11/24/2012

• SERMON PREACHED 11/24/12 DID THE APOSTOLIC ASSEMBLY OBSERVE THE SABBATH AND FEAST DAYS?

  DID THE APOSTOLIC ASSEMBLY OBSERVE THE SABBATH AND FEAST DAYS?

  Many professing Religious people believe the apostolic assembly rejected the Sabbath and Feast Days of the Hebrew Scriptures and adopted new customs to distinguish themselves from the Jews. But is this true? What does the Scripture say about early Religious practice?

   

  The temporal references in the Book of Acts and Paul's epistles demonstrate that the early Restored Covenant Assembly kept time according to the traditional Scriptural calendar. References to the seventh-day Sabbath and some of the Feasts of Yahvah are scattered throughout the aforementioned documents. Noticeably absent from the Restored Covenant are any mention of days or observances connected to the numerous contemporary pagan calendars. The exclusive use of the Scriptural Calendar in Restored Covenant documents is evidence suggesting that the apostolic Assembly observed the seventh-day Sabbath and the Feast mentioned in Lev 23 and elsewhere. Some scholars outside of the Assembly of Yahvah tradition are beginning to acknowledge this fact based upon their review of the internal evidence from the Restored Covenant.

   

  PENTECOST

  The first temporal reference in the Book of Acts occurs early. In Ac 2:1, Luke records, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”The margin states that is phrase literally means “was being fulfilled.” In other words, Luke was recording the fact that the outpouring of the Holy Ghost occurred at the exact moment the Feast of Weeks, i.e. Pentecost was being celebrated. The fact that the disciples were all gathered in one place when the day of Pentecost was being fulfilled is certainly an indication they were observing the Feast.

  The Feast of Weeks, i.e. Pentecost is again mentioned in Ac 20:16 “ For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia for he hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost. There is more in the verse than perhaps meets the eye. The Greek word translated “to be” in this verse is ginomai. It is Strong's Reference Number 1096. When this word is used in reference to a Feast, it means “Feast to be held or celebrated.” (See 1096 Ginomai (III) [G], “The Complete Word Study Dictionary, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1992, 368 Ed. Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D.). Thus, in Ac 20:16, Paul expresses his desire not simply to physically be present in Jerusalem on Feast of Weeks, i.e. Pentecost, but to celebrate the Feast of Weeks, i.e. Pentecost in Jerusalem. Paul later confirms this fact in his address to Governor Felix in Ac 24:11 “Because that thou mayest understand, that there are yet but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship.”

   

  Finally Paul mentions Feast of Weeks, i.e. Pentecost in passing in his first epistle to the Corinthians. In 1 Co 16:8, he writes, “But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost.” some scholars have noted that Paul's reference to Pentecost in this place indicates that the Feast had special significance to Paul and to the recipients of the letter. Harper's Bible Dictionary notes, “The NT shows clearly that Pentecost was celebrated in the first century and that it came to have special Chr-stian significance. In writing to the Corinthians, Paul says that he plans to stay in Ephesus until Pentecost (1 Co 16:8). Apparently, he expects his readers to understand his meaning, a fact that has led some interpreters to suggest that Pentecost has become a Chr-stian observance as early as Paul's time” (Pentecost, Harper's Bible Dictionary, San Francisco: Harpoer and Row, 1985. Ed. Paul J. Achtemier.)

   

  In The Origins of the Liturgical Year, Thomas J. Tally writes in connection to this verse as follows: “Paul wites around A.D. 55 from Ephesus in Asia Minor, a city with whose synagogue he had an extended relationship (Ac 19:8). Writing, possibly, from around the time of Passover, he tells the Corinthians that he intends to remain in Ephesus until Pentecost (1 Co 16:8). His references to Passover and Pentecost show that these times were significant for him, and he seems to assume that they had a definite meaning for the Corinthians to whon he writes” (Tally, Thomas J. The Origins of the Liturgical Year, Collegevile, MN: Liturgical Press, 1991, 4).

  As we noted in the works, the reference to Pentecost in this verse indicates that the Feast had some meaning or significance to the Apostle Paul's audience. It should be remembered that the Corinthian Assembly was made up primarily of Gentiles who, prior to their introduction to the True Religion, would have had little familiarity with the Feasts Days in the Scriptural liturgical calendar; however, the Apostle Paul's reference to this Feast in his letter demonstrates that Pentecost had taken on relevance to the Gentile believers at Corinth. This verse, therefore3, is an indication that Feast of Weeks, i.e. Pentecost had a distinctly Religious significance to the Congregation at Corinth in the mid-first century A.D.

   

  PASSOVER/DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD

  Luke references the Passover and or the Feast of Unleavened Bread twice in the Book of Acts. In Ac 12:3-4, Luke records the persecution of the Apostles John and Peter by King Herod Agrippa. After Herod killed James the brother of John, Luke records in Acts 12:3-4 “And because he saw it pleased the jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were the days of unleavened bread). And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter (really the word should be Passover) to bring him forth to the people.

  In Ac 20:6 Luke writes, “And we sailed away from Philippi after the days if unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days. The “we” referenced in this verse includes Paul, Like, and least six other Gentile Religious people (see vs 4-5).

  Luke's mention of the Day of Unleavened Bread in Ac 20:6, when coupled with Paul's statement to the Assembly at Corinth, leaves little doubt that there was a Religious celebration of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread in apostolic times. Paul writes to the Corinthians about A.D. 55, in 1 Co 5:7-8 “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Messiah our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” Clearly, Paul is encouraging in the predominately Gentile Assembly at Corinth to celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread. It is interesting to mote that Paul exhorts the Corinthians to cleanse themselves from the leaven of malice and wickedness “just as ye are in fact unleavened.” This would indicate a literal observance by the Corinthian Brethren of the command in Ex 12:15 to remove leaven from the home during the seven-day feast.

  On this note, William Conybeare, in his work, The Life and Epistles of St. Paul, comments on the verses we just read from 1 Corinthians: “If we take 'as ye are unleavened' in a metaphorical sense, it is scarcely consistent with the previous cast out the old leaven; for the passage would then amount to saying “Be free from leaven (metaphorically); whereas, on the other vies, St. Paul says, “Be free from leaven (metaphorically) as ye are from from leaven (literally). There seems no difficulty in supposing the Gentle Brethren joined with the Jewish Brethren in celebrating the Paschal Feast after the Scriptural manner, at least to the extent of abstaining from leaven in the love-feasts. And we see that that Apostle Paul still observed the days of unleavened bread at this period of his life from Ac 20:6. Also, from what follows, we perceive how naturally this greatest Scriptural feast changed into the greatest Religious feast. (Conybeare, William. The Life and Epistle of St. Paul, Grand Rapids, MI: Eermans Company, 1978).

  Another scholar has drawn a similar conclusion from Paul's statement in this verse: “[W]e have in this text the first historical testimony to the existence of a Religious feast of Passover, distinct from the Jewish one” (Easter in the Early Church: An Anthology of Jewish and Early Christian Texts, Collegeville, MN: The liturgical Press, 1983, 127. Annotated by Raniero Cantalamessa).

  Based upon the text in Acts and I Corinthians, it would appear that the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were celebrated as a Religious Feast by Gentiles coverts to the True Religion in the apostolic period.

   

  THE DAY OF ATONEMENT

  In Ac 27:9, Luke writes “Now, when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them.”The margin states that the phrase “the fast” is a reference to the “Day of Atonement in September or October.”

  Luke's mention of the Day of Atonement in the Book of Acts indicates to a least on Religious Author that Luke's audience was observing this fall Feast of Yahvah. Daniel Stokl Ben Ezra comments on Ac 27:9 as follows: “The community of Luke-Acts observed Yom Kippur...Commentators are unanimous in understanding “the Fast” to be a reference to Yom Kippur. Scholars assuming a close relationship between the author of Luke-Acts and Paul, such as R.P.C. Hanson and J.D.G. Dunn, deduce that Paul observed Yom Kippur. While I am hesitant about the significance of Luke's statement in relation to Paul's religious behaviour, I cannot but draw the conclusion that Luke himself and his implied readers observed Yom Kippur. Why else would Luke use a “Scriptural reference for a secular problem?” He clearly presumes that his readers will understand what he is referring too... [W]e can assume a positive attitude of Luke and his implied audience to the fast of the Day of Atonement. In other words, Like and his community observed Yom Kippur” (Daniel Stokl Ben Ezra, “Christians” observing “Jewish” festivals of Autumn,” The Image of the Judeao-Christians in Ancient Jewish and Christian Literature, Tubingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2003, 61-62, Ed. Peter J. Tomson and Doris Lambers-Petry).

   

  Acts 18:20-21

  Luke wrote in Ac 18:20-21 “When they desired him [Paul] to tarry longer time with them, he consented not; but bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem; but I will return again unto you, if Yahvah will. And he sailed from Ephesus.” The word translated “keep” in this verse comes from the Greek word poieo. This is Strong's Reference Number 4160 and includes the meaning “celebrate.” Clearly, Paul was expressing his desire to celebrate this unnamed feast in Jerusalem.

  Although some Greek manuscripts do not contain this verse, the vast majority of the Greek texts (Byzantine) do contain it. In addition, the very next verse in the text indicates that Paul did, in fact go to Jerusalem. “And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up and saluted the assembly, he went down to Antioch” (Ac 18:22). Restored Covenant authors often describe visiting Jerusalem as “going up” to Jerusalem (Lk 2:42; Jn 7:8-10; Ac 15:2). The context of Ac 18 suggests that Paul “went up” to Jerusalem to celebrate one of the Feast of Yahvah, which was certainly consistent with his practice as described by Luke throughout the Book of Acts.

   

  THE SABBATH

  Luke often describes Paul and his companions as attending Sabbath services in the synagogues they encountered during their missionary travels. In Ac 13:14, Luke notes that Paul went into the synagogue in Antioch in Pisidia on the Sabbath. After delivering his message. Luke writes, Luke 13:14, “And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Yahvahosha had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. This is clearly as indication that the Gentile “Yahvah-fearing” were already attending the synagogue on the Sabbath. Luke then records, “And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of Yahvah”. In Ac 16:13, Luke records a Sabbath observance by Paul and his companions at Philippi: “And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down and spake unto the women which resorted thither.”Other references to Paul attending synagogue on Sabbath are found in Ac 17:2 and Ac 18:4. There are indications that Paul and his Gentile converts attended Sabbath services in synagogue during his missionary journeys.

  The only explicit reference to the Sabbath in Paul's epistles is found in Colossians 2:16-17. Paul writes “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holyday, or of the new moon or of the sabbath day' which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Messiah.”

  This verse has traditionally been interpreted to mean that the Sabbath and Feast Days were shadows that had passed away with Messiah and were no longer relevant to Religious people, and that the opponents of the Colossian Brethren were condemning them for their non-observance of these days. Some scholars, however, are beginning to admit that the traditional interpretation of this verse has been inaccurate. The opponents of the Colossians, who are generally understood to represent an early form of Gnostic asceticism, were condemning the Colossians for the manner in which the Colossians were observing the Sabbath and Feast Days. The ascetics were attempting to submit the Colossians to their ascetic lifestyle which included the following decrees (“Touch not; taste not; handle not;. In other words, the ascetics were condemning the Brethren for eating and drinking and celebrating on the Feast Days and the Sabbath.

  In commenting on Col 2:16, D.R, de Lacey writes, “The judgment” seems to be criticism of the Religious people present practice, apparently of eating and drinking and enjoying Jewish festivals, in contrast to those whose watchword was 'do not handle, do not taste, do not touch' (Col 2:21) (“Holy Days” Dictionary of Paul and his Letters, Downer Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1993, 403).

  Troy Martin agrees with the assessment of Colossians 2:16-17. After a detailed analysis of these two scriptures, Mr. Martin concludes, “Nevertheless, the preceding grammatical and syntactical investigation of clause in Col 2:17 suggests that the practices mentioned in 2:16 are those of the Colossian Christians and not the oppnents...[E]arly Christians observed both feasts and sabbaths” (“But Let Everyone Discern the Body of Christ (Col 2:17) “Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 114, No. 2, Summer 1995, p. 255).

  Thus, Col 2:16-17 demonstrates that the Colossian Brethren were observing the Sabbath and the Feast Days of Yahvah, which is certainly consistent with the practice of Paul and the apostolic assembly as described in Acts and 1 Corinthians.

   

  CONCLUSION

  In an article entitled “Pagan and Judeo-Christian Time-Keeping Schemes in Gal 4:10 and Col 2:16” (New Testament Studies, Vol 42, No 1, Jan 1996). Tony Martin makes the following observations: “The references to time in Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians exclusively reflect the adoption of a Scriptural (Jewish) Calendar. Even in a place like Corinth, Paul speaks of the first day from Sabbath (1 Co 16:2), and not the day of the sun. He builds an claborte argument argument based upon the festivals of passover and unleavened bread (1Co 5:6-8) in order to exhort the Corinthians, “Let us keep the festival” (1 Co 5:8). Although the temporal references in Paul's letters are sparse, 1 Corinthians provides strong evidence for the Pauline adoption of the Jewish practice that marked time by festival and Sabbaths.

  “In addition to 1 Corinthians, the portrait of Paul and Religious communities in the book of Acts demonstrates that Brethren adhered to the Scriptural calendar. Paul enters the synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia on several Sabbaths and proclaims the Gospel (Ac 13:14,44). According to Acts, it was Paul's custom to enter the synagogue on the Sabbath, and in Thessalonica he reasoned for three Sabbaths from the Scriptures (Ac 17:2). Paul addresses the community at Troas on the first day from Sabbath (Ac 20:7). Concerning feasts, Paul sails from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread (Ac 20:6 and intends to arrive in Jerusalem by the feast of Pentecost (Ac 20:16). The protrayal of Paul in Acts supplies clearly evidence that Brethren mark time by the segments of feasts and Sabbaths” (Id at 108-109).

  The temporal reference contained in the book of Acts and the epistles of Paul are exclusively from the Scriptural Calendar. This indicates that the early apostolic assembly—both Jew and Gentile—regulated their religious celebrations around the weekly seventh-day Sabbath and the annual Feast named in Lev 23-the “feast of YAHVAH.” In additon, the scriptural evidence suggests that early Brethren did more than simple adopt the Scriptural Calendar. These Feast celebrations had a distinctively Brethren significance and meaning to the apostolic assembly. Despite the long passage of time from the days of the apostles, Yahvah's Sabbath and Feasts still hold deep relevance and meaning to Brethren today, who are exhorted to “earnestly contended for the faith which was delivered unto the Brethren. (Jude 3)

   

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