The Sabbath under the New Covenant

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Wednesday 10/17/18 

Series: Thru the Bible

The Sabbath under the New Covenant

Let me start off with a few quick statements, which I believe will help point out that this should not be treated as a peripheral and nontrivial issue, but is in fact PIVOTAL.

• The Sabbath was MADE for man, but it BELONGS to the Lord.
• The Sabbath day was sanctified and hallowed BY GOD FROM CREATION – its existence has NOTHING whatsoever to do with the fall of man OR the Law. The Law simply INFORMED us of something which has been true since creation – being  binding upon even Adam and Eve in the garden while in a perfect state!
• Man was NOT made for The Sabbath.
• Like everything, man OWNS nothing, so even The Sabbath which was made for us – is a stewardship for which we are answerable to God Who gave it!

So to begin with, let’s start of by defining the word Sabbath.

Contrary to what I believe is often thought, the word Sabbath does NOT mean “seventh day“.  The root word שָׁבַת shavat, means “to cease, desist, rest”. Interestingly, the word Sabbath focuses more on the notion of “ceasing” from something, than on “resting”.  It means “cessation“. The result of sabbath therefore would be to “rest“.

This word was first used in Exodus 16:23 regarding the gathering of the mana which we will address later.

One of the difficulties with a study of THE Sabbath is that nearly all of the Feasts, Festivals and celebrations God established for the Jewish people included days of rest or “cessassions” or a sabbath rest of labor. So every sabbath mentioned in the Bible is not  THE Sabbath day.

As such there are in fact many “sabbaths” but only ONE “THE Sabbath“!

Examples include but are not limited to…

• High Sabbath – A term for seven annual festivals.
• Shabbaton – A term used for FOUR of the High Sabbath festivals which occur in the fall.
• Yom Kippur – A term used for one of these High Sabbath festivals that is also known as “Sabbath of Sabbaths“.

All of this being true, there is only one “THE Sabbath” which is ALWAYS in the singular and is always in reference to the seventh day of Creation. This fact is further made clear in how it is used throughout scripture – both the Old Testament AND the New. We will cover this later.

THE Sabbath is also referred to the “My Holy Day” and “My Sabbath“…etc.

This seventh day, weekly Sabbath is set forth in scripture as an ongoing memorial, if you will, of Creation and the work of the Creator.

The annual sabbaths were symbolic of God’s deliverance of Israel from Egyptian captivity. These annual sabbaths were part of the sanctuary system that typified the future salvation accomplished in the person and work of Jesus the Messiah.

Among the more noteworthy things regarding the seventh-day Sabbath was that it was written by the very finger of God Himself on stone and placed within the moral law.

These laws were placed inside the Ark of the Covenant as a testimony.

This is to be viewed in strong counterdistinction from the other sabbaths recorded by Moses and placed on the external side of the Ark of the Covenant. (See – 2 Chronicles 33:8).

So with this introduction, let me introduce what we are going to cover in our study on The Sabbath, and then we will dive right in.

1. What does the Bible say about The Sabbath Day?
2. What does it mean by, “don’t work”?
3. What does “rest” mean?
4. What should we do on The Sabbath?
5. Have we been set free from this command under the New Covenant?
6. Is The Sabbath day rest, simply a “type” or “shadow” fulfilled in Christ?
7. Is the church supposed to meet on The Sabbath?
8. Did the early church replace The Sabbath with the 1st day of the week?

Question #1: What does the Bible say about The Sabbath Day?

Genesis 2:1-3, “So the heavens and the earth and everything in them were completed. (2) By the seventh day, God completed His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done. (3) God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it He rested from His work of creation.”

Exodus 20:8-11, “Remember The Sabbath day, to keep it holy. (9) Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (10) but the seventh day is The Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. (11) FOR in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. THEREFORE the LORD blessed The Sabbath day and hallowed it.”

Exodus 31:12-18, (notice the word sabbaths at first then The Sabbath later)

“(12) The LORD said to Moses,  (13) 

“Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep My sabbaths, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.”  

(14)  So you must keep The Sabbath, for it is holy for you. Everyone who defiles it must surely be put to death; indeed, if anyone does any work on it, then that person will be cut off from among his people.  (15)  Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day is A Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; anyone who does work on The Sabbath day must surely be put to death.  

(16)  The Israelites must keep The Sabbath by observing The Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.  (17)  It is a sign between me and the Israelites FOREVER; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”  

(18)  He gave Moses two tablets of testimony when He had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, tablets of stone written by the finger of God.”

Other passages about the 7th day Sabbath say the same.

Question #2: What does it mean by, “don’t work”?

Labor or work:

Exodus 31:15 “Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is The Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on The Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.”

Any person who does any “WORK” in The Sabbath day. The word “work” is a feminine singular noun meaning work, occupation, business, something made, property, workmanship.

Six days you have to do “WORK” – on the 7th you are to rest. The word “work” here is a verb meaning to work or serve. In reference to things it means to till the ground, work a garden, dress a vineyard, any artisan work.

Exodus  23:12,  “Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest, that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female servant and the stranger may be refreshed.”

For man to rest = to rest – do no labor

For the land to rest – do not plow or plant in.

In Exodus 16 God gave Israel mana and in connection with this He gave instructions regarding the Sabbath day rest which might help us.

The rules were simple –

• On the 1st-5th day only gather enough for ONE day.
• On the 6th day gather enough for TWO days and prepare for both days.
• On the seventh day NO ONE was to go and gather. 

Exodus 16:22-29, “(22) And so it was, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.

(23) Then he said to them,

“This is what the LORD has said: ‘Tomorrow is A Sabbath rest, A holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning.’ ”

(24) So they laid it up till morning, as Moses commanded; and it did not stink, nor were there any worms in it.

(25) Then Moses said,

“Eat that today, for today is A Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. (26) Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, The Sabbath, there will be none.”

(27) Now it happened that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none. (28) And the LORD said to Moses,

“How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws? (29) See! For the LORD has given you The Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.”

This was not saying to not BAKE or BOIL on The Sabbath, but do not GATHER on The Sabbath.

So we see that there is a difference between the lesson of the manna and the purpose of The Sabbath.

Now some might remember that at one time God commanded Israel not to kindle a fire on The Sabbath so as to do work in it – Exodus 35:3, but if this is read with scrutiny and in context it was during the time of making preparations for the Tabernacle.

This command SEEMS to be a temporary statue intended NOT for cooking but for forging metals or doing any WORK of the tabernacle. In MOST places rules concerning The Sabbath are said to be “throughout your generations” but that was NOT mentioned in Exodus 35:3.

So taking these two things together paints a picture of a temporary statued to impede the enthusiasm of the Jewish people from doing work – even the work for the tabernacle on The Sabbath – but to KEEP it, what God declared it to be from creation – holy!

The last prohibition regarding labor on The Sabbath which might not be seen as obvious is the requirement to cease from engaging in financial transactions and carrying burdens. I will address this in greater detail later.

Question #3: What does it mean by “rest“?

Rest meant rest. To not labor.

Now before you get weird on me, let me clarify that according to Jesus Himself such things as picking some grain to eat or feeding your animals, or pulling an animal out of a ditch or helping your neighbor (or any kind of good) is not breaking The Sabbath.

Mark 2:23-28, NKJV

“(23) Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on The Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. (24) And the Pharisees said to Him,

“Look, why do they do what is not lawful on The Sabbath?”

(25) But He said to them,

“Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: (26) how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?”

(27) And He said to them,

“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for The Sabbath. (28) Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of The Sabbath.”

Matt. 12:1-14, “(1) At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on The Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. (2) And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him,

“Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!”

(3) But He said to them,

“Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: (4) how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? (5) Or have you not read in the law that on The Sabbath the priests in the temple profane The Sabbath, and are blameless? (6) Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. (7) But if you had known what this means, ‘I DESIRE MERCY AND NOT SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. (8) For the Son of Man is Lord even of The Sabbath.”

(9) Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. (10) And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand.

And they asked Him, saying,

“Is it lawful to heal on The Sabbath?”–that they might accuse Him.

(11) Then He said to them,

“What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on The Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? (12) Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on The Sabbath.“

(13) Then He said to the man,

“Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. (14) Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.”

Luke 13:10-17, “(10) Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on The Sabbath. (11) And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. (12) But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her,

“Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.”

(13) And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. (14) But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on The Sabbath; and he said to the crowd,

“There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on The Sabbath day.”

(15) The Lord then answered him and said,

“Hypocrite! Does not each one of you on The Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? (16) So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom satan has bound–think of it–for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on The Sabbath?”

(17) And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.”

Luke 14:1-6, “(1) Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on The Sabbath, that they watched Him closely. (2) And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. (3) And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying,

“Is it lawful to heal on The Sabbath?”

(4) But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. (5) Then He answered them, saying,

“Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on The Sabbath day?”

(6) And they could not answer Him regarding these things.”

A question within this question might be – did Jesus encourage breaking The Sabbath by not resting? No

Being “Lord of The Sabbath“, didn’t mean He could unilaterally remove or change the command.

Jesus WAS the person of the Godhead Who rested on the seventh day, blessed it and declared it as holy. Nothing about Him becoming man would have changed His nature or decree. God does disagree with Himself!

Question #4: What should we do on The Sabbath?

Well rest is an obvious answer, but I think a more complete answer would be to do what God did. We see in Genesis that He rested from His labor and said it was VERY good. This implies taking pleasure in all He accomplished.

So in like manner, I think enjoying God’s creation. Seeing Him in all He made and worshipping Him in that light would be very appropriate. Also, it would seem equally appropriate to sit back and admire with satisfaction all we accomplished throughout the week even as God did regarding His work.

Question #5: Have we been set free from this command under the New Covenant?

In answering this question we need to go back to Genesis and consider original intent!

In Genesis we learn that God made our week – 7 days long. Have you ever considered why? You know it didn’t HAVE to be that way!

God could have made the day after Creation the 1st day of the next week, effectively and forever giving us a 6 day week. The fact that He didn’t do this but made it 7 days communicates much!

So we need to ask ourselves, “Does humanity still recognize a week to be 7 days long?” Overwhelmingly yes! This was true for everyone prior to the flood and just afterwards. Later it BECAME true again by nations adopting this model.

So God established something regarding the life of mankind which would forever be true under this Creation.

The scripture tells us that unlike all the other days God ceased from all His labor on the 7th day and He, by His Own sovereignty and power MADE that day holy. Which we learned earlier means “unique, different and uncommon“.

When Israel came along, it was regarding this very day which He called Sabbath or “ceasing” that God gave His VERY first command to Israel.

What is also significant is that this was BEFORE He gave them the 10 commandments.

Of course later He gave them the 10 commandments, the 4th of which was to “REMEMBER the day of ‘ceasing’” and regard it as Holy BECAUSE God labored in the work of Creation for 6 days and on the seventh day He ceased from all His labor. So He rested on the 7th day and declared it as Holy, therefore YOU remember that and KEEP it holy.

So like all the other commands, this command was NOT because of man’s fall, nor was it due to the sinfulness of man, nor was it originally created as a lesson to teach fallen man – its entire purpose was found in the character and actions of God Himself.

Just like telling the truth and not stealing and honoring others, this 4th commandment was about WHO God is, not what man has done wrong.

THAT is an important point!

How does that answer the question about its relevance under the New Covenant?

Well, Jesus‘ death, burial and resurrection dealt with the fall and its consequences. The holiness of the seventh day rest predates all of that! So it seems like common sense that nothing about the life and work of Jesus Christ changed the purpose and the holiness of the 7th day!

Not to mention that any Old Testament requirement which was recended under the New is clearly stated as such by an apostle of the Lamb. No such retraction has ever been made about ANY of the 10 commandments!

Question #6: Don’t Hebrews and Colossians say The Sabbath day rest, was simply a “type” or “shadow” fulfilled in Christ?

Good question, but no!

Let’s read both of them and see what they do say.

Colossians 2:16-19 NKJV

“(16) So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, (17) which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. (18) Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, (19) and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.”

Notice that the word “sabbaths” is plural. This list consists of the ceremonial and ritual aspects of the Law, not the commandments. Notice that not a single commandment is mentioned. 

As for the passage in Hebrews, that is less clear, in fact it muddies the water just a little, but it would be a rather large stretch to read this in context and then claim it is saying that the seventh day rest was fulfilled in Jesus and that therefore we need not observe it.

Nothing in the passage even comes close to such a statement.

Now to do this justice, one would have to read ALL of chapters 3 & 4. I am NOT going to do that here, since this article is long enough. I will, however, give the verse in question in its context. This can be found in Hebrews 4:1-11.

You need to know that chapter 3 was talking about how the 1st generation of Israelites did not enter the promised land which is metaphorically referred to as “the rest“, due to their disobedience and unbelief.

Hebrews 4:1-11,

“(1) Therefore, while the promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear so that none of you should miss it. (2) For we also have received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard did not benefit them, since they were not united with those who heard it in faith (3) (for we who have believed enter the rest), in keeping with what He has said:

“So I swore in My anger, they will not enter My rest.” And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world, (4) for somewhere He has spoken about the seventh day in this way:

“And on the seventh day God rested from all His works.”

(5) Again, in that passage He says,

“They will never enter My rest.”

(6) Since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news did not enter because of disobedience, (7) again, He specifies a certain day–today–speaking through David after such a long time, as previously stated:

“Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”

(8) For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken later about another day.

(9) A sabbath rest remains, therefore, for God’s people.

(10) For the person who has entered His rest has rested from his own works, just as God did from His.

(11) Let us then make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall into the same pattern of disobedience.”

I think it’s clear that the reference here to the 7th day was only to supply another example of ceasing from works within a context of not working for salvation.

So no, this is NOT about the 7th day Sabbath from creation being a ‘type‘ or ‘shadow‘ fulfilled in Christ, but about ceasing from our own works for righteousness through the law.

We must enter into our ‘Promised Land’ of rest which is Eternal Life in Christ, by faith and not by works of the Law.

Question #7: Is the church supposed to meet on The Sabbath?

Ah, now THAT is an insightful question!

Now I am deliberately limiting our search to New Testament examples AFTER the establishment of the church since even though Jesus did teach the New Covenant and the Kingdom of God, He practiced and lived under the restraints of the Old Covenant so for that reason ONLY, in this case, any examples of what Jesus did would be inadmissible as evidence towards theological proofs regarding Sabbath. Furthermore, the church – meaning the assembly of believers, did not even exist until following the work of Christ.

I WILL however, allow myself an example pointing to our Lord Jesus later where His life testimony IS most certainly relevant even here.

Now, there are a total of 8 references which cover exactly 6 separate incidents in the life and ministry of Paul which tells us of his treating The Sabbath differently than other days.

We will only cover a few of them here.

It is important to note that two of the passages will not appear to be relevant since the word “Sabbath” is not used.

In those two cases the one word “sabbath” in the Greek is translated as “day of the week”. It is a strange business which leads to a separate yet related topic so we will not use those passages, but much later in this series we will circle back to them.

Not surprisingly the lion’s share of these references are found in the historical writings of Luke which, in addition to other things, cover much of the ministry of Paul and therefore examples of how he lived his life.

• Acts 13:14-15, “(14) Moving on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.  (15)  After the reading from the law and the prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent them a message, saying, “Brothers, if you have any message of exhortation for the people, speak it.”

• Acts 13:27, “For the residents of Jerusalem and their rulers, since they did not recognize Him or the voices of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled their words by condemning Him.” 

• Acts 13:42-44, “(42) As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people were urging them to speak about these things on the next Sabbath.  (43)  When the meeting of the synagogue had broken up, many of the Jews and God-fearing proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking with them and were persuading them to continue in the grace of God.  (44)  On the next Sabbath almost the whole city assembled together to hear the word of the Lord.”

• Acts 16:13, “On The Sabbath day we went outside the city gate to the side of the river, where we thought there would be a place of prayer, and we sat down and began to speak to the women who had assembled there.”

• Acts 17:1-3,  “(1) After they traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.  (2)  Paul went to the Jews in the synagogue, as he customarily did, and on three Sabbath days he addressed them from the scriptures,  (3)  explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and to rise from the dead, saying, “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.”

• Acts 18:1-4, “(1) After this Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth.  (2)  There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to depart from Rome. Paul approached them,  (3)  and because he worked at the same trade, he stayed with them and worked with them (for they were tentmakers by trade).  (4)  He addressed both Jews and Greeks in the synagogue every Sabbath, attempting to persuade them.”

So we see that Paul had a tradition or custom of attending synagogue every Sabbath and either hearing, or more likely teaching, the Word of God.

Additionally, so far as we know, Paul did not do tent making on The Sabbath, but only preached and taught.

Now this is an argument from silence because the New Testament does not say Paul never worked at tentmaking on The Sabbath, only that it was his custom to attend and teach at synagogues on The Sabbath, with no reference to working on that day.

Now, this is where I will sneak in one of many examples of our Lord Jesus Who also had the same custom.

Luke 4:16,

“Now Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on The Sabbath day, as was His custom. He stood up to read,”

This is a great place to dispel a myth and point out something regarding Sabbath.

Ironically, though both Jesus and Paul shared the same tradition of hearing and teaching the Word of God in synagogue on The Sabbath – that is NOT part of what the Law required regarding Sabbath.

It BECAME a tradition over time, which is why it is called a “tradition” or “custom” but what it is NOT is a law.

One example of this is sighted in Acts…

Acts 15:21,

“For Moses has had those who proclaim him in every town from ancient times, because he is read aloud in the synagogues every Sabbath.”

Notice NONE of these examples say “since the law was given” or “according to the Law” they say it was a tradition and they say it began in ancient times.

So while it is not breaking the law of The Sabbath to attend synagogue to read, hear, teach & study the Word of God, it was also NOT part of the command.

These Sabbath day meetings of the early Gentile/Jewish churches included, but were not necessarily limited to:

• readings from the Torah and the prophets (the New Testament was NOT canonized yet)
• the reading of the letters from the Apostles
• reciting liturgies
• formal prayers and blessings
• the moving of the Spirit in gifts
• the taking of communion and
• the enjoyment of fellowship in a common meal.

It definitely does not sound like a modern day “45 minutes and we’re done” routine. It took some time!

Now this cannot be used as proof that their gatherings took the whole day, but all of this is certainly painting a picture which would make a common work day impossible.

Regarding the prayers, Acts 2:42 says,

“They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” 

The word “prayer” here is literally “the prayers”.

This language suggests a commitment to some type of set prayers in a more liturgical context. One of the prayers was undoubtedly the Lord’s.

So again, what does that mean for us in terms of practice?

Well, that is why I spent SOME TIME showing you that while the early church certainly chose The Sabbath for a day of assembling, such is NOT part of the command of The Sabbath.

So though these practices are good and should be done and even CAN be done on The Sabbath they are NOT REQUIRED to be done on The Sabbath.

Additionally, the entire idea of meeting (whether in a building or house) to hear God’s word taught was MAN’s idea – not God’s.

God DID upon occasion require all of Israel to attend public readings of the Law, but it was NOT a command for every Sabbath, nor was the location designated as the synagogue.

Synagogue itself was man’s idea.

According to a simple search I conducted, the oldest dated evidence of synagogue is around the 3rd century B.C..

Now I assumed that it may have developed during captivity or shortly thereafter – either that of the Babylonian captivity of which we are very familiar from our recent studies on Wednesday, ‘Thru the Bible’, OR during the time and rule of Egypt over that part of the world beginning with Alexander the Great in 336B.C..

As it turns out I am not alone in my assumptions. Evidently some scholars think that the destruction of Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem precipitated the institution of the first synagogues. Others think it may have happened during the rule of Egypt in the 3rd century B.C. when the Greek Septuagint translation of the Old Testament scriptures was made.

In either case, Synagogue was a late development and had no bearing on the seventh day rest or the correlating Law of The Sabbath.

SO keeping Sabbath does NOT require synagogue or church attendance.

Assembling as believers around the Word of God, under the leadership and teaching of elders, enjoys a rich and biblically based history in the New Testament to be sure and it is a command under the New Covenant to not neglect or forsake it. However, it has NO bearing on The Sabbath.

The fact that The Sabbath was a favorite day on which to assemble was a free-will choice of man which God has honored. We know God honored it in that Jesus and Paul agreed to it and participated in it regularly.

Question #8: Did the early church replace The Sabbath with the 1st day of the week?

It has been argued that the early church shifted the Sabbath day from what we call Saturday to Sunday.

The most commonly used scriptural references for changing the Sabbath are:

• Jesus’ resurrection: The Gospels record Jesus’ resurrection on the first day of the week, which gave the day significance for His followers.
• The day of Pentecost: In Acts 2, the Holy Spirit was given to the apostles on the Day of Pentecost, which fell on a Sunday.

Strictly speaking though, these are actually further proof that The Sabbath rest was still binding, in that not even God Himself did work on The Sabbath but orchestrated these events to fall on the first day of the week and not The Sabbath.

• Acts 20:7: This verse states, “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them…“. Some scholars see this as an early example of a Sunday worship service. Others say that “breaking bread” can refer to a regular meal and that the service was a special farewell, not a regular meeting. Of course we know that it doesn’t matter what day believers worshiped on, since worship was not part of the Law of keeping The Sabbath. Furthermore, the scriptures show that the early church often met throughout the week and not just on The Sabbath.
• 1 Corinthians 16:2: Paul instructs the church in Corinth, “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 collections when I come“. Some interpret this as an instruction for a weekly collection during a Sunday service which again is assumed to mean that such Sunday service was replacing The Sabbath day worship. Other scholars simply believe this statement was an encouragement for individuals to set aside money at home.
• Revelation 1:10: The Apostle John states, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day“. Many scholars BELIEVE this is a reference to Sunday, though it doesn’t specify if John is referring to the day of the week itself. Nevertheless, this unfounded assumption is added to reasons why many believe Sunday has replaced Saturday as The Sabbath under the New Covenant.

We need to understand that the power to rescind ANY observance of the Law was given to the 12 disciples who became apostles of the Lamb. This would include Matthias who replaced Judas. Any alteration of the Law would be clearly stated with apostolic authority as has been done regarding the feasts and festivals, the Old Covenant sacrifices, the priesthood, the dietary laws and the laws regarding ritualistic cleansings of things clean or unclean. 

None of these passages, nor anywhere else in the New Testament, say or even imply that the 7th day God declared as Holy from the creation week was now to be observed on the 1st day of the week.

Now we know that the early church often met throughout the week, not just on the Sabbath. So the fact that they met on a Sunday is no doctrinal anomaly which needs to be explained away.

If anything, it actually implies that The Sabbath was still observed on Saturday since the collection Paul mentioned was NOT taken on The Sabbath, but was to wait to be taken on “the first day of the week” – Sunday.

You see, in the Old Testament, special collections were not taken on The Sabbath because it was a day of rest and commerce was forbidden. 

As I mentioned earlier under Question #2, The Sabbath, or Shabbat, was meant to be kept holy by ceasing all forms of work, including financial transactions and carrying burdens. 

The laws regarding the Sabbath are detailed in several books of the Old Testament:

• The Manna Collection (Exodus 16): The Israelites were instructed to gather a double portion of manna on the sixth day to provide for The Sabbath. THEY WERE EXPLICITLY TOLD NOT TO GATHER ANY ON THE SEVENTH DAY. This established the principle that preparations for The Sabbath should be made in advance.
• The Commandment to Rest (Exodus 20): The Fourth Commandment states, “Remember The Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is A Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work…“. This prohibition applied to all in the household, including servants and livestock.
• Nehemiah’s Enforcement (Nehemiah 13): Nehemiah enforced The Sabbath laws by closing Jerusalem’s gates to merchants who were trying to sell goods on The Sabbath. He explicitly forbade BUYING and SELLING on THE HOLY DAY. This was because Jewish law explicitly forbids carrying or handling money on The Sabbath. This prohibition was seen as an extension of the general command to rest from all work, including business transactions. It demonstrates that commercial activities, INCLUDING COLLECTING MONEY, were considered a violation of The Sabbath.
• The Tabernacle Collection (Exodus 35): While the collection of gifts for the Tabernacle is described in Exodus 35, the chapter begins with a clear prohibition on work and lighting fires on The Sabbath. The timing of the collection is not specified as being on The Sabbath itself, but the overall context of the commandment shows it would not have happened then. 

Also under the Old Testament Law, tithes WERE NOT TAKEN ON THE SABBATH, as this was considered a form of labor and commerce. The collection of money and other items was prohibited on the Sabbath, a day specifically ordained for rest and holiness. Instead of taking collections on the Sabbath, charitable offerings were deposited in collection boxes on a weekday. 

Old Testament tithes were traditionally given in the form of agricultural products and livestock, not money. These items were typically delivered to the temple storehouse during the week, not as part of a Sabbath service.

Later when synagogues were created, they had charity boxes available during the week for offerings and contributions but not on the Sabbath.

Based on biblical and rabbinic tradition, the daily and weekly communal sacrifices, offerings, and vows were to be completed on The Sabbath by the PRIESTS ONLY, as this temple service took precedence over the general prohibitions against labor. However, certain personal or voluntary offerings and vows were delayed out of respect for The Sabbath’s prohibition of personal labor. 

According to the Torah, even the daily burnt offerings (the tamid) were performed on The Sabbath, along with a special set of additional offerings. 

• Daily burnt offerings: Every day, including The Sabbath, the priests offered a lamb in the morning and a lamb at twilight (Numbers 28:3–8).
• Weekly Sabbath offerings: The Sabbath required an additional burnt offering of two year-old, unblemished male lambs, along with specific grain and drink offerings. These were offered in addition to the regular daily sacrifices (Numbers 28:9–10).
• Temple duties over Sabbath rest: The Bible records that Jesus noted that the priests “profane the Sabbath and are innocent” when working in the temple (Matthew 12:5). This reflects the Jewish legal understanding that the requirements of the temple service, which served the entire community, were not considered prohibited labor. 

All other sacrifices and offerings were delayed.

Individual or voluntary acts of sacrifice and offering, unlike the communal temple rituals, were seen as personal labor and had to be postponed until after The Sabbath. 

• Freewill offerings: A freewill offering (nedavah), which was an optional gift, would not be presented on The Sabbath.
• Vows (neder): An offering to fulfill a vow, which was a personal promise made to God, was not permitted to be offered on The Sabbath.
• Other personal activities: Activities required for personal offerings, such as slaughtering an animal outside of the temple for one’s own consumption, were considered prohibited labor on The Sabbath.

Bringing all of this into a New Covenant / New Testament context – the apostle Paul instructed the Corinthians and Galatians to set aside money on “the first day of the week“ (Sunday) for a collection for the saints in Jerusalem. This was done so that there would be no need for collecting when he arrived, but is furthermore a proof from silence that no collection was to be taken on the Sabbath!

There are no empirical statements in scripture where God told the apostles to change the Sabbath to Sunday. 

The New Testament does not contain an explicit command to transfer the day of worship from the seventh day (Saturday) to the first day (Sunday). The historical shift to Sunday worship was a gradual development that occurred after the time of the apostles and was influenced by other factors. 

The historical shift to Sunday worship as a fulfilling of The Sabbath day were largely influenced by secular influences.

• To distinguishing from Judaism: After the Jewish-Roman wars of the 1st and 2nd centuries, there was increasing hostility between the Roman Empire and the Jewish people. Many Christians, particularly in Rome and Alexandria, began to distance themselves from Jewish practices, including Sabbath observance, in order to AVOID PERSECUTION.
• Pagan influence: The early church also adopted the pre-existing Roman reverence for Sunday, which was dedicated to the worship of the sun. The first Sunday rest law was issued by Emperor Constantine in 321 A.D., though Christians were already meeting on that day.
• Catholic Church authority: The Catholic Church later officially established the transfer from Sabbath to Sunday observance. The Council of Laodicea in the 4th century explicitly condemned “Judaizing” by resting on the Sabbath and urged reverence for the Lord’s Day (Sunday). 

Final issue…

Now there remains but one issue and it ALWAYS comes up. It always takes the form of a statement addressed to me as if I were the one who wrote the Bible. It usually goes something like this…

Pastor Mark, you don’t understand. My job will not allow for that or my family will never understand that or blah blah blah blah.

Let me just say that I don’t mean to be hurtful in this but that really is NOT my problem anymore than it is my problem if your employer asks you to lie. YOUR requirement before God remains the same.

I didn’t write the Bible, it is only my job to teach you what it says and what it means.

We were told by Jesus and the writers of the New Testament that living out our faith would be impossible to do without persecution and oppositions and that the members of one’s own family would be among the greatest sources of such opposition. So to offer these as reasons why you cannot, don’t really fly.

So the real question is… do I avoid persecution and break God’s Law or do I obey God’s Law and by doing so incur some persecution? Well, you tell me!

Now I am not saying this from behind the safety of a pastor’s pulpit as if I’ve never had to face the same. There were MANY times before I was led to full time ministry and being my own employer, that I worked for secular employers.

I had resolved before I ever even applied for my first job as a teenager to honor God on what I believed was the Sabbath which at the time was Sunday.

So I NEVER had to go to my boss AFTER I was employed to have this discussion. On PURPOSE, I made it a condition of my employment to begin with!

As such, if you are already employed, your situation may be a little more difficult.

In every case, my prospective employers ALL understood that I will not work on the Sabbath. It was not happening ever!

I went so far as to actually say to two separate employers that they could schedule me, but that it would be unwise since when that day came, they would be one person short because I would not be there and I had told them so from the beginning.

One of these encounters occurred when the company I worked for was bought out by Sherwin–Williams. I asked my initial employer if they would see to it that the conditions of our employment would have to be honored by Sherwin-Williams as a condition of sale.

He said they already had done so.

Nevertheless, as soon as Sherwin–Willians took over, I was invited into the office. One guess as to why!

The lady told me that she had reviewed my work and saw I was always off early on Wednesdays (because I was the youth pastor and had to be off early enough to pick up kids for church) and that I never worked on Sundays.

I told her yes, that such was the conditions of my employment.

She told me that would no longer be acceptable.

I told her about my discussion with the former company owner and that he assured me he had ensured that Sherwin-Williams would be obligated to honor every person’s terms of employment.

She claimed that did not happen.

I explained to her that I knew in fact that it did but that regardless, she could schedule me, but my freedom to worship will NOT allow me to not be there.

I made certain that I conveyed that if this caused a problem for them, I would work all the later the day before and all the earlier or longer the day after, but NOTHING would cause me to be there on the Sabbath EVER. It simply was not even up for discussion or consideration.

Now you need to know that I did and said ALL OF THIS with the utmost respect, but also the utmost firmness. It was clear that I was serious and not budging!

More than once I had to remind them that the Equal Opportunity Employment Act protected my right to worship according to my beliefs and could not be used as a condition upon which to not hire me or to fire me in the future.

That ALWAYS ended all opposition!

However, I backed up my claims by being ALL THE MORE diligent.

I was the first to offer to fill in for someone, I was the first to offer to pull a double shift or to cover for them in a pinch. I made myself valuable by honoring them and my commitment!

Let me be clear, I was just a teenager and I had the common sense to be forthright and honest. I also knew that this would place me in a position where they would likely look for reasons they could let me go WITHOUT breaking the Equal Opportunity Employment Act. So I made myself valuable, indispensable, agreeable, helpful, respectful and very VERY hard to fire.

I only had two jobs that attempted to press me on this after I was employed. I respectfully reminded them of the conditions of my employment and the tenants of the Equal Opportunity Employment Act and that ended it both times.

I assured them that if there was any way I could shoulder a burden on the schedule which would make their job easier I would do it. Double shifts, covering for someone else… whatever, but that my hands were tied in regard to this issue.

You know what I got from that – respect!

Sure, there were some disgruntled employees who thought I was getting preferential treatment and so I was mildly persecuted for it, but you know, that comes with being a Christian and a living witness, so man up!

If confronted about it I told them that my hands were tied regarding this, due to my biblical beliefs and practice but that if I could cover for them any other time they were in a pinch or just needed the time off I’d do so without hesitation.

Again, this usually caused me to be liked rather than resented.

One time, a store I worked at had a fire on a Saturday night and they needed help on Sunday. I unwisely told them that even if the store burned to the ground I would not be there on Sunday, but I would be there at 12:01am on Monday to help them clean up the mess.

Now I say it was unwise only because Jesus taught us that it is ALWAYS lawful to do GOOD on the Sabbath. What I should have told them was as soon as services were over I’d volunteer my help, but I cannot receive payment for work on the Sabbath.

I did say this on other occasions but their hands were tied in that they could not have me work on the premises without being on the clock, which helped them understand what it was like to have your hands tied.

So the conclusion is this…

Honor the 7th day of the week by not doing any common work on that day.

Keep it holy before God and reflect with enjoyment and respect the results of God’s labor in Creation and your labors in that week.

You are free to go to the beach or on a walk or enjoy the company of friends, though I would seek to keep those friends restricted to those who share the same biblical beliefs and dedications as you do. Though it would also be my advice, in accordance with God’s word to avoid laborious cooking on that day but otherwise, enjoy yourself and worship God in simplicity of heart, honoring Him in remembering and keeping that day holy – out of respect to the fact that He in His sovereignty declared it to be so!

We are to approach it with a delighted heart. You will find in Isaiah 58:13,14 a good guide.

“(13) You must observe The Sabbath rather than doing anything you please on my holy day. You must look forward to The Sabbath and treat the LORD’s holy day with respect. You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities, and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals.  (14)  Then you will find joy in your relationship to the LORD, and I will give you great prosperity, and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.” Know for certain that the LORD has spoken.” – Isaiah 58:13-14

Remember that we are free to do acts of service or kindness on a Sabbath, remembering that Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath and that it was given to man, not man to the Sabbath.

If need be, talk to your employer and explain your situation and serve them all the other days even as you would Christ Himself.  As a child of God, you should be the one person they never want to fire because in all other cases except this one, you prove yourself to be their best employee!

I understand that some people have very high end careers and that this could cost them much. I think I have been clear in regard to what the scriptures say about this. Now, yours will be an inward struggle of conscience before God, but not before people.

Now if you have any questions or thoughts about this, I welcome them!

I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. …Blessings! 

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Blessings!