The Four Gospels on Sabbath & Resurrection

[Cribstyl]

There has been a lot of discussion on CF of the relation between the Jewish day of rest and worship, Saturday, and the Christian day of rest and worship, Sunday. When and how was this change made, and by who? Does the Bible authorize the church to change the day of worship? Gentile Christians were free of the Jewish food laws and other miscellaneous laws but Christians have always followed the Ten Commandments. Sabbath observance is one of those commandments. Is commemorating the Resurrection a sufficient reason to change the day of worship?


These discussions have generally assumed that the Gospels are silent on this. It is usually assumed that they do not discard Sabbath observance or give Sunday any special significance.


Translators have often tried to make the Bible sound more formal than it did in the original. They have often passed over details. All versions reflect the time when the translation took place. Young's Literal Translation attempts to avoid these problems.


In Young's Literal Translation, Sunday does have a special significance. It was not, as most other translations assume, simply the first day of the week.



Matthew 28
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)


28 And on the eve of the sabbaths, at the dawn, toward the first of the sabbaths, came Mary the Magdalene, and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre,
2 and lo, there came a great earthquake, for a messenger of the Lord, having come down out of heaven, having come, did roll away the stone from the door, and was sitting upon it,
3 and his countenance was as lightning, and his clothing white as snow,
4 and from the fear of him did the keepers shake, and they became as dead men.



Mark 16
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

16 And the sabbath having past, Mary the Magdalene, and Mary of James, and Salome, bought spices, that having come, they may anoint him,
2 and early in the morning of the first of the sabbaths, they come unto the sepulchre, at the rising of the sun,
3 and they said among themselves, `Who shall roll away for us the stone out of the door of the sepulchre?'


Luke 24
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 And on the first of the sabbaths, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bearing the spices they made ready, and certain [others] with them,
2 and they found the stone having been rolled away from the tomb,
3 and having gone in, they found not the body of the Lord Jesus.



John 20
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 And on the first of the sabbaths, Mary the Magdalene doth come early (there being yet darkness) to the tomb, and she seeth the stone having been taken away out of the tomb,
2 she runneth, therefore, and cometh unto Simon Peter, and unto the other disciple whom Jesus was loving, and saith to them, `They took away the Lord out of the tomb, and we have not known where they laid him.'



The phrase “first of the sabbaths” appears in all four Gospels, in the YLT.
Surely it is important to understand what it means.

You're mistaken. The fact that 'Sabbaton' also means "week" does pose a challenge for some people.

 

[SAAN]

Soyeong, you quote from sabbathtruth.com, which is an SDA site, and not a good source of information on the Catholic Church.

When a Catholic priest says the church changed the day of worship, you have to remember that to them the Catholic Church started with Peter and the Apostles. If the Apostles changed the day of worship after talking with the resurrected Jesus, to them, that means that the church changed the day of worship. It doesn't necessarily mean that a Pope changed the day of worship hundreds of years later.

I believe that the Gospels themselves made Sunday the Christian day of worship. There is no need for anyone to make that decision later.

There is no where in the bible that states Jesus, in his 40 days after the Resurrection, went around starting up Sunday churches.

Acts 20:7
7 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.

-In regards to Acts 20:7, the fact that Paul met up with them and spoke til midnight shows that Paul showed up when the Sabbath ended on Saturday and spoke with them until midnight. This was a one time example and not a weekly occurrence.


1 Corinthians 16:1-2
16 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
2 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.


- There was a famine going on in Jerusalem, so Paul was taking up an offering for them. He might have done this weekly, but this verse was not an example that everyone gathered together for a Sunday morning worship service to collect tithes and offerings.


There is nothing wrong with going to church on Sunday, since there is no command against that, but its just tradition and not something that they were doing in the bible days.

 

[Dale]

What do the great commentators say about the day that Christ was resurrected? Do they see the day of the week when this remarkable event happened as giving Christians a new week as opposed to the OT week? Consider the following.



“(2.) He arose after the Jewish sabbath, and it was the passover-sabbath; all that day he lay in the grave, to signify the abolishing of the Jewish feasts and the other parts of the ceremonial law, and that his people must be dead to such observances, and take no more notice of them than he did when he lay in the grave. Christ on the sixth day finished his work; he said, It is finished; on the seventh day he rested, and then on the first day of the next week did as it were begin a new world, and enter upon new work. Let no man therefore judge us now in respect of the new moons, or of the Jewish sabbaths, which were indeed a shadow of good things to come, but the substance if of Christ.”

and

“He arose upon the first day of the week; on the first day of the first week God commanded the light to shine out of darkness; on this day therefore did he who was to be the Light of the world, shine out of the darkness of the grave; and the seventh-day sabbath being buried with Christ, it arose again in the first-day sabbath, called the Lord’s day (Rev. 1:10 ), and no other day of the week is from henceforward mentioned in all the New Testament than this, and this often, as the day which Christians religiously observed in solemn assemblies, to the honour of Christ ...”







The famous and often quoted commentator Matthew Henry makes several relevant points in these excerpts from his Commentary. Henry tells us that Jesus being in the grave on the Jewish sabbath, and the Passover sabbath, reminds us that “Jewish feasts” and “the ceremonial law” are now dead. He tells us that “the seventh-day sabbath” was “buried with Christ.” Most important, the day of the week that Jesus rose is now “the first-day sabbath, called the Lord's day”.




Rev. Henry echoes the same conclusion reached by Young's Literal Translation of the same passage.




Link:

http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/matthew/28.html

 

[Dale]

From

Matthew Henry Commentary on John 20:1-10:


“(1.) Upon the first day of the week, as soon as ever the sabbath was gone, longing, not to sell corn and to set forth wheat … but to be at the sepulchre. Those that love Christ will take the first opportunity of testifying their respect to him. This was the first Christian sabbath, and she begins it accordingly with enquiries after Christ.”


In his commentary on the opening to John Chapter 20, Matthew Henry says, “This was the first Christian sabbath”. The Old Testament sabbath is set aside, or redefined, and Sunday is now the Christian sabbath, the sabbath for the new Christian era.


Link:

http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/john/20.html

 

[SAAN]

Nothing wrong with the first day of the week as the bible clearly states, he rose as the sun went down on Saturday and it was now Sunday and they discovered he was already gone when they got there hours later at dawn..

But there is no such thing as a Christian Sabbath that replaces the actual Sabbath..... The Sabbath is still and will always be Saturday and Sunday is just a day of worship that Christians have been doing for the last 1800yrs, but its not a command, just a tradition.

Follow the bible and actions of Christ, not commentators, who many times are wrong themselves.

 

[Travis93]

Nothing wrong with the first day of the week as the bible clearly states, he rose as the sun went down on Saturday and it was now Sunday and they discovered he was already gone when they got there hours later at dawn..

But there is no such thing as a Christian Sabbath that replaces the actual Sabbath..... The Sabbath is still and will always be Saturday and Sunday is just a day of worship that Christians have been doing for the last 1800yrs, but its not a command, just a tradition.

Follow the bible and actions of Christ, not commentators, who many times are wrong themselves.

Indeed, both Jesus and Paul regularly observed sabbath.
Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
Acts 17:2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

Even after the death of Jesus the sabbath was still observed.
Luke 23:56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

And of course, the feast days were still observed as well (Acts 18:21, Acts 20:6-16, Acts 27:9).

 

[amadeois]

But Jesus was resurrected exactly on the Sabbath day at 3:00 PM or the ninth hour of the day, exactly 72 hours after He gave up the ghost.

He finished His work of "Redemption" as His father finished His work of Creation on the sabbath.

Never on Sunday, the day of the Sun that pays respect to the creation instead of the Creator.

The Christians separated themselves from the Jews when they started the tradition of getting together to collect things and to break bread on the first day of the week.

God asked the Jews what did you do with my sabbath during the 70 years captivity in Babylon.

Jesus when He comes back is going to ask the same question,

What have you done with my sabbaths?

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[LittleLambofJesus]

There has been a lot of discussion on CF of the relation between the Jewish day of rest and worship, Saturday, and the Christian day of rest and worship, Sunday. When and how was this change made, and by who? Does the Bible authorize the church to change the day of worship? Gentile Christians were free of the Jewish food laws and other miscellaneous laws but Christians have always followed the Ten Commandments. Sabbath observance is one of those commandments. Is commemorating the Resurrection a sufficient reason to change the day of worship?

These discussions have generally assumed that the Gospels are silent on this. It is usually assumed that they do not discard Sabbath observance or give Sunday any special significance.

Translators have often tried to make the Bible sound more formal than it did in the original. They have often passed over details. All versions reflect the time when the translation took place. Young's Literal Translation attempts to avoid these problems.

In Young's Literal Translation, Sunday does have a special significance. It was not, as most other translations assume, simply the first day of the week.

Matthew 28
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

28 And on the eve of the sabbaths, at the dawn, toward the first of the sabbaths, came Mary the Magdalene, and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre,
2 and lo, there came a great earthquake, for a messenger of the Lord, having come down out of heaven, having come, did roll away the stone from the door, and was sitting upon it,
3 and his countenance was as lightning, and his clothing white as snow,
4 and from the fear of him did the keepers shake, and they became as dead men.

Mark 16
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

16 And the sabbath having past, Mary the Magdalene, and Mary of James, and Salome, bought spices, that having come, they may anoint him,
2 and early in the morning of the first of the sabbaths, they come unto the sepulchre, at the rising of the sun,
3 and they said among themselves, `Who shall roll away for us the stone out of the door of the sepulchre?'

Luke 24
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 And on the first of the sabbaths, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, bearing the spices they made ready, and certain [others] with them,
2 and they found the stone having been rolled away from the tomb,
3 and having gone in, they found not the body of the Lord Jesus.

John 20
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

1 And on the first of the sabbaths, Mary the Magdalene doth come early (there being yet darkness) to the tomb, and she seeth the stone having been taken away out of the tomb,
2 she runneth, therefore, and cometh unto Simon Peter, and unto the other disciple whom Jesus was loving, and saith to them, `They took away the Lord out of the tomb, and we have not known where they laid him.'

The phrase “first of the sabbaths” appears in all four Gospels, in the YLT.
Surely it is important to understand what it means.

YLT is a great translation,tho because it literally follows the Hebrew and Greek word for word, it can be awkward to read, but very rewarding if one reads it slow.

Look long and hard enough and you will find someone that agrees with the beliefs of another. The NLT is not the King James warmed over. They researched the earliest texts to determine what the original thoughts were. What past Christians believed about the 10 commandments doesn't make the 10 our guide today. Scripture plainly states that the 10 commandments were temporary laws given to Israel. Read and study Paul's writings in 2Cor3:7-11 and you will find that Christians are not under the covenant given to Israel. That covenant was the ministry of death written on stones. All the law could do is condemn and it certainly did just that. God didn't break His covenant with Israel, Israel broke it. God kept His promise, Israel didn't. When a covenant is broken it ceases to exist and that is what Paul wrote over and over. Travis can pound the keys all day and doing so does not make his belief system Biblical.
Christians can pound the keys over and over declaring Sunday to be the Christian Sabbath, but that does not make make it the Bible Sabbath. The Sabbath of old Israel ceases to exist.

Excellent post!
Perhaps it would help if we knew what the 7 complete sabbaths are?

Leviticus 23:
15 'You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete sabbaths.

.

 

[amadeois]

The counting of the Omer.
The seven sabbath plus one day, 50 days to be counted starting on day 16 of Abib.

The Jews changed to Nisan. Why? Always showing desobediencia to God.

After you count 49 days, it may not be a sabbath, not always on a sabbath, then plus one day to make it 50.

The Bible, Exodus 19, says it was the third day of the third month when the Law was given to Moses and when the Holy Spirit was given on Pentecost.

The Jews, in order for their calendar to work, they say it was the 6th day of the third month.

No way. It was the 3rd day.

What is the problem? The lunar month calendar does not work.

The only calendar that works is God's calendar.

Do you know what is it?

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[amadeois]

Never on Sunday.

To call it Sunday is to pay respect to the Sun and not the Son.

The day of rest is His day, Jesus and God's day.

Man changed the day, behind the ideas of the enemy, none other than Satan.

God's day has not been changed, it is still the day of rest, the sabbath.

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[Dale]

If you want the Catholic view of Sunday, go to a Catholic source.




“Sunday was the first day of the week according to the Jewish method of reckoning, but for Christians it began to take the place of the Jewish Sabbath in Apostolic times as the day set apart for the public and solemn worship of God. The practice of meeting together on the first day of the week for the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice is indicated in Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2; in Apocalypse 1:10, it is called the Lord's day.”


Link:

http://newadvent.org/cathen/14335a.htm

 

[Dale]

Jesus never said to change the law, he said not to think he came to destroy the law (Matthew 5:17) and whoever follows it and teaches others to do so will great in the kindgom of heaven (Matthew 5:19). He said heaven and earth would pass before the law does (Luke 16:17). He says to listen to those who preach Moses (Matthew 23:2-3). And he says after his death to teach all people to do everything he said during his life (Matthew 28:20).

I'd say I'm in agreement with Jesus.

Travis,

Your profile page says that you are a Baptist.
Have you ever heard a Baptist sermon?

He fulfilled the law when He died on the cross for our sins.
That is how the law is fulfilled.

 

[Travis93]

Travis,

Your profile page says that you are a Baptist.
Have you ever heard a Baptist sermon?

He fulfilled the law when He died on the cross for our sins.
That is how the law is fulfilled.

I was raised a Baptist, but as soon as I read the Bible for myself I rejected their ideas. I can't change my status though.

 

[amadeois]

The people that follow the RCC have not read Revelation 18 special 16 through 19.

Also 18:4 has a warning.

Do you people know how to read and understand the Word of God?

Salvation is the essence of it.

A matter of friendship with Jesus.

The "Truth" will set you free.

"Beware of the lies."

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[LittleLambofJesus]

Dale said: ↑
Travis,
Your profile page says that you are a Baptist. Have you ever heard a Baptist sermon?
He fulfilled the law when He died on the cross for our sins. That is how the law is fulfilled.

So simple, even a child can understand........

I was raised a Baptist, but as soon as I read the Bible for myself I rejected their ideas. I can't change my status though.

What would you change it to?


.

 

[amadeois]

If you love the Word then you should call yourself a "Word Lover."

Why do we have so many Christian denominations if there is only one Christ?

Because if everybody could understand the Word, then they will all be in agreement and this world would be Paradise. But no, noooooo, everybody wants to interpret the Word their own way and think that they know the truth.

We should interpret the Word the way of the person that inspired it. God's way, but to be able to do thst, we need to know Him well. We need to know the word very well.

Like the OP states the 4 gospels and the resurrection that still the majority of Christianity believes that Jesus was resurrected on the day of the Sun.

It seems that they have not understood the message of the gospels that point to the day of rest, the Sabbath of God

Satan has changed so many things and the world believes in his deceptions. The true believers of Jesus Word have taken the time to study it and have discovered the enemy's lies.

The Truth will set you free, the lies will take you to the lake of fire.

IT IS YOUR DECISION.


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[Dale]

But Jesus was resurrected exactly on the Sabbath day at 3:00 PM or the ninth hour of the day, exactly 72 hours after He gave up the ghost.

He finished His work of "Redemption" as His father finished His work of Creation on the sabbath.

Never on Sunday, the day of the Sun that pays respect to the creation instead of the Creator.

The Christians separated themselves from the Jews when they started the tradition of getting together to collect things and to break bread on the first day of the week.

God asked the Jews what did you do with my sabbath during the 70 years captivity in Babylon.

Jesus when He comes back is going to ask the same question,

What have you done with my sabbaths?

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I don't know any church that teaches that Jesus was resurrected on Saturday rather than Sunday morning as Scripture plainly tells us. Matthew tells us that there was an earthquake when Jesus died on the cross and another earthquake at the time of the Resurrection. This places the Resurrection only shortly before the women appeared at the tomb.


“And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

”At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terried, and exclaimed, 'Surely he was the Son of God!”
--Matthew 27: 50-54 NIV


“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.”
--Matthew 28:1-2 NIV



Here we have an earthquake at the climax of the crucifixion and another earthquake at the Resurrection, which places the Resurrection on Sunday morning.

 

[Dale]

But Jesus was resurrected exactly on the Sabbath day at 3:00 PM or the ninth hour of the day, exactly 72 hours after He gave up the ghost.

He finished His work of "Redemption" as His father finished His work of Creation on the sabbath.

Never on Sunday, the day of the Sun that pays respect to the creation instead of the Creator.

The Christians separated themselves from the Jews when they started the tradition of getting together to collect things and to break bread on the first day of the week.

God asked the Jews what did you do with my sabbath during the 70 years captivity in Babylon.

Jesus when He comes back is going to ask the same question,

What have you done with my sabbaths?

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Amadeois:

<< Never on Sunday, the day of the Sun that pays respect to the creation instead of the Creator. >>



By the same logic, if you worship during the month of August, you are worshiping Caesar Augustus.

 

[Dale]

Indeed, both Jesus and Paul regularly observed sabbath.
Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
Acts 17:2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,

Even after the death of Jesus the sabbath was still observed.
Luke 23:56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.

And of course, the feast days were still observed as well (Acts 18:21, Acts 20:6-16, Acts 27:9).

It sounds like you are saying that we are still under Old Testament law.
If we are still under the laws of the Old Testament, what need is there for the ministry of Jesus?
What need for the crucifixion? What did it accomplish?

It sounds like you are saying that we were under the OT law, Jesus came, was crucified, and we are still under the OT law.

Here's a question for you. The Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans around 70 AD.
First and second century Christians never had any interest in rebuilding it. They didn't need a Temple because Christians aren't under Old Testament law and have no need to sacrifice at the Temple.

 

[Bob S]

It sounds like you are saying that we are still under Old Testament law.
If we are still under the laws of the Old Testament, what need is there for the ministry of Jesus?
What need for the crucifixion? What did it accomplish?

It sounds like you are saying that we were under the OT law, Jesus came, was crucified, and we are still under the OT law.

Here's a question for you. The Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans around 70 AD.
First and second century Christians never had any interest in rebuilding it. They didn't need a Temple because Christians aren't under Old Testament law and have no need to sacrifice at the Temple.

Excellent points Dale. Why do some try to convince us that we must observe shadows? Col2 Why do some ignore scripture like 2Cor 3:7-11? Why do some try to explain away the new covenant in Christ?