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JESUS and the SABBATH Sven-Olav Back 1

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JESUS and the SABBATH Sven-Olav Back 1 JESUS AND THE SABBATH Sven-Olav Back 1. Introduction Both in the Old Testament and in ancient Jewish literature the Sab- bath is seen as a great gift of God, filled with divine blessing. At the same time, the Sabbath commandment stands out as a fundamental ,of the covenant between God and Israel (אות) ”obligation. As a “sign the Sabbath was, and still is, one of the major Jewish symbols. Keep- ing the commandment faithfully—and hence doing no “work” whatsoever on the holy day—indicates one’s fidelity towards (מלאכה) the covenant, but disregarding the Sabbath is a sure indication of dis- loyalty. The Old Testament provides some examples of what counts as “work,”1 but there is no exhaustive definition. Hence, it is only natu- ral that different Jewish groups tried to find out more precisely what There was a great deal at stake. It .מלאכה might have been meant by comes as no surprise, however, that a complete consensus was not achieved. It is true that some basic rules were generally accepted, but we also hear complaints about mistaken views regarding the Sabbath commandment. Thus, for example, the Damascus Document claims regarding the holy (תעה) that even “all Israel” has gone astray Sabbaths of God.2 If the New Testament Gospels may be trusted, Jesus of Nazareth was one of those who attracted criticism and disapproval on account of his Sabbath behaviour. For one thing, he performed acts of healing on the Sabbath. The texts describe how people suffering from chronic diseases are restored to health by Jesus: a man with a withered hand (Mark 3:1–6; Matt 12:9–14; Luke 6:6–11), a crippled woman (Luke 1 Ploughing and reaping (Exod 34:21), treading winepresses (Neh 13:15), cooking (Exod 16:5, 23), lightning of fire (Exod 35:2), gathering wood (Num 15:32–36), buying and selling (Neh 10:32; 13:15–22), carrying loads through the city gates or out of the ,Exod 16:29), doing one’s pleasure) (מקום) houses (Jer 17:19–27), leaving one’s place one’s ways, and—mysteriously—“speaking a word” (dabber dāḇār, Isa 58:13). 2 CD III, 12b–16a. 2598 sven-olav back 13:10–17), a man suffering from dropsy (Luke 14:1–6), a paralysed man (John 5:2–9, cf. vv. 15–16; 7:19–24), and a man born blind (John 9:1–7). In addition, Jesus is reported to have authorised his disciples’ plucking of ears of grain—i.e., “work”—on the Sabbath (Mark 2:23–38; Matt 12:1–8; Luke 6:1–5). What shall we make of these texts? Are they simply to be under- stood as products of the primitive Church and the evangelists, reflect- ing the disputes of the Church and the opinions of the early Christian writers? Or can we use them to find historically reliable information about Jesus? If so, how should we understand the position of Jesus with regard to the Sabbath? In Part 5 of this article, I will provide an outline of a reasonable answer to the last question. I start, however, with an overview of the scholarly discussion on the subject “Jesus and the Sabbath” (2). This will show the need for the parts that follow: a short description of some early Jewish positions with regard to the Sabbath—with an emphasis on matters of halakhah and practice (3)—and an assess- ment of the general historicity of the Sabbath stories of the synoptic Gospels (4). 2. The Scholarly Discussion: a Sketch Thirty years ago, F. Neirynck opened a survey of the scholarly discus- sion of our subject by giving an account of E. Lohse’s investigations.3 This remains a good starting point as there are several points in Lohse’s articles that have been broadly accepted in subsequent stud- ies: (a) First, Jesus was indeed involved in conflicts that were trig- gered by his acts of healing on the Sabbath. This is true even if the Sabbath stories in the Gospels to a large extent reflect debates between the primitive Church and “the Synagogue.”4 (b) Secondly, there are three authentic Sabbath sayings embedded in the polemical material 3 Frans Neirynck, “Jesus and the Sabbath: Some Observations on Mark 2.27”, in Jacques Dupont, ed., Jésus aux origines de la christologie, BETL 50 (Leuven: Leuven University Press, Gembloux: Éditions J. Duculot, 1975) 228–231; Eduard Lohse, “Jesu Worte über den Sabbat”, in Walther Eltester, ed., Judentum, Urchristentum, Kirche: Festschrift J. Jeremias, BZNW 26 (Berlin: Alfred Töpelmann, 1960), 79–89; idem, “σάββατον κτλ.”, ThWNT VII, 21–31. Cf. idem, Grundriß der neutestamentlichen The- ologie, 3rd ed. (Stuttgart/Berlin/Köln/Mainz: Kohlhammer, 1984), 32. 4 Lohse, “Worte”, 79–84; “σάββατον”, 22 n. 172..
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