Mar 24 2016

The Sabbath ended on a Thursday

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Today, Holy Thursday, is the day that the New Covenant came into being.

 

Luke 22:19-20 (KJV) – And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.

 

The Old Covenant came to an end. The sabbath, the sign of the Old Covenant, likewise came to an end. Christians don’t observe the sabbath any more.

The Eucharist, the sign of the New Covenant, was instituted today.

The Sacrificial Lamb - Josefa de Ayala, ca 1670

The Sacrificial Lamb – Josefa de Ayala, ca 1670

 

Tomorrow, Good Friday, Jesus, the sacrifice ratifying the New Covenant, was slain with the Passover Lambs.

 

Crucifixion, from Polittico di Valle Romita

Crucifixion, from Polittico di Valle Romita

 

On Holy Saturday, the last sabbath, Jesus is in the tomb.

 

On Easter Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead, bringing with him the promises of the New Covenant. Jesus was the first-fruits, rising with the Old Covenant type.

 

Icon of the Resurrection

Icon of the Resurrection

The old creation was made new – the new creation. 2 Cor 5:17, Eph 4:24, Col 3:9

The freedom from slavery in Egypt became our freedom from slavery to sin. Rom 6:18, Gal 5:1

The weekly sabbath rest became a permanent rest from our labours in Christ. Matt 11:28, Heb 4

Discussion with Adventists

Discussion with Adventists

 

Discussion with Adventists

Discussion with Adventists

Discussion with Adventists

Discussion with Adventists

Further reading:

On Holy Thursday, We Remember Jesus’ Gift of Himself in the Eucharist – by Kathy Schiffer, National Catholic Register

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  1. I agree in part but also disagree in part. God does not end covenants. For God covenants are eternal. God did not end the covenant with Noah. His promise to never end the world by the waters of chaos still stands. God did not end the covenant with Abraham. His descendants are as numerous as the starts in heaven. And God has not ended the covenant with the Jews. This “old” covenant is still honored for the Jew who keeps his end of it. Jesus did not do away with this covenant. He made a new covenant with his faithful.

    In modern thinking new replaces the old. In ancient thinking this was not so. The “Old” Testament (covenant) has not replaced the new and therefore is no longer of value. Both have their place and both are needed. As a Christian I no longer am covered under the old because I have the new. That does not mean the old has gone away.

    The Sabbath has not ended. It is still celebrated by the Jews. It should not be celebrated by Christians because of the new covenant Jesus made with us. On that we completely agree.

    1. I think we’re in agreement there. Cardinal Avery Dulles wrote a brilliant piece called “The Covenant With Israel” that’s worth reading, which supports what you say.

      This paragraph describes where I am coming from (as someone who deals mostly in apologetics with Adventists):

      “Those who treat the Old Covenant as dead and superseded are generally thinking of its legal prescriptions, especially those connected with worship, as treated in the Letters of Paul and the Letter to the Hebrews. Paul’s strictures on the Mosaic Law are found especially in Second Corinthians and Galatians, where he vehemently rejects the position of some Judeo-Christians who were seeking to impose circumcision on members of the Church. Christians, Paul insists, are not obliged to observe the rites of the Old Law. The Letter to the Hebrews, which is essentially a treatise on priesthood, teaches that with the cessation of the Levitical priesthood and the Temple sacrifices, the Old Covenant is to that extent superseded: “For where there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change of law as well.” The former commandment is set aside, since a “better hope” and a “better covenant” have been introduced. Christ therefore “abolishes the first in order to establish the second.”

      – Cardinal Avery Dulles, The Covenant With Israel

      The rest of what he says is no less true.

  2. You should be teaching catechism class!

    1. Thanks :-) I try to teach Adventists, though, with my blog … and help those who need help with their arguments. Sort of like catechism classes.

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