SID: Hello, Sid Roth here with Dr. Michael Brown, and we are asking a very controversial question, I am so glad you decided to tune in. The question is: Is Saturday the Sabbath, is Sunday the Sabbath, or is Monday the Sabbath? Dr. Michael Brown you deal with it very brilliantly in this book, but there are a lot of Christians and Jews that are confused on this issue, help clarify it.
MICHAEL: I’ll do it as simply as I can. Number one there is no biblical evidence that the Sabbath was ever changed to Sunday; that is the first thing.
SID: Wait a second, if you are Baptist you would not agree with you.
MICHAEL: Look I was just in a online discussion with someone who said there is clear New Testament evidence that we are to worship on Sunday. I challenged him, he was an articulate guy, at the end he said I overstated my position. There is no biblical evidence that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday, I understand people celebrated the resurrection of Jesus, I understand that there may have been early Christians in gatherings at the end of the first century, Sunday morning or Sunday evening, and that is fine. Romans 14 makes it clear that we have liberty on setting aside a day or not setting aside a day, we are not under the death penalty for violating the Sabbath, it doesn’t hang over our head, but in point of fact the only Sabbath that was established, it was established at creation in Genesis 2, according to the prophets it is going to be in the Kingdom of God on Earth that there is going to be a seventh day Sabbath, that never changed, and therefore believers that want to celebrate the Sabbath on the seventh day, especially Jewish believers, should not be discouraged from doing it or being told they are being divisive.
SID: On the flip side, are you wrong with God it you celebrate on a Sunday as opposed to a Saturday?
MICHAEL: No, because we have transcended just a day, and Jesus says this, “Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Learn of me, take my yoke on you, I am meek and lowly at heart and you’ll find rest for your souls.” In other words ultimate Sabbath rest is not found in a place, it is not found in a day, it is found in a person. And I can assure you no matter how wonderful Sabbath is for traditional Jews, finding rest in Yeshua finding the burden of your sins lifted off, finding fellowship and intimacy with God where you just can’t wait to be with him and spend time with him because he is so wonderful. I remember this rabbi that knew me when I first became a believer, when I would just tell him things in my own life, and I don’t mean I have a miracle happen every single, or I don’t go through struggles or issues, but just telling him what God was doing in my life, he said, “Mike, why is it that it seems like God is like y our next door neighbor?” Because he is drawing near through Jesus.
SID: Mike, I have a problem, first of all I have a commercial advertisement from our sponsor, our sponsor is God, someone has just been healed, if you move your head you will see that pain you had in your neck, it is gone, actually the presence of God is moving all the way down the spine, anyone that has a pain in your spine, if you will just move you will see that you are totally healed. But I have –
MICHAEL: Wait, wait you have seen God do that?
SID: He just did it. I have seen him do it, I have almost every time I speak people are healed, people are healed.
MICHAEL: A delivering God, a delivering God.
SID: Yeah, I don’t want to serve a dead God, I don’t want to serve tradition, I don’t want to serve religion, I want to serve God.
MICHAEL: Look, we have evidence that our Messiah is risen from the dead and we interact with a Living God, we are his servants, he is not our servant, he has poured out his blessings that he gives us and he loves to demonstrate his reality and his power.
SID: Mike, I have a pet peeve, the Spirit of God is causing gentile Christians to love the Jew and love Israel, that’s not my peeve, but it’s a God thing, it is the first time in centuries and ever, really ever, worldwide there is a drawing towards the Jew, so because there is this drawing they get together, Christians and Jews, of ecumenical, bless Israel nights, with the agreement they won’t have a Messianic Jew in the forefront, with the agreement they won’t tell Jewish people there is no other name given unto men in which we must be saved. I have a problem with this, why don’t they have a problem with this, I don’t get it.
MICHAEL: Well most people who are not Jewish believers in Jesus and they don’t have that sensitivity and recognize how we have been put out, we have been rejected even misunderstood for our testimony from day one because that is what happens, it does bring division when you say Jesus is the Messiah, it is going to bring division in the Jewish community. I honor and appreciate the love and the heart for solidarity, but come on, would you exclude Paul from being there, would you tell Peter he couldn’t be there, those were prominent Messianic Jews, what if they are around today? We are not going to read their words because it is too divisive, are we not going to remind them that Jesus, if he is not the Messiah of Israel is not the Messiah of anyone? I can’t understand why you, okay let me say this, the purpose of this meeting is not to proselytize, but of course the whole family is going to be there, Jewish believers in Jesus and Gentile, and of course you know we want you to believe in Jesus but this is not a proselytizing meeting, why can’t you just say that? I don’t understand why it can’t be said you honor Jewish people, you are not just trying to set them up for some conversionary experience or take advantage of them, but you want them to know I love you enough that I want to tell you the truth. And without Jesus there is no salvation.
SID: Listen and if hell is real, and it is, if sin separates you from God, and it does, you are not acting in love you are acting in hate if you don’t tell everyone everywhere that there is good news. And the good news is not that you have to die to go to heaven, the good news is that you can experience God in this life, you can have intimacy with God, you can have peace, you can have shalom, you can have completeness, you can have fulfillment, I mean life is a roller coaster, good, bad, good, bad, out. What about this, if you will keep your eyes on the Messiah he will keep you in perfect peace. What about my sheep hear my voice, what about no weapon formed against you shall prosper, what about with long life I will satisfy you? These are all promises to those who have intimacy with God, there is no other name given unto men in which we must be saved but the Name of Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, and if you tell God you are sorry, believe the blood of Jesus washed away your sins, then ask him to live inside of you and be your Lord, he is not a man that he should lie. He will do it, you do it now!
