This is Sabbath

Should Christians worship on Saturday or on Sunday?

Of course, we should be worshipping every day! Nonetheless, the question of the Sabbath (Shabbat) and how it relates to the New Testament has been a controversy for centuries.

The principles behind the Sabbath impact our culture in more ways than you might think. For example, our weekend is set up so that (at least theoretically) Jews could have their Saturday Sabbath and Christians could have Sunday. The crockpot became popular among Jewish families as a means to enjoy hot meals on the Sabbath. Blue laws once greatly restricted business on Sunday in order to safeguard the Christian holy day.

God initiated the Sabbath at creation, when He completed His work and rested (Genesis 2:1-3). When He later gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments, the fourth one was a call to follow His example:

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy…For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.-Exodus 20:8, 11 ESV

All of the Ten Commandments are reaffirmed in the New Testament. The New Covenant did not suddenly make it OK to murder, steal, commit adultery, etc. However, there was some modification to the fourth commandment regarding keeping the Sabbath. In the Old Testament, the seventh-day Sabbath was primarily a sign of God’s covenant with Israel (see 31:13-17; Deuteronomy 5:12-15). As we will see, the New Testament does not make it an explicit requirement for Christians.

However, that does not mean that having a day for undistracted rest and worship is still not important. Contrary to what Elon Musk might say, the human body is simply not designed to work nonstop. We need time to, as radio personality Hallerin Hilton Hill describes it, “Unplug from the things that drain your strength. Plug into the things that restore your strength. Rest, worship, reflection.” To this end, the Sabbath principle lives on in the New Testament in the form of the “Lord’s Day” (Revelation 1:10).

A Messianic Jewish friend once explained it to me in very practical terms. He said to imagine taking a special day of just being held and loved by your wife. Then he said to think of the Sabbath (or Lord’s Day) the same way, only as a day being held and loved by God.

So what day should we observe as the Lord’s Day? Although the point is not in legalistic observance of any particular day (Romans 14:5-6), key biblical passages do indicate that the early church (at least Gentile churches) observed first day of the week, which we know as Sunday (Acts 20:6-12; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2). This commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus, which occurred on the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1-7; Mark 16:1-9; Luke 24:1-8; John 20:1-16).

The conspiracy theories claiming that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday by Emperor Constantine, the Pope or some other culprit are simply not historically accurate. The ten volume Ante-Nicene Fathers collection contains the writing of church fathers leading up to the time of Constantine. Their writings clearly reveal that Christians worshipped on the first day of the week well before Constantine:

“If, then, those who had walked in ancient practices attained unto newness of hope, no longer observing Sabbaths, but fashioning their lives after the Lord’s Day, on which our life also arose through Him and through His death…” Ignatius of Antioch (c. 35–107 AD) ¹
“And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place… because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Savior on the same day rose from the dead.” Justin Martyr (c. 100–165 AD) ²
“The Sabbath taught that we should continue day by day in God’s service. But the mystery of the Lord’s resurrection is greater, which was prefigured by the eighth day, that is, the first day after the Sabbath.” Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130–202 AD) ³
“We solemnize the day after Saturday in contradiction to those who call this day their Sabbath.” Tertullian (c. 155–220 AD) ⁴

The Lord’s Day is not a change in the Sabbath per se. Rather, it is a completely different entity. Pastor Neil Silverberg explains:

The official Sabbath is still Saturday; the apostles never viewed Sunday as a replacement for the Sabbath (while undoubtedly some of the Church Fathers did). While it is clear that the first Jewish believers in Jerusalem kept the Saturday Sabbath, there is no evidence that the Jewish apostles instructed the Gentile churches to observe it. As we can see from the record of the Fathers, the Gentile churches met on Sunday to celebrate the resurrection. ⁵

So how do we put these principles to work in our own lives? Isaiah 58 gives us some helpful guidelines:

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If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. -Isaiah 58:13-14 ESV‬

Again, while strict Sabbath observance is not required in the New Testament, note the amazing benefits that come from it. Verse 14 says “I will cause you to ride on the high places of the earth.” This symbolizes divine blessing, honor, and spiritual elevation. Further, it speaks of the “heritage of Jacob,” symbolizing divine favor, abundance, and spiritual inheritance.

Ultimately, the Sabbath was also a type of Jesus, the coming Messiah and what He would accomplish in His redemptive work (Colossians 2:14-17, Hebrews 4:1-11). In that sense, our relationship with Him is a Sabbath rest that never ends!

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. -Matthew 11:28 ESV
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. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. -Colossians 2:16-17 ESV
So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.-Hebrews 4:9-10 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/heb.4.9-10.ESV

In closing, I again quote from Neil Silverberg:

The phrase “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9) is not a call to keep the literal Sabbath, but to enter into the finished work of the Messiah, “for whoever has entered God’s rest…Here, the Messiah is presented as finishing the work of redemption in the same way God finished his work of creation, after which he invited his creatures to enter his rest (Genesis 2:1-4). In the same way, after the Messiah accomplished eternal redemption, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high from which He now invites His own to enter His completed work and rest forever. ⁶

Keep It Real,

James

NOTES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. Ignatius of Antioch Letter to the Magnesians (Chapter 9).

2. Justin Martyr First Apology (Chapter 67).

3. Irenaeus of Lyons. Against Heresies (Book 4, Chapter 16:1).

4. Tertullian. On Idolatry (Chapter 14).

5. Silverberg, Neil. Shadows and Substance: The Truth About Jewish Roots and Christian Believers. 2021. Trilogy Christian Publishing. Pp 82-83.

6. Ibid. Pp 86-87.

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