Is the Sabbath rooted in creation and therefore perpetually applicable to all people at all times in history? Dr. Thomas Schreiner provides a clear answer to this question, among many others, in his book, 40 Questions About Christians and/ Law (40 Questions & Answers Series)
Here is an excerpt from that book regarding the question of whether the Sabbath is a creation ordinance:
Some argue against what is defended here by appealing to the creation order. As noted above, the Sabbath for Israel is patterned after God’s creation of the world in seven days. What is instructive, however, is that the New Testament never appeals to Creation to defend the Sabbath. Jesus appealed to the creation order to support his view that marriage is between one man and one woman for life (Mark 10:2–12). Paul grounded his opposition to women teaching or exercising authority over men in the creation order (1 Tim. 2:12–13), and homosexuality is prohibited because it is contrary to nature (Rom. 1:26–27), in essence, to God’s intention when he created men and women. Similarly, those who ban believers from eating certain foods and from marriage are wrong because both food and marriage are rooted in God’s good creation (1 Tim. 4:3–5). We see nothing similar with the Sabbath. Never does the New Testament ground it in the created order. Instead, we have very clear verses that say it is a “shadow” and that it does not matter whether believers observe it. So, how do we explain the appeal to creation with reference to the Sabbath? It is probably best to see creation as an analogy instead of as a ground. The Sabbath was the sign of the Mosaic covenant, and since the covenant has passed away, so has the covenant sign.
CBH
How would you explain the words of our Lord in Mark 2:27 that “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” Is that not a case of our Lord grounding this day of rest and gladness in creation? Note that our Lord does not say that the Sabbath was made for Jewish man but for mankind from the beginning. I would appreciate hearing how you would see this statement fit into your statement that “the New Testament never appeals to Creation to defend the Sabbath….We see nothing similar with the Sabbath. Never does the New Testament ground it in the created order.” It appears to me that Mark 2:27 places a huge question mark over your strong assertions. Can you help me on this?
Hey Mike, thanks for your interest. I would refer you to the rest of Dr. Schreiner’s chapter in which he gives a much more detailed answer and addresses Mark 2. I only included a brief excerpt since I do not possess the permission that Justin Taylor had when he published the entire chapter on his blog. Personally, I still believe that Schreiner’s point is valid, especially in light of the inauguration of the New Creation in Christ and Paul’s clear teaching on the sabbath. The silence of a sabbath command prior to Exodus 16 effectively ends the debate about a creation ordinance for me. All other “creation ordinances” are clearly seen after the creation account, but the sabbath is nowhere to be found until Exodus 16. In addition to this, I also find it interesting that it is specifically tied to a covenant that is explicitly said to have been superseded by the New Covenant and that there is no admonition to Christians in the New Testament to observe/obey the Sabbath commandment. Instead, there are several admonitions not to regard “days” or hold to the shadowy things of the Old Covenant in light of the New Covenant. As for Mark 2, I’ll just make two comments. First, the context of the comment is life under the old covenant. The universal nature of the comment is completely consistent with the missionary mandate given to Israel to be a blessing to all nations, which would have included the nations turning from their idolatry and worshipping YHWH which necessarily entail submission to the terms of the Old Covenant (Deut 29). Second, even if one could ground (though I don’t think they can) sabbath observance in the creation account of Genesis 1 & 2, it would still miss the radical change inaugurated by the work of Christ when the eschatological New Creation broke into the present. Clearly, much more could be said and should be said about Mark 2. I hope, regardless of how unconvincing it may be to you, that I’ve at least attempted to honor your sincere question. Blessing!