Question Card Night
Notes
Transcript
Turn to Genesis 2:2.
Tonight we are going to answer a question card:
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Question: Why did the Sabbath change from Saturday to Sunday? When did it happen?
Last year we had a similar question that I’d like to read to you for the sake of context.
Question: What is the difference between the Sabbath/Saturday and Sunday?
We learned that the Sabbath was a day of rest and worship that the Jews practiced out of obedience to God. The Ten Commandments include a command to rest on the seventh day but the practice goes as far back as Creation where God rested on the seventh day of Creation - Genesis 2:2.
Read Genesis 2:2.
So the first part of tonight’s question is why did the Sabbath change from Saturday to Sunday?
To answer that, let’s define our terms:
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Sabbath: a day of rest
Sunday: a day of Christian worship and service
These definitions indicate that the Sabbath and Sunday are two distinctly different days. I cannot find anywhere in Scripture that Sunday is equated with the Sabbath day. The Sabbath was a day significant to Jews, whereas Sunday became a day significant to Christians. The Sabbath did not change from Saturday to Sunday - they are just two different things.
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Lord’s Day)
Although some Jewish Christians probably... observed the Sabbath, the early Christians saw Sunday as a day of joy and celebration, not a substitute for the Sabbath.
Remember, the early church was exclusively Jewish.
Peter and John went up to the Temple at the hour of prayer - Acts 3:1.
The church at Jerusalem would gather corporately at the Temple - Acts 5:12.
They practiced the Mosaic law and they rested on the Sabbath day, but as we’ve seen in the book of Acts, these early followers of Christ slowly went through a difficult process of breaking away from the Mosaic law and from some of their Jewish practices.
That leads us to the second part of tonight’s question:
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Question: Why did the Sabbath change from Saturday to Sunday? When did it happen?
Or I could say it this way, when did the early followers of Christ begin gathering on Sundays?
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary Lord’s Day
The earliest account of a first-day worship experience is found in Acts 20:7–12.
Read Acts 20:7.
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary Lord’s Day
Here Paul joined the Christians of Troas on the evening of the first day of the week for the breaking of bread (probably a reference to the Lord’s Supper). The actual day is somewhat uncertain. Evening of the first day could refer to Saturday evening (by Jewish reckoning) or to Sunday evening (by Roman reckoning). Since the incident involved Gentiles on Gentile soil, however, the probable reference is to Sunday night.
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Lord’s Day)
[Christian writings from the first and second century] indicate that Sunday quickly became the standard day for Christian worship, but they do not explain how or why this change from Sabbath to Lord’s Day came about.
There are several good reasons why this change would have taken place:
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Historical reason: because Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week
Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
The disciples saw the risen Christ for the first time on that resurrection Sunday. From then on, the resurrection was something they celebrated and remembered.
Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.
And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.
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Practical reason: So Christians could differentiate themselves from the Jews
Sunday became the day for Christians to remember and celebrate the resurrection of the Lord by partaking of the Lord’s Supper. It became a day to worship the Lord, to pray, to study the Scriptures, and to serve together.
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.
Sunday worship became a distinctly Christian practice. It was not a significant day to the many Jews who rejected Jesus as their Messiah, but it became a very special day to those that believed on Jesus.
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Why might we think that the Sabbath changed from Saturday to Sunday?
One reason might be because of history.
In the year 321 A.D., the Roman emperor, Constantine, decreed, "On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed"
Constantine made Sunday the official day of rest for the Roman Empire.
According to one source that I read, more than 1000 years later, English Puritans began to use the term “Sabbath” to refer to Sunday. This began sometime after AD 1500.
Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary Lord’s Day
The use of the term “sabbath” to refer to Sunday did not become common until the English Puritans began to do so after A.D. 1500.
This is probably one reason why these terms are still confused today even though the Sabbath and Sunday are two different days.
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Question: Does the Bible command Christians to worship on Sunday?
What should Christians do in other cultures that treat Sunday as just another business day of the week? Worship whenever works best for their church family.
One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
Paul continually challenged the Christians that they were not under the burden of the Law anymore. Christ had perfectly lived the law and now that they were in Christ, they were under grace.
Application: Therefore, we are not limited to worshipping our Savior just one day of the week. We ought to worship Him and walk with Him every day of the week, not just the Lord’s Day.