History Of The Sabbath - How It Was Changed From Saturday To Sunday

In my last post I shared the scripture references throughout the Bible teaching on the Sabbath. We saw that it was an eternal Law that was first instituted on the 7^th day of creation. I showed that it was in effect before the 10 commandments were given at Mt. Sinai. At Mt.Sinai the commandment was instituted as a perpetual statute for all of Israel and those that align themselves with Israel. We learned that Yeshua (Jesus) observed the Sabbath and never indicated that there would be or was a change in the day the Sabbath was to be observed. We saw that Paul and the Apostles throughout Acts continued to meet on the Sabbath in the synagogue. That they preached not only to the Jews on the Sabbath but the Gentiles as well.  I also showed that the prophets teach of the Sabbath being observed after the second coming of Yeshua (Jesus). So why do we worship on Sunday? I would like to give a rundown on the history of the Sabbath and how it has evolved into what the church views it as today.

We have already seen that there is no where in scripture that states that the Sabbath has been changed to Sunday.  There is no controversy over the day of worship in the New Testament at all. Isn’t this peculiar? The 7^th day Sabbath was a completely ingrained doctrine in the Jewish believers in the early church, yet there is not one passage showing a discussion on the matter. They discussed the conversion ceremony, legalism, food sacrificed to idols, returning to paganism etc… but no where is the Sabbath touched on. Don’t you think that if there was a change of the sacred Sabbath day being made the Jews would have had something to say about it? I propose that they didn’t say anything because it was not an issue, the day was never changed. The switch to Sunday was probably as much a push from Judaism as it was from the emerging church of the 1^st century.

We know that the original followers of Yeshua (Jesus) were considered a Jewish sect; they were called the followers of “The Way” or the “Nazareans”. As a sect of Judaism, they received certain legal priveleges.  The Roman government had granted the Jews an exemption from Roman law. In the Roman Empire atheism was considered a capital crime. The Emperor was considered to be a god and he along with the pantheon of gods were required to be worshipped by all citizens of Rome. However, Jews were exempt and free to worship their God. As long as the people of “The Way” remained a sect within Judaism they were granted the same exemption that all of Judaism received.  This changed after the destruction of the temple.

After the destruction of the Temple the Pharisaic sect of Judaism seized control of the faith and established their headquarters at Yavneh. In 66CE the Jewish Zealots led a revolt against Rome which resulted in the destruction of the Temple in 70CE, dispersion of the Jewish people, and the imprisonment of many Jewish leaders (such as Paul).  The turmoil that resulted from the destruction of the temple and dispersion of the Jews allowed the Pharisees to take control and make changes to Judaism that resulted in the sect of The Way being pushed out. 

At Yavneh, the Pharisees changed the Shemoneh Esrieh, a traditional Jewish prayer said daily by many Jews that originally contained 18 blessings.  A 19^th blessing was added to the prayer, which is now recited in the prayer after the 11^th blessing.  This added blessing (more a curse, really) reads as follows:

“And for slanderers (sectarians) let there be no hope, and may all the evil in an instant be destroyed and all Thy enemies be cut down swiftly; and the evil ones uproot and break and destroy and humble soon in out days. Blessed art you, LORD, who breaks down enemies and humbles sinners” (http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Prayers/Daily_Prayers/Shemoneh_Esrei/Birkat_HaMinim/Printer_Version/printer_version.html)

The word translated slanderers is lamalshinim, but the Talmud tells us that the original word was laminim which means “for the sectarians”. This blessing was in direct response to the Messianic believers (and other sects that the Pharisees didn’t like such as the Essenes) of the 1^st century.  If someone left this curse out while reciting the Shemoneh Esrieh prayer, the Rabbis would suspect them to be heretics and would then accuse them of slander and put them up for excommunication.

Why is this important to our discussion? Because it shows us that at least up until the 1^st century the Messianic believers were still attending Synagogue along with their non-believing Jewish brothers. They were still considered a sect of Judaism, which meant that they were adhering to Jewish traditions including the observance of the Sabbath. They appeared Jewish in every way. So much so that the Rabbis had to come up with a way to weed them out. This addition was made sometime around 80-90AD. Up until this point the early believers were simply a sect of Judaism and shared the Temple as well as the local Synagogue.

The Way was initially composed of primarily Jewish converts.  Remember that Jesus and his disciples were Jewish, and many of the early converts were Jews.  For example, Acts records that many pharisees were converting to The Way.  As the gospel spread, Hellenistic Jews and eventually large numbers of Gentiles began to convert to The Way.  Soon, The Way was made up of a large portion of Gentile converts.  We see in Acts that this caused tension even among the Jews, Hellenistic Jews, and Gentile members of The Way.

After the destruction of the temple in 70 CE, Rome placed the Fiscus Judaicus tax on all that were Jewish. This tax was 2 days wages for every member of the household from 3 to 60 years.  How did they define who was Jewish? By the fact that they led a Jewish lifestyle. There was now a big incentive for converted Gentiles who were members of The Way to give up their customs to avoid this tax.  The Jews also began to experience persecution as a result of the revolt that was put down.  More and more believers began to distance themselves from Judaism in order to avoid persecution and taxation. Domitian (81-96CE) and later his successor Nerva refined the Roman law that defined who was a Jew for the purpose of taxation.  Nerva ruled that a Jew should be defined as “those who followed their ancestral traditions." This included, observance of the Sabbath, circumcision, abstaining from unclean foods, and the worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The result of the continuing persecution and taxation of Jews was creating a growing division in the early Messianic believers. Gentile believers did not have the same cultural, ethnic, and historical influences and didn’t feel as compelled as Jewish believers who felt compelled to follow the culutural, historical, and ethnic traditions that they and their ancestors were raised with.  Gentile believers began to distance themselves from the Jewish community. After all if they did not participate in “Jewish” practices they could avoid that hefty tax!

In 130 CE the Jews once again revolted against the Roman oppression under the leadership of Bar Kochba.  Many of the Jewish leaders, including Rabbi Akiva proclaimed Bar Kochba to be the Messiah. You can see how this would have been a huge dilemma for the followers of The Way as they already had their Messiah in Yeshua (Jesus). Therefore the believers were moving farther and farther from being accepted as a Jewish sect. And the Jewish believers resented the followers of “The Way” more and more due to the fact that they refused to follow Bar Kochba in the revolt against Rome.  Following the Bar Kochba revolt the final break between the emerging church and the Synagogue took place.

So, there were several compelling reasons for The Way to distance themselves from the Jews.  The Jewish leaders were rejecting the members of The Way.  The Romans were taxing and persecuting the Jews. The Gentiles were no longer accepted as part of the Jewish community.  They did not have the history and culture that would compel them to remain part of the Jewish community. 

The emerging non-Jewish Christian church began to down play the Sabbath and other Jewish customs.  Eventually this led to a complete rejection of everything “Jewish”. Along with this came a replacement of ceremonies and rituals, including replacing the Sabbath with Sunday. Many of these things were the church’s attempt to assimilate with the pagan nation around them in an effort to attract more pagans to the church. But these changes were also born out of the growing hate they had for the Jewish people, who to be fair, had been pushing the believers out of their circle for some time.

Despite the persecution and taxation, we do know that there were sects of believers still keeping the Sabbath as well as the other Biblical festivals and ways up to the 3^rd and 4^th centuries. Here are a few quotes that mention that the Sabbath and other Jewish practices were still being practiced: (quotes accessed at http://www.babylonforsaken.com/sabbathearlychurch.html)

Ignatius [107 AD] – ”Let us therefore no longer keep the Sabbath after the Jewish manner, and rejoice in days of idleness;  But let every one of you keep the Sabbath after a spiritual manner, rejoicing in meditation on the law, not in relaxation of the body, admiring the workmanship of God, and not eating things prepared the day before, nor using lukewarm drinks, and walking within a prescribed space, nor finding delight in dancing and plaudits which have no sense in them." Ignatius - To the Magnesians chapter 9 (about 107 AD) 

Clement of Alexandra [153 AD]–  " Thus the Lord did not hinder from doing good while keeping the Sabbath; but allowed us to communicate of those divine mysteries, and of that holy light, to those who are able to receive them." Clement of Alexandria - Stromata, Bk 1, Chap. 1 

Oxyrhynchus Papyri [225 AD] – "Except ye make the sabbath a real sabbath ye shall not see the Father." The oxyrhynchus Papyri, pt,1, p.3, Logion 2, verso 4-11 (London Offices of the Egypt Exploration Fund, 1898). 

Constitutions of the Holy Apostles [250AD] –  "Thou shalt observe the Sabbath, on account of Him who ceased from His work of creation, but ceased not from His work of providence: it is a rest for meditation of the law, not for idleness of the hands." "The Anti-Nicene Fathers," Vol 7,p. 413. From "Constitutions of the Holy Apostles," a document of the 3rd and 4th Centuries. 

Archaleus [277AD] – “Again, as to the assertion that the Sabbath has been abolished, we deny that He has abolished it plainly; for He was Himself also Lord of the Sabbath.” Archaleus Acts of Disputation 

"it is fitting for whoever is righteous among the saints to keep also the festival of the Sabbath. There remaineth therefore a sabbatismus, that is, a keeping of the Sabbath, to the people of God (Hebrews 4:9)." "Homily on Numbers 23," par.4, in Migne, "Patrologia Graeca," Vol. 12,cols. 749, 750. 

Athanasius [circa 290AD] – "On the Sabbath day we gathered together, not being infected with Judaism, for we do not lay hold of false sabbaths, but we come on the Sabbath to worship Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath," Athanasius, Homilia de Semente, Sec. 1, in MPG, Vol. 28 Col. 144, Greek. 

Socrates [439 AD] --: "For although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries on the Sabbath of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, have ceased to do this. The Egyptians in the neighborhood of Alexandria, and the inhabitants of Thebais, hold their religious assemblies on the Sabbath, but do not participate of the mysteries in the manner usual among Christians in general: for after having eaten and satisfied themselves with food of all kinds, in the evening making their offerings they partake of the mysteries." (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. Second Series, Vol. 2, p. 132.) 

Sozomen [460 A.D.] – "The people of Constantinople, and almost everywhere, assemble together on the Sabbath, as well as on the first day of the week, which custom is never observed at Rome or at Alexandria. There are several cities and villages in Egypt where, contrary to the usage established elsewhere, the people meet together on Sabbath evenings, and, although they have dined previously, partake of the mysteries." (Ecc. History, Book 7, chap. 19. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. Second Series, Vol. 2, p. 390.) 

To me it’s clear that many were keeping the 7^th day Sabbath up through the 4^th century. So why the change to Sunday?

At the beginning of the 3^rd century Constantine became the Roman Empire. Constantine as many of you know professed to be a convert to Christianity, although his actions showed he still had a love for his pagan roots. At any rate he was responsible for legalizing Christianity in Rome. After that, the Alexandrian Christians began to hold councils and set doctrine into place. Anti-Semitism rose and matters relating to the Torah (Sabbath, festivals etc.) were outlawed. Here are a few quotes from that time period that shed some light on what happened.

“We wish to make it known to the Jews and their elders and their patriarchs that if, after the enactment of this law, any one of them dares to attack with stones or some other manifestation of anger, another who has fled their dangerous sect and attached himself to the worship of God, he must speedily be given to the flames and burnt together with all his accomplices. Moreover, if any one of the population should join their abominable sect and attend their meetings, he will bear with them the deserved penalties.” (Constantine, 315CE)

“We ought not, therefore, to have anything in common with the Jews.” (Letter to bishops from Constantine, 325 CE [PG 20:1074-1080])

“It is not lawful to receive unleavened bread from Jews, nor to be partakers of their impiety.” (Most likely in reference to the observance of Passover; Council of Laodicea, Canon xxxviii)

“Slayers of the Lord, murderers of the prophets, adversaries of God, haters of God, men who show contempt for the law, foes of grace, enemies of their father’ faith, advocated of the devil, brood of vipers, slanderers, scoffers, men whose minds are in darkness, leaven of the Pharisees, assembly of demons, sinners, wicked men, stoners, and haters of righteousness. (St. George, 335-394 CE, Homilies on the Resurrection)

The above are just a few examples of the rampant hate for the Jews that ran within the Christians at Alexandria in Rome. As a result of this Anti-Semitism came the edict from Constantine in 321 CE that officially changed the day of worship to the day of the sun – Sunday. It reads:

“On the venerable Day of the Sun let magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain-sowing or for vine-planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operation the bounty of heaven should be lost.”(Letter of Constantine, 321CE)

After this there was no turning back, the new Sabbath was Sunday and the church ran with that. Notice that Constantine calls Sunday “the venerable Day of the Sun”. This is because he was still upholding his pagan worship and was attempting to assimilate it into the Christian church. Yet even after this you can see historical evidence that some were still attending Synagogue (which met on the Sabbath) and considered themselves a sect of the Jews, yet accepted Jesus as Messiah.

“In our own day there exists a sect among the Jews throughout all the synagogues of the East... The adherents to this sect are known commonly as Nazarenes; they believe in Christ the Son of God, ‘born of, the Virgin Mary; and they say that He who suffered under Pontius Pilate and rose again, [and] is the same as the one in whom we believe.” AD 404 Letter 75 of Jerome’s answer to Letters XXVIII., XL, and LXXI.

After Constantine came out with his law on the Sabbath change to Sunday it did not take the emerging catholic church long to pass their own law regarding the abolishment of the 7^th day Sabbath. At the council of Laodicea in 364CE we see the following Canon law:

“Canon XXIX: “Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord's Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ.”

So there you have it. From this point forward the Sabbath was officially Sunday as mandated by the Catholic Church. And there are numerous quotes from the Catholic Church that claim they had the authority to change the Sabbath. I will show a few in a minute. However you should ask yourself, how does any man have the authority to change God’s unchangeable laws? And if God’s laws can change once, why not again? And for that matter why don’t we accept the Mormon churches claims that they have the authority? If anything goes in the name of God given authority, then who do we believe, what is our measuring stick for truth? How can a church claim authority and then preach the exact opposite of what the Bible teaches? If you are a Protestant who holds the Bible alone as your authority on matters you should take notice. The Bible does not teach Sunday worship. And furthermore if we are going to claim a change in God’s laws we should not and cannot claim that God doesn’t change.

Here are some quotes from the Catholic leaders throughout history regarding the Sabbath:

“Protestants...accept Sunday rather than Saturday as the day for public worship after the Catholic Church made the change...But the Protestant mind does not seem to realize that...In observing the Sunday, they are accepting the authority of the spokesman for the church, the Pope.” Our Sunday Visitor, February 15, 1950.

“Question - Which is the Sabbath day?
“Answer - Saturday is the Sabbath day.
“Question - Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
“Answer - We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 364), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.” Peter Geiermann, C.S.S.R., The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, p. 50, 3rd edition, 1957.

“Is not every Christian obliged to sanctify Sunday and to abstain on that day from unnecessary servile work? Is not the observance of this law among the most prominent of our sacred duties? But you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify.” James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers (1917 edition), p. 72-73 (16th Edition, p 111; 88th Edition, p. 89).

“For example, nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman Catholic] church outside the Bible.” Catholic Virginian, October 3, 1947, p. 9, article “To Tell You the Truth.”

“Is Saturday the seventh day according to the Bible and the Ten Commandments? I answer yes. Is Sunday the first day of the week and did the Church change the seventh day - Saturday - for Sunday, the first day? I answer yes. Did Christ change the day’? I answer no!”
“Faithfully yours, J. Card. Gibbons.” James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, Md. (1877-1921), in a signed letter.

“Some theologians have held that God likewise directly determined the Sunday as the day of worship in the New Law, that He Himself has explicitly substituted the Sunday for the Sabbath. But this theory is now entirely abandoned. It is now commonly held that God simply gave His Church the power to set aside whatever day or days she would deem suitable as Holy Days. The (Roman Catholic) Church chose Sunday, the first day of the week, and in the course of time added other days as holy days.” John Laux, A Course in Religion for Catholic High Schools and Academies, 1936 edition, vol. 1, p. 51.

“St John speaks of the Lord’s day (Rev 1:10) but he does not tell us what day of the week that was, much less does he tell us what day was to take the place of the Sabbath ordained in the commandments. St.Luke speaks of the disciples meeting together to break bread on the first day of the week. Acts 20:7. And St. Paul (1 Cor.16:2) orders that on the first day of the week the Corinthians should lay in store what they designated to bestow in charity on the faithful in Judea: but neither the one or the other tells us that this first day of the week was to be henceforth a day of worship, and the Christian Sabbath; so that truly the best authority we have for this ancient custom is the testimony of the church. And therefore those who pretend to be such religious observers of Sunday, whilst they take no notice of other festivals ordained by the same church authority, show that they act more by humor, than by religion; since Sundays and holidays all stand upon the same foundation, namely the ordinance of the (Roman Catholic) church.” Catholic Christian Instructed, 17th edition, p. 272-273.

“Protestantism, in discarding the authority of the (Roman Catholic) Church, has no good reasons for its Sunday theory, and ought logically to keep Saturday as the Sabbath.” John Gilmary Shea, American Catholic Quarterly Review, January 1883.

“It is well to remind the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and all other Christians, that the Bible does not support them anywhere in their observance of Sunday. Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who observe the day observe a commandment of the Catholic Church.” Priest Brady, in an address reported in The News, Elizabeth, New Jersey, March 18, 1903.

“Sunday is our mark or authority...the church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact.” Catholic Record of London, Ontario, September 1, 1923.

“The (Roman Catholic) Church changed the observance of the Sabbath to Sunday by right of the divine, infallible authority given to her by her founder, Jesus Christ. The Protestant claiming the Bible to be the only guide of faith, has no warrant for observing Sunday.” The Catholic Universe Bulletin, August 14, 1942, p. 4.

“Sunday is founded, not of scripture, but on tradition, and is distinctly a Catholic institution. As there is no scripture for the transfer of the day of rest from the last to the first day of the week, Protestants ought to keep their Sabbath on Saturday and thus leave Catholics in full possession of Sunday.” Catholic Record, September 17, 1893.

In Conclusion:

We saw in scripture that the Sabbath was not changed by the early church. We have seen that it is a perpetual statute for Israel as well as all of those Gentiles who have been grafted into Israel. And now I have shown you where the change to Sunday originated.  So again I ask you to consider the following questions.

Why do you worship on Sunday?

Why have Christians abandoned the 4^th commandment?

I would suggest that all Christians take some time in prayer and then really examine Scripture and church history on this subject.  Protestants, consider the message you send to our Catholic brothers and sisters when you do not follow Scripture and instead bow to the authority of the Catholic church for your traditions.  Catholics, ask yourself who gives authority to change the laws of God that He Himself deems eternal? If God really gave the authority to change His laws doesn’t that make Him a liar?

In my next post I will begin to tackle the few verses in scripture that Sunday Sabbath advocates point to in order to back up the change from the 7^th day to the first day.

Shalom until next time!