by Lawrence Fox
"Nor do people put
new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wineskins burst, and the wine pours
out and the wineskins are ruined; but they put new wine into fresh wineskins,
and both are preserved." (Matt. 9:17)
Get into a conversation with a modernist and suddenly the
Roman Emperor Constantine (272-337 A.D.) becomes the cause for the doctrine of the
Trinity, Christians worshipping on Sunday (not Saturday), the Great Apostasy
and the Easter Bunny.
The Old Testament prophets proclaimed The Sabbath to be a day
of joy and not a time of weeping. Nehemiah and Ezra encouraged the people to rejoice
with the Lord while re-building the temple after their return from the Babylonian
Captivity. (Ezra 3:4) In this context, the Sabbath was an invitation to the
people of God to embrace God’s Mercy and His promises of Redemption. “Destroy
this temple and I will rebuild it in three days,” Jesus said. (John 2:19) The
Resurrection of Jesus Christ on the First Day of the Week was for his disciples
the epitome of Christian joy, “The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the
Lord.” (John 20:20) Their joy is re-enacted liturgically each Sunday as an acknowledgment
of God’s Mercy and the Promise of Redemption within God’s new temple:
Christian
Sabbath and Sunday
Summary
“Alas Constantine, you
are held responsible for everything -- even the Easter Bunny!” Susan Fox, editor
 |
| "Emperor Constantine did this to me!" |
He is also viewed as the greatest persecutor of “alternative”
movements to Catholic Christianity. Among those he allegedly harassed are: Marcionites
(primitive Protestants), Donatists (primitive Puritans) and Arians (primitive
Muslims and Jehovah Witnesses).
 |
| Emperor Constantine's Image on a Roman Coin |
The reason the modernists jump on Constantine is because
they artificially divide Church History into three stages: “the Age of
Apostles, the Age of Apostasy, and the Age of Recovery.” This tripartite crisis
of history generally equates Emperor Constantine with the “Age of Apostasy” as
a means of avoiding a serious dialogue on the first four centuries of the Church.
The seeker of historical truth comes in direct contact with
the “Deposit of Faith” by reading Ignatius of Antioch, Clement of Rome,
Polycarp of Smyrna, Melito of Sardis, Irenaeus of Lyons, Origen, Tertullian, John
Chrysostom, Basil, Jerome, Augustine of Hippo, Ambrose of Milan, Hilary of Poitiers
and the numerous cast of “Who’s Who in Church History.” Such an engagement with the past demonstrates
that the Apostolic Churches were vibrantly devoted to the faith of the
apostles, sacramental, hierarchal, liturgical, oral, biblical, catechetical, creedal and dogmatic, in
summary: Catholic in nature.
In the Second Century,
St. Irenaeus the Bishop of Lyon, while defending the faith against various
Gnostic movements, recognized that the apostles of Jesus Christ put into the Universal
Catholic Church the “Deposit of Faith,” something which the Gnostics had
entirely rejected:
“When
therefore we have such proofs, it is not necessary to seek among others the
truth which is easily obtained from the Church. For the Apostles like a rich
man in a bank, deposited within her most copiously everything that pertains to
the truth; and everyone whosoever wishes, draws from her the drink of life.”[1]
As a result of this artificial understanding of history, the
early writings are not read, nor understood, and therefore ignorance and
Gnosticism abounds. Plus the specter of “religious conspiracy” becomes increasingly
vogue and plausible in the modern world.
Saturday versus Sunday Argument
One such “religious conspiracy,” which epitomizes this
tripartite crisis of history, is the imagined establishment of the Christian Sabbath
Worship on Sunday as a result of Emperor Constantine’s edict in 321 A.D. He identified
“the day of the sun” as a weekly Roman holiday. Citizens were to cease from forced labor on
the “day of the sun,” except for farmers whose lives were ruled by planting, weather,
and seasons. But in fact, Constantine simply facilitated the Christians’
existing desire to worship on Sunday, free of labor.
Since the
Reformation, Seventh Day movements have argued that Christians observed the
Sabbath on Saturday, then they went underground while the alleged Apostate
Church celebrated Sunday following Constantine’s decree to cease labor. In more
recent times, a so-called faithful remnant of Seventh Day Christians emerged. [2]
The biblical and historical evidence against such a
“religious conspiracy” is significant. But prior to rebutting this argument, it
is my intent to mollify the adherents to this artificial view of history
especially as it relates to secular rulers and the people of God. For example, Jesus
was born in the town of Bethlehem as a result of a decree issued by a secular
ruler -- Caesar Augustus. (Luke 2:1) With this secular decree, the prophecy
made by God through the prophet Micah was fulfilled. And there are many more
examples of God using secular rulers like Constantine as a means of bringing
about His will in salvation.
Secular Rulers and the People of
God
God warned the people of Northern Kingdom of Israel time and
again to give up their worship of the Baal(s), Asherah and the practice of
child sacrifice. They didn’t, so in 722 B.C, the Assyrians under the rule of the
pagan Sargon II dispersed the people of Israel from the Promised Land. The remnant
that remained intermarried with the Assyrians and became identified as
Samaritans.
The people of Judea in the Southern Kingdom were also warned
time and again to give up their worship of the Baal(s), Asherah, and the
“shedding of much innocent blood.” (2 Kings 21:16) Jeremiah declared that the
rulers in Jerusalem turned the Holy Temple into a “den of thieves.” (Jer. 7:11)
Jesus Christ echoed this language centuries later when He addressed the temple rulers
in Jerusalem. (Mark 11:12-18) The people of Judea did not repent. So the Babylonians
in three stages (605 AD, 597 AD, and 587 AD) exiled the people from the land of
Judah into Babylon.
But God promised they would be brought back into the land.
(Jer. 25:11-12: 29:10) In 538 B.C., God inspired the Persian King Cyrus to facilitate
the return of the Jews to Judea and to re-establish the temple in Jerusalem.
(Is 44:28; 45:1)
God also promised that the Northern and Southern tribes both
would be brought back into one fold.
How this would be accomplished remained a mystery until the Feast of Pentecost
since the 10 Northern tribes were completely lost. Peter filled with the power
of the Holy Spirit speaks to the various pilgrims from all over the known world,
some of whom were descended from the lost tribes of Israel. Preaching about
Jesus Christ, he addresses them both as “Jews” and by the name of the lost
tribes, the “Children of Israel.” (Acts 2: 14, 22) As a result of his words,
3000 were baptized and added to the number of disciples that day. (Acts 2:41) God’s
word to bring all peoples into one fold began
on Pentecost.
Before that, Jesus prophesied regarding the Temple in
Jerusalem that “not one stone would be left upon another.” (Mark 13:1) The
temple was reduced to rubble by the Roman ruler Titus in 70 AD.
The “Old Jerusalem”
-- in the Book of Revelation named “Sodom and Egypt where their Lord was put to
death on the cross.” (Rev. 11:8) -- was destroyed. The New Jerusalem (Rev 21:2)
-- established by Jesus Christ upon
Peter the Rock (Matt, 16:18) -- became the one
fold promised by God.
No human activity is free from the mind of God who either
allows or wills the events which happen in human history as a means of guiding and
completing salvation. The Christians in the Fourth Century would have viewed
the ascendency of Emperor Constantine as an expression of God’s mercy because
he ceased persecution of the Church for the first time since its inception!
Struggles of the People of God
The church established by Jesus Christ wrestled against four
(4) significant movements in the ancient world during the first three centuries:
Judaism, which rejected Jesus as Messiah; Gnosticism/Neo-Platonism, which
rejected the doctrine of the Incarnation; paganism, which rejected monotheism; and
Imperial Rome which persecuted and murdered those who confessed that “Jesus Christ
was Lord and God” and who refused to offer incense to the image of Caesar, a
false idol.
Christian persecution at the hands of Roman authorities occurred
in various times and in various degrees for 300 hundred years beginning with
the crucifixion of Jesus: Pilate, Herod, Nero, Domitian, Pliny, Trajan, Marcus
Aurelius and Decius. Persecutions increased in horror and frequency just prior
to the age of Constantine under Diocletian, Maximin Daia, and Galerius.
Constantine’s father Constantius Chlorus, the Roman Emperor from 293 to 306,
did not favor the murder of the citizens of the Empire. He passed this sentiment
down to Constantine.
Emperor Constantine was the first Roman Emperor to stop the
worship of the Emperor’s Image and to secure the toleration of Christians,
giving them the right to worship Christ. Previous emperors were self-deified;
Constantine self-identified as the “servant of God.[3]
When Constantine became Emperor, he was not a baptized Christian, nor an
adherent of Trinitarian theology. He was not in fact baptized until near his
own death.
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| Constantine's vision: "In this sign you shall conquer." |
But his sympathies were with the “most holy bishops of the
savior of Jesus Christ,” or so he stated at the Council or Arles in 314 AD.[4]
According to Constantine, it was this savior of the Christians who revealed to
him: “in this sign (Chi Rho) you shall
conquer.” He believed that was responsible for his overthrow victory “against
all odds” of the wicked Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge on October 28, 312 AD.
Constantine experienced some form of a conversion in 312 AD,
according to Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea, who wrote the biographical Life of Constantine and who by the way
had Arian sympathies. Constantine took steps to return property back to the
Catholic Church that was confiscated during the various persecutions. He also paid
for the building of new Churches. His grasp of Catholic theology, however, was limited
and many of his moral decisions were imperfect. But he had little to gain by
aligning himself with Christianity -- still widely despised throughout the Roman
Empire.[5]
Sunday -- the Weekly Roman
Holiday
Emperor Constantine’s Sunday Day of Rest decree stated that on
the “day of the sun” citizenry of the empire were to be free from compulsive labor.
Such a decree was not the cause of Sunday worship within the Empire. Christians
were already worshiping on Sunday. If
there was a “conspiracy,” it would be the conspiracy of Christians to be free
of persecution so they could worship on Sunday. Christians influenced
Constantine’s view on the establishment of a Roman Weekly Holiday.
No doubt Christians received the Sunday Rest decree with
rejoicing because it seemed to be evidence that the great persecution was over. Some perceived the decree as a defeat of
ritual Judaism: “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or
drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath Day. These are a shadow
of the things that were to come; the reality is the (body) of Christ.”
(Colossians 2:16, NIV) But for sake of
argument, suppose Constantine was addressing the subtleties of Jewish-Christian
disagreements with respect to the keeping of Mosaic ceremonial laws:
circumcision, kosher, and Sabbath Worship. Was he the first? Absolutely not.
Long before Constantine was conceived, St. Paul writing to the
Christian churches in Galatia and Colossae reminded them that through the indwelling
of the Holy Spirit, the disciples of Jesus were abiding in “God’s Rest,” participating
in “An Eternal Sabbath Observance” which Moses and Joshua held out as a promise
to God’s People by shadows and figures, but which they never received through
the Old Law. (Hebrews 1: 4) Jesus and
His apostles challenged the important ceremonial works of the law, including
circumcision, kosher, and Sabbath observance. It was recorded in the New
Testament:
·
Sabbath – “The Sabbath was made for
man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.” (Mark
2:27)
·
Kosher – “Don’t you see that nothing that
enters a man from the outside can make him unclean. For it doesn’t go into his
heart but into his stomach and then out his body.” In saying this, Jesus
declared all foods clean. (Mark 7:18-19)
·
Circumcision – Some men came down from
Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised, according
to the custom taught by Moses you cannot be saved.” “Peter standing at the
Council in Jerusalem answered, “No! We believe it is through the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ that we are saved, just as they are.” (Acts 15:1,11)
All
three Mosaic observances reach their fulfillment in the Person of Jesus Christ.
And with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, his disciples now “worship the Father
in Spirit and in Truth.” (John 4:23) Circumcision is fulfilled through the gift
of Baptism. Kosher is fulfilled by participating in the Lord’s Supper. Sabbath observance
is fulfilled by participating in the observance of the Lord’s Resurrection on
Sunday.
The Origins of Sunday Observance
Let us look at what the Catholic Church teaches about the
origins and significance of Sunday Observance as found within the Vatican II
Document, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy:
"By
a tradition handed down from the apostles, which took its origins from the very
day of Christ’s Resurrection, the Church celebrates the paschal mystery every eighth
day, which is appropriately called the Lord’s Day or Sunday. For on this day, Christ’s
faithful should come together into one place so that hearing the word of God
and taking part in the Eucharist, they may call to mind the passion, resurrection,
and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, and may give thanks to God who ‘has
begotten them again through the resurrection of Christ from the dead, unto a
living hope.' The Lord’s day is the original feast day, and it should be
proposed to the faithful and taught to them so that it may become in fact a day
of joy and of freedom from work. Other celebrations, unless they be truly of
the greatest importance, shall not have precedence over Sunday, which is the
foundation and kernel of the whole liturgical year."[6]
The Catholic Church teaches that Sunday Observance has its
origins in the faith delivered to the saints by the apostles. (Jude 1:3) The apostles delivered to the Church
everything they received from Jesus Christ. Through their teachings, their way
of life, their purpose, and the example of their faith, patience, love,
endurance, persecutions, and sufferings, their faith was passed on. (2 Timothy
3:10) Integral to their way of life was their
manner of prayer and worship, which the Church received by Sacred Tradition, (1
Corinthian 13:1) including the worship of God on the First Day of the Week. What
the disciples of the apostles received by word and letter, they passed on to
the next generation in apostolic fashion.
The Significance of Sabbath
(Saturday) Observance
Sabbath Observance is based upon the Six-Day Creation Narrative
and resting on the Seventh: “And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it,
because in it he ceased from all his works which God began to do.” (Genesis 2:3
Septuagint) This Seventh Day remembrance expresses the covenant relationship
between God and His Creation and His people Israel. It should be noted that
unlike the previous six days, which consist of an evening and a morning, the seventh
day is eternal and unending. The Seventh Day is a day set apart, which means it
is “Holy.” In the Old Testament, to be “Holy” is to participate in God’s
unending Seventh Day.
The word “sabbaton” is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word
"shabbat" (Sabbath), which derives from the verb “shavat.” It means
“rest” or “cessation from labor.” But its root form means “seven” and the
“oath” of a covenant. The Sabbath is one of God’s 10 commandments to the children
of Israel through the prophet Moses:
“Remember
the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your
work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall
not do any work, you or your son, or your daughter, your manservant or your
maidservant or your cattle or the sojourner who is within your gates; for in
six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, the sea and all that is in
them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day
and hallowed it.” (Exodus 20: 8-11 RSV)
The children of Israel were commanded to keep the Sabbath.
The Sabbath signified through the element of time, God’s covenant relationship with
them. In other words, seven days and cycles of seven (weeks, months, and years)
re-enforced into their memory a covenant relationship with the Lord God. Sabbath
equals Covenant. This relationship between Sabbath and Covenant is significant
to the understanding that Sunday is a fulfillment of Covenant in the Person of
Jesus Christ.
On the night before He died, Jesus took the cup, saying, “This
cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” (Lk.
22:20, 21) Jesus’ gave a command to his
disciples, “Do this in memory of me.” (Lk.22: 19) This command re-enforced His disciples’
memory that a new covenant relationship was being established at the Last
Supper. The Lord’s Supper is a “key” to understanding the Christian observance
of Sunday as the new Sabbath.
But These Words are Hard to Take.
During the time of first and second Maccabees (175-135 B.C),
the Greek king of the Seleucid Empire ordered the people of Judah to abandon their
ceremonial practices of circumcision, kosher, and the keeping of the Sabbath. The
Greek persecution of the Jewish people was brutal. The Jewish response to this
persecution was mixed: submit, fight, or suffer martyrdom. As a result of this
eventful period, a few “zealous” movements emerged within Judaism, most notably
the Pharisees and the Essenes.
Their “zeal” for the Law of Moses was matched only by their bitterness
towards all things Gentile. The Sadducees on the other hand, identified as
Hellenizing Jews favored by the Hasmonean priest-kings, were bitterly hated by
the various “zealous” movements. (Acts 23:6)
The Pharisees taught that fidelity required a meticulous
adherence to the ceremonial laws of Moses, but as they understood the meaning
of fidelity. Jesus Christ taught that the Sabbath was made for man and not man
for the Sabbath and as such the Son of Man was Lord of the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27)
The Pharisees heard these words from the lips of Jesus and clearly
understood their implication. In their mind, Jesus’ words were blasphemous and his
works of healing on the Sabbath were the work of the devil and therefore
deserved death. (Mark 3:6) The Herodians, Pharisees, and Sadducees (movements
which despised each other) rejected the mercy and promise of a New Covenant with
God through the Person of Jesus Christ as celebrated at the Last Supper. In no way,
shape or form would the Pharisees accept a “new covenant” which replaced the
Mosaic Law. The argument over Sunday Observance ended on the First Day of the
Week when Jesus rose from the Dead.
Christian Sabbath and
Eternal Rest in Christ Jesus
Eternal Rest in Christ Jesus
Paul writes that the people of God were baptized into Moses as
they crossed the Red Sea, and followed Moses toward the Promised Land. (1Cor.
10:2) God allowed Moses to see the Promised Land from a distance, but never to
enter it.. Joshua, the successor to Moses, entered the Promised Land with the second
generation of Israelites as they carried the Mosaic commandments and ceremonial
laws. Still, the Author of Hebrews states that the children of Israel never
entered into God’s rest:
“For
if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another
day. There remains then a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who
enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His. Let
us make every effort to enter that rest, so that none will fall by the side as
did those following their example of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4: 8-11)
The
promise of a Sabbath-rest was to be fulfilled in the Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus,
while preaching to the people in the temple yard, stated: “Come to me all you
who are heavy laden and are filled with life’s burdens and I will give you
rest.” (Matthew 11:28) Jesus, who is the Lord of the Sabbath, gives rest to
those who come to him and are baptized into His Life, Death and Resurrection. (Romans.
6:4)
Eternal Rest, the same thing as Sabbath Observance, begins
with abiding in the Person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself said, “I have not
come to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill them.” (Matt 5:17) In
fact Jesus says, “I am making everything new.” (Rev. 21:5) In other words, the
laws of Moses, including Sabbath Observance, find their fulfillment in Jesus
Christ. This is why Paul of Tarsus writes to the Church in Colossae:
“Therefore
do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a
religious festival, a New Moon celebration
or a Sabbath Day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the
reality is the body of Christ.” (Colossians 2:16, NIV)
Christian Sabbath and Resurrection
Joy
on the First Day
“As you come to him, the living
Stone — rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him — you
also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy
priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus
Christ.” (1Peter 2:4-5)
How long did the disciples of Jesus Christ reflect upon the
mystery that the Church was the New Temple? Didn’t they recognize -- along with
their bitter sufferings — that their consoling joy was rooted in the Resurrection
of Jesus Christ on the First Day of the
Week?
“Praise be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In
his great mercy he has given us a new birth and a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..In this you greatly rejoice though
for now you may have to suffer grief in all kinds of trials..Though you have
not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now you believe
in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy…” (1Peter 1:3-9)
And how long did it take the disciples to understand that a
new Sabbath was established on the First Day of the Week? Not very long, so it
seems.
Sabbath Observance in the New
Testament
Noticeably absent from the Acts of the Apostles and the
Epistles are apostolic directives requiring the Gentiles to observe the Sabbath. The Apostles,
who are natural born Jews, visited the Synagogues on the Sabbath as observant Jews.
But they did it for the purpose of evangelizing their own people. The apostles
do not command Gentile converts to observe the Jewish Sabbath and Jewish
converts are not commanded to forgo their observance of Saturday Sabbath. But
Jewish Christians who advocated circumcision had a different message, which
still resonates within several Christian movements today. These Jewish Christians
came to Antioch and taught that without circumcision there was no salvation.
Peter and the Council of Jerusalem responded stating that the Gentiles received
the Holy Spirit, not by observing the Law (Circumcision, Kosher, Sabbath) but
by believing in the Good News of Jesus Christ. (Acts 14:11)
The Significance of Sunday
Observance
The Catholic Church teaches that Sunday Observance is not a
rejection of the Jewish Sabbath but an affirmation of Faith in the Resurrection
of Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead on the First Day of the Week.
The apostles identified the Resurrection of Jesus Christ as the
source of Christian Hope. “If Christ had not been raised, our faith would be
futile; we would still be in our sins. If Jesus was not raised from the dead,
then our hope in Christ in this life only, would be a cause for us to be pitied
more then all men.” (1Cor 15:12) Sunday Observance is an expression of faith
and a blessing in action: “Blessed are those who believe and have not seen”
(John 20:29).
The movement of God’s People from the strict observance of
the Mosaic ceremonial laws to that which is fulfilled in Jesus Christ is
foreshadowed in the Old Testament Prophets and Psalms. The Church, founded on the foundation of apostles
and prophets (Ephesians 2:19), is the “Bride of Christ” (Ephesians 5: 32). The Holy
Spirit speaks prophetically to this “Bride” through the Psalmist , encouraging her to forget the house of her father, and to
come forth and embrace Jesus Christ. He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings for
whom and through whom all things exist and have their being:
“Listen, O daughter give ear to my
words:
forget your own people and your
father’s house.
So will the King desire your beauty.
He is your Lord, pay homage to him.
And the people of Tyre shall come with
gifts,
the richest of people shall seek your
favor.
The daughter of the king is clothed in
splendor,
her robes embroidered with pearls set
in gold.
She is led to the King with maiden
companions.
They are escorted amid gladness and
joy,
they pass within the palace of the
King.
Sons shall be yours in place of your
fathers,
you will make them princes over all the
earth.
May this song make your name forever
remembered,
May the peoples praise you for age to
age.”
(Psalm 44(45))
Christian Sabbath and
the First Day of the Week
the First Day of the Week
Each of the Four (4) Gospel writers, introduce the
Resurrection narrative with the expression the First Day of the Week. MATTHEW recounts in the Gospel that after the
Sabbath, as it was on the first day of
the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb…(Matthew
28:1-10). MARK recounts in the Gospel that when the Sabbath was over (Saturday
6:00 PM), Mary Magdalene, Mary the Mother of James and Salome brought spices so
that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after
sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who
will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” (Mark 16: 1-8). LUKE recounts in the Gospel that on the first
day of the week, very early in the morning the women took spices they
prepared and went to the tomb... (Luke 24: 1-8). JOHN recounts in the Gospel
that early on the first day of the week,
while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone
had been removed from the entrance…(John 20: 1-21).
By the time the Gospels are written between 50 AD and 90 AD,
the expression First Day of the Week,
was synonymous with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and was already evolving into
these expressions: the Lord’s Day, the Eighth Day, the Lord’s Day of the Lord, and Sunday.
Christian Sabbath and the Worship
of Jesus
on the First Day of the Week
Matthew recounts in the Gospel that several disciples
encountered the resurrected Jesus, on the First
Day of the Week, and they worshipped Him:
“After
the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of
the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There
was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and
going to the tomb rolled back the stone and sat on it… The angel said to the
women, ‘do not be afraid for I know that you are looking for Jesus who was
crucified. He is not here, he has risen, just as he said.’… So the women
hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy and ran to tell his
disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them, ‘Greetings,’ he said, they came to him,
clasped his feet and worshipped him.
Then Jesus said to them, “do not be afraid, Go and tell my brothers to go to
Galilee; there they will see me.” (Matthew 28:1-10).
By
this story, Matthew presents to his readers a manner of observing the First Day
of the Week, namely imitating the disciples who worshipped the Risen Jesus Christ.
Christian Sabbath and Word and
Sacrament
on the First Day of the Week
Luke recounts in the Gospel that on the First Day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other women ran to
the apostles to tell them that the tomb was empty. The disciples did not
believe their word and so Peter and John ran to the tomb, which they find
empty.
Luke then tells us that on the same day, two disciples
journey to Emmaus and encounter Jesus. Although Jesus prevents them from
recognizing him, He speaks with them. Beginning with Moses and the Prophets, He
explains to them how everything that was written foretold that the Messiah
would have to suffer, die and then enter into His Glory. The two disciples beg
this “hidden Jesus” to stay with them. When Jesus was at table with them, He
took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. And their eyes
were opened. They recognized Him and He disappeared. The two disciples then run
back to Jerusalem where they find the eleven. Those assembled with them say to
the two disciples, “It is true the Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.”
Then the two disciples told what had happened on the way, and how they
recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread. (Luke 24: 13-35)
By this story, Luke presents the manner of observing the First
Day of the Week:
·
The proclamation of Jesus Christ in the
Sacred Word, in which the hearts of the disciples are found burning as Jesus explains
the Sacred Texts.
·
The proclamation of Jesus Christ in the
Breaking of the Bread, in which the eyes of the disciples are opened as they recognize
Jesus in the Breaking of the Bread.
Christian Sabbath and
Profession of Faith
on the First Day of the Week
John recounts in the Gospel that on the evening of that first day of the week, when the
disciples were together with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came
and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” (John 20: 19) Jesus breathed on them and said: “Receive the
Holy Spirit. Those sins you forgive are forgiven and those sins you retain are
retained.” Thomas was not with the remaining apostles and disciples in the
upper room when Jesus appeared to them the first time.
We are told that Thomas doubted
that Jesus appeared to them alive in the flesh. A week later and again on the First Day of the week, these same
disciples were gathered in the same place and this time Thomas was with them
(John 20: 26). Jesus then asked Thomas to “Put your finger here: see my hands,
Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to Jesus: “My LORD and My
GOD.”
 |
| St. Thomas: "My Lord and My God." |
Note that Jesus does not appear to Thomas during the course
of the week, but waits until the disciples are gathered again seven days later on
Sunday, the First Day of the Week.
Through this story, John demonstrates the manner of
observing the First Day of the Week:
·
Peace and the forgiveness of sins are
brought about through the action of faith.
·
The unbeliever is brought to an act of
faith.
Christian Sabbath and
the Offering
on the First Day of the Week
Paul of Tarsus encourages the Church at Corinth to do
exactly what he instructed the Galatian churches to do on the First Day of the
Week. Each disciple was to save a sum of money in keeping with his income to
donate to the Church. (1 Corinthians 1: 2).
It is not certain when Paul came to gather up the collection, but what
is certain is that the Church was to collect the funds on the First Day of the
Week.
The same instruction was given to the churches in Galatia
because they were being pulled back into the Jewish Observance of the Laws, New
Moons, Sabbaths, and Circumcision. To bring them back into Christian reality, Paul
assigned them to participate in an “offertory” sacrifice on the First Day of
the week while offering their Sunday worship, defined as “devoting themselves to the apostles’
teaching, and to communion, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayer.” (Acts
2:42)
Christian Sabbath:
Gathering to Break Bread on First Day of the Week
Gathering to Break Bread on First Day of the Week
“And
upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break
bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued
his speech until midnight.”(Acts 20:7)
Why did the disciples come together? They were in the habit
of breaking bread on the First Day of the week. Paul does not plan to travel on the First Day
of the week, which is similar behavior to a Jew who would be observing the Saturday
Sabbath. If the Church in Ephesus were observing the Saturday Sabbath, the
order of events would have been reversed. Paul would have preached on Friday evening
and Saturday morning and then traveled on Sunday.
Christian Sabbath and Worship in
Spirit and Truth on the Lord’s Day
In the Book of Revelation, John writes that on the Lord’s Day “I was in the Spirit, and I
heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.”(Revelation 1: 9-11)
While in the Spirit, John describes how Sunday Worship was
patterned after heavenly worship. In the Letter to the Hebrews, the author
drives home the point that the Jewish priests served at a sanctuary that is a
copy and shadow of what is in heaven. That is why Moses was instructed in what
manner to fashion the tabernacle: “See
to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown to you on the
mountain.” (Hebrews 8:4)
But a new temple of spiritual stones is under construction
and their worship reflects the pattern described in the Book of Revelation:
· There
is the Son of Man arrayed in priestly garb with liturgical vessels (Revelation
1:12-19) – an expression of liturgical gathering and entrance procession.
· There
are instructions to the Seven Churches (Revelation 2 and 3) -- an expression of
liturgical readings and exhortations: the homily.
· There
are 24 presbyters surrounding the throne and worshipping God and Lamb of God
(Revelation 4) -- an expression of con-celebration with presbyters performing
their priesthood among the shared priesthood of God’s people.
· There
is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the earth in the center – an expression
of the sacrificial nature of the Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist or Breaking of Bread.
· There
are the presbyters and angels offering incense to the Lamb, which is the
prayers of the saints (Revelation 5) -- an expression of Eucharistic Adoration.
· There
is an altar of sacrifice and under the altar there are souls slain for the Word
of God (Revelation 5) -- an expression of the Communion of Saints.
It
is on the Lord’s Day (kyriake) that God reveals this Heavenly Liturgy to John,
not on the Sabbath. The term “kyriake” is an adjective derived from the word
Kyrios (Lord) and is found in the New Testament on one other occasion where Paul
addresses the Church in Corinth:
"When
you come together, it is not the Lord’s (kyriake)
supper you eat, for as you eat, each
of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another
gets drunk. Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in?" (1Corinthians 11:20).
Here
in the New Testament the term kyriake is connected with both Sunday and the
Lord’s Supper (Breaking of Bread). Many readers of the Sacred Scripture lack a key
hermeneutic of interpretation. They do not recognize that Sacred Scripture was
written primarily for liturgy. The various New and Old Testament authors were
inspired by God to frame and convey His “Written Word” within a liturgical
framework; so that what was “read and heard” conformed to their worship of Him
in spirit and truth. John -- by writing to the seven Churches -- conveys that the Church is universal and God’s
new covenant and creation. The number
seven always has a universal and covenantal context, just as the world was
created in seven days.
Christian Sabbath and Polemics
in
Extra-Biblical Sources
It is important to understand that extra-biblical sources
also teach Sunday worship. Luke states that in Antioch after Jesus’ death,
the followers of Jesus were identified as Christians. (Acts 11:26) Paul,
Barnabas, John, and Peter all ministered to the Church there. Ignatius was the
bishop of Antioch at the end of the First Century. Usually, when the Church
experienced persecution at the hands of the Roman magistrates, the critical
person to be arrested was the Bishop. In about 110 AD, Ignatius was rounded up
and taken as a prisoner to Rome where he would later be put to death as a martyr
for Jesus Christ. While on his journey to Rome, Ignatius writes seven letters to the Ephesians,
Magnesians, Trallians, Romans, Philadelphians, Smyrneans and one personally to Polycarp
the Bishop of Smyrna. In his Letter to the Church at Magnesia, Ignatius writes:
“We have seen how former (Jewish) adherents of the ancient
customs have since attained a new hope; so that they have given up keeping the
Sabbath; and now order their lives by the Lord’s Day instead – the day when
life first dawned for us, thanks to him and his death.”[7]
Jews
who accepted Jesus as Lord no longer centered their lives on the Sabbath, but
on the Lord’s Day. Life did not dawn for the disciple with Jesus entering the
tomb, but with his coming out from the tomb alive on Sunday, the First Day of
the Week.
Another extra-biblical text known as the Epistle of Barnabas
(120 AD) testifies to Sunday Worship. The author writes that Christians do not
celebrate the Sabbath, but celebrate the eighth day because that was when Jesus
rose from the dead, showed Himself and ascended into heaven.[8]
The document is a polemic, which highlights that Sabbath
Observance is only fulfilled in the Person of Jesus Christ. That’s why
Christians emphasize the Resurrection of Jesus through Sunday Observance.
A similar polemical defense of the Christian Sabbath was
written by the Latin-speaking lawyer Tertullian, who converted to Christianity
in 193 AD. In his polemic, “Against the Jews,” he writes that Jewish practices
are not necessary for salvation. “Circumcision, Sabbath observance, the ancient
sacrifices have been abolished along with the “eye for an eye” ordinance which
has yielded to the law of love. The
giver of this new sacrifice, the observer of the eternal Sabbath has already
appeared, Jesus Christ, foretold by the prophets as the everlasting King of the
Universe.” [9]
Christian
Sabbath and Sunday
Another extra-biblical source defending the Sunday
Observance is Justin the Martyr (110-165AD), who was a convert to Catholic
Christianity. During the persecutions conducted by Roman Emperor Marcus
Aurelias, he wrote his First Defense of Christianity, identifying what
Christians do when they gather to worship:
“…but
Sunday is the Day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the
first day on which God ...made the world; and Jesus Christ our savior on the
same day rose from the dead.”[10]
The Didache “The Teaching of the Twelve” (70 AD), another
extra biblical text, instructs the Christians to assemble on the Lord’s Day:[11]
“Assemble
on the Lord’s Day of the Lord (kyriake), and break bread and offer the
Eucharist; but first make confession of your faults, so that your sacrifice may
be a pure one.”
Jesus is recorded as saying: “Therefore if you are
presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has
something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go first
be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.” (Matt.
5:23, 24) A Jew would make his offering at the altar on the Sabbath. The Didache
gives us the same rubric for repentance and offering of sacrifice on Sunday as
what is practiced today in the Holy Mass.
Christian Sabbath and Apostolic
Traditions
The Sunday Worship is confirmed also in canonical form
through the writings of Hippolytus of Rome. He records in the Apostolic Traditions (215 AD),
the various liturgical rules used during ordinations, the Eucharist, and
Baptism in the Catholic Church. For example, the consecration of the Bishop
takes place on the Sunday after he has been chosen by all the people and in the
most public manner possible. The neighboring bishops are to attend and lay
their hands upon the elected person. The liturgy of the Mass described by
Hippolytus contains the oldest Canon of Eucharistic prayer that the Roman Rite possesses:
“The Lord with You.
And with your Spirit.
Lift up your hearts.
We have lifted them in the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord.
It is proper and right.
We
thank Thee Lord God through thy beloved servant Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent
in the latter times to be our Savior and Redeemer and the messenger of your
counsel, the Logos who went out from thee, through whom Thou hast created all
things, Whom Thou wast pleased to send out from heaven into the womb of the Virgin,
and in her body He became incarnate and was shown to be Thy Son born of the
Holy Ghost and of the Virgin. In order to fulfill Thy will and to make ready
for Thee a holy people, He spread out His hands when He suffered in order that
He might free from sufferings those who have reached faith in Thee.
And
when He gave Himself over to voluntary suffering, in order to destroy death,
and to break the bonds of the devil, and to tread down hell, and to illuminate
the righteous and to set up the boundary stone, and to reveal the Resurrection,
He took bread, gave thanks and said: “Take, eat, this is my body which is
broken for you.” In the same manner also the cup and said: “This is my blood
which is poured out for you. As often as you do this you keep my memory.”
When we remember His death and
His Resurrection in the way, we bring to Thee the
bread and the cup and give thanks to Thee because Thou hast thought us worthy
to stand before Thee and to server Thee as priests.
And
we beseech Thee that thou wouldst send
down Thy Holy Spirit on the sacrifice of Thy Church. Unite them and grant to
all the saints who partake in the sacrifice, that they may be filled with the
Holy Spirit, that they may be strengthened in the faith, in the truth, in order
that we may praise and laud thee through Thy Servant Jesus Christ, through whom
praise and honor be to Thee in the Holy Church, now and forever more. Amen.”[12]
The canonical language in the Apostolic Traditions gives evidence
that the Eucharistic prayers developed by the end of the Second Century. They were
no longer improvised as they once were as illustrated in the writings of Justin
the Martyr. The language also demonstrates that Christian worship was centered
on the Eucharist and on Sunday. The Apostolic Traditions was translated into
Coptic, Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic and used in the codification of their
respective canon and liturgical rites of ordination.
Summary
The New Testament demonstrates that Christian disciples assembled
on the First Day of the week and worshiped Jesus as Lord and God, confessed and
sought the forgiveness of sins, listened as Jesus explained to them the Scriptures,
collected monies as a sign of being in communion with the other churches, recognized
Jesus in the breaking of the bread, and in the Spirit, participated in the Heavenly
Liturgy. This form of apostolic worship was passed down through a ministry of
succession responsible for guarding the deposit of faith “with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in
us.” (2Tim. 1:14)
The New Testament and extra-biblical Christian literature witnessed
to the Deposit of Faith. These writings demonstrated that Christians centered
their lives around the celebration of the Eucharist on Sunday, the First Day of
the Week, also known as the Lord’s Day. And all these things were practiced and
developed long before the reign of Emperor Constantine.
 |
| "I still don't like Constantine!" |
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bettenson, Henry. Documents of the Christian Church. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Oxford
University Press, 1967.
Brenton, Lancelot C.L. Septuagint with Apocrypha: Greek and English. 3rd ed. Peabody MA:
Hendrickson Publishers, 1990.
Carroll, Warren H. The Founding of Christendom. A History of
Christendom Volume 1. Royal Virginia: Christendom Press. 1993.
Catechism
of the Catholic Church. 2nd ed. Washington: United States Catholic
Conference, 1997.
Documents
of Vatican II. General Editor Abbot, Walter M S.J. New York:
Here and Herder Associated Press, 1966.
Louth, Andrew and Betty Radice, eds. Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic
Fathers. Translated by Maxwell Staniforth. London: Penguin Classics. September 1, 1987
Peloubet, F.N. and Adams, Alice. Peloubet’s Bible Dictionary. Grand
Rapids MI: Zondervan Publishing House. 1967
Quasten, Johannes. The Beginning of Patristic Literature. Vol.
1 of Patrology. Westminster MD:
Christian Classics, Inc. 1990
Quasten, Johannes. The Ante-Nicene Literature After Irenaeus. Vol.
2 of Patrology. Westminster MD:
Christian Classics, Inc. 1990
Quasten, Johannes. The Golden Age of Greek Patristic
Literature. Vol. 3 of Patrology.
Westminster MD: Christian Classics, Inc. 1990
[1]
Johannes Quasten.
The Beginning of Christian Literature Vol.
1 of Patrology. (Westminster MD: Christian Classics, Inc. 1990), 301.
[2]
Note: It is argued
that Constantine’s establishment of Sunday (1st Day of the Week) as a
day to cease from labor in the Roman Empire was evidence of “human tradition”
attempting to nullify God’s Word and the 4th Mosaic Commandment
which identified Saturday as the day of rest set aside by God. Various
Christian movements worship on Friday/Saturday along with Observant Jews and
not on Sunday. It is an argument rooted in the “Scripture Alone”, “Faith
Alone”, and “Spirit Alone”, dichotomies embraced by various Reformers within
Church History.
[3]
Warren H Carroll. The Founding of Christendom. A History of
Christendom Volume 1. (Royal Virginia: Christendom Press). 1993, 525.
[5] Warren H Carroll,
524-541.
[6]
Documents of Vatican II. General Editor Abbot, Walter M S.J. New
York. (Herder and Herder Associated Press 1966), 106.
[7]
Andrew Louth and Betty Radice, eds. Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic
Fathers. Translated by Maxwell Staniforth. (London: Penguin Classics.
September 1, 1987),73
[8] Andrew Louth and Betty Radice, eds. Early Christian Writings: The Apostolic
Fathers. Translated by Maxwell Staniforth. (London: Penguin Classics.
September 1, 1987), 178.
[9] Johannes Quasten. The
Beginning of Christian Literature Vol. 1
of Patrology. (Westminster MD: Christian Classics, Inc. 1990), 186.
[10] Andrew Louth and Betty
Radice, eds. Early Christian Writings:
The Apostolic Fathers. Translated by Maxwell Staniforth. (London: Penguin
Classics. September 1, 1987), 197
[11] Andrew Louth and Betty
Radice, eds. Early Christian Writings:
The Apostolic Fathers. Translated by Maxwell Staniforth. (London: Penguin
Classics. September 1, 1987), 197
[12] Johannes Quasten. The
Ante-Nicene Literature After Irenaeus. Vol. 2 of Patrology. (Westminster
MD: Christian Classics, Inc. 1990), 188-189
