Sermons
The Sabbath (pt. 2): Christians and First Day of the Week
Series: The SabbathThe Sabbath and Sunday
I. Introduction
A couple of weeks ago we started with the question, “why are we here today? Why not yesterday?” Why do we meet on Sunday instead of Saturday? Is Sunday the new Sabbath?
The first lesson was on the origins of the Sabbath—who it was given to and why. We found that the first command to keep the Sabbath was given through Moses to the Israelites shortly after they came out of Egypt. They were commanded to rest and not do any work. Breaking the Sabbath was a capital offense. And as to its purpose:
Ex. 31:13 You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you.
The Sabbath was a sign between God and Israel, part of his covenant with them.
So what about us? Well, as we ended the lesson last time, we observed that we are under a different covenant.
Heb. 8:6-9 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. 8 For he finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
The old covenant had all kinds of laws regarding worship and holy days. The Sabbath was not the only holy day. There were several feast days, the day of atonement, plus the new moons. In addition, they had lots of sacrifices and offerings and incense. Plus an earthly tabernacle.
But in the new covenant, things are much different, especially regarding worship. Jesus himself pointed to a change that was coming in his conversation with the woman at the well.
John 4:19-23 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
Thus under our new covenant, we no longer have to travel to Jerusalem several times a year to worship and offer sacrifices. Christian worship can take place anywhere, so long as it is in spirit and truth.
But what about the day of worship? Where do we find that it was changed from Saturday to Sunday? This is the question for today’s lesson. Those who argue that we should still be worshipping on Saturday say that the Sabbath was never taken away. So let’s see what the Bible says.
II. First day of the week
Well first of all, it is significant that there is not a single command in the New Testament to remember the Sabbath.
Instead, what we find are examples of Christians assembling on the first day of the week. Why that day? Apparently it begins with the resurrection of Jesus.
Luke 24:1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. 2 And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
All four of the gospels say that it was on the first day of the week when the tomb was found empty. Over the course of that same day, Jesus appeared to them, first to Mary, then the other disciples.
But the church was not yet established. That would happen 50 days later, on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. Jesus had told them to wait in Jerusalem until they received power from on high. Which happened when the Spirit was poured out up on the 12.
Acts 2:1-4 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Now it doesn’t say that this was the first day of the week, but it appears that it was indeed due to the way Pentecost was dated.
Lev. 23:16 You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the Lord.
So the resurrection happened on a Sunday, then the first gospel sermon was preached on a Sunday. The church was founded on that day.
Then, we know that the Christians continued to meet regularly after that point. At first, they were together almost constantly. But it becomes clear that the first day of the week was the day they assembled to partake of the Lord’s Supper.
Acts 20:7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.
And then in Paul’s letter to Corinth, he writes:
1 Cor. 16:1-2 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.
So it seems clear that they were assembling on that day, which made it a convenient occasion for taking up a collection.
So to put all this together, Jesus rose on the first day, the Spirit was given to the apostles on the first day, the first Gospel sermon was preached and the church was founded on the first day, they came together in Acts 20 to break bread on the first day, and Paul told the Corinthians to take up a collection each first day of the week.
One other passage:
Rev. 1:9-10 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet
So what was the Lord’s day? From everything we have seen, most believe that this is a reference to the first day of the week. Which is why we still refer to it that way.
III. A Christian Sabbath?
But does this mean that Sunday is now the Christian Sabbath? That is what many today teach. Some people refer to Sunday as the Sabbath. Many people feel that Sunday should be treated as a holy day, and even a day of rest. Some would say that Christians should not work on Sunday.
But what does the Bible say? Well, the answer is, the Bible says nothing about resting on the first day of the week. Or Sunday being the new Sabbath. The Christians assembled for worship on that day, but besides that, there is nothing said about treating Sunday as a holy day. The idea that Sunday is the new Sabbath apparently came about later during Catholic and Reformation times.
But what if someone wants to treat Sunday as a holy day? To set it apart as a day of rest or a day of worship and prayer, a day of fasting, or whatever. Would that be ok? Sure. Look at what Paul says about this in Romans 14.
In this chapter, he is discussing matters of personal opinion, things that Christians might not agree on:
Rom. 14:1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.
The first example is one who eats meat and one who eats only vegetables. Either one is fine. The second example:
Rom. 14:5-6 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.
If you want to observe a day in honor of the Lord, you are free to do so. If you want to treat every day the same, that is okay, too. This tells me that we have no required holy days in the New Covenant.
But what about the Sabbath command in the Old Testament? Could a Christian keep the Sabbath? Yes. Imagine a Jew who became a Christian. All his life he has kept the Sabbath as a holy day for God, a day of rest. He can continue to do so. What he can’t do is force everyone else to follow his practice.
This was a big problem for the Jewish Christians when the Gentiles started being converted. The Jews felt like they needed to be circumcised. And they needed to start keeping the Old Law. But look at how Paul addresses this:
Col. 2:8-14 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
You, the uncircumcised Gentiles, were circumcised in your heart when you were baptized. You don’t need to be circumcised in your flesh to be saved. The legal demands of the Law of Moses were nailed to the cross. And what about the holy days:
Col. 2:16-17 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
The old law had lots of laws about food, and festivals and Sabbaths. Don’t let anyone pass judgment on you in regard to those.
Just like Paul said in Romans 14, you can observe a day, but you can’t judge those who do not.
That’s pretty easy to understand, right? So why do people say we should keep the Sabbath? In our last few minutes, let’s look at three basic arguments.
IV. False arguments for the Sabbath
A. Forever
Probably the main argument is that the Sabbath command was said to be forever:
Ex. 31:16 Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever.
In the video that Amanda sent me, the speaker hammered away at this point. Forever! He says this is God’s word on the matter. Forever. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.
But we have to ask what this forever means. You might think, “well obviously, forever means…forever. Never ending.” But it can also mean as long as the covenant was in effect.
For example, notice what is said about circumcision:
Gen. 17:7-11 And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8 And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” 9 And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. 10 This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 11 You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you
The covenant with Abraham is said to be an everlasting covenant. That is the same word used of the Sabbath in Ex. 31:16. This includes the land promise of Israel as well as the sign of the covenant, circumcision. And yet we know that this covenant came to an end and was replaced with the new covenant, as we have seen. In fact, Paul specifically says circumcision is not required today, and don’t let anyone force it on you as a matter of salvation.
So we see that words like “everlasting” and “forever,” in the context of covenants, can mean as long as that covenant is in effect.
B. Jesus and Paul
The speaker also shows that Jesus kept the Sabbath. Well of course he did. He lived and died under the Law of Moses, and kept it perfectly.
But he also says that Paul kept the Sabbath after the church was established.
Acts 13:14 but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.
There are many such references in Paul’s journeys. When he would arrive in a town, he would find the synagogue, and go there on the Sabbath to preach to the Jews. That’s where they assembled. And as we have seen, there was nothing wrong with going to a synagogue on the Sabbath, and especially if you were going there to teach the gospel.
But what we don’t have is a single example of a church of Christians assembling on the Sabbath to worship.
C. Heaven
Finally, the author makes the point that the Sabbath will continue on into Heaven. He uses some OT prophecies, which we will not take the time to look at. But he also finds this point in Col. 2.
Col. 2:16-17 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
These are shadows. That means the reality is yet to come, including the Sabbath. Now that is true. Just as the physical circumcision pointed to an inward circumcision of the heart, and the physical temple pointed toward the spiritual temple, so the Sabbath of the OT pointed toward the true Sabbath. But what is it?
Heb. 4:9-11 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
The Sabbath to come is God’s rest for us. That is how it applies to us today.
V. Conclusion
Hopefully this study has been helpful. If you would like to study it further, I’ll be glad to.
INVITATION
