Tuesday Contradictions: Matthew 12:1-2 – Sabbath Showdown: Did Jesus Cancel the Commandment?

Update: 2025-12-02

Description

Host Lance Smith examines Matthew 12:1-2 in episode 194 of the Bible Difficulties and Answers podcast, exploring whether Jesus rescinded the Sabbath or fulfilled its purpose.

The episode weighs Old Testament commands, New Testament examples, and recent scholarship (including David Wilber) to show the Sabbath as covenant context and Jesus as the fulfiller who deepens its meaning—concluding it’s not a contradiction but a progression toward rest in Christ.

References to items discussed and/or used on this podcast may be found at the following:

The Bible Difficulties and Answers Website

The Bible Difficulties and Answers Facebook Page

Email Address: bibledifficultiesandanswers@gmail.com

Skeptics Annotated Bible: https://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/contra/sabbath.html

Wilber, David. "Sabbath Observance in Luke-Acts: Situating the Earliest Followers of Jesus Within Judaism." E-Journal of Religious and Theological Studies 11, no. 3 (2025): 51-59. DOI: 10.38159/erats.20251131.

Schreiner, Thomas. "Is the Sabbath Still Required for Christians?" The Gospel Coalition, 2021. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/schreiner-qa-is-the-sabbath-still-required-for-christians/.

"Should Christians Keep the Sabbath?" Desiring God. https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/should-christians-keep-the-sabbath.

"Does God Require Sabbath-Keeping of Christians?" GotQuestions.org. https://www.gotquestions.org/Sabbath-keeping.html.

Lee, Jon English. "The Sabbath and Its Relation to Christ and the Church in the New Covenant." Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 20, no. 1 (2016): 47-66. https://cf.sbts.edu/equip/uploads/2016/08/SBJT-20.1-Sabbath-Relation-Christ-Church-New-Covenant-Updated.pdf.

Craig, William Lane. "The Sabbath Day and Mytho-History." Reasonable Faith, 2021. https://www.reasonablefaith.org/question-answer/ajax_more/the-sabbath-day-and-mytho-history.

Fox, Timothy. "You Don’t Understand the Old Testament." CrossExamined.org, 2016. https://crossexamined.org/you-dont-understand-the-old-testament/.

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