And he said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath; so the Son of man is lord even of the sabbath.” 

(Mark 2:27-28)

Jesus never suggested that his followers should not keep the Sabbath. They should keep it but in the right spirit, i.e. as a day for rest, a day for worship, and a day for honouring God by doing good.

In the Old Testament the Sabbath was given as one of the Ten Commandments. It was to be kept as a mark of the Covenant between God and His people; it was for the worship of God; and it was to give everyone a much-needed rest from daily work. According to Nehemiah 13:18, one of the reasons for the fall of Jerusalem was the failure to keep the Sabbath. The Pharisees were therefore very insistent that it should be properly kept. Jesus’ disagreement with the Pharisees was not over keeping the Sabbath but over their definitions of work and the lack of kindness they displayed towards the sick. Jesus saw the full meaning of “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37, quoting Deuteronomy 6:5). The whole of life was to be holy to God. As George Herbert’s hymn (number 98 in our Christadelphian Hymn Book) puts it:

Seven whole days, not one in seven,

I will praise Thee.

This is the attitude of “spirit and truth”. Or as Horatius Bonar’s hymn (number 82) says:

Fill Thou my life, O Lord, my God,

In every part with praise,

That my whole being may proclaim

Thy being and Thy ways.

….

So shall no part of day or night

From sacredness be free;

But all my life in every step

Be fellowship with Thee.

As Christianity moved away from Judaism, the practice of keeping the Sabbath largely died out. In the pagan world, believers would less easily be free from work on Saturday, and under the New Covenant keeping the Sabbath was no longer a requirement. Paul specifically objected to the Sabbath being regarded as obligatory:

...let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a sabbath. These are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.   

(Colossians 2:16-17)

On the other hand, a variety of practice and individual choice is approved, provided no believer claims that another believer must follow the same practice.

One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike. Let everyone be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it in honour of the Lord.  He also who eats, eats in honour of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while he who abstains, abstains in honour of the Lord and gives thanks to God.     

(Romans 14:5-6)

The same can be said today. If God is served and Jesus is remembered by a special meeting, say on the 50th Anniversary of moving to a new meeting room, by a Christmas Day service, or by a week-night Breaking of Bread, let no one be criticised for approving.

Sunday should be seen in the same manner. It is not a special day appointed by God but a day on which it is convenient to meet because most people do not work. What matters is our attitude towards God. It is important that we meet together with other brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage one another, but the day and the time of day are in themselves of no consequence. Worship in spirit and truth should go on continually in daily life.