine acts: God "rested,"
"blessed," and "hallowed" the seventh day (Genesis 2:2-3).
	Twice Genesis 2:2-3 states that God "rested" on the seventh day
from all His work. The Hebrew verb shabat, translated "rested," denotes
cessation and not relaxation. The latter idea is expressed by the Hebrew
verb nuah, which is used in Exodus 20:11, where the divine rest fulfills an
anthropological function: it serves as a model for human rest. In Genesis
2:2-3, however, the divine rest has a cosmological function. It serves to
explain that God, as Karl Barth puts it, "was content to be the Creator of
this particular creation . . . He had no occasion to proceed to further
creations. He needed no further creations." To acknowledge this fact, God
stopped.
	Genesis 2:3 affirms that the Creator "blessed" (brk) the seventh
day just as He had blessed animals and man on the previous day (Genesis
1:22, 28). Divine blessings in the Scripture are not merely "good wishes,"
but assurance of fruitfulness, prosperity, and a happy and abundant life
(Ps. 133:3). In terms of the seventh day, it means that God has promised
to make the Sabbath a beneficial and vitalizing power through which human
life is enriched and renewed. In Exodus 20:11 the blessing of the creation
seventh day is explicitly linked with the weekly Sabbath.
	Genesis 2:3 also affirms that the Creator "hallowed" (R.V., R.S.V.)
the seventh day, "made it holy" (N.E.B., N.A.B.), or "sanctified it"
(N.A.S.B.). Both here and in the Sabbath commandment (Ex 20:11) the Hebrew
text uses the verb qiddes (piel), from the root qds, holy. In Hebrew the
basic meaning of "holy" or "holiness" is "separation" for holy use. In
terms of the Sabbath, its holiness consists in God's separation of this day
from the six working days. The holiness of the Sabbath stems not from
man's keeping it, but from God's choice of the seventh day to be a channel
through which human beings can experience more freely and fully the
awareness of His sanctifying presence in their lives.
	The great importance of the creation-Sabbath in the Old Testament
is indicated by the fact that it provides the theological motivation for
the commandment to observe the seventh day (Ex 20:11) and the theological
justification for serving as a covenant sign between God and Israel (Ex
31:17). The theological reasons given for the command to observe the
seventh day Sabbath "to the Lord your God" (Exodus 20:10) is "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
hallowed it" (Ex 20:11).
	The creation Sabbath serves also as "a sign" of the covenant
relationship between God and His people: "It is a sign for ever between me
and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth,
and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed" (Ex 31:17). The
covenant is God's committment to save His people. "The Lord your God is
God: He is the faithful God, keeping His covenant of love to a thousand
generations of those who love Hims and keep His commands" (Deut 7:7-9).
	The function of a sign is to point to something beyond itself. As
a covenant sign, the Sabbath points to creation, redemption, and final
restoration. The Sabbath points back to creation by reassuring us that
this world with all its human and subhuman creation came into existence,
not in an imperfect way by chance, but in a perfect way by choice, the
choice of a living, loving Creator. (Gen 2:2-3; Ex 20:8,11; 31:17). The
Sabbath points to redemption by reassuring us, not only of the perfection
of God's original creation, but also of the completion of redemption (John
19:31). As a sign of the everlasting covenant the Sabbath point also to
the future restoration, to the rest that remains for the people of God (Heb
4:9). Thus, the Sabbath stands as the sign of the everlasting covenant
links together creation, redemption and final restoration.


THE CREATION-SABBATH IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

	Mark 2:27. The New Testament takes for granted the creation origin
of the Sabbath. A clear example is found in Mark 2:27 where Christ refutes
the charge of Sabbathbreaking levelled against the disciples by referring
to the original purpose of the Sabbath: "The Sabbath was made for man, not
man for the Sabbath."
	Christ's choice of words is significant. The verb "made-ginomai"
alludes to the original "making" of the Sabbath and the word
"man-anthropos" suggests its human function. Thus to establish the human
and universal value of the Sabbath, Christ reverts to its very origin,
right after the creation of man. Why? Because for the Lord the law of the
beginning stands supreme.
	In his attempt to negate the creation origin of the Sabbath Pastor
General Joseph Tkach argues in his open letter to me that "anthropos-man, "
refers not to makind in general but to the Jews in particular. He wrote:
"The Sabbath was made for man, Jesus said, and the men God gave it to were
Israelites." This is totally new to me. It is the first time I read that
"man-anthropos" means Israelites and not mankind. Surprisingly this
contradicts the May 2, 1995 WWCG study paper on the Sabbath which says:
"When Jesus used the word 'man' in Mark 2:27, he was using in a general
sense, without reference to Jews specifically or to gentiles specifically."
Why would God establish the Sabbath just for the benefit of the Jews? Are
the spiritual needs of the jews different from those of the Gentiles?
	The truth of the matter is that for Christ God's original design
is important. In another instance when dealing with the corruption of the
institution of marriage, which occurred under the Mosaic code, Christ
reverted to its Edenic origin, saying: "From the beginning it was not so"
(Matt 19:8). Christ then traces both marriage and the Sabbath to their
creation origin in order to clarify their fundamental value and function
for mankind. Contrary to what the Sabbath paper says that "the value [of
the Sabbath] has been eclipsed by Christ" (p. 11), by this memorable
affirmation Christ establishes its permanent validity by appealing to its
original creation when God determined its intended function for the
well-being of mankind.

	Hebrews 4:3-4. Another explicit reference to the creation Sabbath
is found in the Book of Hebrews. In the fourth chapter of the book, the
author establishes the universal and spiritual nature of the Sabbath rest
by welding together two Old Testament texts, namely Genesis 2:2 and Psalm
95:11. Through the former, he traces the origin of the Sabbath rest back
to creation when "God rested on the seventh day from all his works" (Heb
4:4; cf. Gen 2:2-3). By the latter (Ps 95:11), he explains that the scope
of this divine rest includes the blessings of salvation to be found by
entering personally into God's rest (Heb 4:3, 5, 10). The probative value
of this statement is heightened by the fact that the author is not arguing
for the creation origin of the Sabbath; rather he takes it for granted in
explaining God's ultimate purpose for His people. Thus, in Hebrews 4, the
creation origin of the Sabbath is not only accepted but is also presented
as the basis for understanding God's ultimate purpose for His people.
	 The "Sabbath Study Paper" of the WWCG argues that "Hebrews 4 is
not exhorting us to keep a weekly Sabbath, but to enter the rest of God by
having faith in Christ" (p. 22). This attempt to negate Sabbathkeeping by
reducing it to the salvation rest we experience in Christ fails to
recognize that the recipients of the Epistle (whether Gentiles or
Jewish-Christians) were so attracted to Jewish liturgy (of which the
Sabbath was a fundamental part) that it was unnecessary for the author to
discuss or to encourage its actual observance. What those Christian
"Hebrews" actually needed, tempted as they were to turn back to Judaism,
was to understand the deeper meaning of its observance in the light of
Christ's coming.
	The deeper meaning of the Sabbath can be seen in the antithesis the
author makes between those who failed to enter into God's rest because of
"unbelief-apeitheias" (4:6, 11)-that is, faithlessness which results in
disobedience-and those who enter it by "faith-pistei" (4:2, 3), that is,
faithfulness that results in obedience. For the author of Hebrews the act
of resting on the Sabbath is not merely a routine ritual (cf.
"sacrifice"-Matt 12:7), but rather a faith-response to God. Such a
response entails not the hardening of one's heart (4:7) but the making of
oneself available to "hear his voice" (4:7). It means experiencing God's
salvation rest not by works but by faith, not by doing but by being saved
through faith (4:2, 3, 11).
	On the Sabbath, as John Calvin aptly expresses it, believers are
"to cease from their work to allow God to work in them" (Institutes of the
Christian Religion (Grand Rapids, 1972), vol. 2, p. 337). The Sabbath rest
that remains for the people of God (4:9) is not a mere day of idleness for
the author of Hebrews, but rather an opportunity renewed every week to
enter God's rest, that is, to free oneself from the cares of work in order
to experience freely by faith God's creation and redemption rest.


THE CREATION-SABBATH IN JEWISH HISTORY

	Exclusive Jewish Institution. Outside the Biblical sources, one
finds widespread recognition of the creation origin of the Sabbath in both
Jewish and Christian history. The Jews developed two differing views
regarding the origin of the Sabbath. Broadly speaking, the two views can
be distinguished linguistically and geographically. Palestinian (Hebrew)
Judaism reduced the Sabbath to an exclusive Jewish ordinance linked to the
origin of Israel as a nation at the time of Moses. As stated in the Book
of Jubilees, "He [God] allowed no other people or peoples to keep the
Sabbath on this day, except Israel only; to it alone he granted to eat and
drink and keep the Sabbath on it" (2:31). If the patriarchs are sometimes
mentioned as keeping the Sabbath, this is regarded as an exception "before
it [the Sabbath] was given" to Israel.
	This view represents not an original tradition but a secondary
development which was encouraged by the necessity to preserve a Jewish
identity in the face of Hellenistic pressures (especially at the time of
Antiochus Epiphanes, 175 B.C.) to abandon Jewish religion. This is
indicated by the fact that even in Palestinian literature there are
references to the creation origin of the Sabbath. For example, while on
the one hand the Book of Jubilees (about 140-100 B.C.) says that God
allowed "Israel only" to keep the Sabbath (Jub 2:31), on the other hand it
holds that God "kept Sabbath on the seventh day and hallowed it for all
ages, and appointed it as a sign for all His works" (Jub 2:1).

	Creation Ordinance for Mankind. In Hellensitic (Greek) Jewish
literature the Sabbath is unmistakably viewed as a creation ordinance for
all mankind. Philo, for example, not only traces the origin of the Sabbath
to creation, but also delights to call it "the birthday of the world."
Referring to the creation story, Philo explains: "We are told that the
world was made in six days and that on the seventh God ceased from his
works and began to contemplate what had been so well created, and therefore
he bade those who should live as citizens under this world-order to follow
God in this as in other matters." Because the Sabbath exists from
creation, Philo emphasizes that it is "the festival not of a single city or
country but of the universe, and it alone strictly deserves to be called
public, as belonging to all people."


THE CREATION-SABBATH IN THE EARLY CHURCH

	When we move from Jewish to Christian history we find the same
conflicting views regarding the origin of the Sabbath we have found in
Judaism. On the one hand we find Christian writers who negate the
creation-origin of the Sabbath, making it a Mosaic institution given only
to the Jews. On the other hand we find writers who affirmthe creation
origin of the Sabbath in their attempt to prove the superiority of Sunday.

	Mosaic Origin and Institution. The negative-Mosaic view of the
origin of the Sabbath is first expressed in a most eloquent and forceful
way in the writings of Justin Martyr who was a church leader in Rome, Italy
around the middle of the second century. In his Dialogue with Trypho,
Justin argues that the Sabbath, like circumcision, is not a creation but a
temporary ordinance deriving from Moses, and enjoined solely upon the Jews
"as a distinguishing mark, to set them off from other nations and from us
Christians. The purpose of this was that you and you only might suffer the
afflictions that are now justly yours" (Dialogue 16, 1).
	Justin may well have capitalized on the existing Palestinian
(Hebrew) Jewish view of the Sabbath as an exclusive Jewish ordinance linked
to the origin of Israel, to promote his view of the Mosaic and temporay
nature of the Sabbath. Justin's view of the Sabbath as a Mosaic
institution, impose solely on the Jews, as a trademark of their wickedness,
is shocking to say the least. It makes God guilty of discriminatory
practices. He would have given ordinances with the sole negative purpose of
singling out the Jews for punishment. This theology of contempt, as I call
it in my dissertation, was influenced by the repressive anti-Jewish
policies adopted by the Roman Government at that time. Unfortunately the
Christian church has never openly condemned such a view. On the contrary
has used it in a modified version to negate the continuity of the Sabbath.

	Creation-Origin of the Sabbath. While some Christian documents
negate the creation origin of the Sabbath, there are others which affirm
the creation origin of the Sabbath as an apologetic device to defend the
superioty of Sundaykeeping. For example, in the Syriac Didascalia (about
A.D. 250) Sunday is presented as "greater" than the Sabbath because it
preceded the latter in the creation week. As the first day of creation,
Sunday represents "the beginning of the world."
	In the treatise On the Sabbath and Circumcision, found among the
works of Athanasius (about 296-373), the superiority of Sunday over the
Sabbath is argued on the basis of creation versus re-creation: "The
Sabbath was the end of the first creation, the Lord's day was the beginning
of the second in which He renewed and restored the old." The fact that both
Sabbath and Sunday keepers would defend the legitimacy and superiority of
their respective days by appealing to their roles with reference to
creation, shows how important the latter was in their view.
	In the so-called Constitutions of the Holy Apostles (about 380),
Christians are admonished to "keep the Sabbath and the Lord's day festival;
because the former is the memorial of the creation, and the latter of the
resurrection." Several other references to the creation Sabbath are found
in the same document. For example, a prayer commemorating Christ's
incarnation begins with the words, "O Lord Almighty, Thou hast created the
world by Christ and hast appointed the Sabbath in memory thereof, because
that on that day Thou hast made us rest from our works for the meditation
upon Thy laws."
	The theme of the creation Sabbath, as noted by Jean Daniélou, is
also "at the center of Augustinian thought." For Augustine (354-430), the
culmination of the creation week in the Sabbath rest provides the basis to
develop two significant concepts. The first is the notion of the progress
of the history of this world toward a final Sabbath rest and peace with
God. In other words, the realization of the eternal rest represents for
Augustine the fulfillment of "the Sabbath that the Lord approved at the
beginning of creation, where it says, 'God rested on the seventh day from
all his works.'"
	The second Augustinian interpretation of the creation of Sabbath
may be defined as the mystical progress of the human soul from restlessness
into rest in God. A fitting example is found in one of the most sublime
chapters of his Confessions, where Augustine prays: "O Lord God, Thou who
hast given us all, grant us Thy peace, the peace of rest, the peace of the
Sabbath, the peace without an 'evening.' For this very beautiful order of
things will pass away when they have accomplished their appointed purpose.
They all were made with a 'morning' and an 'evening.' But the seventh day
is without an 'evening' and it has no setting, because Thou hast sanctified
it so that it may last eternally. Thy resting on the seventh day after the
completion of Thy works, foretells us through the voice of Thy Book, that
we also after completing our works through Thy generosity, in the Sabbath
of eternal life shall rest in Thee." This mystical and eschatological
interpretation of the creation Sabbath shows what a profound appreciation
Augustine had for its significance, in spite of the fact that he failed to
accept the literal observance of the Fourth Commandment.


THE CREATION-SABBATH IN THE MIDDLE AGES

	The Augustinian spiritual interpretation of the creation Sabbath
continued to some extent during the Middle Ages. But a new development
occurred following the Constantinian Sunday Law of 321. In order to give a
theological sanction to the imperial legislation demanding rest from work
on Sunday, church leaders often appealed to the Sabbath commandment,
interpreting it as a creation ordinance applicable to Sunday observance.
Chrysostom (about 347-407) anticipates this development in his exposition
of Genesis 2:2, "God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it." He asks
"What do the words 'He hallowed it' actually mean? . . . [God] is teaching
us that among the days of the week one must be singled out and wholly
devoted to the service of spiritual things."
	The reduction of the creation Sabbath from the specific observance
of the seventh day to the principle of resting one day in seven in order to
worship God made it possible to apply the Sabbath commandment to the
observance of Sunday. Peter Comestor, for example (died about 1179),
defends this application, arguing on the basis of Genesis 2:2 that "the
Sabbath has been always observed by some nations even before the Law."
This recognition of the Sabbath as a creation and thus universal ordinance
was motivated, however, not by the desire to promote the observance of the
seventh day, but by the necessity to sanction and regulate Sunday keeping.
	In late medieval theology the literal application of the Sabbath
commandment to Sunday keeping was justified on the basis of a new
interpretation which consisted in distinguishing between a moral and a
ceremonial aspect within the Fourth Commandment. Thomas Aquinas (about
1225-1274) offers the most articulated exposition of this artificial
distinction in his Summa Theologica. He argues that "the precept of the
Sabbath observance is moral . . . in so far as it commands man to give some
time to the things of God . . .but it is a ceremonial precept . . . as to
the fixing of the time."60
	How can the Fourth Commandment be ceremonial for specifying the
seventh day but moral for enjoining man to set apart a day of rest for
worship? Basically because for Aquinas the moral aspect of the Sabbath is
grounded on Natural Law, that is to say, the principle of a regularly
stated time for worship and rest is in accordance with natural reason.
The ceremonial aspect of the Sabbath, on the other hand, is determined by
the symbolism of the seventh day commemoration of "Creation" and
prefiguration of the "repose of the mind in God, either in the present
life, by grace, or, in the future life, by glory."
	One wonders, How can the Sabbath be ceremonial (transitory) for
symbolizing God's perfect creation and the rest to be found in Him both in
the present and future life? Is it not this reassurance that provides the
basis for setting aside any time to worship God? To reject as ceremonial
the original message of the seventh day Sabbath, namely that God is the
perfect Creator Who offers rest, peace and fellowship to His creatures,
means to destroy also the very moral basis for devoting any time to the
worship of God.
	Apparently Aquinas himself recognized the inadequacy of his
reasoning because he says that Christ annulled not the precept of the
Sabbath, but "the superstitious interpretation of the Pharisees, who
thought that man ought to abstain from doing even works of kindness on the
Sabbath; which was contrary to the intention of the Law." Aquinas'
uncertainty, however, was largely forgotten and his moral/ceremonial
distinction of the Sabbath became the standard rationale for defending the
Church's right to introduce and regulate the observance of Sunday and holy
days. This resulted in an elaborate legalistic system of Sunday keeping
akin to that of the rabbinical Sabbath.

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Christian regards

Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D.,
Professor of Theology and Church History
Andrews University
4990 Appian Way
Berrien Springs, MI 49103
samuele@andrews.edu