Apparently, from reading the Bible, the Sabbath is very important to God for all humanity, since it is embodied in the Ten Commandments and underscored many times.  One could say that the commandments apply only to the Jews, but if we believe this, we risk disbelieving Christ, since he claimed not to do away with the Law, and, as God Incarnate, can be considered the very author of the Ten Commandments.  Some interpret Christ’s fulfillment of the Law as nullification, others as setting an example for us, underscoring the importance of the commandments for our happiness and survival.

We, as Christians, do understand the magnitude of forgiveness, love, grace and salvation through Christ and Christ alone, but, at this time in history, when our very civilization is under threat, the Commandments are not only a basis for everyone’s practical good, but may be absolutely necessary for the human race to survive, as they have always served as a prescription for living in peace.  We, as Christians, believe that humanity’s eternal salvation is indeed through Christ alone, but our temporal salvation may indeed be through the ageless Commandments of God. 

The problem of diminished Law in Christian theology has its roots in the historical hatred of the Jews by Christians as the “Christ Killers”, which, we now understand to be all of us as fallen and incomplete persons.  Also, mainstream Christians tend not view the words of all Ten of the Commandments as the very words of Jesus Christ as God Himself.  There are logical contradictions here if one separates Jesus from God.  Now, to be sure, one is not eternally saved through the Law, but through the atonement of Christ on the cross.  But, for our better good, and in response to our faith, we can choose to worship Him by obeying the Commandments as obedience to the Lord God. Obedience signifies our understanding of eternal salvation as a gift, not through works, but by the very Will of God who chooses to love us.  We can listen, believe, and do what He seems to say in whatever Testament He speaks.  To me, that takes a childlike faith to understand.

But the Sabbath Commandment is a problem.  There are two parts of the problem, the first is whether the choice of a single day of the week, as opposed to all days of the week or generally living a life of righteousness ranks with the rest of the Commandments as a prescription for loving God and others.  The second part of the problem is that if we set aside a day of worship each week, does it matter which day of the week we choose?.  Some strike the Sabbath Commandment all together, citing Paul’s misunderstood pagan references to ritual new moons and sabbaths. The mainstream churches have changed the day to Sunday to alter the original focus away from the Creation (the 7^th day) to the presumed day of the Resurrection (the 1^st day).  Fewer present day Christians observe the original seventh day Sabbath, and are often criticized for missing the point on the significance of the Resurrection worthy of weekly celebration.  Further justification is that the Jews keep the seventh day, and since Jews are not Christians, let them keep their day, and we’ll keep ours.

So, the seventh day Sabbath clearly venerates Creation, and the first day, the Resurrection.  Or, must there be a choice?  Do we not, as Christians, revere Creation and life inherent?  And for those of us who believe that the theory of evolution tends to destroy our identity and purpose as human beings, should not we respond to God by observing this commandment as well as the other nine?  Is that “Jewish”, and “Done Away” as well?

It turns out that the change from the seventh day to the first day as Sabbath is very hard to support Biblically, unless one wants to clear away from anything and everything Jewish, as historical Christianity has done so with great shame and guilt over the centuries.  And, as surely as the Resurrection of Christ stands as the Central Reality for all Christians, is the abandonment of the seventh day Sabbath theologically justified?

Some recent insight to the timeline involved in the life of Jesus is presented by Frank J. Tipler, in his recent book entitled, “The Physics of Christianity”.  Tipler presents strong evidence that the star of Bethlehem was actually a supernova in the Andromeda Galaxy, and supports his idea citing the physics of the location of Andromeda in the sky at the time and season consonant with Biblical references.  By reason of Physics, Tipler concludes that the birth of Christ was most likely on March 22, 8 BC.  Tipler then ASSUMES a Friday crucifixion date (Passover date) of April 7, AD 30, which would make Jesus 38 at the time of the crucifixion, slightly later than otherwise assumed, where he is “about 30” at the start of his ministry, and would be about 33 at the time of his crucifixion. 

Perhaps it is not possible to know, but although Jesus’ resurrection was discovered on the first day of the week, His resurrection may have occurred on the day before.  There is strong Biblical support for a Wednesday crucifixion, and many point-counterpoint examples have been made on this issue.  The strongest being Christ’s own reference to a “3 day and 3 night” period of time in the grave (Matt 12:38-40), and a curious differential reference to another Sabbath occurring during the week of the crucifixion, the Jewish Day of Unleavened Bread, as mentioned in John 19:31 (“For that Sabbath was a high day”).  Checking the calendar for the possibilities, a Wednesday Passover occurred on April 28, AD 28, or April 25, AD 31.  Assuming Tipler’s birth date, the April 28, AD 28 day would place Christ’s age of the crucifixion at 36, and the start of his ministry at age 33.  See this link for more on this fascinating interpretation.  .  This, of course, would place the resurrection of Jesus on the seventh day Sabbath and resolve the Commandment debate.

Also, from the argument of Biblical simplicity first, it is more difficult to do away with the Sabbath than to use the politics of church history (e.g., sun worship and pagan rituals) to displace it.  Keeping an appointment with the Creator may be significant even if we don’t completely understand why, but it can surely signify our deep appreciation of the mysteries of existence and purpose in life. True worship embraces inspired belief, action, and respect for the Ten Commandments of Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit leads us in simple ways to new wonderment of our creation and eternal salvation through Christ.