Proof Jesus Observed Sunday as a Holy Day? Or Grasping at Straws?
By Peter Salemi
Sunday worshippers are so desperate to find proof of Sunday worship in the Bible, they are willing to twist, pervert and add their own interpretation into the scripture to prove their way to worship God instead of letting God tell them how he should be worshipped. He’s God! I think he should have a say!
This came across my desk a few months ago and I finally got around to it; this feeble attempt to prove that Jesus recognized Sunday as the holy day- and here is their proof!
“And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.” (Mark 1:21). The following scriptures show Jesus healing on the Sabbath, then, “And in the morning, [Sunday] rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” (1:35). There it is! Jesus prayed on a Sunday morning-proof Jesus observed the first day of the week, and not the Sabbath! Really?
A Desperate Attempt!
It’s incredible how the carnal mind hates the law of God, and will not submit to it (Rom 8:7).
First of all, notice Jesus went to the synagogue on the Sabbath (v21), doing what he always does “as his custom was” (Luke 4:16), keeping the Sabbath Day!
Jesus also taught how we should keep the Sabbath properly, “…Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days.” (Matthew 12:12).
So what was Jesus doing?
Is there a gathering of brethren for a church service here this Sunday morning? No! If one notices verse 37, it reveals that, “…they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.” The disciples weren’t even there when he was praying! Jesus was alone! There is no indication in this verse that he had a church service.
What is this scripture telling us?
Daily Prayer
The Psalms were also a prophetic book of the life of Christ (Luke 24:44). Jesus “was praying, as a genuine Son of David, who seeks God early, and directs his prayer in the morning; nay, and at midnight will rise to give thanks.” (Matthew Henry Commentary, emphasis his). Jesus was doing what David did, (David being a Sabbath Keeper) being his descendant, he also “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” (Psalm 5:3; see also Psalm 55:17). We see other similar solemn occasions by Christ (Luke 5:16; Luke 6:12; Luke 9:18, 28, 29; Mark 6:46).
Christ told us to “pray always” (Luke 21:36). The Apostle Paul also “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17). Prayer sessions are very important, that we should pray every day, in the early morning before work and at night before bed; that early morning is a good time to pray and drink in the word of God as soon as each day begins. This certainly points the way to spiritual success each and every day of the week by spending quality time with God before our minds become cluttered with the cares and troubles of the day.
Jesus worshiped and prayed daily, even teaching daily in the temple (Mark 14:49). As did David, (Psalm 72:15) as did many Jews; many Jews went to the temple daily to worship the Lord, but still went to work and labored-yet they were all SABBATH KEEPERS because one day out of seven was wholly dedicated and was separated by God as special! The Sabbath was for assembly, prayer, worship total dedication to God and rest from all work.
Merely praying on Sunday does not make it a holy; neither is praying or worshiping on Wednesday would make Wednesday holy or any other day. In fact, God through David tells us in Psalm 92 (a Psalm dedicated to the Sabbath) that we should worship God “in the morning” and “EVERY night” (see verse 2).
Find One Verse
There is no verse where Jesus claimed that Sunday took the place of the Sabbath.
The Sabbath is a special day set up by God to commemorate creation and rest in Christ. A day to gather together in assembly and worship the Lord. But that does not mean it should stop us from worshiping daily as Jesus did, as did the SABBATH KEEPERS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT!
If you wish to donate to the BICOG Please click here