Sabbath in Christianity - Biblical Tradition

Biblical Tradition

As shabath (rest), Sabbath was first described in the Biblical account of the seventh day of Creation (Gen. 2:2-3). Observation and remembrance of Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments (the fourth in the Eastern Orthodox and most Protestant traditions, the third in Roman Catholic and Lutheran traditions). Most people who observe first-day or seventh-day Sabbath regard it as having been instituted as a "perpetual covenant the people of Israel" and proselytes (Ex. 31:13-17, Ex. 23:12, Deut. 5:13-14), a sign in respect for the day during which God rested after having completed Creation in six days (Gen. 2:2-3, Ex. 20:8-11).

In the New Testament, Jesus debates the Jews about the topic of Sabbath observance and declares that the Son of Man is Lord of Sabbath (e.g., Mk. 2:21-28). Early Jewish Christians such as Paul the Apostle visit the synagogue on Sabbath (Acts 13:13-14). The New Testament epistles contain Sabbath teachings interpreted variously by Christians as affirming seventh-day rest, first-day worship, and/or freedom from legalistic requirements to observe days.

The following textual evidence for first-day assembly is usually combined with the notion that the rest day should follow the assembly day to support first-day Sabbatarianism. On the first day of the week (usually considered the day of Firstfruits), after Jesus has been raised from the dead (Mk. 16:9), he appears to Mary Magdalene, Peter, Cleopas, and others. "On the evening of that first day of the week" (Roman time), or the evening beginning the second day (Hebrew time), the resurrected Jesus appears at a meeting of ten apostles and other disciples (Jn. 20:19). The same time of the week "a week later" (NIV) or, more literally, "after eight days again" inclusive (KJV), Jesus appears to the eleven apostles and others (Jn. 20:26). After Jesus ascends (Ac. 1:9), on the feast of Pentecost or Shavuot (the 50th day from Firstfruits and thus usually calculated as the first day of the week), the Spirit of God is given to the disciples, who baptize 3,000 people into the apostolic fellowship. Later, on one occasion in Troas, the early Christians meet on the first day (Hebrew) to break bread and to listen to Christian preaching (Ac. 20:7). Paul also states that the churches of Corinth and Galatia should set aside donations on the first day for collection (1 Cor. 16:2). Didache 14:1 (AD 70-120?) contains an ambiguous text, translated by Roberts as, "But every Lord's day gather yourselves together, and break bread, and give thanksgiving"; the first clause in Greek, "κατά κυριακήν δέ κυρίου", literally means "On the Lord's of the Lord", and translators supply the elided noun (e.g., "day", "commandment" (from 13:7), or "doctrine"). Gleason Archer regards this as clearly referring to Sunday. Breaking bread may refer to Christian fellowship, agape feasts, or Eucharist (cf. Ac. 2:42, 20:7). Other interpreters believe these references do not support the concept of transfer of the seventh-day rest, and some add that they do not sufficiently prove that Sunday observance was an established practice in the primitive New Testament church.