Discovering the New Covenant by Greg Taylor - exAdventist Outreach

CHAPTER TWELVE
THE SABBATH IN THE
GOSPELS
I
had spent much time in the application section of the
New Testament: the Epistles, Acts, and Revelation. It
became clear that there is no continued binding requirement
for keeping the seventh-day Sabbath. What comes through
loud and clear in the New Testament Epistles is that Jesus
fulfilled the Sabbath. The day-ness has been, at the very
least, de-emphasized. It is not to be used as a dividing issue
or binding command for Gentile Christians. It is not to be
seen as a test of loyalty. Instead, a daily walk with Jesus
through the agency of the Holy Spirit is the new seal or
test.
The next question I needed to ask was, "What did
Jesus teach, and what significance did He place on the
Sabbath?" I remembered that Jesus came as one under the
Law to redeem those under the Law, (Gal. 4:4-5) so He had
to live under all of the Law’s requirements. At the same
time, I needed to see whether he taught and lived in such a
way as to set the stage for a fulfillment motif, or taught a
continuance theology. I began in Matthew 5 where Jesus
says,