Christ’s truth about the 7th day Sabbath- without ceremonial laws

Why would Jesus Christ refer to the 7th day Sabbath in the New Testament scriptures in Mark 2:27-28, which cannot be denied?

The reason is obvious. In these verses, Christ is telling us to believe in the Sabbath and understand that we have wrongly made the first day of the week, Sunday, our day of rest and worship. The first day of creation, given by God as the first day for our own works, is not the day we are meant to rest on. God spoke, and His words are sure—these words come from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, serving as His seal upon His churches to protect them from the evils of the world. The Sabbath reminds believers of the importance of the Ten Commandments, where the 7th day Sabbath was instituted by the Almighty, living, and loving God. These are His spoken words, the Lord Himself, and His seal upon His churches, commanding us to observe the Sabbath until Jesus Christ returns, so we don’t forget it, to the glory of our Creator.

From the very beginning, in Genesis 2:1-3, God instituted the 7th day Sabbath. There was no killing of animals or any rituals associated with it. It was never tied to ceremonies or the ceremonial laws, nor was it attributed exclusively to the Jews or Israelites. It was not nailed to the cross or made obsolete. God warned us to remember the Sabbath’s observance. In Exodus 20, the Lord commands us to “Remember” the 7th day Sabbath—the only place where God uses that word about the Sabbath. He knew His believers would forget its value and importance. He knew that even His churches, for whom Jesus died a horrible death on the cross, would willfully ignore it. What a shame. The world, especially His churches, have ignored God’s first working day of creation.

These are the words of Christ concerning the 7th day Sabbath:
“The Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28). This means that Jesus Christ alone made the Sabbath for Himself. No human can change it, remove it, or neglect it. The Sabbath was instituted by God for His purpose, sanctified and blessed for all His creatures, as confirmed in Genesis 2:1-3. Jesus’ words in Mark remind the churches of the Sabbath’s importance because they are the spoken words of the Lord Himself (John 1:1). The Word was with God, the Word was God, and these words serve as His seal to separate His churches from the evils of the world.

In the Old Testament, Exodus 16:23-25 shows Moses reminding the Israelites in the wilderness to observe the 7th day Sabbath:
23 “Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil today, and save the rest for tomorrow.”
24 They saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not spoil or stink.
25 Moses said, “Eat it today, because today is a Sabbath to the Lord. You will not find any of it in the field today.”

Notice Moses did not attribute the Sabbath only to the Israelites. It was dedicated to the Almighty Lord alone.

Therefore, the Sabbath, His feast days, and His new year are worth celebrating to the glory of God and Jesus Christ. These observances honor God and show our love for His works of creation and the great salvation given through the precious blood of Jesus Christ, who will come again to bring us into His everlasting kingdom.

The Sabbath was instituted long before the nation of Israel existed. God’s feast days were set before Israel’s formation and are separated from the ceremonial laws by the blood of Jesus Christ. These laws are God’s spoken words—God Himself—and His seal upon His churches, protecting them from the evil in the world. They cannot be destroyed, nailed to the cross, made obsolete, or attributed solely to Israel. Leviticus 23:1-2 shows God commanding the new year to be the beginning of the year and the first month for His people.

The Ten Commandments, including the 7th day Sabbath, do not involve animal sacrifices or rituals. They are holy convocations blessed and hallowed by the Lord, written on our hearts by the blood of Jesus Christ. These commands were given before Israel became a nation. Israel is only one nation among many, as God promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob:

• Abraham: Genesis 17:4-6 — “I will make you a father of many nations.”

• Isaac: Genesis 26:4 — “Your descendants will be as numerous as the stars of heaven, and all nations will be blessed through your seed.”

• Jacob: Genesis 27:29 — “Nations will serve you, and peoples will bow down to you.”

• Genesis 32:24-28 tells of Jacob being renamed Israel, meaning “prince with God,” which implies a broader meaning.

The present nation of Israel is only one among many nations. The word “Israel,” according to God’s interpretation, means many nations (Revelation 21:12-13). The blessings given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob include not only the Jews but also the Gentile believers in Jesus Christ. This is part of God’s plan revealed before the foundation of the world (Revelation 21:1-29).

1. Jacob struggled with the man and prevailed, who then named him Israel. Note: Jacob could not prevail against God.

2. Israel means “many nations,” according to the blessings God bestowed upon the three Patriarchs and as described in Revelation 21:1-29. Pay particular attention to verses 12 and 13, which refer to all the saints of our Lord Jesus Christ. This was also made known in Revelation 20:9-10:

“And they went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. Fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.
And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

People often take only one meaning of “Israel.” Now know that the Sabbath was made by God for all His people. Genesis 2:1-3 says:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.
God called the light Day, and the evening and the morning were the first day.”

The first day was not made for worship but to begin our own work, like God did.

Exodus 20:8-11 commands us:

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God.
In it you shall not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, your livestock, or the stranger who is within your gates.
For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore, the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.”

The all-knowing Almighty God knew whom He had sanctified for His kingdom and those meant for hell. That’s why He used the Ten Commandments, where the 7th day Sabbath is a holy convocation—blessed and hallowed by the Lord. He put these commandments on our minds and wrote them on our hearts through the blood of Jesus Christ. His feast days are also holy convocations, and His new year is commanded to be the beginning and first month of the year for us. This is God’s seal upon His churches, to set them apart and protect them from the evil in the world—a permanent spiritual division through the blood of Jesus Christ that separates His saints from the evil kingdom of the Antichrist, which is destined for destruction.

These two spiritual lines will never meet, just as Abraham said from the heavens to the rich man in hell:

Luke 16:25-26:
“And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there cross to us.”

This narrative shows the importance of the separation God made for His churches, as further emphasized in Revelation 20:9-10 and Revelation 2:1-29.

In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth:

The Sabbath was made for man (mankind), not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). This confirms that God made the Sabbath special, blessed, hallowed, and set apart for Himself and us, His chosen people. We believe in Christ so we will not be conformed to this sinful world, ruled by Satan, but instead enter the rest Christ offers. Jesus Himself is the Sabbath. We are called not to conform to the world but to be transformed, as Paul wrote in Romans 12:2:

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.”

Though we live in the world, we must not adopt its evil ways or take part in them.

John 17:14-16 says:

“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
I do not pray that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.”

Even the Lord teaches us this in the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven… lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

The feasts of God, His Ten Commandments—including the 7th day Sabbath—and His new year are holy convocations blessed and hallowed by the Lord. He put them on our minds and hearts through the blood of Jesus Christ as His seal upon His churches to protect us from evil. These are His spoken words—the Lord Himself.

John 17:16 again reminds us:

“They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”

Hebrews 9:10 says:

“There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their own works, just as God did from His.”

The Sabbath is the key to closeness, intimacy, and total obedience to our Almighty Lord. When we surrender ourselves to God, setting aside all our own activities during the six days, we live by works of faith.

1 Thessalonians 1:3 says:

“Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ before God our Father.”

We, as believers, must work the works of God by faith through the observance of His feasts as holy convocations, His new year as the beginning and first month of the year, and His Ten Commandments where the 7th day Sabbath is included. The Lord Jesus Christ blessed and hallowed these, putting them on our minds and hearts through His blood, protecting us for our works of faith.

James 2:17-26 teaches the importance of faith and works:

17 “Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18 But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.
19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20 You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?
21 Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend.
24 You see that a person is justified by what they do and not by faith alone.
25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction?
26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”

As Abraham demonstrated his faith through the offering of his son Isaac, so too must all true believers in Christ Jesus show their faith by obeying and observing God’s feasts, commandments, and His new year. This is not about literal sacrifice but about dedicating specific times as acts of faith to deepen our intimacy with Yeshua during these sacred 24 hours set apart for God and Jesus Christ. Through our faith in Jesus, we are spiritually united with Him — bonded and married to Him in a spiritual sense — and we must abide in Him, living in spirit and truth.

John 15:4 says, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” This means that through faithful observance of His feast days, His commandments as holy convocations, and His new year, which the Lord has blessed and written on our hearts through the blood of Jesus, we stay connected to Him. This connection allows us to enter His presence and His kingdom, fulfilling the royal law to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, spirit, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. This summarizes God’s Ten Commandments and reflects the works of faith in Christ Jesus.

The laws of God, written on our hearts by the blood of Jesus, are God’s very words — God Himself, as stated in John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Observing God’s commandments, feast days, and new year means we dwell fully in Him — making Him our sanctuary, refuge, tabernacle, and eternal home. It is through this spiritual rest in Jesus Christ that we rest from the evils of this world, entering into His peace now and forever.

As Jesus prayed in John 17:15, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” The seventh-day Sabbath, God’s feast days, His Ten Commandments, and the new year are all holy convocations established by Jesus, blessed and hallowed, to set His people apart — a spiritual mark or seal on His churches to separate them from the evils of the world. We are God’s special, sanctified people — His heritage, heirs, and royal priesthood — taken out of sin and brought into the light of Christ for eternity.

However, it seems many Gentile believers today have forgotten this truth and alienated themselves from the Commonwealth of Israel — the Hebrew believers in Christ. I urge all true believers to reread Revelation 21:1-29 and Revelation 20:9-10. These passages reveal that all believers in Jesus Christ, regardless of background, are spiritually part of Israel. They are not merely Jews but “Israelites” by faith, incorporated into the twelve tribes of Israel through Christ before the foundation of the world.

Revelation 21 describes the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven, adorned as a bride for her husband, with gates named after the twelve tribes of Israel and foundations named after the twelve apostles. This is a metaphor for the church — the body of Christ, made up of all true believers, both Jewish and Gentile, united in one faith, one body, and one church.

The division that some churches promote, suggesting two separate gatherings of saints — one for Jewish believers and one for Gentile believers — is not biblical. Jesus Christ will return once to gather all His saints, both Jews and Gentiles, in a single event (1 Thessalonians 4:17). The church is one body, united under one Shepherd.

John 10:15-16 reinforces this unity: Jesus says He lays down His life for His sheep (Israel), and also has other sheep (Gentiles) that will hear His voice, forming one flock under one shepherd. This confirms that Gentile believers are part of the commonwealth of Israel by the blood of Jesus Christ, fulfilling God’s blessings on Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

It is vital for all believers to understand this unity and reject teachings that divide the church or create multiple second comings. God’s plan is one — a single return of Christ to gather His one church, made up of all believers who live by faith and obedience.

Revelation 14:15-16
15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, “Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.”
16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.

1 Corinthians 15:52
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

On the Word “Rapture”
The churches have changed God’s words from “caught up saints” or “gathering together” to the term “Rapture.” However, the word rapture is nowhere to be found in the Bible. It is ironic that New Testament believers have taken the liberty to change God’s words without fear of God, adding to and taking away from His word, which is forbidden.

Warning Against Adding or Taking Away From God’s Word

Moses to the Israelites:
Deuteronomy 4:2
“Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.”

Revelation 22:18-19
18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
19 And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Words of Jesus Christ:
John 17:6
“I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.”

Jesus on the Sabbath

Mark 2:27-28
27 And he (Jesus Christ) said unto them, “The Sabbath was made for man (mankind), and not man (mankind) for the Sabbath.”

An analogy:
“This food is given to you to eat, but the food is not you, and you as a person are not the food.”

28 Therefore, the Son of man (mankind) is Lord also of the Sabbath. Jesus Christ is the Sabbath and our eternal rest.