Sunday didn't replace Sabbath for the Early Christians - it Expanded the Sabbath.
Many times I have heard the argument against Sabbath observance that the Lord's Day (Sunday) has replaced it because this was the day Jesus rose from the dead. They look back to the early church and how Christians increasingly neglected the Sabbath in exchange for the first day of the week. "The Lord's Day" as it came to be known is often seen as the Christian alternative to the Jewish Sabbath.
As the years ticked on, so the story goes, the church's identity increasingly morphed towards more non-Jewish values and Christians distanced themselves from the Jewish cultural practices. This is the common interpretation of Christians that leads to a rejection of Sabbath observance as a purely Jewish practice.
Christians look to the New Testament references to gatherings "on the first day" as evidence of this changing value (see Acts 20:7 for example). No doubt in subsequent generations, the current of Sunday gathering became stronger and eventually wholly displaced Seventh-day Sabbath observance.
Some have seen in this displacement a necessary outflow of the apostles teaching, while others have seen this as a neglect of the apostles teaching and an apostasy away from the truth.
But what if it is neither?
Every Day Expands on Sabbath
The early church in the New Testament shows clear evidence of gathering on the Seventh-day Sabbath (Acts 13:44; 16:13). Yet they did not restrain their gathering to a single day. As the church explodes across the Roman Empire, it is clear that their gatherings are not limited to a single day or location. They meet at the Temple, in people's homes, beside rivers, and in Synagogues. They meet on Sabbath (Acts 16:13), they meet on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7), they meet throughout the week (Acts 2:46; 5:42).
It is also clear that the Jewish conventions of naming days of the week remain. Instead of the common references to Greek gods for naming the days of the week, the church used the Jewish convention of measuring time based on the Sabbath. Notice that when Luke writes the account of Jesus' death and resurrection, he uses Jewish naming conventions:
"καὶ ἡμέρα ἦν παρασκευῆς καὶ σάββατον ἐπέφωσκεν" (Greek New Testament UBS4, Luke 23:54).
"And it was the Preparation Day and the Sabbath was approaching" (Translation my own).
Even in the passages that refer to the first day of the week instead of using the common Greco-Roman "Day of the Sun" (Ἡμέρα Ἡλίου), Luke uses the Jewish convention:
"Ἐν δὲ τῇ μιᾷ τῶν σαββάτων συνηγμένων ἡμῶν κλάσαι ἄρτον" (Greek New Testament UBS4, Acts 20:7).
"On the first day from Sabbath we gathered together to break bread" (Translation my own).
This translation always rendered as "the first day of the week" in English translations is correct. What might be missed however is that the Sabbath for the Jewish mindset was the centre of the week from which all the days were measured. This convention did not stop in the early church, and was even adopted among the Gentile believers as evidenced by Luke/Acts.
So what is happening here? Is this displacement of Sabbath? For the early church, the Sabbath remained central to their worship, evidenced by its presence in the Gospel of Luke and Acts. The early church met at other times from Sabbath for worship and fellowship. This however is not a denial of Sabbath. Their practice shows an expansion of the mission of the Sabbath. For the early church, they turned the entire calendar into a way to teach about Jesus.
And this practice did not stop with the first generation.
The Good News in the Calendar
Christians did not stop writing after John wrote the Book of Revelation. Christians continued to write about Jesus and there are hundreds of thousands of pages of books after the first generation. One very early text I want to show you is referred to as the Teaching of the Apostles. Its tradition history seems to stem from a first century church manual known as the Didache. Many scholars see this work as having it's origins with James, the brother of Jesus, and the council of Jerusalem (described in Acts 15).
One fascinating copy is believed to come from the late 2nd century or early 3rd century. It circulated widely in the Eastern Church and is written in Syriac. It shows a genetic relationship to the Didache. Potentially it comes from Edessa or Mesopotamia (both of which were large centres of Christianity in these eras). You can read the full text in the link at the end of this article.
The Teaching of the Apostles details the Apostles instructions on key church matters such as instructions on worship gatherings, Christian values and conduct, warnings of heresies, and sometimes details of the apostle's missionary journeys.
What is fascinating in the Syriac version is that it tells about the rhythm of church gathering among Christians. It uses the same Jewish calendar conventions like that found in the New Testament. The gathering of the Christians was not on a single day, but throughout the week. No emphasis is given to Sunday as above any other day for example.
- On the first day of the week it instructs Christians to gather for the service, reading of Scripture, and oblation. They were to teach on this day about Jesus' resurrection, His ascension, and his soon second coming.
- On the fourth day of the week it instructs Christians to gather again but this time for learning Jesus' teachings.
- On the eve of Sabbath they met again for service and the focus of their gathering was on the fulfilment of bible prophecy that point to Jesus. Also they looked at the predictions of Jesus' suffering.
- It also mentions the regular gatherings throughout the year at key moments that align with Jesus' ministry. These included Jesus' birth, his 40 days fast, his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.
What catches my attention is the mention of the first day of the week rather than the common "Lord's Day" which later became popular to refer to Sunday. The Old and New Testament talk at length about the Sabbath. What is rarely imagined, but is worth exploring, is that the entire week is being utilised to teach the Gospel. This is not an attempt to jettison Sabbath, as the text uses the same naming conventions of those found in the book of Luke and Acts. The Sabbath commemorates and points Christians back to God as Creator and Saviour. This church manual is seeking to expand mnemonic value to other days of the week to show the Gospel story.
Interestingly, Sabbath is mentioned. On the eve of Sabbath Christians anticipated its arrival by learning from the Old Testament and how it pointed to the fulfilment in Jesus. Perhaps reflection on the Sabbath itself was part of this.
Where to from here?
The common imagination that Sabbath was eclipsed by the "Lord's Day" (Sunday) is not so clear cut. In fact, it is entirely possible that the Sabbath was the blueprint for the Christian practice of making other days of the week times of remembrance and learning. The calendar itself became the Gospel. Each week people who loved Jesus met to reenact and engage with the aspects of the Good News of Jesus. Each week they re-lived the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
So what if we have it all wrong? What if the early Christians weren't embarrassed of the Seventh-day Sabbath? What if they used it as the blueprint for teaching the exciting Good News of Jesus Christ? What if the practice of meeting on Sunday, Wednesday, and Friday evening was just a continuation of Jesus' teaching?
We can learn something from the early church. Meeting regularly throughout the week to tell the story of Jesus was very effective. Christians had rhythms that spanned the entire week reinforcing the Good News story of Jesus. As they reenacted the teachings and story of Jesus this habit no doubt led to a deeper reflection and deeper connection to Jesus.
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