Questions:
Why did Jesus not mention the Sabbath commandment when He enumerated the other commandments?
Answers:
First, Jesus never attempted to provide a complete enumeration of the Ten Commandments. In Matthew 19, when the rich young ruler asked what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus quoted several commandments dealing primarily with our duty toward other people. He did not quote all ten.
None of the first four commandments is included in that list. Jesus did not specifically mention having no other gods, rejecting idols, or refraining from taking God’s name in vain. We would not conclude from their omission that idolatry, blasphemy, or the worship of false gods had suddenly become acceptable. Neither should we conclude that the Sabbath was abolished simply because it was not included in that particular conversation.
The commandments Jesus quoted were also intended to expose what was taking place within the young man’s heart. The young man answered, “All these things have I kept from my youth up” (Matthew 19:20). Outwardly, he may have lived a respectable and disciplined life. Nevertheless, his attachment to his possessions revealed that his obedience had not reached the heart. When Jesus told him to sell what he had, give to the poor, and follow Him, the young man went away sorrowful.
His wealth had become more important to him than complete surrender to God. Christ was not teaching that salvation could be purchased by giving away one’s possessions. He was revealing the idol that stood between the young man and God.
There was no need for Jesus to restate every commandment in order to establish its continuing authority. He plainly declared:
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil” (Matthew 5:17).
To fulfil the law does not mean to destroy or abolish it. Jesus had just said that He did not come to destroy it. He fulfilled the law by perfectly obeying it, revealing its true meaning, and accomplishing everything the law and the prophets had foretold concerning Him.
He continued:
“For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law” (Matthew 5:18).
Heaven and earth are still here. Therefore, Christ’s own words do not permit us to remove one commandment from God’s law while claiming to honor the others.
Jesus came to restore fallen humanity to obedience and fellowship with God. He said, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30), and, “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38). God’s will is expressed in His law. The prophecy concerning Christ says:
“I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8).
Christ did not come to establish a government opposed to His Father’s government. He came to reveal the Father, magnify the law, and show through His own life what obedience motivated by love looks like.
Jesus also warned against professing faith without obedience:
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
He later says to the lawless, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (verse 23). A profession of faith that refuses the authority of God’s Word is not genuine discipleship.
Although Jesus did not repeat the fourth commandment to the rich young ruler, He repeatedly acknowledged the Sabbath through both His teaching and example. Luke tells us:
“And, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read” (Luke 4:16).
When religious leaders surrounded the Sabbath with burdensome human traditions, Jesus did not abolish the day. He corrected their misuse of it. He declared:
“The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath” (Mark 2:27–28).
Notice that He said the Sabbath was made “for man,” not merely for the Jews. It was given as a blessing to humanity. As its Lord, Jesus had authority to explain its proper observance—not to destroy what He Himself had established.
He also said, “It is lawful to do well on the sabbath days” (Matthew 12:12). That statement does not set the Sabbath aside. It teaches us how the Sabbath should be kept. Works of mercy, necessity, worship, and relief from suffering are in harmony with the purpose of the day.
The coming of Christ did bring an end to the sacrificial services that pointed forward to His death. Once the true Lamb of God had offered Himself, the shadows had met their substance. But the moral law of God was not a temporary shadow. It reveals the difference between righteousness and sin, for “sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4).
In fact, the cross demonstrates the unchangeable character of God’s law. If the law could simply have been abolished, there would have been no need for Christ to suffer the penalty of sin. Jesus died, not to make disobedience acceptable, but to save us from sin and restore us to willing obedience.
Before Christ came, God required faith that looked forward to the promised Redeemer. After He came, faith looks to the Saviour who has completed the sacrifice. Before the cross, God required the obedience of faith; after the cross, He still requires the obedience of faith. The plan unfolded more fully, but God’s character and moral government did not change.
Jesus summarized the proper relationship between love and obedience when He said:
“If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
The Sabbath commandment does not need to be individually repeated in Matthew 19 in order to remain binding. It had already been placed within God’s law, Christ expressly denied that He came to destroy that law, and His life and teaching consistently upheld the Sabbath as a blessing given by God.
Every word and act of Christ confirms the authority of God’s commandments, including the fourth.
