Chapter 6: What Jesus Really Testified
Christians claim to follow Christ. His example should settle every doctrinal dispute.
When religious leaders add traditions, modify commandments, or declare old laws obsolete, the question is simple: What did Jesus do?
Regarding the Sabbath, we don't need councils, creeds, or centuries of theological debate. We have Jesus's own testimony: His words, His actions, His custom recorded in the Gospels.
If Jesus kept the Sabbath, taught the Sabbath, and defended the Sabbath, then the Sabbath remains binding for those who claim to follow Him.
Let's examine what Jesus actually did.
"As His Custom Was"
Luke records Jesus's pattern of worship in a single, decisive phrase:
"And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read."
"As his custom was."
Not once. Not occasionally. Not when convenient. Jesus's custom was to worship on the Sabbath day.
A custom is a habitual practice, something done regularly, not by accident. Jesus, the perfect example of obedience to the Father, habitually kept the seventh-day Sabbath.
If Sunday worship were God's will, why did Jesus never model it? Why is there no record of Jesus worshiping on the first day of the week?
The Gospels record Jesus eating with sinners, touching lepers, healing on the Sabbath, rebuking Pharisees, every detail considered significant for disciples to imitate. Yet there is zero evidence Jesus ever sanctified Sunday.
His custom was the Sabbath. Saturday. The seventh day. The day God blessed and sanctified at Creation (Genesis 2:2-3), the day God wrote in stone with His own finger (Exodus 20:8-11).
The Sabbath Made for Man
When Pharisees accused Jesus's disciples of breaking the Sabbath by picking grain as they walked through fields, Jesus defended them, not by abolishing the Sabbath, but by clarifying its purpose:
"And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath."
"The sabbath was made for man."
Not for Jews only. For man, for humanity. The Sabbath was instituted at Creation before there were Jews, before there was a nation of Israel, before the ceremonial law existed. Adam and Eve received the Sabbath. It was made for mankind.
"The Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath."
Jesus claims authority over the Sabbath, not to abolish it, but to restore its original purpose. He is Lord of the Sabbath, meaning He has the right to define how it should be kept. And how did Jesus keep it? By worshiping, teaching, healing, doing good (Matthew 12:12).
If Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath and He kept the Sabbath "as his custom was," on what authority do churches declare the Sabbath obsolete?
Lawful to Do Good on the Sabbath
Jesus healed on the Sabbath repeatedly, not to break the commandment, but to demonstrate the Sabbath's true purpose. When religious leaders accused Him of Sabbath-breaking for healing a man's withered hand, Jesus asked:
"And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill?"
Jesus didn't say "The Sabbath is abolished." He didn't say "After I die, you won't need to keep the Sabbath." He asked: "Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days?"
He assumes the Sabbath remains in effect. The question is how to keep it properly by doing good, showing mercy, and saving life.
In Matthew 12:9-13, Jesus heals the man's hand, then declares:
"Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days."
The phrase "It is lawful" uses present tense, affirming the Sabbath's ongoing validity.
If the Sabbath were temporary, why does Jesus spend so much time correcting how to keep it rather than declaring it ended?
The Father Works, the Son Works
In John 5, Jesus heals a paralyzed man at the Pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath. The Jews accuse Him of breaking the Sabbath. Jesus responds:
"My Father worketh hitherto, and I work."
The Father works on the Sabbath. The Son works on the Sabbath.
What kind of work? The work of redemption, healing, and restoration, the very purpose the Sabbath was made to celebrate. God rested from creation on the seventh day, but He never stops His work of sustaining, redeeming, and blessing humanity.
Jesus mirrors the Father's Sabbath activity. He doesn't abolish the Sabbath; He fulfills its purpose by doing good, healing the sick, setting captives free.
Verse 18 records the reaction:
"Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God."
The Jews accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath. But their accusation doesn't make it true. Jesus violated their man-made traditions (burdensome rules added to God's law), but He never violated the Sabbath commandment itself.
He kept the Sabbath. He taught the Sabbath. He defended the Sabbath against legalistic perversions.
If Jesus broke the Sabbath, He sinned. If He sinned, He cannot be the sinless sacrifice. The entire gospel collapses.
The truth: Jesus perfectly kept the Sabbath, demonstrating how the Father intended it to be observed through worship, rest, mercy, and the work of redemption.
The Pattern for Disciples
After Jesus's resurrection, did the apostles abandon the Sabbath and start worshiping on Sunday?
No.
The book of Acts records the apostles continuing to worship on the Sabbath:
- Acts 13:14 - Paul goes to the synagogue "on the sabbath day"
- Acts 13:42-44 - Gentiles ask to hear the gospel again "the next sabbath," and "the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God"
- Acts 16:13 - On the Sabbath, Paul goes to a riverside prayer meeting
- Acts 17:2 - "And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures"
- Acts 18:4 - "And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks"
Paul's "manner was" to worship on the Sabbath, just as Jesus's "custom was" to worship on the Sabbath.
If Sunday were the new Christian day of worship, why is there no record of the apostles teaching it? Why do they continue keeping the Sabbath decades after the resurrection?
The pattern is clear: Jesus kept the Sabbath. The apostles kept the Sabbath. The early church kept the Sabbath.
Sunday worship came later, introduced by the same power that changed other commandments and persecuted those who refused to comply.
What Jesus Never Said
In all four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), in every sermon, every teaching, every conversation Jesus had about the law, the commandments, and the kingdom of God, He never said:
- "The Sabbath is abolished."
- "After I die, worship on the first day of the week."
- "The Sabbath was only for Jews."
- "Any day is acceptable as long as you worship."
- "The Sabbath is a shadow; now that I'm here, it's fulfilled and done away."
He never said any of that.
What He did say:
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
"I am not come to destroy the law."
The Sabbath commandment is part of the law, the fourth of the Ten Commandments written in stone by God's own finger. Jesus came to fulfill the law's purpose, not to abolish it.
"Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law."
Look outside. Is heaven still there? Is earth still here? Then the law (including the Sabbath) still stands.
The Roman Catholic Church's Three Changes
Daniel prophesied that a religious-political power would "think to change times and laws" (Daniel 7:25). The Roman Catholic Church didn't change just one thing. She changed three foundational truths:
| What the Roman Catholic Church Changed | Biblical Truth | The Roman Catholic Church's Substitute |
|---|---|---|
| When we worship | Seventh-day Sabbath (Saturday) | Sunday ("Lord's Day") |
| Who we worship | The Father alone as the "only true God" (John 17:3) | Trinity (three co-equal persons) |
| What happens at death | The dead sleep unconscious (Ecclesiastes 9:5) | Immortal soul, purgatory, saint worship |
These three changes work together:
- Sunday creates a counterfeit worship day that honors the Roman Catholic Church's authority
- Trinity creates a counterfeit God that obscures the Father-Son relationship
- Immortal soul creates a counterfeit hope that opens the door to spiritualism, prayers to saints, and communication with "the dead" (actually demons)
All three came from the same source (the Roman Catholic Church via pagan influence), were formalized by the same council system (Nicaea, Constantinople, etc.), and are accepted by Protestant churches that claim "sola scriptura" while keeping the Roman Catholic Church's doctrines.
Side-by-side counterfeit table: https://theremnantthread.com/studies/counterfeit-table.html
These three changes form a package. The Roman Catholic Church didn't just alter when we worship (Sabbath to Sunday); she also changed who we worship (Father alone to Trinity) and what we believe about death (sleep to immortal soul). All three stem from the same councils, the same apostasy, the same merger of church and state.
The focus of this chapter is Jesus's testimony about the Sabbath. Readers interested in a deeper examination of the Trinity question can explore Appendix F, which presents Jesus's testimony about the Father and addresses common objections to the non-Trinitarian position.
What matters here: Jesus kept the Sabbath. If the Roman Catholic Church changed the Sabbath, she can change anything. The pattern of substituting human tradition for God's commandments is the Roman Catholic Church's identifying mark.
Questions to Answer
Jesus kept the Sabbath "as his custom was." If He is your example in all things, why would you follow a different day of worship than the one He modeled?
Disciples are called to follow Christ's example. 1 Peter 2:21: "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps." Jesus's custom was the Sabbath. If Sunday were God's will, wouldn't Jesus have shown us?
Jesus said "The sabbath was made for man." If the Sabbath was made for humanity at Creation, why do churches say it was made only for Jews at Sinai?
The Sabbath was blessed and sanctified before sin, before Israel, before there were Jews (Genesis 2:2-3). If it was "made for man" at Creation, it applies to all mankind. Limiting it to Jews contradicts Jesus's own words.
Jesus declared "it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days." Why do churches declare it lawful to ignore the Sabbath entirely?
Jesus spent His ministry clarifying how to keep the Sabbath by showing mercy, healing, and doing good. He never suggested the Sabbath would end. If He assumed its ongoing validity, why do churches assume its abolition?
Jesus said not one jot or tittle would pass from the law until heaven and earth pass. Has heaven passed away? Has earth?
Look outside. Heaven remains. Earth remains. Jesus said the law (including the Fourth Commandment) stands until they pass (Matthew 5:17-18). What authority declares the Sabbath obsolete when Jesus declared the law permanent?
After Jesus's resurrection, Paul continued worshiping on the Sabbath "as his manner was." If Sunday replaced the Sabbath, why didn't Paul know?
Acts records Paul keeping the Sabbath years after Jesus rose (Acts 17:2). If the resurrection changed the day of worship, why is there no record of the apostles teaching it? Why do they continue keeping the seventh day?
Jesus healed on the Sabbath and was accused of Sabbath-breaking. If He had broken the Sabbath, could He be the sinless sacrifice?
Violating God's commandment is sin (1 John 3:4). If Jesus sinned by breaking the Sabbath, the gospel collapses. The truth: Jesus kept the Sabbath perfectly. He violated man-made traditions, not God's law. His healings demonstrated the Sabbath's purpose: redemption, restoration, and mercy.
The Roman Catholic Church admits she changed the Sabbath to Sunday as her mark of authority. If you reject the Church's authority, why keep the Church's day?
The Catholic Church openly states Sunday observance is "our mark of authority" over Scripture (see Appendix E). If Protestants reject papal authority, why accept the pope's Sunday while rejecting Jesus's Sabbath?