THE SABBATH ACCORDING TO THE COMMANDMENT.
By John E. Moore
AFTER the crucifixion some of Christ's disciples lingered to see Him laid in the tomb; "and they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment. Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher." Luke 23:56; 24:1. Three of the evangelists that record the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, were among the apostles chosen by our Lord, and all were endued with power from on high, and were guided by the Holy Spirit; and their testimony on this subject is in perfect agreement. The disciples kept the Sabbath "according to the commandment" while Christ lay in the tomb, and the Sabbath was past when they came to the sepulcher "early in the morning" on "the first day of the week." Now the Sabbath commandment reads: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Ex. 20:8-11. "The Sabbath according to the commandment" is the seventh day of the week. It was kept by our Saviour while He was on earth, and by His disciples both before and after His resurrection. It is the only Sabbath commanded in the divine Word. From Genesis to Revelation there is not one word in support of Sunday observance. And God will hold man responsible only for that which is revealed and commanded in His Word; for by that Word we shall be judged.