By D.B. Evans
There is a lot of controversy over the day of Shabbat, the Day of Rest. Maybe this will help clarify some of it.
Below I will use Biblical scripture in its historical and cultural context rather than the theological opinions that man has used to justify changing, adding, or taking away from the Word of the Lord.
The “Jewish Sabbath” — Whose Day Is It?
First, I want to address the claim that the Sabbath is a “Jewish Sabbath.” The Lord God sanctified and blessed the seventh day, not the first day. It was not the Jews who came up with it.
“And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”
— Genesis 2:2–3
“The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.”
— Exodus 20:10
“Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.'”
— Exodus 31:13
The Sabbath belongs to God — not to any ethnic group. It is His day, established at creation, given as a sign to His people.
Was the Sabbath Command Meant to Be Permanent?
Some claim that the Law, including the Sabbath, was never meant to be permanent. But Scripture says otherwise — in language that leaves no room for ambiguity.
“Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.”
— Exodus 31:16
“It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.”
— Leviticus 16:31
“Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings.”
— Leviticus 23:3
Perpetual means continuing forever, valid for all time. Covenant means a binding agreement between parties. God called the Sabbath a perpetual covenant — a binding agreement that continues forever. This language leaves no ambiguity. The Sabbath command is permanent.
What About Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:1–2?
These are two of the most commonly cited passages used to argue that the early church changed the Sabbath to Sunday. But when examined in their historical and cultural context, they say no such thing.
Acts 20:7
“On the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.”
— Acts 20:7
In Jewish reckoning, days begin at sundown — “the evening and the morning” (Genesis 1). The “first day of the week” (Yom Rishon) began at sundown on Saturday evening. This passage describes a meal that took place after the Sabbath had concluded — not a replacement of it. The disciples could not prepare food on the Sabbath according to Torah law. They were observing the Sabbath by not laboring, and then they ate together after it ended.
1 Corinthians 16:1–2
“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.”
— 1 Corinthians 16:1–2
Paul’s instructions about collections on the first day of the week are not about changing the day of worship. They are about maintaining Sabbath observance by avoiding financial transactions on the holy day. This is adherence to Torah instruction, not its abandonment.
Hebrew Days of the Week
In Hebrew, the days of the week are numbered rather than named — except for the seventh day, which is Shabbat. The English names for the days of the week are derived from pagan deities: the Sun (Sunday), the Moon (Monday), Tyr (Tuesday), Odin/Woden (Wednesday), Thor (Thursday), Frigga (Friday), and Saturn (Saturday).
| English | Hebrew | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | ראשון | Rishon |
| Monday | שני | Sheni |
| Tuesday | שלישי | Shlishi |
| Wednesday | רביעי | Revi’i |
| Thursday | חמישי | Chamishi |
| Friday | שישי | Shishi |
| Saturday | שבת | Shabbat |
Yeshua and the Sabbath
Yeshua (Jesus) declared Himself Lord of the Sabbath:
“For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”
— Matthew 12:8
“The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”
— Mark 2:27
“The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
— Luke 6:5
If Yeshua had the authority to change the Sabbath — and He did, as Lord of it — then the fact that He did not change it is itself a powerful validation of its permanent status. Yeshua was “the Word of God” (John 1:1) who was present at creation when the Sabbath was first established. He kept the Sabbath according to God’s instruction throughout His entire earthly ministry.
Yeshua on the Torah
Yeshua did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it — to properly teach it and live it out:
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.”
— Matthew 5:17
Not one jot or tittle has been removed from the Torah until all prophecies are complete. Yeshua kept the Sabbath. He kept the commandments. And He told His followers:
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
— John 14:15
Obedience to God’s commands — including the Sabbath — is how we demonstrate our love for Him.
What Does Colossians 2:16 Actually Mean?
“So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.”
— Colossians 2:16–17
This verse is frequently cited to argue that the Sabbath and biblical feasts are no longer relevant. But context tells a very different story.
The believers in Colossae were Gentile converts who were transitioning from pagan practices to a biblical way of life. Their pagan background included first-day (Sunday) worship of sun deities, December 25 celebrations, and forty-day spring fasts.
Paul was not telling them to ignore the Sabbath and the appointed times. He was telling them not to fear the judgment of their pagan neighbors for abandoning those pagan customs and embracing God’s appointed days instead. Paul was reinforcing the biblical calendar, not dismissing it.
The phrase “a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ” means the feasts and Sabbaths foreshadow the Messiah — they point to Him. This supports their continued observance, not their abandonment. A shadow is cast by something real. The reality is Yeshua, and the appointed times reveal Him.
How Sunday Worship Replaced the Sabbath: A Historical Timeline
The shift from Sabbath to Sunday did not come from Scripture. It came from a long history of anti-Jewish theology and political power.
Constantine’s Decree — 321 AD
“On the venerable Day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed.”
— Constantine, March 7, 321 AD
Constantine dedicated the day to the sun god, melding pagan and Judeo-Messianic theology. His coins retained the image of “Sol Invictus” (the Unconquered Sun) until 387 AD. This was not a biblical reformation — it was a political decree rooted in sun worship.
Early Church Anti-Jewish Theology
The theological groundwork for abandoning the Sabbath was laid over centuries by church leaders who systematically distanced Christianity from its Jewish roots:
- 115 AD — Ignatius of Antioch: Argued that Judaism is incompatible with belief in Jesus
- 120 AD — Epistle of Barnabas: Claimed the “Church” replaced the Jews as God’s people — the beginning of “replacement theology”
- 150 AD — Justin Martyr: Declared the church had become the “new inheritors” of God’s promises to Israel
- 165 AD — Melito of Sardis: Promoted replacement theology and anti-Jewish rhetoric
- 210 AD — Hippolytus: Wrote the “Expository Treatise Against the Jews”
- 220 AD — Origen: Claimed the Jewish people were “forever rejected” by God
- 306 AD — Synod of Elvira: Imposed restrictions on interaction between Christians and Jews
- 325 AD — Council of Nicaea: Separated Easter from Passover and declared Sunday as the day of worship
The union of state and church enabled the systematic elimination of Jewish practices under the guise of theological reform. The day of Shabbat was never changed by God, by Yeshua, or by the apostles. It was changed by men — driven by anti-Jewish sentiment and political convenience.
The Resurrection and First Fruits
Some claim that because Yeshua rose on the first day of the week, Sunday should replace the Sabbath as the day of worship. But Scripture tells a different story.
The day of Yeshua’s resurrection was the day of First Fruits — a separate observance commanded in Leviticus 23 that celebrated the first barley harvest. Yeshua is called “the First Fruits of the resurrection”:
“But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:20
The day of First Fruits was commanded separately from the Sabbath. It never replaced it. Yeshua’s resurrection fulfilled the feast of First Fruits — it did not abolish the fourth commandment.
Gentile Believers and the Sabbath
At the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, the apostles determined four requirements for Gentile believers coming to faith:
- Abstain from things offered to idols
- Abstain from blood
- Abstain from things strangled
- Abstain from sexual immorality
Notably absent from this list is an explicit Sabbath requirement — but also notably absent is any instruction to worship on a different day. Gentile believers, grafted into the Commonwealth of Israel through faith in Yeshua, were never told to abandon the Sabbath. They were told to begin their walk of faith with these essentials, learning more of God’s ways as they grew.
Paul writes in Romans 14 that believers may observe or not observe certain days, provided it is done “to the Lord.” This permits variance among believers but does not negate the sanctity of the seventh day. God’s blessing and sanctification of the Sabbath at creation has never been revoked.
God’s Covenant with Israel Cannot Be Broken
God made eternal promises to His people — promises that cannot fail:
“He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
— Deuteronomy 31:8
“The LORD will not desert His people.”
— Psalm 94:14
“For the LORD will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the LORD to make you His people.”
— 1 Samuel 12:22
God cannot break His covenants. The Sabbath was given as a perpetual covenant. If God abandoned the Sabbath, He would be breaking His own word — and Scripture tells us that is impossible. This also speaks against “replacement theology” — the idea that the church has replaced Israel in God’s plan. God’s promises to Israel stand forever, and His Sabbath stands with them.
A Call to Return
The Seventh Day Sabbath has never been changed by any disciple or apostle. The change came from men — through anti-Jewish theology, political decrees, and centuries of confusion. But God’s Word remains.
The prophet Jeremiah foresaw a day when the nations would recognize what had been lost:
“O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, ‘Surely our fathers have inherited lies, worthlessness and unprofitable things.'”
— Jeremiah 16:19
And the prophet Isaiah gave this invitation — an invitation that still stands today:
“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
— Isaiah 58:13–14
The mouth of the LORD has spoken. The Sabbath remains.
