Objection:
Since the earliest days of the apostles, Christians have kept Sunday in honor of Christ’s resurrection. This practice is clearly revealed in two scriptures: Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:2.
Answer:
We have already established (see “PENTECOST PROVES SUNDAY SACREDNESS!”) that there is no Scriptural foundation for the claim that “from the earliest apostolic days, Christians kept Sunday.” There is no evidence that Christ instituted Sunday worship on the day of His resurrection or during any of the forty days He appeared to His disciples before His ascension. Furthermore, there is nothing in the Scriptures to suggest that, during that forty-day period, the apostles held any special regard for Sunday.
Therefore, if there is Biblical proof that the apostles observed Sunday, it must be found several decades later in the two texts referenced in this objection, along with one additional text that will be discussed in another post. It is curious, isn’t it, that a practice as significant as the observance of a new weekly holy day, by both Jewish and Gentile Christians, which involved abandoning the seventh-day Sabbath, did not provoke extensive and repeated discussions in the writings of the apostles? When the matter of circumcision was addressed, it ignited a significant controversy, and this dispute is clearly documented throughout the New Testament. However, we are expected to believe that the apostles informed Christian converts that the Sabbath was no longer to be kept, yet this did not lead to any major conflict substantial enough to be mentioned in the New Testament. Given the Jews’ strong commitment to the Sabbath, this situation is indeed quite peculiar.
In light of these facts, we have reason to question the claim of Sunday observance based on the two texts cited. It is important to note that these are the only two verses in the Bible that mention the first day of the week after the resurrection. The first one reads as follows:
On the first day of the week, when the disciples gathered to break bread, Paul addressed them, as he was preparing to depart the next day. He continued speaking until midnight (Acts 20:7). This passage is part of a longer narrative detailing various events from Paul’s journey home to Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary trip, which spans two chapters.
Let’s first consider the mention of breaking bread. In Acts 2:46, we read that the disciples continued “daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.” If “breaking bread” in Acts 20:7 implies a communion service, it does not indicate anything unique for that specific day, as the disciples engaged in this practice “daily.”
It is important to note that this day is referred to simply as “the first day of the week” and no holy title is assigned to it. This raises the question: on what basis do we argue for the sacredness of Sunday? The logic appears to be as follows:
- Holding a meeting on a certain day is evidence that the day is holy.
- Paul held a meeting on the first day of the week.
- Therefore, Sunday is a holy day.
When we break down this argument, it reveals its inherent weakness. If we examine the entire account of Paul’s journey, we see that he preached in various locations along the way to Jerusalem. Were all these sermons specifically scheduled for Sunday?
Examine the latter half of the twentieth chapter, which provides a summary of what was likely one of the most significant sermons Paul preached during this trip—indeed, it is the only one detailed in depth. An analysis of the context, particularly verse 15, suggests that this sermon was probably delivered on a Wednesday rather than a Sunday. Should we then conclude that Wednesday is a holy day? This could be a reasonable deduction based on the logic used to advocate for Sunday sacredness in this chapter. In fact, one could argue that Paul made nearly every day of the week holy through his numerous services along the journey. However, it takes more than the act of preaching a sermon to designate a day as holy or to overturn the divine command that “the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.”
When we consider the specific timing of the meeting in Troas, this passage in Acts 20 becomes even less convincing as evidence supporting Sunday worship. The service took place at night, as indicated by the phrase, “there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together” (verse 8). The text also states that Paul “continued his speech until midnight,” as he needed to depart the following day (verse 7). In fact, his message extended past midnight, “even till break of day,” at which point he left (verse 11). The accompanying narrative reveals that Paul had to travel across a peninsula from Troas, where he had left his boat, to Assos, where he would embark again.
It is important to note that the Bible accounts for days from sunset to sunset, rather than from midnight to midnight, as we do today (see Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31; Leviticus 23:32). Consequently, the dark part of that “first day of the week” corresponds to what we would refer to as Saturday night. Conybeare and Howson, in their authoritative work Life and Epistles of the Apostle Paul, provide insightful commentary on the timing of the meeting:
“It was the evening which succeeded the Jewish Sabbath. On the Sunday morning the vessel was about to sail.” – Page 520 (One Volume Edition)
So we see that Paul held a meeting on Saturday night and began his long journey the following Sunday morning. Today, we do not see Sunday worshippers attributing any sacredness to Saturday night, yet they often refer to this Saturday night meeting as evidence of Sunday’s sacredness. The meeting extended into what Sunday keepers consider their holy day only because Paul preached an extensive sermon.
Paul stayed in Troas for “seven days” (verse 6). On Saturday night, at the beginning of “the first day of the week,” he preached to them since he was “ready to depart on the morrow.” There is no reason to believe that Paul refrained from preaching during the “seven days” and then decided to hold a service just because “the first day of the week” had arrived. The account of his journeys shows that he preached continually. In this instance, we are specifically informed why he preached: because he was preparing to leave the next day. In other words, he took advantage of this last opportunity to speak to them while “the disciples came together to break bread,” even preaching “until break of day” (verse 11). If this record demonstrates anything, it is that this meeting on the first day was not held due to a customary religious practice, but rather because of an unusual travel situation.
Considering the entirety of Paul’s journey, the mention of “the first day of the week” can be understood as a reference to provide the reader with a general timeline of the journey. Let’s take note of these references:
- “Abode [in Greece] three months.” Acts 20:3.
- “Sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread.” Verse 6.
- Came “unto them to Troas in five days.” Verse 6.
- “Where we abode seven days.” Verse 6.
- “And upon the first day of the week.” Verse 7.
- “Ready to depart on the morrow.” Verse 7.
- “The next day over against Chios.” Verse 15.
- “The next day we arrived at Samos.” Verse 15.
- “The next day we came to Miletus.” Verse 15.
- “Hasted . . . to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.” Verse 16.
- “The day following unto Rhodes.” Acts 21:1.
- Tarried at Tyre “seven days.” Verse 4.
- “And when we had accomplished those days.” Verse 5.
- “Abode with them [at Ptolemais] one day.” Verse 7.
- “The next day we . . . departed, and came unto Caesarea.” Verse 8.
- “Tarried there many days.” Verse 10.
- “After those days we … went up to Jerusalem.” Verse 15.
Dr. Augustus Neander, a prominent church historian and a Sunday keeper, remarks on the supposed proof for Sunday sacredness found in Acts 20:7.
“The passage is not entirely convincing, because the impending departure of the apostle may have united the little Church in a brotherly parting-meal, on occasion of which the apostle delivered his last address, although there was no particular celebration of a Sunday in the case.” – The History of the Christian Religion and Church, translated by Henry John Rose (1831), Vol. 1, Page 337.
If this passage is not entirely convincing to a Sunday-keeping church historian, it should hardly be expected to persuade a Sabbath keeper who bases his belief on the overwhelmingly clear command of God: “The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord.”
When a Sunday advocate claims to reference Acts 20:7 as proof of Sunday sacredness, it only reveals the weakness of the scriptural support for observing Sunday.
The second of the two “first-day” texts states: “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. 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.” (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).
It is suggested that this verse illustrates a religious service held on Sunday when contributions are being collected. The reasoning follows that if a service occurred on Sunday, it proves that Sunday is sacred and, by implication, that the Sabbath mentioned in the Ten Commandments has been abolished.
This is a great attempt to find in one text, particularly because it does not support the conclusions often drawn from it. Rather than describing a church offering where congregants hand their gifts to a deacon, the scripture states that each person was to “lay by him in store.” Or as the RSV renders this passage as follows: “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and save, as he may prosper, so that contributions need not be made when I come.”
In other words, on the first day of the week, each individual was to decide how much money from the previous week’s earnings they wanted to set aside for the special collection that Paul intended to take to the poor in Jerusalem. This contribution was to be stored separately from the household’s other funds. Thus, this act was more about bookkeeping than an act of worship.
Scholarly theologians who observe Sunday worship agree with this interpretation of the passage. A notable example is found in “The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges,” a commentary published by the Cambridge University Press and edited by Church of England clergy. Regarding this text, the commentator states that we cannot infer the practice of Christians gathering on the first day of the week from this passage. He then elaborates on the phrase “lay by him:”
“i.e., at home, not in the assembly, as is generally supposed. . . . He [Paul] speaks of a custom in his time of placing a small box by the bedside into which an offering was to be put whenever prayer was made.” – The First Epistle to the Corinthians, edited by J. J. Lias, p. 164.
It requires much more than simply noting that the disciples gathered in fear in their home on the first day of the week, or that Paul preached a sermon on that day. Additionally, the fact that he instructed the Corinthians to set aside money at home on the first of each week is not enough. We argue that far more justification is needed to convince any believer in the Bible to disregard one of the precepts of the eternal Ten Commandments, which states, “the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.”
