The Truth Found

II. WHAT DOES THE NEW TESTAMENT TEACH CONCERNING THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK?

As no argument is drawn directly from the Old Testament in favor of the first day or its observance, we have only to examine the testimony of the New. The phase “first day of the week,” is used eight times in the New Testament: by Matthew and Luke once each, and by Mark and John twice each, all referring to one and the same day—the one next succeeding the crucifixion; once in Acts, and once in 1 Corinthians. The following are the texts:— TFNOS 47.4

Matthew 28:1. In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher. TFNOS 48.1

Mark 16:2. And very early in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun. TFNOS 48.2

Verse 9. Now when Jesus was risen early, the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. TFNOS 48.3

Luke 24:1. Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. TFNOS 48.4

John 20:1. The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher; and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher. TFNOS 48.5

Verse 19. Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you TFNOS 48.6

Acts 20:7. And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow, and continued his speech until midnight. TFNOS 48.7

1 Corinthians 16:1, 2. Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. TFNOS 49.1

By an examination of the contexts of these passages, it will be seen that there is no obligation, either expressed or implied, to observe, in any manner, the first day of the week. But inasmuch as it has been supposed that there were some extraordinary coincidences connected with the first day spoken of by the evangelists, I will here present their testimony, and show, by a comparison, its intent and harmony:— TFNOS 49.2

Luke 23:56; 24:1-11. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments, and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment. TFNOS 49.3

Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments; and as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen; remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words, and returned from the sepulcher, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. TFNOS 49.4

Truth Found. TFNOS 49.5

And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not. TFNOS 50.1

Mark 16:9-11. Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. TFNOS 50.2

Luke 24:12. Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulcher; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass. TFNOS 50.3

John 20:3-10. Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulcher. So they ran both together; and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulcher. And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulcher, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulcher, and he saw, and believed; for as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. TFNOS 50.4

Luke 24:13-16. And behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. But their eyes were holden, that they should not know him. TFNOS 50.5

Here follows their relation of the events connected with his crucifixion, and his exposition of the prophecies, till they drew near to their own home. TFNOS 50.6

Verses 28-35. And they drew nigh unto the village whither they went; and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us; for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scriptures? And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. TFNOS 51.1

Mark 16:12, 13. After that, he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it unto the residue; neither believed they them. TFNOS 51.2

Luke 24:36. And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and said unto them, Peace be unto you. TFNOS 51.3

John 20:19. Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. TFNOS 51.4

Mark 16:14. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. TFNOS 51.5

Now we have the testimony before us, and the queries arise, Does it contain any evidence that the day was, or was to be regarded as, a Sabbath? or, that the disciples in any way observed it as the Lord’s day, or day of the resurrection? or, that the meeting of the Saviour with them gave a warrant for the future observance of that day? TFNOS 51.6

In regard to the first question, the reading of the testimony must be sufficient to satisfy all that there is no intimation that it was thenceforth to be regarded as a Sabbath, or as a day in any wise to be observed. TFNOS 52.1

On the others, let us briefly examine the testimony. TFNOS 52.2

1. It was evidently not designed to be observed as the day of the resurrection; for the Holy Spirit, under whose influence the gospels were written, has not recorded it as a fact that he rose on the first day of the week, but only that they came to the sepulcher early on the first day of the week, and he was not there. TFNOS 52.3

2. That they did not observe it in honor of the resurrection, as is often claimed, is evident from the fact that they did not believe that he was risen. The record presents the following points: After his resurrection, he appeared first to Mary, who returned and told it to the apostles, but they did not believe her. Toward the close of the day, he was manifested to two of the disciples, at a village upward of seven miles from Jerusalem, who returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven and told them that they had seen the Lord; but they did not believe them. While they were yet speaking Jesus himself stood in their midst. John says it was “at evening,” by which we understand that it was just at, or very near, the close of the day. Luke and John agree that he pronounced the benediction, Peace be unto you, which is supposed to convey a warrant for first-day observance. Thus Justin Edwards, in the Sabbath Manual, page 104, says, “On that first day he not only met with the disciples—a thing which we have no account of his doing, after his resurrection, on the seventh day—but he blessed them in their meeting, saying, ‘Peace be unto you,’—evidently approving of what they were doing.” But Mark, whose brief account is parallel with that of Luke, further says that he proceeded to upbraid them with their unbelief, and hardness of heart, because they did not believe that he was raised—they not even believing the word of them that had seen him. This does not look much like celebrating his resurrection, or like a divine approval of such celebration. And what were they doing? Mark says “They sat at meat.” On this text, the Comprehensive Commentary says, “He appeared to them as they sat at meat, which gave him an opportunity to eat and drink with them, for their full satisfaction;” and Dr. Barnes remarks: “The word meat here means food or meals; as they were ?? at their meals.” By referring to Acts 1:13, we find that they “abode” together; ?? is not to be wondered at that they were found together at that time, as their residence was at that place, and they were partaking of their meal. By this it will also be perceived that they did not ?? for fear of the Jews, as has been inferred from John 20:19; but that they shut the doors where they were for fear of the Jews. That there is nothing in the gospels to favor the observance of the ?? of the week must be admitted by every ??. TFNOS 52.4

Two other passages in the New Testament mention the first day of the ??. On these is founded the argument for what has been termed “apostolic preference.” But the argument would never have been claimed on the authority of these alone. It is first claimed that the actions of Christ and his apostles, on that first day of his resurrection, warranted its observance, and then these texts are offered to show that their practice was in accordance with that warrant; but the testimony clearly shows that no such warrant exists in the gospels; therefore, these texts must sustain the whole burden of Sunday proof. Now I would ask, What sanctity was conferred on the first day of the week by the meeting of the church at Troas on that day to break bread? or, Does that one act of that one church bind all the churches, in all time, to that custom, without even an intimation being given that such was the custom or practice of that church? Surely that would be drawing a great conclusion from small premises. So in 1 Corinthians 16:2, we find nothing in the record to show a custom of the church, or to show that it was to be followed by other churches. In neither text is there any reference made to a Sabbath, or to sacred time, or anything to show that that day was to be regarded in any different light from any other working day. Mr. Morton gives eleven translations on the expression, “by him,” in 1 Corinthians 16:2, showing that it signifies by himself—at home. In these he gives the testimony of nine languages, including Greenfield’s definition of the Greek words, all conveying the same idea, “with one’s self; i.e., at home.” And Justin Edwards, in his notes, gives the same definition. TFNOS 53.1

The term Sabbath, Sabbath day, or sabbath days, occurs sixty times in the New Testament; in Matthew ten times, in Mark eleven times, in Luke eighteen times, in John eleven times, in the Acts nine times, and in Colossians once. ¹ All the cases of its occurrence in the gospels refer to the use of the term prior to the crucifixion of the Saviour, except the Sabbath that succeeded the crucifixion—the one on which he rested in the grave. All the cases of its occurrence in the Acts (except chapter 1:12—Sabbath-day’s journey) refer to times and events subsequent to the crucifixion, in the history of a period of about fifteen years—from A. D. 45 to A. D. 60. And it is so used at that date as to show that, in the gospel dispensation, and in the gospel record, THE SABBATH IS THE TITLE OF THE SEVENTH DAY. TFNOS 54.1

A careful examination of the testimony here presented will enable you better to appreciate the comparison of the claims of the two days, as given on page 32. And it must be admitted, as there stated, that everything that is necessary to give importance to the day—that is calculated to induce a proper observance of the day—is produced in favor of the seventh day; nothing of the kind can be produced in favor of the first day; no institution—no sanctity—no commandment—no penalty. Reader, are you, or do you desire to be, “followers of God, as dear children”? Are you believers of the word of God? Then you will surely, with me, consider as unavoidable the following TFNOS 55.1

CONCLUSION:—No obligation exists to observe in any manner, as a rest-day, or holy day, the first day of the week. TFNOS 55.2

But it has been shown that we are under obligation to observe the seventh day; and as the observance of the first day infringes upon the commandment of God which enjoins the observance of the seventh day, and interferes with such observance, all who bow to the authority of the word must also admit this TFNOS 55.3

CONCLUSION:—It is wrong to keep the first day of the week, or to give it the honor, place, or title of the Lord’s day, or Sabbath of the Lord. TFNOS 56.1

Matthew 15:7-9. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying. This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. TFNOS 56.2

III. THE WISDOM OF THE WORLD; OR THE OPINIONS OF LEARNED MEN. The opinions and practices of learned men are often presented as an argument in favor of anything popular, and especially Sunday-keeping. But they should certainly never be urged upon a point where the testimony of the Bible is so direct and explicit as it is upon the subject of the Sabbath; nor, indeed, upon any point, as the word is directly opposed to any human dependence. God has chosen the weak to confound the mighty, and the foolish to confound the wise. That which is hidden from the wise is revealed unto babes. The Lord says, “Ye have ploughed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies; because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.” Hosea 10:13. TFNOS 56.3

It is perfectly safe to follow only that which is certainly right. But the great and wise of earth are not certainly right, inasmuch as there is no agreement among them. On examining their positions, we are struck with their contradictions and confusion. Were the subject really intricate, we should look for much light to be elicited by so great efforts of so much learning; but where so much confusion exists, while the truth itself is clear and plain, it is to be feared that the effort with many is to evade, rather than to learn, the truth. TFNOS 56.4

WM. TYNDALE.—We be the lords of the Sabbath, and may change it into Monday, or any other day, as we see need; or, we may make every tenth day holy day, only if we see cause why; we may make two every week if it were expedient, or one not enough to teach the people. Neither was there any cause to change it from the Saturday, other than to put a difference between us and the Jews, and lest we should become servants to the day after their superstition. TFNOS 57.1

BISHOP CRANMER.—The Jews were commanded in the Old Testament to keep the Sabbath day, and they observed it every seventh day, called the Sabbath, or Saturday; but we Christian men are not bound to such commandments in Moses’ law, and therefore we now keep no more the Sabbath, or Saturday, as the Jews did, but we observe the Sunday, and some other days, as the magistrates do judge convenient.—Catechism. TFNOS 57.2

JOHN BROWN, in his Bible Dictionary, contradicts the above, as follows:— TFNOS 57.3

In honor of his own resurrection, Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, changed the Sabbath from the seventh to the first’ day of the week. The first day was observed by Christians, as their Sabbath, for almost sixteen hundred years without having their practice so much as questioned; nor have any arguments against its observance been since adduced which are worthy of notice. TFNOS 57.4

That the following is reasonable and just, all will admit:— TFNOS 57.5

W. NEVINS, D. D.—It is very true that the Sabbath is done away in the practice of many, but I know of no precept doing it away. The subject may have done it away, but the Lawgiver has not. Now I very much question the right of a subject to do away a law. I can show any one who wishes to see it the enactment of the law of the Sabbath. I can tell him when it was enacted, under what circumstances, and in what language. But can any point to the repeal of the law? When was it repealed? Where is the account of it? TFNOS 57.6

Now for repeal, let us substitute change, and apply the above test of a “D. D.” to the following from an “LL. D.” TFNOS 58.1

THOS. DICK, LL. D.—The celebration of the work of creation is not the only, nor the principal, exercise to which we are called on the Christian Sabbath. Had man continued in primeval innocence, this would probably have constituted his chief employment. But he is now called to celebrate, in conjunction with this exercise, a most glorious deliverance from sin and misery effected by the Redeemer of mankind. And, for this reason, the Sabbath has been changed from the seventh to the first day of the week. TFNOS 58.2

DR. DWIGHT, who advocated a change, wrote as follows:— TFNOS 58.3

It could be altered only by divine appointment. The same authority which instituted the Sabbath, appointed, also, the day on which it was to be holden; and no other authority is competent to change either in any degree. If, then, we cannot find in the Scriptures plain and ample proof of the abrogation of the original day, or the substitution of a new one, the day undoubtedly remains in full force and obligation; and is now religiously to be observed by all the race of Adam. TFNOS 58.4

Compare this with the following admission:— TFNOS 58.5

PROF. EPIS. CHURCH.—The day is now changed from the seventh to the first day, in commemoration of our Lord’s resurrection; but as we meet with no scriptural direction for the change, we may conclude it was done by the authority of the church, under the guidance of the apostles.—Explanation of Catechism. TFNOS 58.6

Another D. D. writes as follows:— TFNOS 59.1

DAVID BOGUE, D. D.—The fourth commandment does not determine the particular day. That was determined, under the law, by another precept. TFNOS 59.2

But a Bishop meets him with the following contradiction:— TFNOS 59.3

BISHOP HOPKINS.—“On the seventh day God ended his work which he had made, and God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it.” Now, that there cannot, in these words, be understood any prolepsis, or anticipation, declaring that as done then which was done many ages after, appears plainly, because God is said to sanctify the Sabbath then when he rested; but he rested precisely on the seventh day after the creation; therefore, that very seventh day did God sanctify, and so made it the beginning of all ensuing Sabbaths. TFNOS 59.4

No one, who reads the commandment with any care, and respects its authority, can make the following statement:— TFNOS 59.5

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF REL. KNOWLEDGE.—It cannot reasonably be disputed that the command is truly obeyed by the separation of every seventh day from common to sacred purposes, at whatever given time the cycle may commence. The first Sabbath kept in the wilderness was calculated from the first day in which the manna fell, and with no apparent reference to the creation of the world. TFNOS 59.6

The following is from equally high authority; and as the Israelites were not required to keep two weekly Sabbaths, and therefore the Sabbath pointed out by the falling of the manna was the same that was enforced by the commandment, the Union contradicts the Encyclopedia AM. S. S. UNION.—The commandment which stands fourth in the order of the decalogue is founded on the fact that the seventh day was blessed and hallowed by God himself, and that he requires his creatures to keep it holy to him. The commandment is of universal and perpetual obligation.—Bible Dictionary. TFNOS 59.7

The following is an acknowledgement that there is no Scripture authority for the change. TFNOS 60.1

Adam Clarke, D. D.—It seems to have been by an especial providence that this change has been made and acknowledged all over the Christian world.—On Matthew 12:8. TFNOS 60.2

But a “Pres.” meets the “Dr.” with the following rebuke:— TFNOS 60.3

Pres. Humphrey.—No human authority may expunge a single word from the statutes of Jehovah. It were infinitely less daring for the meanest subject of the mightiest earthly potentate to declare the fundamental laws of the empire null and void, than for man, who is a worm, to set aside the institutions of his Maker. TFNOS 60.4

And yet, Pres. H. dared to expunge the “seventh day” from the law of Jehovah, and insert the “first day” in its stead; thus setting aside the institution of the rest-day of God. TFNOS 60.5

Let the following statement of a great historian also be brought to the above test of Pres. H.’s:— TFNOS 60.6

EUSEBIUS.—All things whatsoever that it was the duty to do on the Sabbath, these we have transferred to the Lord’s day, as more appropriately belonging to it, because it had a precedence, and is first in rank, and more honorable than the Jewish Sabbath. TFNOS 60.7

Dr. Scott.—The change from the seventh [day] to the first appears to have been gradually and silently introduced. TFNOS 60.8

Only among the Catholics there is unity of faith of all who teach the observance of first-day. The following testimonies will show their teachings:— TFNOS 61.1

Dr. Tuberville.—It (Sunday) is a day dedicated by the apostles to the honor of the Most Holy Trinity, and in memory that Christ our Lord arose from the dead upon Sunday, sent down the Holy Ghost on a Sunday, etc., and therefore is called the Lord’s day. It is also called Sunday from the old Roman denomination of Dies Solis, the day of the sun, to which it was sacred.—Douay Catechism. TFNOS 61.2

Dr. Challoner.—The Scripture does not in particular mention this change of the Sabbath. John speaks of the Lord’s day (Revelation 1:10); but he does not tell us what day of the week this was, much less does he tell us that this day was to take the place of the Sabbath ordained in the commandment. Luke also speaks of the disciples’ meeting together to break bread on the first day of the week. Acts 20:7. And Paul (1 Corinthians 16:2) orders that on the first day of the week the Corinthians should lay by in store what they designed to bestow in charity on the faithful in Judea, but neither the one nor the other tells us that this first day of the week was to be, henceforth, the day of rest, and the Christian Sabbath; so that truly the best authority we have for this is the testimony and ordinance of the church; and therefore those who pretend to be so religious of the Sunday, whilst they take no notice of other festivals ordained by the same church authority, show that they act by humor and not by reason and religion, since Sunday and holy days all stand upon the same foundation; viz., the ordinance of the church.—Cath. Chris. Instructed. TFNOS 61.3

As many reverence the name “Sunday,” it may gratify their feelings to learn its origin from the following high authority:— TFNOS 61.4

AM. S. S. UNION.—Sunday was a name given by the heathen to the first day of the week, because it was the day on which they worshiped the sun.—Bible Dictionary. TFNOS 61.5

The following is intended as a decisive strike against the Sabbath of the commandment—the seventh day:— TFNOS 62.1

Pres. Board Of Publication.—It is perfectly plain from the several passages we have collated, that the apostle enjoined and observed the first day of the week as sacred to religious assemblies for Christians; and as plain that he reproved as sinful the observance of Jewish times. The term “days,” therefore, in the epistle to the Galatians, and “holy day,” and “Sabbath days,” in that to the Colossians, cannot be understood in any other light than as embracing, if they did not exclusively signify, the Jewish seventh-day Sabbath, which, as the servant of God, he disowned and forbade.—Tract No. 128. TFNOS 62.2

But a D. D. meets it with a still more decided rejoinder:— TFNOS 62.3

Dr. Edwards.—So in the second chapter of Colossians.... The sabbaths spoken of are not “the Sabbath” associated with, Thou shalt not commit murder, or adultery, or theft; but the sabbaths associated with meats and drinks, and new moons, which were, indeed, shadows of things to come. But to take what he said of those sabbaths, which were associated by God with ceremonial laws, and which the apostle himself, in this very discourse, associates with them, and apply it, as some have done, to “THE SABBATH” which God associated with moral laws, is wrong.—Sab. Man., pp. 135, 136. TFNOS 62.4

But the climax of contradictions is the following:— TFNOS 62.5

Dr. Dwight.—The blessing, also, and the sanctification were annexed to the Sabbath day, and not to the seventh. TFNOS 62.6

Compare the above with Genesis 2:3.—And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. TFNOS 62.7

Comment is needless. Against learning or learned men, as such, I have nothing to say. But if education served men no better purpose on other points than it has many of the writers here quoted on the Sabbath question, it would truly be a vain and useless thing. Their learning, no one will question; of their honesty, I shall say nothing. But I shall leave it for their friends and admirers to decide whether Dr. Bogue was more learned than Bishop Hopkins; or the Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge is more reliable than the American Sunday-School Union; or Dr. Brown more reliable than Bishop Cranmer; and whether Dr. Dwight ever read the second chapter of Genesis and the twentieth chapter of Exodus! TFNOS 63.1

It will be perceived, on examining the testimony of Catholics and Protestants, that a change of sentiment has been gradually produced, so that the Sabbath of the Lord has been opposed, or the first day enforced, by altogether different methods at different times. This would not have been the case if their views had been sustained by revelation. The advocates of the Sabbath always have appealed to the facts of creation, to the fourth commandment, to the teachings of Christ, and of the prophets and apostles. On the other hand, false ideas of honoring the resurrection raised a controversy respecting the relative claims of the Sabbath and the first day. A wicked Roman emperor thought a change necessary to separate the Christians from the Jews. A papal council pronounced a curse on those who kept the seventh day; and this universal hierarchy established the observance of first-day as the chief of all her feasts TFNOS 63.2

And so completely was the professed Christian world molded under these corrupting influences, that the reformers, in emerging from the darkness of Romanism, were content to let this subject rest on the authority of tradition and the will of the magistrates. And Protestants in general still make tradition, custom, the laws of the land, and the teachings of the learned, their only authorities on this subject. TFNOS 64.1

Reader, remember that God’s word is truth. It reveals the “words of knowledge,” which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith in Christ. The words of man are vanity—his wisdom is folly. His position, his acquirements, may qualify him to instruct his fellows in secular matters; but “TAKE HEED that no man deceive you” in reference to the word of God. TFNOS 64.2

Proverbs 19:27.—“Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge” TFNOS 64.3