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After my last post a commenter tried to convey the message that Sunday worship has been the rule of the Christian church since the days of the disciples. However, I don't believe this to be the case, and I feel that it is necessary to take us through the history of the Saturday Sabbath.
First, a couple of comments. Anyone can find what they want online. If you want to prove that Sunday worship has been the rule, you can find sources that will say just that. At the same time, if you want to prove Saturday worship is the rule, you can find as many or more sources about that. So, how can we attempt to find the truth? I will try simply to prove that Saturday Sabbath has been observed by Christians throughout church history.. The reader will have to decide upon the evidence and determine whether it is credible or not.
My other concern has to do with my commenter's insistence on claiming that in the Christian church Sunday is not considered the Sabbath. He or she acknowledges that Saturday is the Sabbath, but that Jesus' death and resurrection fulfilled the Sabbath command and Christians no longer have to observe it. This is an issue that I'm not going to deal with at this time. As long as Christians do not worship on Saturdays I believe they treat Sunday just as if it were a Sabbath, whether it's called that or not. For the purposes of this history I will use Sunday worship or Sabbath interchangeably.
The Seventh Day
The first instance of anything pertaining to the Sabbath occurs in Genesis
Genesis 2:2-3 (KJV)
2
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
I bring these particular verses to our attention because of my commenter's reference connecting the observance of a Saturday Sabbath to the giving of the Law in Moses' time. While these verses say absolutely nothing about whether or not Adam and Eve observed a Sabbath, we do see that from the beginning God blessed and sanctified the seventh day.
Genesis 26:5 (KJV)
5
Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
Again in this verse nothing specifically is said about Abraham's observance of a Sabbath. However, it does point to the fact that commandments, statutes, and laws were given to the people before the giving of the so-called Mosaic Law. Even prior to this, Cain and Abel and Noah (not yet considered Jews) obviously had an understanding about sacrifices, since they made offerings to God. Could they have not understood something about the Sabbath?
The first time that the actual observance of a Saturday Sabbath is referenced in Exodus.
Exodus 16:4-5 (KJV)
4
Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
5
And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.
Exodus 16:23 (KJV)
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And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
These verses all come before the giving of the Law. Therefore, prior to the Law of Moses the people were observing a Saturday Sabbath. (Exodus 16 occurs in the second month after the people left Egypt. The Law was not given until the third month.)
The Sabbath That Jesus Observed
Luke 4:16 (KJV)
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And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
This verse in Luke comes at the very beginning of Jesus' ministry. Clearly, He observed the Saturday Sabbath. He had to obey all the Law in order to be sinless and to qualify as a sacrifice for mankind's sin. Why wouldn't His disciples (ourselves included) do what our teacher and master did?
The Sabbath That Jesus' Disciples Observed
For this section I would like to offer a couple of statements against the verses that are commonly used to "prove" a Sunday Sabbath.
Acts 20:7-8 (KJV)
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And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
8
And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together.
The Jewish day begins at sundown. Therefore, the first day of the week in verse 7 does not have to refer to Sunday, but can refer to Saturday evening after sundown. Traditionally, the Jews met for a closing service after the Saturday Sabbath. Since verse 8 describes the use of "lights" it is obviously night and not a Sunday morning. An argument could be made that the verses are describing a Sunday night, but then Sunday evening after sundown for the Jew would have been the second day of the week and not the first. There is absolutely no proof to be had here regarding a Sunday Sabbath.
1 Corinthians 16:1-2 (KJV)
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Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
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Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
This passage has also been used to "prove" a Sunday Sabbath. However, the Jews would never have gathered money on a Sabbath day (Nehemiah 10:31). So, this verse actually proves that Sunday was not considered a Sabbath day. Could they have gathered for worship? Yes, but this doesn't prove that the disciples weren't observing a Saturday Sabbath.
Now let's look at several verses that show that the disciples did observe a Saturday Sabbath as well as kept the Mosaic Law.
Acts 13:42-44 (KJV)
42
And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.
43
Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.
44
And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.
This passage very clearly points out that Paul and those with him spent their Saturdays at the synagogue. The day is specifically called "the Sabbath day". Notice also, that there were Gentiles there as well, in fact "almost the whole city" came together to "hear the word of God."
Acts 15:19-21 (KJV)
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Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
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But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
21
For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
This passage is often used to say that the new Gentile believers did not have to follow the Law. Unfortunately, verse 21 seems to contradict this. There was an expectation that every Saturday these new believers would be in the synagogues hearing the teaching from the books of Moses.
Acts 18:4 (KJV)
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And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.
Again, where did we find Paul? He was teaching every Sabbath in the synagogue.
Acts 16:12-13 (KJV)
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And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony: and we were in that city abiding certain days.
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And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.
On this particular Sabbath Paul couldn't find a synagogue (too few male Jews?) so he went out to the river where he found a group of women conducting a prayer service.
Acts 2:46 (KJV)
46
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
But it wasn't only Paul that continued to observe the Laws of Judaism. This early verse in Acts points to all the disciples gathering together daily in the temple. This means they would have been in the Temple both Saturday and Sunday. However, in order to go into the Temple, the Jewish men and women would have had to be ritually clean. Therefore, they continued to observe the Law.
Acts 21:20 (KJV)
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And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law:
The key idea here is that thousands of Jews became believers and they were all zealous of the Law.
But it wasn't only Jews that observed the Law of Moses either.
1 Corinthians 5:8 (KJV)
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Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Paul was admonishing the mostly Gentile believers to keep the Feast of Passover.
Then before we get into the observance of the Sabbath during the centuries after Jesus and His disciples let's look at a passage in Matthew.
Matthew 24:15-20 (KJV)
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When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
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Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
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Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
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Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
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And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20
But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
Jesus is speaking in this passage. He is describing the future event of the destruction of the Temple, which occurred in 70 A.D. Notice how in verse 20 Jesus tells the disciples that they should pray that they don't have to flee during winter nor on the Sabbath day. This is certainly an acknowledgement that there was going to be a Sabbath day that the people would continue to observe after His death. Could it have switched to Sunday? I don't believe so, but let's find out next time.
Next:
I have a few comments for consideration.
ReplyDelete1. Jesus fulfilled the Law of Moses. This required that He complete all aspects of the Law, including observing the Sabbath. The Sabbath wasn't done away with until the Law was completed by Christ by His perfect life and sacrificial death.
2. The disciples lived in a Jewish culture that met to worship on the Sabbath. They always met on Saturday because they rejected their Messiah. Religious leaders were often invited to speak, and the disciples were quick to take the opportunity to tell anyone who would listen about Jesus. This does not mean that they were observing the Sabbath. They were being a witness for Jesus Christ.
3. The Church has always been for believers. They gather together for fellowship and exhortation, training and equipping, and becoming ready to go forth and witness for Jesus themselves. This is just one reason the Church and the Sabbath are not equal in language.
4. 1 Corinthians 5:8 is saying that Jesus Christ is our Passover. Jews (vs. 1) are being encouraged to put away the old sins of their life before Christ and put on the new spiritual traits of a live in Christ. A physical feast is not being referenced in this passage. It's a spiritual feast of Jesus Christ our Passover.
5. You are right. Acts 20:7-8 does not refer to a Sunday Sabbath. It talks about believers gathering on Sunday. In Jewish culture, the next day begins at 6 PM. The Sabbath day would have begun on our Friday at 6 PM and end on our Saturday at 6 PM. If we are to be faithful to culture and passage context, they were meeting after the Sabbath was over. What does this mean? Not much. Believers met at any time during the week. Many of them were slaves and would meet any time their master wasn't requiring their service.
6. Passage context is very important to proper understanding. There are several other passages that are used to try to prove a point. The context of those passages doesn't support arguments for or against a Sabbath. They simply don't apply.
Thank you for your comment.
ReplyDeleteReaders, now it is your job to decide which argument is more credible.