Sabbath or Sunday – When do we Worship?

What day should we gather to worship: the Sabbath or Sunday? For some this seems to be an all-important question. For others, it is confusing. So, let’s look at it from a biblical perspective.

The Sabbath

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. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

Exodus 20:8–11 (ESV)

This is the fourth commandment and is the basis for those who believe that we should worship only on the Sabbath – Saturday. However, there is no mention of corporate or group worship in this commandment. The main point of the commandment is that it is a day to rest.

We are created with a natural rhythm that requires rest every seven days. The idea of resting on the Sabbath is reinforced in Leviticus 23:3 along with the account of enforcement of the Sabbath in Numbers 15:32-36.

And then there is this passage:

See! The LORD has given you the Sabbath; therefore on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Remain each of you in his place; let no one go out of his place on the seventh day.  Exodus 16:29 (ESV)

The Sabbath for Worship

When the law was given, the Sabbath was not a day for corporate worship. In fact, there wasn’t corporate worship as we understand it. The Tabernacle was far too small to allow all the people to enter into its courtyard. And in both the tabernacle and later the temple only the priests and select Levites were allowed to enter.

So when did the people worship? The short answer to that question is: every day. Worship was a daily activity at the tabernacle first then at the Temple when it was constructed. Worship always involved sacrifice. There were also three feasts each year when the men were appointed to appear for special sacrifices. Those sacrifices were administered by the priests and the entire assemble would never be present at the same time because the tabernacle and temple grounds were too small to accommodate the entire congregation.

What Happened Next?

When the people returned from Babylonian captivity and exile, the religious leaders established the synagogue system that is still in effect today. On each Sabbath the people of every community would gather for scripture reading and instruction.

When the Pharisees had conflicts with Jesus, it was frequently about how he and his disciples observed the Sabbath. Sabbath rules were very strict, so as not to violate the working on the Sabbath rule established in the Ten Commandments. Healing was considered work; so was harvesting or gathering of food, which the disciples did when casually passing by a field.

Jesus made a strong argument, however, that the religious leaders did not agree with. In Mark 2:27, Jesus said: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” God’s gift to us is the Sabbath – a day for rest and renewal.

Another Perspective

As the church took root, various controversies arose. When the gospel spread from a primarily Jewish crowd to the Gentile population, questions about how the law applied to these Gentile Christians naturally arose. After a counsel in Jerusalem, it was decided that there were just four restrictions from the law that should be enforced in the wider church. None of the four was observance of the Sabbath. You can read about this counsel in Acts 15:1-21.

Paul addressed the problem of holy days in Romans, where he stated:

One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. Romans 14:5 (ESV)

Two Issues

So what has happened is that we really have two issues: when should we rest as commanded and when should we worship.

As a Pastor, I work on Sunday. My day of rest is Friday. For rest, that becomes my Sabbath. In the world in which we live, people are obligated to work every day of the week. Days off are not just the weekend but various other days as well. If we strictly follow the ten commandments, then, there are hosts of law breakers among those who follow Jesus. But as Jesus said, the day of rest is for our benefit. Therefore, we should enjoy our day of rest whenever it is.

When we worship is the other issue. Since Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week, the church has adopted, as tradition, that we worship on Sunday. There is no command to worship on Sunday, just as there is no command to worship on Saturday (Sabbath). And as Paul stated, some regard a special day to be holy others regard all days to be holy.

The real issue is not when we worship but that we worship. Whenever we gather to worship, we should worship as Jesus instructed in John 4 – in spirit and in truth.

I believe that we can worship anytime. I believe churches should make an effort to accommodate those who cannot worship at traditional times (Sabbath or Sunday) because of work obligations.

So whether we feel inclined to gather on Sabbath or Sunday, we can find unity in our deep desire to bring glory to God as we worship.