Why Christians observe Sunday as a day of rest
A few times a year, I am asked why Christians observe Sunday as a “day of rest” instead of the Sabbath/Saturday, as in Old Testament and Jewish traditions. It’s a great question, which we will examine from a biblical perspective. Because there is a very good and biblical reason why that day “shifted” to Sunday. And there is something else… that question sounds like an honest inquiry, but in 90% of the cases when I receive it, there is something else behind it…
But anyway, let’s first look at what the Bible says and why it is now Sunday and no longer Saturday.
The Sabbath: A Creation Command and a Shadow from the Old Testament
It is crucial to recognize that the day of rest (Sabbath) is a commandment that goes back to creation itself:
By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. (Genesis 2:2-3)
In the time of Moses, however, the Sabbath also became a “sign” of the Covenant with Israel and became interwoven with the ceremonial, Old Testament law.
From the Seventh Day to the First Day (The Lord’s Day)
The new “New Testament church” did not abolish the day of rest, but moved the day and its meaning to the first day of the week, the “Lord’s Day,” for the following Bible-based reasons:
1. The Resurrection of Christ: The New Creation
Christ rose on the first day of the week (Easter morning). This marks the beginning of the “new creation” and the completion of His work of redemption. The Sabbath pointed to the rest of the “old” creation; Sunday points to the victory and the rest of the “new” creation.
Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. (Matthew 28:1)
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. (Luke 24:1)
2. The Gatherings of the Early Church
Consequently, the early church (based on the above) specifically met on the first day of the week to gather and celebrate the “Lord’s Supper” (communion):
On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. (Acts 20:7)
Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside a junk, in proportion to his prosperity, that no collections be made when I come. (1 Corinthians 16:1-2)
3. The ‘Lord’s Day’ in Revelation
John uses a term that later became the standard designation for Sunday:
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet. (Revelation 1:10)
Sunday is the continuation of the day of rest, but the focus has shifted: the day is now centered on the commemoration of Jesus’ resurrection and the new creation.
The Abolition of the Ceremonial Law
The obligation to keep Saturday as a day of rest belonged to the “ceremoniële wet” (ceremonial law), which was a shadow of the future reality, namely the rest in Christ Himself. This ceremonial law has been fulfilled and abolished in Christ.
Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. (Colossians 2:16-17)
The Christian is therefore free from the obligation to celebrate the seventh day, because Christ is the true Sabbath. And that is precisely why Sunday is a very deliberate choice and not “just” something you can change back to a Saturday… because then you directly bypass the new era that has arisen through Christ’s death and resurrection.
It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)
And now… the real “why” behind these kinds of questions…
In more than 90% of the cases, that question I periodically receive about Saturday or Sunday is not a question at all. It is a precursor to something else. Be careful when you receive these kinds of questions, because there is more behind it than just the inquiry.
If we do not understand or (want to) believe what God has told us in the New Testament, unnecessary, non-biblical discussions like these start immediately. For the question is then not a truly honest one, but an attempt to “convert” you to no longer believing what is written in the New Testament. Oops.
And then we are suddenly talking about a completely different issue. And the Bible warns us VERY clearly about that:
But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. (Titus 3:9)
The discussion about Saturday/Sunday, the Messianic calendar, can easily degenerate into “strife and disputes about the Law” (ceremonial law and days), which is useless if the core (Jesus) is not accepted.
As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus so that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. (1 Timothy 1:3-4)
In the verse above, it is about avoiding stories and details (like this issue) that distract the focus from “the administration of God which is by faith” (salvation through Christ).
It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)
The focus must always be on faith in Christ, not on following laws and rules as a means of justification, because that is returning to “slavery,” as it is so clearly stated there. The questions I receive in this vein come (remarkably) for the most part from the “Messianic movement” that emphasizes the obligation of the Sabbath and the feasts (a yoke of slavery).
Discussions about dates and days (Saturday versus Sunday) thus threaten the freedom in Christ (the core), unless(!) the other person accepts the freedom in the Gospel.
So be careful, do not waste your time on things the Bible warns us about more than clearly, because the question about Christmas and also often “Saturday versus Sunday” is often not an honest question… there is more behind it: an attempt at disputing, something we are clearly warned against in 1 Timothy 1:3-4 and Titus 3:9.
