..or why isn't it laid out directly?

Because its not stated in many declarations of the Commandments in many of the New Testament text on is such as the rich young ruler or others, some claim that the Sabbath doesnt exist anymore because Christ didnt teach it or repeat it as part of the Commandments, so what did Jesus say?

According to the following verse I’d say that Christ had every intention that His Sabbath would still be observed after His death:

Matthew 24:20 - But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:

The context of this verse is that Christ was warning the disciples about the destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred in 70 AD at the hands of the Roman army. Christ prophesied that this event would happen and it did (Christ is never wrong). Why would Christ be concerned that people observe the Sabbath day at a time that would have been about 40 years after His death if His death was supposed to abolish it? Simple, He wouldn’t be concerned if that were the case – but since the Sabbath, like all His Commandments last forever, He was very concerned and told them to pray concerning it.

Also, the Holy Spirit expressly calls it the “Sabbath day” in Acts 13:14. Aren’t the words of the Holy Spirit good enough since the Holy Spirit is the one who now convicts us of our sin?

Christ clearly taught that "the sabbath was made for man." Mark 2:27. The fact is that Adam was the only man in existence at the time God made the Sabbath. Jesus was the One who made the Sabbath in the first week of time. There was a reason for His claim to be Lord of the Sabbath day (Mark 2:28). If He is the Lord of the Sabbath day, then the Sabbath must be the Lord's day. John had a vision on "the Lord's day," according to Revelation 1:10. That day had to be the Sabbath. It is the only day so designated and claimed by God in the Bible. In writing the Ten Commandments, God called it "the sabbath of the Lord." Exodus 20:10. In Isaiah He is quoted as saying, "The sabbath, My holy day." (Isaiah 58:13).

We must not overlook the fact that this God who created the world and made the Sabbath was Jesus Christ Himself. John wrote: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.... And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth." John 1:1-3, 14.

Paul clearly identified Jesus as the Creator, "... his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood.... For by him were all things created." Colossians 1:13-16.
For Christians to separate Jesus from the Sabbath, who made it as the Creator for man, is wrong.

Mary, Christ’s mother, observed the Sabbath “according to the commandment” after Christ’s death.(See Luke 23:56) And I don't think anyone would argue that Mary was most certainly Christian.

The Sabbath commandment did not have to be repeated because the people to whom Jesus Christ and the apostles taught and preached would never have let it cross their minds that it needed to be repeated. It was foremost in their minds every Sabbath.

Jesus Christ and the apostles lived and taught in a culture that definitely knew about and kept the Sabbath. Jesus’ confrontations with the Pharisees were over how to observe the Sabbath, never over whether to observe it as the Pharisees had twisted it with all their oral traditions and rules.

Christ clearly shows He did not abolish it in Matthew 5:17...

"17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."


Then we see Christ say what people have done in following 'tradition' and not God, Mark 7:6-9...

"6 He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
7 Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition..."

Christ the Creator of man and the Sabbath and Writer of the 10 Commandments with His own finger was the Lord of the Sabbath, and made it for us, Mark 2:27-28.....

"27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath."

But why would Jesus not just say it directly and save us all the headaches, questions and issues that have arisen on the observance of the Sabbath?

Did Noah keep the Sabbath? Abraham? We have Genesis 2, but no word about the Sabbath until Exodus 16, no explicit command to keep the Sabbath. Is that not the same issue you have in the NT?

(bold emphasis mine)

I would like to add that the first seventh day Sabbath at the end of creation was Adam's second day of existence. Adam had not been alive for seven days, but, he kept the seventh day Sabbath with the rest of creation.

I do believe all of creation kept that Sabbath with Adam and Eve. And that we should find a certain oneness with the rest of creation as we rest on that day.

You do not know your Bible my brother..

Genesis 4:3 King James Version (KJV)

3 And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.


Verse 3. - And in process of time. Literally, at the end of the days, i.e. or the last day of the week, seventh day, the Sabbath.

Christians everywhere (whether Roman Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical or other) avow the importance of the Decalogue and its relevance today, including the commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy. "Does Christ repeat the Sabbath commandment?" is therefore moot: the controversy is not over the commandment per se, but over the day. Some say it ought to be Saturday, others say it could be Sunday. Does it matter?

///

Rick - I know that verse very well, thanks. Our Evangelical friends will point out that it does not say SABBATH. They will also point out that there is no "commandment" until the book of Exodus, but they overlook Exodus 16 and Exodus 5, and yet Sabbath is "ONE" interpretation of Gen. 4. Yes, I believe that the Patriarchs knew and kept the Sabbath, but, where is the commandment? Same issue. Yes, we can see that the Week was well know in Genesis from other verses.

I agree, whether the Commandment is repeated in the New Testament or not is irrelevant. The fact is that "the Law of the Lord is perfect". The Ten Commandments have always defined sin. Since God does not change, His definition of sin has not and will never change.

"Does it matter" what particular day we choose, the first or the seventh?

Let's look at the beginning of the fourth Commandment:

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
But the seventh day [is] the sabbath of the LORD thy God:"
Exodus 20:8-10

"Remember the sabbath day", it seems that God knew that people would try to forget it. No other Commandment begins with the word "remember".

"The seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God". Here is the heart of the matter: "THE seventh day IS the sabbath". God did NOT say that a seventh day could be the sabbath. There is no authority given or even hinted at for the substitution of ANY other day. "THE seventh day IS the sabbath"!

Incidentally, did you notice that "the seventh DAY is the sabbath OF THE LORD THY GOD"? It seems that the seventh day is in fact THE LORD'S DAY!
The false application of this title to the first day of the week is simply another ploy to cloak the papacy's attempted power grab with false light.

They are God's Ten Commandments: note, they are NOT God's Ten Suggestions!
A Commandment of God cannot be changed (even by an arrogant Pope!), God's Word can either be obeyed or disobeyed. Choosing to keep the first day holy is obeying the papacy, in defiance of the Lord God Almighty.

Yes, the choice does matter.

I don't believe it's much of a stretch at all to expect the Patriarchs to know about the Sabbath from the story of creation. But, evangelicals are more verbally inspired.

Rick, are there other commandments Jesus didn't explicitly say? How does that compare with what you're saying?

Some may dispute this -- but for me it's clear.
The Sabbath command is repeated in the NT.

Therefore a Sabbath Rest Remains for the people of God. (Hebs. 4:9)

The Sabbath continues. The verb "remains" is "(apoleipetai) which literally means "has been left."
The Greek word translated "rest" in every other passage throughout Hebrews 3 and 4 is "katapausis." The word for "rest" in Hebrews 4:9 is (sabbatismos). The term (sabbatismos) is seen in the writings of Plutarch, Justin, Epiphanius, and others, and each time the term denotes the observance of the Sabbath. Therefore the text is saying, that Sabbath obsevance remains for the people of God. Later the author tells us what has been abolished BUT FIRST he confirms the SABBATH REST remains behind for the people of God.