Ah...the Pharisees were about the rules of man for the Sabbath, and not the stated commandment of G-d. Yeshua was about Scriptural requirements, though he himself probably was very careful not to go a hairs breadth past what the majority were doing at the time. The only thing Yeshua was insistant about was not adding to the Torah, and doing good on Shabbat as well as any other day, particularly since as a traveling Rabbi/Prophet/Healer he wasn't going to be there the next day.
G-d commanded only four things for the Sabbath. Prepare your food ahead of time; do no work; remember and honor the Sabbath rest in your Tent (Home); and have a Holy Convocation...a separated meeting...with family and G-d in your Tent (Home). Eventually not kindling fires was added, and gathering or carrying large loads, because that was work.
Then, presumably, everything was fine with no work, rest, and talking G-d Stuff at home with no great fuss being made...people tended to gather to hear the word read or discussed as Moses wrote it down, and so forth, but it was never commanded, except by man, to attend any church or synagogue...at least, not that I can find in Scripture.
People use the Holy Convocation as a rule to go somewhere, but that was to be done in your tent, so the convocation had to be with family and G-d, or it makes no sense. Traditions happen though, and rules get made for other reasons (like the King needing to write his own Bible...even though there wasn't a king for a very long time) that get grafted onto everybody, not to mention that people have a tendency to group think when they should just obey G-d, and not do what sounds like a good idea by someone who wants to do something different. Doing the same is a lot easier.
In the Talmud it is written that rules as to what was work and what wasn't work was based on what people did in building the Tabernacle in the wilderness, but even so G-d only rested from Creative work, so that is what I do. I prepare food ahead of the day, because it is creative, and then I enjoy the day, focusing on G-d Stuff.
I try to keep people from doing things for me on Saturdays, but it is hard to convince people that I really would prefer they just visited with me and talked G-d, and leave whatever needs fixing for another day. If they are upset by that, and need to work, however, I let them. My friends tend to get more restful than they used to, but since I don't require them to do anything I do, and merely recommend it as a way to please G-d, no one make's a big thing about it. It is not required of Gentiles, but I understand from the Holy Spirit's request that I 'consider' keeping the Sabbath that it is a good thing to do.
I feel no condemnation when I inadvertantly do something I have told myself not to do on Saturdays...I just apologize for not remembering what I decided to do on my Sabbaths, and then move on. No one Sabbath is ever the same, but all are done in an attempt to honor G-d's wishes...not man's. I once took a Sabbath rest from trying to keep the Sabbath so hard that I was doing it 24/7...and spent one Sabbath reading novels, which Orthodox Jews have no problem with.
Alas, the Pharisees of all generations love to tell others what they must do, because they think it a good idea. I keep the Sabbath because Yeshua kept the Sabbath, and because the Holy Spirit asked me to consider it. Imagine, G-d not ordering me to, just asking. So I considered, and began to keep it.
It is hard to separate from the world, and hard to focus on G-d for 24 hours, not doing your own will or pleasure, and I don't do it well. I just keep practicing, knowing that G-d will eventually write it into my being, and I will finally do it perfectly. Mostly, I just rest, and talk to G-d, read about G-d, sing about G-d, and talk about G-d, but it is never every minute of the day, and I rather doubt that it can be until it is written within us. But that is where the legalists will begin, and say that you must.
Gentiles are saved by faith alone, but even Abraham got circumcised, and figured out how to love people well! We Believers in Yeshua have an entire Bible, and do next to nothing as a body of Believers except say how much we love people. No wonder Christians are believed by the world to be hypocrites...we look like it.
However, loving G-d is about pleasing Him, so I try to by keeping the Sabbath, and advise others to do the same, as did Isaiah.
Isaiah 58:13-14 (KJV)
13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Isaiah 58:13-14 (CJB)
13 “If you hold back your foot on Shabbat from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call Shabbat a delight, Adonai’s holy day, worth honoring; then honor it by not doing your usual things or pursuing your interests or speaking about them.
14 If you do, you will find delight in Adonai— I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Ya‘akov, for the mouth of Adonai has spoken.”
