Grace Thompson
The Sabbath is a weekly day of rest and worship, held on a Saturday, that is observed by Jews and some Christians, including Seventh-Day Adventists. The day commemorates God's day of rest on the seventh day of creation. Christians, including Catholics, celebrate the Lord's Day on Sunday, the day of Jesus's resurrection. This has been the case since the first century, with St. Ignatius of Antioch noting in the second century that Christians came to life through Him and through His death on the Lord's Day.
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What You'll Learn
The Sabbath is Saturday, as per the Old Testament
The Seventh-day Adventist Church maintains that the Sabbath is on Saturday, and this is based on the creation story, where God rested on the seventh day, blessing and making it holy. This is also reflected in the Ten Commandments, where God, after six days of creation, rested on the seventh.
While Christians, including Catholics, celebrate Sunday as "the Lord's Day", this is not a direct replacement of the Sabbath. Instead, it is a commemoration of significant events in the New Testament, such as the resurrection of Jesus, the descent of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus' appearances to the Apostles, all of which occurred on Sundays. This shift to Sunday worship happened very early in the history of the Church, well before the time of Emperor Constantine in the fourth century.
The practice of observing Sunday instead of Saturday is not unique to Catholics but is shared by various Christian denominations, including Baptist, Episcopalian, Methodist, and Presbyterian traditions. This shift is understood as a result of the Church's authority to designate holy days, rather than a direct change to the Sabbath commandment.
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Christians celebrate Sunday, the day Jesus rose from the dead
Christians celebrate Sunday as it is the day Jesus rose from the dead. This is also known as "the Lord's Day", a day of worship and celebration, and the day on which the Holy Spirit came to the apostles. Sunday is considered the first day of the week and is marked by Christians gathering for worship and prayer, as well as being a day of rest.
The Bible contains a detailed account of Jesus' resurrection, and while the exact day is debated, the majority view is that Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday. This is supported by various Gospel accounts, which refer to 'the first day of the week' when Jesus was resurrected. The only exception is Mark 16:9, which in most translations is rendered as "When He rose early on the first day of the week". However, the original Greek is not definitive, and some translators interpret this as "Early on the first day of the week, after He had risen".
The designation of Sunday as the Lord's Day was well-established by the second century. St. Ignatius of Antioch, in his Letter to the Magnesians, wrote: "Those who walked in ancient customs came to a new hope, no longer sabbathing but living by the Lord's Day on which we came to life through Him and through His death". St. Justin Martyr, in his First Apology, wrote: "The Day of the Sun is the day on which we all gather in a common meeting, because it is the first day, the day on which God, changing darkness and matter, created the world; and it is the day on which Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead".
The Sabbath, on the other hand, is observed on Saturday, the seventh day, in Judaism. This is based on the Book of Genesis, where God rested on the seventh day after six days of creation. Christians do not observe the Sabbath as the Jews did, but instead honour Sunday as the day of Jesus' resurrection.
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The Catholic Church replaced the Sabbath with the Lord's Day
The Sabbath is on Saturday, as it was in the Old Testament when God rested from all the work he had done in creation. The day is observed by Jews and Seventh-Day Adventists. However, the Catholic Church celebrates Sunday instead, as it is the day of Christ's resurrection and when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles. This day is also known as "the Lord's Day".
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that:
> Sunday is expressly distinguished from the Sabbath which it follows chronologically every week; for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the Sabbath. In Christ’s Passover, Sunday fulfills the spiritual truth of the Jewish Sabbath and announces man’s eternal rest in God.
The designation of Sunday as the Lord's Day was well-established by the second century. St. Ignatius of Antioch, whose writings provide great insights into the beliefs and practices of the early Catholic Church, remarked:
> Those who walked in ancient customs came to a new hope, no longer sabbathing but living by the Lord's Day on which we came to life through Him and through His death.
Around 110, St. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch and disciple of the apostle John, proclaimed:
> Let every friend of Christ keep the Lord’s Day as a festival, the resurrection-day, the queen and chief of all the days.
St. Justin Martyr, in his First Apology, wrote:
> The Day of the Sun is the day on which we all gather in a common meeting, because it is the first day, the day on which God, changing darkness and matter, created the world; and it is the day on which Jesus Christ our Savior rose from the dead.
While the Catholic Church acknowledges that there is no Biblical authority for the observance of Sunday, it justifies the change by arguing that God gave the Church the power to set aside whatever day it deemed suitable as a Holy Day.
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The Lord's Day is a day of rest from servile work
The Sabbath is on Saturday, as it was in the Old Testament when God rested from all the work he had done in creation. The Sabbath is observed by Jews today. However, Christians celebrate the Lord's Day on Sunday, the day Jesus rose from the dead and the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles. Sunday is also the day of the week when Christians first met to break bread.
The Catholic Church, through the authority of Christ, replaced the Hebrew Sabbath (Saturday) with the Lord's Day (Sunday). This occurred very early, well before the time of Emperor Constantine in the fourth century. The designation of Sunday as the Lord's Day is well-established by the second century. St. Ignatius of Antioch (died 107), for example, wrote: "Those who walked in ancient customs came to a new hope, no longer sabbathing but living by the Lord's Day on which we came to life through Him and through His death."
The early Christians, who were mainly Jewish, observed the seventh-day (Saturday) Sabbath with prayer and rest. However, by the beginning of the second century, the Church Father Ignatius of Antioch approved the non-observance of the Sabbath. Today, the majority practice of Christians is to observe the first day of the week (Sunday), called the Lord's Day, when many significant events occurred during the New Testament, notably the Resurrection.
In the spirit of the Sabbath, Catholics ought to observe a day of rest from servile work, which also becomes "a day of protest against the servitude of work and the worship of money." This day is traditionally observed on Sunday in conjunction with the Lord's Day. Sunday is a day when Christians refrain from servile work, devote themselves to the Eucharist, and gather for prayer and family gatherings.
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The Sabbath is observed on Friday in Arab countries
In the Catholic Church, the Sabbath is on Saturday, as it was in the Old Testament when God rested from all the work he had done in creation. However, Catholics celebrate Sunday instead, as this is the day on which Jesus rose from the dead and the day on which the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles. Sunday is also the day on which early Christians met to break bread.
In Arab countries, the work week is organized so that Shabbat falls on Friday. This is because the Quran shares the six-part Abrahamic creation narrative and the Sabbath as the seventh day. Muslims replace Sabbath rest with Jumu'ah, which is a congregational prayer held every Friday. In some Muslim countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh, Friday is considered a non-working day or a holiday. In other Muslim countries, like Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, it is considered a half-rest day after the Friday prayer is over.
The Sabbath is observed weekly by the Samaritan community every Friday to Saturday beginning and ending at sundown. During this time, families gather together to celebrate the rest day, and all electricity, except for minimal lighting, is disconnected. No work, cooking, or driving is allowed.
The Seventh-day Adventist Church maintains that Saturday is the Sabbath and that worship should take place on this day. This practice is rooted in the Jewish Sabbath, which commemorates God's day of rest on the seventh day of creation.
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Frequently asked questions
The Sabbath is Saturday, but Catholics observe Sunday as the Lord's Day. This is because Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday, and the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles on a Sunday.
The Sabbath is a day of rest and worship, commemorating the day God rested after six days of creation.
The Sabbath is traditionally observed on Saturday, the seventh day of the week. However, Christians observe the Lord's Day on Sunday, the first day of the week, because of the significance of this day in the New Testament.
