In his books Sabbath to Sunday and Sabbath Under Crossfire, Samuele Bacchiocchi put forth the idea that Christians in the New Testament assembled on the Sabbath to observe the Lord’s supper. However, during the Emperor Hadrian’s reign Christians moved the day they came together for communion to Sunday in order to avoid the repressive laws passed against the Jews: “This development began during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian (A.D. 117-138) as a result of the repressive anti-Judaic legislation. In A.D. 135, Hadrian promulgated a legislation that categorically prohibited the practice of Judaism, in general, and of Sabbathkeeeping, in particular” (Bacchiocchi, 1998, p.31). Also, Christians moved the Sabbath to Sunday to improve their ability to evangelize pagans: “The christianization of the Day of the Sun was apparently designed also to facilitate the acceptance of Christianity by pagans who worshipped the Sun-god, especially on his day of the Sun” (Bacchiocchi, 1998, p. 31).
My purpose in this document is not to reply to each point of his book. That is not possible in this brief paper, and I don’t think is needed. I only want to answer three questions:
1. Which day is the Sabbath: Saturday or Sunday?
2. On what day did Christians assemble to worship?
3. Did Christians in the New Testament keep the Sabbath?
Which day is the Sabbath: Saturday or Sunday?
The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week: Saturday. This is clearly stated in numerous passages in the Old Testament: Ex. 16.26; 20.8-11; Lev. 23.3 and many other verses. Bacchiocchi documents how Christians began to call Sunday the Sabbath and how it has become common in our time call Sunday the Sabbath. This is well documented in other books also. It began when the emperor Constantine, in 321 AD, legislated that Sunday was to be kept as a weekly day of rest (Bromiley, p. 252; Ferguson, p. 70). I don’t disagree with him on this point, but it does nothing to prove his idea that Christians observed the Lord’s Supper on Saturday, or that Christian observed the Sabbath at all. Christians had always been worshiping on Sunday, all Constantine did was make it a day of rest.
On what day did Christians assemble to worship?
It is not as easy as one would think to determine which day Christians assembled to observe the Lord’s Supper. While Paul writes about coming together to keep the communion (1Cor. 11.33-34) he doesn’t state what day of the week it is to be done on. Also, the writer of the book of Hebrews tells Christians not to forsake the assembly, but he doesn’t say what day that happens on. It seems that it was such an understood thing that no one bothered to state it. It was like the Sabbath in the New Testament; no one had to say that it was on the seventh day of the week, because everybody knew it.
There are three passages in the New Testament that people appeal to in order to show that Christians in the New Testament assembled on the first day of the week to observe the Lord’s Supper: Acts 20.7-11; 1Cor. 16.2 and Rev. 1.10. Bacchiocchi comments on each of these. I will only briefly give his reasoning and why I disagree, because no matter what I say I can’t prove that any of these verses are taking about the first of the week as the day we are to observe the Communion on. To resolve this matter we are going to have to go to the early Christian writings to see what day they were meeting on. If Bacchiocchi is correct we will see a switch after Hadrian's reign from meeting on Saturday to meeting on Sunday.
Acts 20.7-12 “On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread....”
Luke clearly states “One the first day of the week, when we met to break bread...” (Acts. 20.7). This plain statement is complicated by verse 11 which records that after midnight Paul broke bread. This leads into a long discussion of whether Luke kept Jewish time or Roman time (Bacchiocchi, 1977, pp. 97-100). None of that matters to Bacchiocchi because the phrase “break bread” doesn’t have to mean the communion, it can just mean a common meal. Bacchiocchi thinks that Paul observed the Sabbath and met with Christians Saturday night. He had a special meal with them that only he ate (verse 11) and then left the next day, Sunday (Bacchiocchi, 1977, p. 101).
I agree that “break bread” can refer to a common meal, but it can also refer to the communion (1Cor. 10.16 and 11.24). I think a common meal is what verse 11 is referring to where only Paul ate. The assembling to break bread on the first day of the week was something they all did. What I think happened was they came together on the first day of the week to observe the communion, then Paul taught until Midnight. After he healed Eutychus he ate some food and continued to teach until Monday morning, when he left. This is a much simpler way to understand the passage.
1Corinthians 16.2 “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save whatever extra you earn, so that collections need not be taken when I come.”
Bacchiocchi does not think the day that Christians assembled for worship had anything to do with Paul telling the Corinthians to “put aside and save” on the first day of every week. He feels that since they may have been paid on the first day of the week that was the best time to set some money aside at home, not at church: “To wait until the end of the week or of the month to set aside one’s contributions or saving is contrary to sound budgetary practices, since by then one finds himself to be with empty pockets and empty hands” (Bacchiocchi, 1977, p.96) Bacchiocchi seems to think that people were paid weekly or monthly. While that might have been true for government workers, it is unlikely to have been true for day labors, farmers or craftsmen - the majority of people at that time. The purpose of Paul’s command was to have the money gathered into one place, so that when he arrived they would not have gather everyone together to get it. Keeping the money at home defeats the purpose of the command.
Revelation 1.10 “I was in the spirit on the Lord’s Day....”
John does not record what day of the week the “Lord’s Day” was. As we will see in the writings of early Christians it was believed that the Lord’s Day was the first day of the week. Bacchiocchi does not think that was likely. Sunday in the New Testament was always referred to as the first day of the week. If John called the first day of the week the “Lord’s Day” that would have confused them (Bacchiocchi, 1977, p. 107). So, he must have been referring to some other day, Bacchiocchi suggests the “Day of the Lord” (Bacchiocchi, 1977, p. 110) The word “Lord’s” here is only used one other time in the bible, 1 Cor. 11.20: “Lord’s supper.” Bacchiocchi does not seem to see a connection between the “Lord’s Day and the “Lord’s Supper, but others have.
The evidence for Christian’s in the New Testament assembling on the first day of the week is not strong, but it is the only day that is associated with observing the Lord’s supper. Bacchiocchi needed to show that Christians in the New Testament met on the Sabbath; he did not do that.
To decide if we are correct in inferring from the few New Testament verses that we are to assemble on the first day of the week, I think it is helpful to look at what the early Christians wrote. If Bacchiocchi is correct they will write about keeping and meeting on the sabbath and then after Hadrian’s reign they will write about meeting on Sunday. The following quotes are taken from Everett Ferguson’s book, Early Christians Speak. The comments in square bracket are Ferguson's, the other comments are mine.
Didache: “Having earlier confessed your sins so that your sacrifice may be pure, come together each Lord’s day of the Lord, break bread, and give thanks.” (14.1)
The Didache is a very early Christian document. John A.T. Robinson dates it to 40-60 AD (Robinson, p. 352). It does not state what day they assembled on, but it does connect the Lord’s supper (“break bread”) with the Lord’s day.
Ignatius: “If therefore those who lived according to the old practices came to the new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath but living according to the Lord’s day, in which also our life arose through him and his death (which some deny), through which mystery we received faith, and on account of which we suffer in order that we may be found disciples of Jesus Christ our only teacher, how shall we be able to live apart from him for whom even the prophets were looking as their teacher since they were his disciples in the spirit?” (Magnesians 9)
Ignatius was a bishop of Antioch. He was executed in Rome about 110 AD, and on the way to Rome he wrote seven letters (Everett, p. 240). This one to the Magnesians informs us that at that time Christian did not keep the Sabbath, but they did keep the Lord’s day, which indicates that they are not the same day.
Barnabas: “Moreover God says to the Jews, ‘Your new moons and Sabbaths I cannot endure.’ You see how he says, ‘The present Sabbaths are not acceptable to me, but the Sabbath which I have made in which, when I have rested from all things, I will make the beginning of the eight day which is the beginning of another world.’ Wherefore, we [Christians] keep the eighth day for joy, on which also Jesus arose from the dead and when he appeared ascended into heaven.” (15:8f)
This document is anonymous, but is dated between 130-140 AD (Ferguson, p. 242). Like the letter by Ignatius it says that Christians didn’t keep the Sabbath. Although it does not mention the Lord’s supper, he does write about keeping the eighth day (the first day of the week).
Justin: “We are always together with one another. And for all the things with which we are supplied we bless the Maker of all through his Son Jesus Christ and through his Holy Spirit. And on the day called Sunday there is a gathering together in the same place of all who live in a city or a rural district. [There follows an account of a Christian worship service....] We all make our assembly in common on the day of the Sun, since it is the first day, on which God changed the darkness and matter and made the world, and Jesus Christ our Savior arose from the dead on the same day. For they crucified him on the day before Saturn’s day, and on the day after (which is the day of the Sun) he appeared to his apostles and taught his disciples these things.” (Apology I, 67:1-3, 7)
Justin wrote his works between 150 and 160 AD (Ferguson, p. 243). The purpose of his Apology was to explain to pagans what our beliefs and practices are. In the above passage Justin not only states what day Christians assembled on, but why he felt that day was chosen: it was the day Jesus arose from the dead and the first day is when the world was created.
Epistle of the Apostles: “I [Christ] have come into being on the eight day which is the day of the Lord.”
This document is dated to between 150 and 160 AD (Ferguson, p. 243).
Gospel of Peter: Early in the morning while the Sabbath dawned, a multitude from Jerusalem and the surrounding country came to see the sealed sepulchre. In the night in which the Lord’s day dawned while the soldiers in pairs for each watch were keeping guard, a great voice came from heaven. [There follows an account of the resurrection.] Early in the morning of the Lord’s day Mary Magdalene, a disciple of the Lord...came to the sepulchre. (9:34f.; 12:50f.)
This document is dated to 180-190 AD (Ferguson, p. 243). It places the Lord’s day on the first day of the week.
Clement of Alexandria: “Plato prophetically speaks of the Lord’s day in the tenth book of the Republic, in these words: ‘And when seven days have passed to each of them in the meadow, on the eight they must go on.’” (Miscellanies V.xiv.106.2)
[In commenting on each of the Ten Commandments and their Christian meaning:] The seventh day is proclaimed a day of rest, preparing by abstention from evil for the Primal day, our true rest.” (Ibid. VI.xvi.138.1)
“He does the commandment according to the Gospel and keeps the Lord’s day, whenever he puts away an evil mind...glorifying the Lord’s resurrection in himself.” (Ibid. VII.xii.76.4)
Clement of Alexandria wrote between 190 and 200 AD (Ferguson, p. 243). The above quotes show that he understood the “Lord’s day” be the first day of the week.
Tertullian: “Others...suppose that the sun is the god of the Christians, because it is well-known that...we regard Sunday as a day of joy.” (To the Nations I:13)
“To us Sabbaths are foreign.” (On Idolatry 14:6)
“Let him who contends that the Sabbath is still to be observed as a balm of salvation, and circumcision on the eight day because of the threat of death, teach us that in earliest times righteous men kept the sabbath or practised circumcision, and so were made friends of God...It follows, accordingly, that, inasmuch as the abolition of carnal circumcision and of the old law is demonstrated as having been consummated in its own times, so also the observance of the Sabbath is demonstrated to have been temporary.” (An Answer to the Jews 2:10; 4:1)
Tertullian lived between 155 and 222 AD (Ferguson, p. 241). He clearly states that Christians did not keep the Sabbath.
Bardesanes: “Whenever we are, we are all called after the one name of Christ-Christians. On one day, the first of the week, we assemble ourselves together.... “ (On Fate)
Bardesanes was a Syrian Christian we died in 222/223 AD (Ferguson, p. 239).
Eusebius: “[The Ebionites] were accustomed to observe the Sabbath and other Jewish customs but on the Lord’s day to celebrate the same practices as we in remembrance of the resurrection of the Savior.” (Church History III.xxvii.5)
Eusebius was a bishop of Caesarea in Palestine from 313-339 AD (Ferguson, p. 240). He wrote the Church History which is still in print to this day. In the above passage he comments about a Christian group called Ebionites who kept the Sabbath as a day of rest, but observed the Lord’s supper on Sunday.
All the early Christian writers are in agreement the the Lord’s Day is Sunday, that Christians assembled on Sunday and that Christians do not keep the Sabbath. Bacchiocchi said there was a change during Hadrian’s reign, but the Didache, Ignatius and Barnabas make no mention of any change going on, and the writings that came after his reign do not discuss any change from the Sabbath to Sunday.
Did Christians in the New Testament keep the Sabbath?
After the church was established, on the Day of Pentecost, the Sabbath is mentioned in the book of Acts in 13.14, 42, 44; 16.13; 17.2; 18.4 Each of these verses is concerned with Paul and his companions meeting with Jews to teach them the gospel. For example Acts 13.14 “on the sabbath they entered the synagogue,” 17.2 “on three sabbath days he reasoned with them,” 18.4 “Every sabbath he reasoned with them.” None of these verses talks about believers assembling to break bread. Paul was plainly free on that day to meet with Jews in the synagogue. This is would be remarkable if the Sabbath were the day Christians assembled to observe the communion. The final verse where we read about the Sabbath is in Col. 2.16 “Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths.” Bacchiocchi doesn’t think the passage in Col. 2.16 counts since it is talking about sabbaths plural and condemning them;he feels it must have been connected with some sort of false teaching (Bacchiocchi, 1998, p. 248).
Bacchiocchi doesn’t have much to work with in the New Testament. The verses in Acts tell us that Paul met with Jews on the sabbath, and Col. 2.16 tells us not to let anyone condemn us about the sabbath. There is the sabbath-rest in Heb. 4.9, but even though he tries he can’t get away from the fact that the writer of Hebrews is using it in a spiritual manner, which even he admits is true (Bacchiocchi, 1998, 165-170).
When we look at the early Christian writing it gets much worse. These writers uniformly state that Christians do not keep the sabbath.
Ignatius: “If therefore those who lived according to the old practices came to the new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath but living according to the Lord’s day, in which also our life arose through him and his death (which some deny), through which mystery we received faith, and on account of which we suffer in order that we may be found disciples of Jesus Christ our only teacher, how shall we be able to live apart from him for whom even the prophets were looking as their teacher since they were his disciples in the spirit?” (Magnesians 9)
Barnabas: “Moreover God says to the Jews, ‘Your new moons and Sabbaths I cannot endure.’ You see how he says, ‘The present Sabbaths are not acceptable to me, but the Sabbath which I have made in which, when I have rested from all things, I will make the beginning of the eight day which is the beginning of another world.’ Wherefore, we [Christians] keep the eighth day for joy, on which also Jesus arose from the dead and when he appeared ascended into heaven.” (15:8f)
Justin: “There is no other thing for which you blame us, my friends, is there than this? That we do not live according to the Law, nor are we circumcised in the flesh as your forefathers, nor do we observe the Sabbath as you do. [Dialogue with Trypho 10:1. In verse 3 the Jew Trypho acknowledges that Christians ‘do not keep the Sabbath.’].”
The above is part of a discussion Justin had with a Jew named Trypho. Justin acknowledges that Christians do not keep the Sabbath and Trypho agrees with that statement and does not say that Christian used to keep it.
Acts of Peter: “Paul had often contended with the Jewish teachers and had confuted them, saying, ‘It is Christ on whom your fathers laid hands. He abolished their sabbath and fasts and festivals and circumcision.’”
This document is dated to 180-190 AD (Ferguson, p. 243), and shows that Christians did not keep the Sabbath.
Tertullian: “To us Sabbaths are foreign.” (On Idolatry 14:6)
“Let him who contends that the Sabbath is still to be observed as a balm of salvation, and circumcision on the eight day because of the threat of death, teach us that in earliest times righteous men kept the sabbath or practised circumcision, and so were made friends of God...It follows, accordingly, that, inasmuch as the abolition of carnal circumcision and of the old law is demonstrated as having been consummated in its own times, so also the observance of the Sabbath is demonstrated to have been temporary.” (An Answer to the Jews 2:10; 4:1)
Discussion:
When I began this study of the Sabbath I expected more. I had read that Bacchiocchi’s books were persuasive, but there is nothing there but a lot of ideas, suggestion and words. There is nothing in the New Testament indicating that Christians kept the sabbath, but there is evidence that they assembled on the first day of the week. The early Christian writer are perfectly clear, and in agreement stating that the Lord’s Day is Sunday, that they meet on Sunday and they do not keep the Sabbath.
If, as Bacchiocchi claims, Christians moved from meeting on Saturday to Sunday during Hadrian’s reign where is the evidence? Are we to believe that this happened with no discussion and no disagreement? That all the churches in the world changed the day they met on at the same time and no one disagreed? We can even agree on what color the carpet should be. If this had happened there would be a mass of documents arguing about it, instead we had a unified testimony from the New Testament on down that the Lord’s Day is Sunday and Christians do not keep the Sabbath.
Notice what Bacchiocchi has to say about say about Acts 15. In this chapter the leaders of the church in Jerusalem met to decide whether gentile believers had to be obedient to the Old Testament Law: "...some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, ' The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses'" (Acts 15.5). In the counsel's letter to the Gentiles Believers we would have expected to find a command to keep the Sabbath, but it is not there. The most Jewish church in the world, headed by James the brother of Jesus said "we should write to them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immortality, from meat of strangled animals and from blood" (Acts 15.20). Telling Gentiles to keep the Sabbath never even enters the discussion.
Bacchiocchi knew it was a problem that James did not tell Gentiles to keep the Sabbath. He tells us it can not mean that they were not worshiping on the Sabbath because "That such a drastic change in the day of worship hand been unanimously accomplished and accepted, without provoking dissension, is hard to believe..." (Bacchiocchi, 1977 p. 140). That the whole Christian world changed from worshiping on Saturday to Sunday without a word of dissension does not seem to have bothered him.
Christians worship on the Lord's Day, and that day is Sunday.
What are your thoughts?
RAJ
References:
Bacchiocchi, Samuele (1977). From Sabbath to Sunday. A Historical investigation of the Rise of Sunday Observance in Early Christianity,Rome, Italy.
Bacchiocchi, Samuele (1998). Sabbath Under Crossfire, Biblical Perspectives, Michigan.
Bromiley, Geoffrey W. (1988). International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 4: Q-Z, Eerdmans.
Ferguson, Everett (1981). Early Christians Speak, Biblical Research Press, Abilene Texas.
Robinson, John A. T. (1976). Redating The New Testament, Westminster Press.
My purpose in this document is not to reply to each point of his book. That is not possible in this brief paper, and I don’t think is needed. I only want to answer three questions:
1. Which day is the Sabbath: Saturday or Sunday?
2. On what day did Christians assemble to worship?
3. Did Christians in the New Testament keep the Sabbath?
Which day is the Sabbath: Saturday or Sunday?
The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week: Saturday. This is clearly stated in numerous passages in the Old Testament: Ex. 16.26; 20.8-11; Lev. 23.3 and many other verses. Bacchiocchi documents how Christians began to call Sunday the Sabbath and how it has become common in our time call Sunday the Sabbath. This is well documented in other books also. It began when the emperor Constantine, in 321 AD, legislated that Sunday was to be kept as a weekly day of rest (Bromiley, p. 252; Ferguson, p. 70). I don’t disagree with him on this point, but it does nothing to prove his idea that Christians observed the Lord’s Supper on Saturday, or that Christian observed the Sabbath at all. Christians had always been worshiping on Sunday, all Constantine did was make it a day of rest.
On what day did Christians assemble to worship?
It is not as easy as one would think to determine which day Christians assembled to observe the Lord’s Supper. While Paul writes about coming together to keep the communion (1Cor. 11.33-34) he doesn’t state what day of the week it is to be done on. Also, the writer of the book of Hebrews tells Christians not to forsake the assembly, but he doesn’t say what day that happens on. It seems that it was such an understood thing that no one bothered to state it. It was like the Sabbath in the New Testament; no one had to say that it was on the seventh day of the week, because everybody knew it.
There are three passages in the New Testament that people appeal to in order to show that Christians in the New Testament assembled on the first day of the week to observe the Lord’s Supper: Acts 20.7-11; 1Cor. 16.2 and Rev. 1.10. Bacchiocchi comments on each of these. I will only briefly give his reasoning and why I disagree, because no matter what I say I can’t prove that any of these verses are taking about the first of the week as the day we are to observe the Communion on. To resolve this matter we are going to have to go to the early Christian writings to see what day they were meeting on. If Bacchiocchi is correct we will see a switch after Hadrian's reign from meeting on Saturday to meeting on Sunday.
Acts 20.7-12 “On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread....”
Luke clearly states “One the first day of the week, when we met to break bread...” (Acts. 20.7). This plain statement is complicated by verse 11 which records that after midnight Paul broke bread. This leads into a long discussion of whether Luke kept Jewish time or Roman time (Bacchiocchi, 1977, pp. 97-100). None of that matters to Bacchiocchi because the phrase “break bread” doesn’t have to mean the communion, it can just mean a common meal. Bacchiocchi thinks that Paul observed the Sabbath and met with Christians Saturday night. He had a special meal with them that only he ate (verse 11) and then left the next day, Sunday (Bacchiocchi, 1977, p. 101).
I agree that “break bread” can refer to a common meal, but it can also refer to the communion (1Cor. 10.16 and 11.24). I think a common meal is what verse 11 is referring to where only Paul ate. The assembling to break bread on the first day of the week was something they all did. What I think happened was they came together on the first day of the week to observe the communion, then Paul taught until Midnight. After he healed Eutychus he ate some food and continued to teach until Monday morning, when he left. This is a much simpler way to understand the passage.
1Corinthians 16.2 “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save whatever extra you earn, so that collections need not be taken when I come.”
Bacchiocchi does not think the day that Christians assembled for worship had anything to do with Paul telling the Corinthians to “put aside and save” on the first day of every week. He feels that since they may have been paid on the first day of the week that was the best time to set some money aside at home, not at church: “To wait until the end of the week or of the month to set aside one’s contributions or saving is contrary to sound budgetary practices, since by then one finds himself to be with empty pockets and empty hands” (Bacchiocchi, 1977, p.96) Bacchiocchi seems to think that people were paid weekly or monthly. While that might have been true for government workers, it is unlikely to have been true for day labors, farmers or craftsmen - the majority of people at that time. The purpose of Paul’s command was to have the money gathered into one place, so that when he arrived they would not have gather everyone together to get it. Keeping the money at home defeats the purpose of the command.
Revelation 1.10 “I was in the spirit on the Lord’s Day....”
John does not record what day of the week the “Lord’s Day” was. As we will see in the writings of early Christians it was believed that the Lord’s Day was the first day of the week. Bacchiocchi does not think that was likely. Sunday in the New Testament was always referred to as the first day of the week. If John called the first day of the week the “Lord’s Day” that would have confused them (Bacchiocchi, 1977, p. 107). So, he must have been referring to some other day, Bacchiocchi suggests the “Day of the Lord” (Bacchiocchi, 1977, p. 110) The word “Lord’s” here is only used one other time in the bible, 1 Cor. 11.20: “Lord’s supper.” Bacchiocchi does not seem to see a connection between the “Lord’s Day and the “Lord’s Supper, but others have.
The evidence for Christian’s in the New Testament assembling on the first day of the week is not strong, but it is the only day that is associated with observing the Lord’s supper. Bacchiocchi needed to show that Christians in the New Testament met on the Sabbath; he did not do that.
To decide if we are correct in inferring from the few New Testament verses that we are to assemble on the first day of the week, I think it is helpful to look at what the early Christians wrote. If Bacchiocchi is correct they will write about keeping and meeting on the sabbath and then after Hadrian’s reign they will write about meeting on Sunday. The following quotes are taken from Everett Ferguson’s book, Early Christians Speak. The comments in square bracket are Ferguson's, the other comments are mine.
Didache: “Having earlier confessed your sins so that your sacrifice may be pure, come together each Lord’s day of the Lord, break bread, and give thanks.” (14.1)
The Didache is a very early Christian document. John A.T. Robinson dates it to 40-60 AD (Robinson, p. 352). It does not state what day they assembled on, but it does connect the Lord’s supper (“break bread”) with the Lord’s day.
Ignatius: “If therefore those who lived according to the old practices came to the new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath but living according to the Lord’s day, in which also our life arose through him and his death (which some deny), through which mystery we received faith, and on account of which we suffer in order that we may be found disciples of Jesus Christ our only teacher, how shall we be able to live apart from him for whom even the prophets were looking as their teacher since they were his disciples in the spirit?” (Magnesians 9)
Ignatius was a bishop of Antioch. He was executed in Rome about 110 AD, and on the way to Rome he wrote seven letters (Everett, p. 240). This one to the Magnesians informs us that at that time Christian did not keep the Sabbath, but they did keep the Lord’s day, which indicates that they are not the same day.
Barnabas: “Moreover God says to the Jews, ‘Your new moons and Sabbaths I cannot endure.’ You see how he says, ‘The present Sabbaths are not acceptable to me, but the Sabbath which I have made in which, when I have rested from all things, I will make the beginning of the eight day which is the beginning of another world.’ Wherefore, we [Christians] keep the eighth day for joy, on which also Jesus arose from the dead and when he appeared ascended into heaven.” (15:8f)
This document is anonymous, but is dated between 130-140 AD (Ferguson, p. 242). Like the letter by Ignatius it says that Christians didn’t keep the Sabbath. Although it does not mention the Lord’s supper, he does write about keeping the eighth day (the first day of the week).
Justin: “We are always together with one another. And for all the things with which we are supplied we bless the Maker of all through his Son Jesus Christ and through his Holy Spirit. And on the day called Sunday there is a gathering together in the same place of all who live in a city or a rural district. [There follows an account of a Christian worship service....] We all make our assembly in common on the day of the Sun, since it is the first day, on which God changed the darkness and matter and made the world, and Jesus Christ our Savior arose from the dead on the same day. For they crucified him on the day before Saturn’s day, and on the day after (which is the day of the Sun) he appeared to his apostles and taught his disciples these things.” (Apology I, 67:1-3, 7)
Justin wrote his works between 150 and 160 AD (Ferguson, p. 243). The purpose of his Apology was to explain to pagans what our beliefs and practices are. In the above passage Justin not only states what day Christians assembled on, but why he felt that day was chosen: it was the day Jesus arose from the dead and the first day is when the world was created.
Epistle of the Apostles: “I [Christ] have come into being on the eight day which is the day of the Lord.”
This document is dated to between 150 and 160 AD (Ferguson, p. 243).
Gospel of Peter: Early in the morning while the Sabbath dawned, a multitude from Jerusalem and the surrounding country came to see the sealed sepulchre. In the night in which the Lord’s day dawned while the soldiers in pairs for each watch were keeping guard, a great voice came from heaven. [There follows an account of the resurrection.] Early in the morning of the Lord’s day Mary Magdalene, a disciple of the Lord...came to the sepulchre. (9:34f.; 12:50f.)
This document is dated to 180-190 AD (Ferguson, p. 243). It places the Lord’s day on the first day of the week.
Clement of Alexandria: “Plato prophetically speaks of the Lord’s day in the tenth book of the Republic, in these words: ‘And when seven days have passed to each of them in the meadow, on the eight they must go on.’” (Miscellanies V.xiv.106.2)
[In commenting on each of the Ten Commandments and their Christian meaning:] The seventh day is proclaimed a day of rest, preparing by abstention from evil for the Primal day, our true rest.” (Ibid. VI.xvi.138.1)
“He does the commandment according to the Gospel and keeps the Lord’s day, whenever he puts away an evil mind...glorifying the Lord’s resurrection in himself.” (Ibid. VII.xii.76.4)
Clement of Alexandria wrote between 190 and 200 AD (Ferguson, p. 243). The above quotes show that he understood the “Lord’s day” be the first day of the week.
Tertullian: “Others...suppose that the sun is the god of the Christians, because it is well-known that...we regard Sunday as a day of joy.” (To the Nations I:13)
“To us Sabbaths are foreign.” (On Idolatry 14:6)
“Let him who contends that the Sabbath is still to be observed as a balm of salvation, and circumcision on the eight day because of the threat of death, teach us that in earliest times righteous men kept the sabbath or practised circumcision, and so were made friends of God...It follows, accordingly, that, inasmuch as the abolition of carnal circumcision and of the old law is demonstrated as having been consummated in its own times, so also the observance of the Sabbath is demonstrated to have been temporary.” (An Answer to the Jews 2:10; 4:1)
Tertullian lived between 155 and 222 AD (Ferguson, p. 241). He clearly states that Christians did not keep the Sabbath.
Bardesanes: “Whenever we are, we are all called after the one name of Christ-Christians. On one day, the first of the week, we assemble ourselves together.... “ (On Fate)
Bardesanes was a Syrian Christian we died in 222/223 AD (Ferguson, p. 239).
Eusebius: “[The Ebionites] were accustomed to observe the Sabbath and other Jewish customs but on the Lord’s day to celebrate the same practices as we in remembrance of the resurrection of the Savior.” (Church History III.xxvii.5)
Eusebius was a bishop of Caesarea in Palestine from 313-339 AD (Ferguson, p. 240). He wrote the Church History which is still in print to this day. In the above passage he comments about a Christian group called Ebionites who kept the Sabbath as a day of rest, but observed the Lord’s supper on Sunday.
All the early Christian writers are in agreement the the Lord’s Day is Sunday, that Christians assembled on Sunday and that Christians do not keep the Sabbath. Bacchiocchi said there was a change during Hadrian’s reign, but the Didache, Ignatius and Barnabas make no mention of any change going on, and the writings that came after his reign do not discuss any change from the Sabbath to Sunday.
Did Christians in the New Testament keep the Sabbath?
After the church was established, on the Day of Pentecost, the Sabbath is mentioned in the book of Acts in 13.14, 42, 44; 16.13; 17.2; 18.4 Each of these verses is concerned with Paul and his companions meeting with Jews to teach them the gospel. For example Acts 13.14 “on the sabbath they entered the synagogue,” 17.2 “on three sabbath days he reasoned with them,” 18.4 “Every sabbath he reasoned with them.” None of these verses talks about believers assembling to break bread. Paul was plainly free on that day to meet with Jews in the synagogue. This is would be remarkable if the Sabbath were the day Christians assembled to observe the communion. The final verse where we read about the Sabbath is in Col. 2.16 “Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths.” Bacchiocchi doesn’t think the passage in Col. 2.16 counts since it is talking about sabbaths plural and condemning them;he feels it must have been connected with some sort of false teaching (Bacchiocchi, 1998, p. 248).
Bacchiocchi doesn’t have much to work with in the New Testament. The verses in Acts tell us that Paul met with Jews on the sabbath, and Col. 2.16 tells us not to let anyone condemn us about the sabbath. There is the sabbath-rest in Heb. 4.9, but even though he tries he can’t get away from the fact that the writer of Hebrews is using it in a spiritual manner, which even he admits is true (Bacchiocchi, 1998, 165-170).
When we look at the early Christian writing it gets much worse. These writers uniformly state that Christians do not keep the sabbath.
Ignatius: “If therefore those who lived according to the old practices came to the new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath but living according to the Lord’s day, in which also our life arose through him and his death (which some deny), through which mystery we received faith, and on account of which we suffer in order that we may be found disciples of Jesus Christ our only teacher, how shall we be able to live apart from him for whom even the prophets were looking as their teacher since they were his disciples in the spirit?” (Magnesians 9)
Barnabas: “Moreover God says to the Jews, ‘Your new moons and Sabbaths I cannot endure.’ You see how he says, ‘The present Sabbaths are not acceptable to me, but the Sabbath which I have made in which, when I have rested from all things, I will make the beginning of the eight day which is the beginning of another world.’ Wherefore, we [Christians] keep the eighth day for joy, on which also Jesus arose from the dead and when he appeared ascended into heaven.” (15:8f)
Justin: “There is no other thing for which you blame us, my friends, is there than this? That we do not live according to the Law, nor are we circumcised in the flesh as your forefathers, nor do we observe the Sabbath as you do. [Dialogue with Trypho 10:1. In verse 3 the Jew Trypho acknowledges that Christians ‘do not keep the Sabbath.’].”
The above is part of a discussion Justin had with a Jew named Trypho. Justin acknowledges that Christians do not keep the Sabbath and Trypho agrees with that statement and does not say that Christian used to keep it.
Acts of Peter: “Paul had often contended with the Jewish teachers and had confuted them, saying, ‘It is Christ on whom your fathers laid hands. He abolished their sabbath and fasts and festivals and circumcision.’”
This document is dated to 180-190 AD (Ferguson, p. 243), and shows that Christians did not keep the Sabbath.
Tertullian: “To us Sabbaths are foreign.” (On Idolatry 14:6)
“Let him who contends that the Sabbath is still to be observed as a balm of salvation, and circumcision on the eight day because of the threat of death, teach us that in earliest times righteous men kept the sabbath or practised circumcision, and so were made friends of God...It follows, accordingly, that, inasmuch as the abolition of carnal circumcision and of the old law is demonstrated as having been consummated in its own times, so also the observance of the Sabbath is demonstrated to have been temporary.” (An Answer to the Jews 2:10; 4:1)
Discussion:
When I began this study of the Sabbath I expected more. I had read that Bacchiocchi’s books were persuasive, but there is nothing there but a lot of ideas, suggestion and words. There is nothing in the New Testament indicating that Christians kept the sabbath, but there is evidence that they assembled on the first day of the week. The early Christian writer are perfectly clear, and in agreement stating that the Lord’s Day is Sunday, that they meet on Sunday and they do not keep the Sabbath.
If, as Bacchiocchi claims, Christians moved from meeting on Saturday to Sunday during Hadrian’s reign where is the evidence? Are we to believe that this happened with no discussion and no disagreement? That all the churches in the world changed the day they met on at the same time and no one disagreed? We can even agree on what color the carpet should be. If this had happened there would be a mass of documents arguing about it, instead we had a unified testimony from the New Testament on down that the Lord’s Day is Sunday and Christians do not keep the Sabbath.
Notice what Bacchiocchi has to say about say about Acts 15. In this chapter the leaders of the church in Jerusalem met to decide whether gentile believers had to be obedient to the Old Testament Law: "...some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, ' The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses'" (Acts 15.5). In the counsel's letter to the Gentiles Believers we would have expected to find a command to keep the Sabbath, but it is not there. The most Jewish church in the world, headed by James the brother of Jesus said "we should write to them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immortality, from meat of strangled animals and from blood" (Acts 15.20). Telling Gentiles to keep the Sabbath never even enters the discussion.
Bacchiocchi knew it was a problem that James did not tell Gentiles to keep the Sabbath. He tells us it can not mean that they were not worshiping on the Sabbath because "That such a drastic change in the day of worship hand been unanimously accomplished and accepted, without provoking dissension, is hard to believe..." (Bacchiocchi, 1977 p. 140). That the whole Christian world changed from worshiping on Saturday to Sunday without a word of dissension does not seem to have bothered him.
Christians worship on the Lord's Day, and that day is Sunday.
What are your thoughts?
RAJ
References:
Bacchiocchi, Samuele (1977). From Sabbath to Sunday. A Historical investigation of the Rise of Sunday Observance in Early Christianity,Rome, Italy.
Bacchiocchi, Samuele (1998). Sabbath Under Crossfire, Biblical Perspectives, Michigan.
Bromiley, Geoffrey W. (1988). International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 4: Q-Z, Eerdmans.
Ferguson, Everett (1981). Early Christians Speak, Biblical Research Press, Abilene Texas.
Robinson, John A. T. (1976). Redating The New Testament, Westminster Press.
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