Q. Why do Christians observe the Sabbath and worship on Sunday when the Old Testament set Saturday as the Sabbath and in Israel the Jews still observe the Sabbath on Saturday?
A. God created the heavens and the earth and all things in them for six days, and He rested on the seventh day from His work. That is why in the Old Testament time, the Sabbath was observed on Saturday which is the seventh day of a week. However, in the New Testament time, the Sabbath observance is Sunday, the Lord's Day, which was the day when Jesus was resurrected after he died on the cross to save us. Let's now delve into the reason based on the Scripture.
1. Jesus Christ is Lord of the Sabbath
Genesis 1:3 reads, "Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light." The light is spiritual light, meaning God's power and His sovereignty. By saying, "Let there be light", God who is the Light Himself proclaimed His authority all over the space and all things in it.
John 1:9 says, "There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man." The true Light is Jesus Christ who was the Word and existed in the form of God but became flesh and came to the earth to save us.
In the 12th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, the Pharisees saw Jesus' disciples pick the heads of grain and eat on the Sabbath and told on them to Jesus. Then Jesus explained this with an example of David and said, "For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:8). The Son of Man refers to Jesus Himself, and He explained He, who is the true Light, is Lord of the Sabbath.
On the first day of the Creation, God let there be light. In the same manner, it was on Sunday which is the first day of the week when the true Light—the Lord—shone all over the world. It means that He was crucified to save all mankind and was buried on Friday, and it was on Sunday He overcame death and resurrected, thereby shining all over the world.
Now He became the first fruits of resurrection and gave the true Light and life to souls who lived in darkness of death and pain. From the day of His resurrection, God's children gained hope for resurrection and came to have true rest. That is why the Sabbath observance became Sunday, which is called 'the Lord's Day'.
2. 'On the Day after the Sabbath' in the Old Testament
Leviticus 23:10-12 states, "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD for you to be accepted; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. Now on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect for a burnt offering to the LORD.'"
Here, God told the sons of Israel to offer a one year old male lamb without defect 'on the day after the Sabbath' which is Sunday. 'A male lamb' symbolizes Jesus Christ who is the Lamb of God. 'The first fruits of your harvest' also stands for Jesus Christ who is the first fruits of resurrection just as said in 1 Corinthians 15:20 reads, "But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep." Even the Old Testament prophesied about Sunday worship and that it would be the Lord Jesus Christ's day.
3. True rest was given to mankind through Jesus' resurrection
After the first man, Adam committed the first transgression of mankind by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, mankind lost true rest. As God said, "...for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die," Adam's spirit did die and his descendants—all mankind—were destined to eternal death that is Hell. However, Jesus came as our Savior. Sinless as He was, He took all the suffering of the cross on behalf of us and died. Yet on the third day He overcame death and was resurrected. Thereby He gave hope for resurrection and eternal life to men who had nothing but death ahead due to their sins.
Accordingly, anyone can receive the Holy Spirit as a gift and their dead spirits are revived when they accept Jesus Christ and repent of their sins. This is spiritual resurrection.
By believing Jesus Christ, we gain the right to become God's children and enjoy true rest. Still, rest on the earth is not perfect rest. So God has been preparing the everlasting and perfect resting place, Heaven. When the Lord comes in the air, we will put on the imperishable form and meet Him in the air. This is physical resurrection, and then we will have true rest forever.
As explained, Sunday is the day that Jesus, who is Lord of the Sabbath, was resurrected and thereby gave us true rest. That is why Christians call Sunday the 'Lord's Day' and worship on Sunday.
Acts 20:7 reads, "On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread…" It means that they gathered on 'Sunday' which is the first day of a week and broke bread which symbolizes the flesh of the Son of Man. As the flesh of the Son of Man refers to the Word, they made the Word of God the spiritual bread of life through worship on Sunday. In addition, 1 Corinthians 16:2 says, "On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come." They also gave offering on Sunday the first day of every week.
Therefore, we should understand the true meaning of the Lord's Day and keep it holy. Then we can have true rest under God's protection and with hope for resurrection and eternal life.
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