{"id":418,"date":"2018-02-18T21:50:39","date_gmt":"2018-02-18T21:50:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publications.cog7.org\/?page_id=418"},"modified":"2022-01-03T22:18:26","modified_gmt":"2022-01-03T22:18:26","slug":"first-day-week-new-testament","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/publications.cog7engage.net\/tracts-books\/tracts\/the-sabbath\/first-day-week-new-testament\/","title":{"rendered":"The First Day of the Week in the New Testament"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Most of Christianity attaches special significance to the first day of the week and has done so for over sixteen centuries. On this day, Christians from all over the world gather for worship.<\/p>\n

The validity of recognizing Sunday as a special day for worship is almost never questioned by churchgoers. They just assume that Sunday has always been the day Christians go to church. And they may have heard verses like\u00a0Psalm 118:24<\/a>\u00a0(\u201cThis is the day that the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it\u201d) and\u00a0Hebrews 10:25<\/a>\u00a0(\u201cNot forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some . . .\u201d) cited to back up their beliefs. Why, then, should there be any question about it?<\/p>\n

Yet the assumption must be challenged. Several factors bring it into doubt.<\/p>\n

Beginning the investigation<\/h3>\n

According to the Reformation principle of\u00a0sola Scriptura<\/em>, Christian belief and practice should be based solely on the Bible. If Sunday is to be the day of Christian worship, we should expect confirmation from God\u2019s Word.<\/p>\n

For centuries the majority of Christendom has held that Christ\u2019s resurrection marked the inauguration of Sunday as a new day of worship, replacing the so-called \u201cJewish Sabbath.\u201d Many believe that the apostles began to use Sunday as a day of assembly and worship soon after Christ\u2019s resurrection. Contrary to this common belief, the apostolic church continued to observe the seventh-day Sabbath after the death and resurrection of Christ.<\/p>\n

The book of Acts records a total of 84 Sabbath gatherings at which the apostle Paul preached to both Jews and Gentiles (Acts 13:14<\/a>,\u00a042<\/a>,\u00a044<\/a>;\u00a016:13<\/a>;\u00a017:2<\/a>\u20114; 18:4, 11). In contrast, the first day of the week is referred to in only eight New Testament verses, and only one of these reports a worship service. Yet many feel that these eight references provide proof, either explicit or implicit, that Sunday has replaced the Sabbath as the God\u2011ordained day of rest and worship.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst Day\u201d references<\/h3>\n

The eight passages in the New Testament that refer to the first day of the week are examined here to determine their relevance to this subject.<\/p>\n

1. The first day after the Sabbath when the two Marys came to Jesus\u2019 tomb:<\/p>\n

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb (Matthew 28:1<\/a>).<\/p>\n

No sanctity or religious significance is attached to Sunday in this verse. It simply gives the day and time of day when the two Marys visited the tomb. Scholars date the writing of Matthew\u2019s Gospel anywhere from a.d. 50 to a.d. 70 \u2014 somewhere between 20 and 40 years after the crucifixion of Christ. Yet after all that time, Matthew said nothing whatever about Sunday as a day of worship, either when relating the accusations against Jesus for breaking the Pharisees\u2019 Sabbath traditions or when narrating the events of the Crucifixion and Resurrection. If Sunday were intended to have any religious significance, or if the early Christian community had attached religious significance to the day, it is peculiar that Matthew made no comment about it.<\/p>\n

2. The day when Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus:<\/p>\n

Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen (Mark 16:2<\/a>).<\/p>\n

This account also refers to the day and time when women went to the tomb. They arrived on Sunday morning to anoint Jesus\u2019 body but found He was not there; He had already risen and departed the tomb. The statement of women visiting the tomb early Sunday morning and finding it empty should not be assigned doctrinal significance relating to a day of worship. The Bible makes no hint of such an application.<\/p>\n

Mark is thought to have written his Gospel between a.d. 50 and 65, some 20 to 35 years after the Crucifixion. He was closely associated with both Peter and Paul, from whom he learned the facts recorded in his Gospel narrative, and became thoroughly acquainted with the doctrines they taught. Yet Mark\u2019s entire Gospel is silent as to any significance being attached to the first day of the week.<\/p>\n

3. The day on which Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene after His resurrection:<\/p>\n

Now when He rose early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons (Mark 16:9<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The two oldest Greek codices (A and B), with many other manuscript and patristic witnesses, do not contain\u00a0Mark 16:9<\/a>\u201120. Several translations say the most reliable early manuscripts omit\u00a0Mark 16:9-20<\/a>. For example: \u201cThe most reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have\u00a0Mark 16:9-20<\/a>\u201d (footnote in the\u00a0New International<\/em>\u00a0Version<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Whether verses 9-20 are a valid portion of the original and inspired Scriptures or not, they provide no evidence for terminating Sabbath in favor of Sunday observance.<\/p>\n

4. The day on which an unspecified number of Galilean women visited Jesus\u2019 tomb:<\/p>\n

Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared (Luke 24:1<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The primary intent of this passage, as with all other Resurrection accounts, is not to determine either the day or the hour of Jesus\u2019 resurrection, but rather to document the Resurrection as evidenced by the empty tomb and the witness of the angels. The women came early on Sunday morning only to find Jesus had already risen. Luke\u2019s Gospel, like Matthew\u2019s and Mark\u2019s, gives no religious significance to the first day of the week.<\/p>\n

Luke is thought to have written the book of Acts about a.d. 63 and his Gospel prior to that. Both books were written between 20 and 35 years after the Crucifixion. Neither book gives any significance to the first day of the week other than stating it as the time when certain events occurred.<\/p>\n

The absence of any mention by Luke of Sabbathkeeping being suspended or Sunday being observed is significant, especially after his years of association with Paul. As a careful historian, Luke would certainly have documented the debate caused by such a change, just as he did the debate surrounding circumcision.<\/p>\n

5. The day on which Mary Magdalene visited the tomb:<\/p>\n

On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb (John 20:1<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The first day of the week is mentioned here in the same manner as in\u00a0Luke 24:1<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 as part of a narrative identifying the time of Mary\u2019s visit to the tomb. John\u2019s Gospel does not attach any religious significance to the day.<\/p>\n

6. A time after Jesus\u2019 resurrection when He appeared to His disciples:<\/p>\n

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, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, \u201cPeace be with you\u201d (John 20:19<\/a>).<\/p>\n

This text tells us for certain why the disciples were assembled that Sunday evening: \u201cfor fear of the Jews.\u201d It is not at all certain that they were gathered for worship. Such is not indicated. Neither is it indicated that they sang, prayed, or read the Scriptures, nor what their topics of discussion were.<\/p>\n

The Resurrection is not mentioned in this text. Nothing is said here of terminating Sabbath observance, nor of celebrating the Resurrection, nor about future gatherings on any day or date. This occasion for meeting was used by the Lord to strengthen the disciples\u2019 faith and to set their hearts at peace. Neither the text nor the context suggests a change of days for regular weekly worship.<\/p>\n

John\u2019s Gospel is thought to have been written about a.d. 90, more than 50 years after the Crucifixion. John does not allude to a change from Sabbath to Sunday, nor to any significance being attached to the first day of the week. If such a change had occurred, it is strange that he gives no hint of it.<\/p>\n

7. A day on which the disciples came together to break bread:<\/p>\n

Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight (Acts 20:7<\/a>).<\/p>\n

If Paul\u2019s meeting with disciples at Troas began at the start of the first day of the week (after sunset on Saturday), then it must have continued through that night until Sunday morning. The worship portion was late Saturday night, and Sunday became a travel day for Paul (v. 13). This text lacks support for the idea of regular worship services on Sunday or any other day. Nothing is said of that first day of the week being sacred time. No suggestion is made of repeating the meeting on any subsequent first day of the week.<\/p>\n

There is another possibility here. This first-day meeting with Paul in Troas could have been a Sunday afternoon and evening service, extending past sunset and past midnight into Monday morning, the second day of the week. In this case, much of the evening service and the breaking of bread (v. 11) was not on Sunday at all.<\/p>\n

The purpose of this gathering to break bread is understood by some to mean that Paul held a Sunday communion service with the church. However, this text does not reveal that the disciples\u2019 breaking bread in Troas had anything to do with communion or the Lord\u2019s Supper. \u201cBreaking bread\u201d was an expression often used for a fellowship meal, as in\u00a0Acts 2:46<\/a>\u00a0(see also 27:35).<\/p>\n

The Bible does not tell us that any particular day of the week became linked with observing communion in the early church. It could have been said of any day of the week that the disciples came together to break bread, and no such account would establish a substitute day of worship!<\/p>\n

8. The day on which each individual member of the Corinthian church was to set aside gifts or save money for the poor saints in Jerusalem:<\/p>\n

On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come (1 Corinthians 16:2<\/a>).<\/p>\n

This verse does not instruct or command that a religious service be held. No meeting is suggested; rather, \u201clet each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper.\u201d No prayer, no singing, no preaching are mentioned, and nothing is said about the people\u2019s fulfilling Paul\u2019s instructions in a meeting or worship service. Paul\u2019s stipulation \u201cthat there be no collections when I come\u201d certainly does not suggest a pattern of activity being established for customary meeting times.<\/p>\n

Paul\u2019s admonition is to individuals (\u201ceach one of you,\u201d or literally in Greek, \u201ceach of you by himself\u201d). He requested that they \u201clay something aside\u201d as a contribution for the destitute saints in Jerusalem. This would have been accomplished most naturally by individuals in their own homes.<\/p>\n

The natural interpretation of Paul\u2019s instructions is as follows: Paul was coming; the collections were to be made individually before he came; and the instructions would be completely fulfilled when the believers\u2019 gifts were carried to Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

To conclude that this proves Sunday was a regularly recognized day of religious worship \u2014 complete with passing a collection plate \u2014 is to assume much more than the text says.<\/p>\n

The Lord\u2019s Day<\/h3>\n

The expression\u00a0the Lord\u2019s Day<\/em>\u00a0is found only once in the Bible, in\u00a0Revelation 1:10<\/a>. In this instance, it is used without signifying a relationship to any day of the week. John wrote, \u201cI was in the Spirit on the Lord\u2019s Day.\u201d It is commonly assumed that this term designates a specific day pertaining to the Lord. But what \u201cday\u201d?<\/p>\n

For centuries, Sunday has been popularly called the Lord\u2019s Day. According to the\u00a0Encyclopaedia Britannica<\/em>:<\/p>\n

. . . the first writer who mentions the name of Sunday as applicable to the Lord\u2019s Day is Justin Martyr; this designation of the first day of the week, which is of heathen origin (see Sabbath, vol. xxi, p. 126), had come into general use in the Roman world shortly before Justin wrote.1<\/sup><\/p>\n

Justin Martyr wrote about a.d. 150. Since his day, it has remained a foregone conclusion with many Christians that Sunday is the Lord\u2019s Day. This introduction of the concept that\u00a0Lord\u2019s Day<\/em>\u00a0meant the first day of the week is without scriptural support.<\/p>\n

It should not be assumed that because certain men, writing 100 to 300 years after John, used\u00a0Lord\u2019s Day<\/em>\u00a0as a synonym for Sunday, that John himself must have intended the same thing. Since John did not define\u00a0the Lord\u2019s Day<\/em>\u00a0in his own writings, and since he incidentally used the term without amplification, it should not be cited as a proof text for making holy a day that it does not identify.<\/p>\n

If John truly had a day of the week in mind when he wrote \u201con the Lord\u2019s Day,\u201d it would be more logical to assume that the seventh-day Sabbath was intended, since the Bible does not identify any other day in that manner. The Lord said through Isaiah, \u201cIf you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day . . .\u201d (58:13), and Jesus himself said, \u201cTherefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath\u201d (Mark 2:28<\/a>).<\/p>\n

A preferable view suggests that John did not have a day of the week in mind at all. Rather,\u00a0Revelation 1:10<\/a>\u00a0refers to John\u2019s transportation in spiritual revelation into the final \u201cday of the Lord.\u201d The term\u00a0Lord\u2019s Day<\/em>\u00a0would therefore parallel the eschatological expression \u201cday of the Lord\u201d in such texts as\u00a01 Corinthians 5:5<\/a>;\u00a02 Corinthians 1:14<\/a>;\u00a01 Thessalonians 5:2<\/a>; and\u00a02 Thessalonians 2:2<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Although John does not use the usual New Testament Greek phrase for\u00a0day of the Lord<\/em>, this in itself does not rule out the possibility that\u00a0Lord\u2019s Day<\/em>\u00a0is to be understood in an eschatological sense. In his\u00a0Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words<\/em>, under the heading \u201cDay,\u201d W. E. Vine states:<\/p>\n

As the \u201cday\u201d throws light upon things that have been in darkness, the word [day] is often associated with the passing of judgment upon circumstances. In\u00a01 Cor. 4:3<\/a>, \u201cman\u2019s day,\u201d KJV, \u201cman\u2019s judgment,\u201d RV, denotes mere human judgment upon matters (\u201cman\u2019s\u201d translates the adjective\u00a0anthropinos<\/em>, \u201chuman\u201d), a judgment exercised in the present period of human rebellion against \u201cGod\u201d; probably therefore \u201cthe Lord\u2019s Day,\u201d\u00a0Rev. 1:10<\/a>, or \u201cthe Day of the Lord\u201d (where an adjective,\u00a0kuriakos<\/em>, is similarly used), is the day of His manifested judgment on the world.2<\/sup><\/p>\n

In summary, care should be taken to attach no meaning to\u00a0Revelation 1:10<\/a>other than was first clearly intended. John\u2019s incidental and undefined reference to \u201cthe Lord\u2019s Day\u201d is not grounds for driving hard-and-fast theological teachings about Sunday.<\/p>\n

Firstfruits fulfilled<\/h3>\n

If any theological significance attaches to the \u201cfirst day of the week\u201d in Scripture, it would be as it fulfills an important date in the Hebrew festival calendar. The central gospel events of Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection providentially coincided with Israel\u2019s spring feasts: Passover, Unleavened Bread, and Wave Sheaf (firstfruits) offering (Leviticus 23:4-12<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The Gospels report Jesus\u2019 death and burial on the dates of Passover and Unleavened Bread (Mark 14:1<\/a>). Similarly, His resurrection appearances on \u201cthe first day of the week\u201d (Greek:\u00a0te mia ton sabbaton<\/em>\u00a0\u2014 literally \u201cthe first [day] from Sabbath\u201d) correlated with the public waving of the first sheaf of barley harvest on \u201cthe day after the Sabbath\u201d of festival week (Leviticus 23:10<\/a>,\u00a011<\/a>). From this event the 50-day count to Pentecost began (23:15, 16;\u00a0Acts 2:1<\/a>).<\/p>\n

As Jesus\u2019 followers were making their visits to the tomb at Sabbath\u2019s end and early the next morning (Matthew 28:1<\/a>;\u00a0Mark 16:1<\/a>,\u00a02<\/a>), not far away the temple priests followed the ritual of the firstfruits sheaf. First, they reaped the sheaf at the end of the Sabbath and then brought it into the temple for the second step: its public waving to God on the \u201cday after the Sabbath.\u201d3<\/sup><\/p>\n

Apostle Paul drew on this wave sheaf imagery. Jesus died and rose again according to Scripture, Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15, and has \u201cbecome the\u00a0firstfruits<\/em>\u00a0of those who have fallen asleep\u201d (v. 20). This\u00a0firstfruits\u00a0<\/em>from the dead anticipates the full resurrection harvest to come: \u201cChrist the\u00a0firstfruits<\/em>, afterward those who are Christ\u2019s at His coming\u201d (15:1-4, 20-23).<\/p>\n

Thus \u201cthe first day of the week\u201d has a role in the Gospel story. The phrase in Greek,\u00a0te mia ton sabbaton,<\/em>\u00a0recalls the first day\u2019s relation to the weekly Sabbath \u2014 the only day of the biblical week with a proper name. In view of Israel\u2019s temple calendar, this first day after Passover-Crucifixion and Resurrection is when Jesus appeared to the disciples as risen Lord, so fulfilling the priestly ritual of waving the firstfruits of the harvest year to God. Important as this is in terms of Levitical typology, it says nothing about a supposed shift in the sanctity of the weekly Sabbath from the seventh to any other day.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n

As we have seen, only three \u201cSundays\u201d are mentioned in the New Testament. The six references to Sunday in the Gospels refer to the same day \u2014 the day the women found the empty tomb and Jesus appeared to His disciples. The second Sunday reports Paul\u2019s farewell meeting with the disciples at Troas in\u00a0Acts 20:7ff<\/a>. The third reference to Sunday names the day Corinthian believers were told to set aside their contributions for the poor saints in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

After reviewing these texts, we see that none gives scriptural authority to the notion that Sunday has replaced the Sabbath as the Bible\u2019s day of rest and worship. Generally, the time references in all eight of the \u201cfirst day\u201d passages have no explicit theological significance other than indicating when certain events happened. The Gospel references, however, suggest the fulfillment of Israel\u2019s annual festival of the Wave Sheaf of Firstfruits, standing uniquely between Passover and Pentecost.<\/p>\n

The process by which Sunday became the customary day for assembly and worship exposes a willingness to read into the Scriptures intentions and meanings not at all evident. This process attaches more importance to assumptions and traditions than to clear, biblical statements of God\u2019s will.<\/p>\n

The crucial, underlying issue here is the basis of valid spiritual authority: Is the Bible to be our sole authority for faith and practice, or are we allowed to supplement and supplant the teachings of Scripture with extra-biblical tradition?<\/p>\n

Sola Scriptura\u00a0<\/em>\u2014 the Bible alone \u2014 was accepted by Reformation Christians as the final rule for faith and practice. \u201cThe Bible alone\u201d standard challenges us to return to the biblical seventh-day Sabbath, not substituting Sunday in place of the day of the week God blessed and made holy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
    \n
  1. Encyclopaedia Britannica<\/em>, Vol. xxii, article \u201cSunday\u201d (New York and Chicago: The Werner Company, 1898), 654.<\/li>\n
  2. W. E. Vine,\u00a0Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words<\/em>\u00a0(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1985), 146.<\/li>\n
  3. Alfred Edersheim,\u00a0The Temple: Its Ministry and Services<\/em>\u00a0(Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1994), 203-205.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Most of Christianity attaches special significance to the first day of the week and has done so for over sixteen centuries. On this day, Christians from all over the world gather for worship. The validity of recognizing Sunday as a special day for worship is almost never questioned by churchgoers. They just assume that Sunday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"parent":790,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"\nThe First Day of the Week in the New Testament - Publications<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/publications.cog7engage.net\/tracts-books\/tracts\/the-sabbath\/first-day-week-new-testament\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The First Day of the Week in the New Testament - Publications\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Most of Christianity attaches special significance to the first day of the week and has done so for over sixteen centuries. On this day, Christians from all over the world gather for worship. 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