Saturday vs Sunday

 

Saturday vs. Sunday

 

The Sabbath:

Under the Law (Torah) that was give to Moses for the Israelis the 4^th Commandment was that they would rest on the 7^th day, Saturday, it was called the Sabbath day. They were to do no work, but rest because GOD rested on the 7^th day after creating everything that exists. Genesis 2:1-3, “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them were finished. And on the seventh day GOD ended 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 in it He rested from all His work which GOD had created and made.”

In Exodus 31:12-17 GOD clarifies this commandment, “And The LORD, spoke to Moses, saying ‘Speak also to the children of Israel, saying,: “Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I Am The LORD Who sanctifies you. You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you…Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days The LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.”’”

 

This was specifically for Israel, no other nation was required to keep this commandment!

 

There is a lot of teaching in the Bible about the Sabbath, by the time we get to JESUS’ life in Israel, we see that the Sabbath has become a religious token of religious observance of the Torah rather than an actual celebration of rest and a day to worship GOD. JESUS on several occasions takes the religious leaders of His day to task for their misconstrued practice of the Sabbath. In Luke 13:10-17 we see an example, “Now He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And, behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up. When JESUS saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, ‘Woman , you are loosed from your infirmity.’ And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified GOD. But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because JESUS healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.’ The LORD then answered him and said, ‘Hypocrite! Does not each of one you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water? So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom satan has bound–think of it–for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?’ And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame, and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things done by Him.”

 

Sunday:

Since JESUS rose from the dead on Sunday - the first day of the week (John 20:1) most Christians have celebrated this day as their version of the Sabbath. It did not start this way early on since most Christians were Jewish. Early on there were Judean Christians who believed that the new Gentile believers needed to follow the Law when it came to such things as circumcision and the Sabbath. The Apostles and early Church leaders knew this was not true and spoke out against trying to force Gentile believers to follow the Torah. In Acts 15:1-35 we see an example of this, “And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.’ Therefore, Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders about this question…And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that GOD had done through them. But some of the sect of The Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, ‘It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the Law of Moses.’ Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter…And after they had become silent, James answered, saying, ‘Men and brethren, listen to me: Simon has declared how GOD at the first visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His Name. and with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: “After this I will return and rebuild the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down; I will rebuild it’s ruins, and I will set it up; so that the rest of mankind may seek the LORD, Even all the Gentiles who are called by My Name, says The LORD Who does all these things. Know to GOD from eternity are all His Works. Therefore I judge we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to GOD, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood. For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.’ Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren…”

 

But before long Christians began to worship and fellowship on Sunday, Acts 20:7, “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.” Paul expounded on this principle in Colossians 2:16-17, “So let no one judge you in food or drink, regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of CHRIST.” Also study 1 Corinthians 16:1

 

There is no Bible doctrine about worshipping on Saturday or Sunday, it is a matter of personal choice what day you worship and fellowship on. Some have made it a denominational or church doctrine, but that is a religious issue not a Biblical one. The main emphasis is on taking one day a week to rest. Pastors and church staff don’t rest on Sunday, they are working. They rest on Monday, unless they have a regular job. If GOD enjoyed a day of rest after created everything that exists and He ordered the Hebrew people, His chosen people to reveal Himself and His Kingdom to the nations, to take a day of rest it must be important. But there is more to this issue that we will not try to cover in this already long explanation. Not just the people, but the land was supposed to rest every seven years, and finances were supposed to rest every seven years.