Christ Resurrected On Saturday Morning

[SwissGuard25]

Passages of Scripture such as Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2, Colossians 2:16-17, and Revelation 1:10 indicate that, even during New Testament times, the Sabbath is no longer binding and that Christians are to worship on the Lord’s day, Sunday, instead.

The early Church Fathers compared the observance of the Sabbath to the observance of the rite of circumcision, and from that they demonstrated that if the apostles abolished circumcision (Gal. 5:1-6), so also the observance of the Sabbath must have been abolished. The following quotations show that the first Christians understood this principle and gathered for worship on Sunday.

The Letter of Barnabas

“We keep the eighth day [Sunday] with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead” (Letter of Barnabas 15:6–8 [A.D. 74]).

Justin Martyr

“[W]e too would observe the fleshly circumcision, and the Sabbaths, and in short all the feasts, if we did not know for what reason they were enjoined [on] you—namely, on account of your transgressions and the hardness of your heart. . . . [H]ow is it, Trypho, that we would not observe those rites which do not harm us—I speak of fleshly circumcision and Sabbaths and feasts? . . . God enjoined you to keep the Sabbath, and imposed on you other precepts for a sign, as I have already said, on account of your unrighteousness and that of your fathers . . .” (Dialogue with Trypho the Jew 18, 21 [A.D. 155]).

“But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Savior on the same day rose from the dead” (First Apology 67 [A.D. 155]).

Tertullian

“[L]et him who contends that the Sabbath is still to be observed as a balm of salvation, and circumcision on the eighth day . . . teach us that, for the time past, righteous men kept the Sabbath or practiced circumcision, and were thus rendered ‘friends of God.’ For if circumcision purges a man, since God made Adam uncircumcised, why did he not circumcise him, even after his sinning, if circumcision purges? . . . Therefore, since God originated Adam uncircumcised and unobservant of the Sabbath, consequently his offspring also, Abel, offering him sacrifices, uncircumcised and unobservant of the Sabbath, was by him [God] commended [Gen. 4:1–7, Heb. 11:4]. . . . Noah also, uncircumcised—yes, and unobservant of the Sabbath—God freed from the deluge. For Enoch too, most righteous man, uncircumcised and unobservant of the Sabbath, he translated from this world, who did not first taste death in order that, being a candidate for eternal life, he might show us that we also may, without the burden of the law of Moses, please God” (An Answer to the Jews 2 [A.D. 203]).

The Didascalia

“The apostles further appointed: On the first day of the week let there be service, and the reading of the holy scriptures, and the oblation [sacrifice of the Mass], because on the first day of the week * our Lord rose from the place of the dead, and on the first day of the week he arose upon the world, and on the first day of the week he ascended up to heaven, and on the first day of the week he will appear at last with the angels of heaven” (Didascalia 2 [A.D. 225]).

Victorinus

“The sixth day [Friday] is called parasceve, that is to say, the preparation of the kingdom. . . . On this day also, on account of the passion of the Lord Jesus Christ, we make either a station to God or a fast. On the seventh day he rested from all his works, and blessed it, and sanctified it. On the former day we are accustomed to fast rigorously, that on the Lord’s day we may go forth to our bread with giving of thanks. And let the parasceve become a rigorous fast, lest we should appear to observe any Sabbath with the Jews . . . which Sabbath he [Christ] in his body abolished” (The Creation of the World [A.D. 300]).

Eusebius of Caesarea

“They [the early saints of the Old Testament] did not care about circumcision of the body, neither do we [Christians]. They did not care about observing Sabbaths, nor do we. They did not avoid certain kinds of food, neither did they regard the other distinctions which Moses first delivered to their posterity to be observed as symbols; nor do Christians of the present day do such things” (Church History 1:4:8 [A.D. 312]).

“[T]he day of his [Christ’s] light . . . was the day of his resurrection from the dead, which they say, as being the one and only truly holy day and the Lord’s day, is better than any number of days as we ordinarily understand them, and better than the days set apart by the Mosaic law for feasts, new moons, and Sabbaths, which the apostle [Paul] teaches are the shadow of days and not days in reality” (Proof of the Gospel 4:16:186 [A.D. 319]).

The Apostolic Constitutions

“And on the day of our Lord’s resurrection, which is the Lord’s day, meet more diligently, sending praise to God that made the universe by Jesus, and sent him to us, and condescended to let him suffer, and raised him from the dead. Otherwise what apology will he make to God who does not assemble on that day . . . in which is performed the reading of the prophets, the preaching of the gospel, the oblation of the sacrifice, the gift of the holy food” (Apostolic Constitutions 2:7:60 [A.D. 400]).

Augustine

“Well, now, I should like to be told what there is in these ten commandments, except the observance of the Sabbath, which ought not to be kept by a Christian. . . . Which of these commandments would anyone say that the Christian ought not to keep? It is possible to contend that it is not the law which was written on those two tables that the apostle [Paul] describes as ‘the letter that kills’ [2 Cor. 3:6], but the law of circumcision and the other sacred rites which are now abolished” (The Spirit and the Letter 24 [A.D. 412]).*

 

[Samie]

He never went against the beliefs of his times he just came to fulfill them. He didn’t come to destroy them. And if he did come to destroy them then he would of change the Sabbath. So wait to ruin your whole tree.

Already addressed in one of my posts.

Alright so me and you both know that Ellen G. White separated from the Church in 1863. For two main reasons.

1. The Sabbath.
   St. Paul says many times that the Sabbath is to be celebrated on the 8 day. Due to the Jewish calender there is eight days in a week and 28 hours in a day. The eight day is Sunday.
   for more info:
   catholic.com/tracts/sabbath-or-sunday
2. This reason is hilariously ironic she said that the pope’s title Vicarius Filii Dei (Vicar of the Son of God) ads up to 666 in Latin. The Popes title is Vicarius Christi (Vicar of Christ) which does not add up to 666 in Latin.
   IRONICALLY THOUGH
   Ellen G. White’s OWN NAME adds up to 666 in Latin.

The matter on EGW is already addressed in my related posts to pablope. Don’t drag her into the issue. In case you don’t know, she believed in a Sunday resurrection, too.

As to 666, off-topic here in this thread.

As to the Jewish calendar having 8 days a week, tell that somewhere else.

As to St Paul telling about the 8th day, go read your Bible again. It looks dusty now.

 

[TOME]

Samie,

I realize that in my rush to get a response to you I have made a few grammical errors and I posted a few incomplete thoughts. I saw one sentence I wrote in which I started with “AS…”, please accept my apology if you took it as if I was shouting at you - my mistake.

Samie, I do not doubt that God can do what He wills. My point is, once again, not on what God can do, rather, my focus is on the activities of Christ followers on the day of the Resurrection. Their actions indicate that their activities did not take place on a sabbath; therefore, not on a Saturday.

 

[SwissGuard25]

The matter on EGW is already addressed in my related posts to pablope. Don’t drag her into the issue. In case you don’t know, she believed in a Sunday resurrection, too.

I found it was Important to bring up the fact of all her flawed theories why would you believe in this too?

As to 666, off-topic here in this thread.

I know but I though the irony was hilarious and that I had to share it

As to the Jewish calendar having 8 days a week, tell that somewhere else.

Maybe if you payed attention it would make sense but yet you stick to an insane women’s theory

As to St Paul telling about the 8th day, go read your Bible again. It looks dusty now.

Look who this is coming from the only Biblical quote you used is Mark 9.
Sabbath" is a synonym of “Lord’s Day” (Sunday), which is kept in commemoration of the resurrection of Christ, and celebrated with the Eucharist (Catholic Catechism 2177). It is also the day of rest. Lord’s Day is considered both the first day and the “eighth day” of the seven-day week, symbolizing both first creation and new creation (2174). Roman Catholics view the first day as a day for assembly for worship (2178, Heb. 10:25), but consider a day of rigorous rest not obligatory on Christians (Rom. 14:5, Col. 2:16).Catholics count the prohibition of servile work as transferred from seventh-day Sabbath to Sunday (2175-6), but do not hinder participation in “ordinary and innocent occupations”

There is no denying that the Sabbath day is Saturday for the Jews
Correct?
So lets take a look at what Mathew says:
Mathew 28:1-3
“1 AFTER THE SABBATH, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.”

 

[Samie]

Samie,

I thought you might use Luke the way you did. However, if you read Acts, and if you read all four gospels don’t they show that the followers of Christ did not come to the full realization that they were something beyond Judaism, especially at the time of Christ’s death and resurrection. The Twelve (minus Judas, of course) and Christ followers were still acting according to the Law which brings me to my earlier point. The activities of the women at the tomb, Peter and the “Other Disciple”, the men walking on the road to Emmaus, the women’s anticipation or hope of finding someone strong enough to remove the stone blocking the enterence to the tomb are all activities that were prohibited on a sabbath.

There is no recorded activity tantamount to prohibited acts. The women and the other disciples who reportedly went to the tomb did not do anything prohibited. The walking to Emmaus is not a problem either. Was it well within a sabbath day’s journey (15 furlongs) allowed by the Pharisees? We knew the distance from Jerusalem to Emmaus is 60 furlongs, but we are never told where the walk started. It could be that they started from a place the distance of which will take the time needed to walk a sabbath day’s journey until the sun sets yet bringing them close to the village.

 

[johnbres2]

godskingdomfirst.org/DayJesusDied.htm

I found the answer in the linked article satisfactory. Ultimately as Catholics we must inquire, yes, but we also must trust in the tradition that has been passed down to us by the Church that Jesus established. Nobody is trying to trick us. The Church guides us through the Holy Spirit. Jesus died and was buried, and rose on the third day. We accept this on faith. To doubt this ultimately will lead you away from your faith. Christ’s death and resurrection were both witnessed to by many people, and what has been handed down to us in the scriptures and by the Apostles has not been error. We are fully secure and correct to rely on these sources. God bless all of you.

 

[JM3]

The Greek phrase ‘proi prote sabbatou’ is better rendered ‘early morning of the chief sabbath’ rather than the generally accepted ‘early morning of the first day of the week’. It is worth noting that the Greek makes no mention of ‘day’(hemera) nor of ‘week’(hebdomas). In fact, in the Septuagint, ‘sabbatou’ (genitive, singular) always refer to ‘sabbath’ (a single day) and NEVER to ‘week’ (7 days). But the Sunday-keeping Bible translators seemed to have put in a tint of doctrinal bias in their rendering of the phrase in order to give a semblance of Scriptural authority to their Sunday-keeping.

proi

4404 proi {pro-ee’} from 4253;; adv 1) in the morning, early 2) the fourth watch of the night, from 3 o’clock in the morning until 6 o’clock approximately.

protos

4413 protos {pro’-tos} contracted superlative of 4253; TDNT - 6:865,965; adj 1) first in time or place 1a) in any succession of things or persons 2) first in rank 2a) influence, honour 2b) chief 2c) principal 3) first, at the first.

sabbaton

4521 sabbaton {sab’-bat-on} of Hebrew origin 07676; TDNT - 7:1,989; n n 1) the seventh day of each week which was a sacred festival on which the Israelites were required to abstain from all work 1a) the institution of the sabbath, the law for keeping holy every seventh day of the week 1b) a single sabbath, sabbath day 2) seven days, a week.

While english has many words for one meaning, ancient languages had one word with many meanings.

‘early morning of the chief sabbath’

Yes, it can be translated this way, but it can also be translated as ‘early morning of the first of the sabbath week’.

The problem with your translation is that it does not agree with other parts of the Bible, therefore you must be in error.

 

[TOME]

Samie,
We could get into a discussion on whether or not traveling to Emmaus was outside the sabbath limit. Josephus tells us in one place 5 miles was the limit and in another place 6. But I think we would both agree we cannot determine where the journey began which is why I suggest that we just do not pursue this any further (of course I was tempted to say, “Let’s not go down that road.”)

However, I do have to ask you, wasn’t doing heavy lifting, lifting that would be needed to remove the tomb stone, prohibited by the sabbath laws? Also, were people allowed to anoint a dead body during the sabbath? I thought just touching a dead body made one ritually unclean thus to be avoided just before and during a sabbath (which by the way, made Joseph of Arimathea’s actions extrordinary).

 

[jmcrae]

I believe silence is NEVER an evidence for or against an issue.

Thanks for the suggestion. But could you help me out in the search? You could perhaps readily come across such and post the link right away.

Thank you, jmcrae.

There is literally a ton of information on the subject. My suggestion would be for you to begin with The Sources of Catholic Dogma (Denzinger) followed by The Faith of the Early Fathers (3 volumes, Jurgens). These will give you the teachings of the Early Church in their own words. Use the indices to search specifically for the origins of worship on Sunday, and what the first generation of Christians wrote to one another about that.

 

[Todd_Easton]

I’d try cyberspace for The First Apology in its native tongue. I am interested as to what was used in the language it was written regarding ‘Sunday’, a word coined much, much later.

The original Greek expression translated as Sunday or the day of the Sun in the passage I quoted in English from St. Justin Martyr’s First Apology, chap. 67, appears to be ἡλίου ἡμέρα, see full quote below. Again, I don’t know Greek but that appears to mean the day of Helios, the Greek sun god, hence the day of the Sun or Sunday, which follows that of κρονικήν (Kronos), whom the Romans identifed with Saturn, or Saturday.

. . . τὴν δὲ τοῦ ἡλίου
ἡμέραν κοινῇ πάντες τὴν συνέλευσιν ποιούμεθα, ἐπειδὴ πρώτη
ἐστὶν ἡμέρα, ἐν ᾗ ὁ θεὸς τὸ σκότος καὶ τὴν ὕλην τρέψας κόσμον
ἐποίησε, καὶ Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ὁ ἡμέτερος σωτὴρ τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ
ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀνέστη· τῇ γὰρ πρὸ τῆς κρονικῆς ἐσταύρω
σαν αὐτόν, καὶ τῇ μετὰ τὴν κρονικήν, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἡλίου ἡμέρα,
φανεὶς τοῖς ἀποστόλοις αὐτοῦ καὶ μαθηταῖς ἐδίδαξε ταῦτα, ἅπερ
εἰς ἐπίσκεψιν καὶ ὑμῖν ἀνεδώκαμεν. (source, page 41)

 

[Samie]

Passages of Scripture such as Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2, Colossians 2:16-17, and Revelation 1:10 indicate that, even during New Testament times, the Sabbath is no longer binding and that Christians are to worship on the Lord’s day, Sunday, instead.

The only lifestyle beyond reproach is the life of the Savior Himself. The example He left is to be in church on Saturdays. It was His custom. He wants His sheep to follow Him. St. Peter also exhorted us to follow the example of the Lord.

Then you quoted from the following:

1. The early Church Fathers
2. The Letter of Barnabas
3. Justin Martyr
4. Tertullian
5. The Didascalia
6. Victorinus
7. Eusebius of Caesarea
8. The Apostolic Constitutions
9. Augustine

All of the above are extra-biblical sources and personalities whose teachings compose part of the Tradition of the RCC. There’s really nothing wrong in following these Traditions provided they are not in conflict with what the Bible plainly teaches. One of the sad things is when it comes to Sabbath-keeping. These traditions are in conflict with the plain declaration of Scriptures. If men opt to follow human traditions that are not in accord with what are in Scriptures and , teaches others to do the same, then Christ has this declaration:

Matthew 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

 

[Samie]

…

The problem with your translation is that it does not agree with other parts of the Bible, therefore you must be in error.

Please provide proof for your statement. What other parts of Scripture is my translation not in agreement with?

On the other hand, it is the translation “first day of the week” for “prote sabbatou” that is not in agreement with other parts of Scripture.

** Proof:**

1. There is no mention of ‘hemera’, so why supply and insert ‘day’ in the translation? If Mark really meant “first day”, why did he not use ‘prote hemera’ as he did in Mark 14:12?

Καὶ τῇ** πρώτῃ ἡμέρᾳ** τῶν ἀζύμων…

DRA Mark 14:12 Now on the **first day **of the unleavened bread…

1. All occurrences of the genitive “sabbatou” in the Septuagint were all from the Hebrew “shabbath” which is our ‘sabbath’, and NOT from “shabua” which refers to a period of 7 days, that is, a week. (see for example Neh 10:32; 13:15, 17, 19, 22; Isa 66:23; Lam 2:6)

So what justification can be given in the substitution of ‘week’ instead of ‘sabbath’?

You had already agreed that my translation is a plausible translation. I had shown why the translation 'first day of the week" looks improper.

 

[Samie]

The original Greek expression translated as Sunday or the day of the Sun in the passage I quoted in English from St. Justin Martyr’s First Apology, chap. 67, appears to be ἡλίου ἡμέρα, see full quote below. Again, I don’t know Greek but that appears to mean the day of Helios, the Greek sun god, hence the day of the Sun or Sunday, which follows that of κρονικήν (Kronos), whom the Romans identifed with Saturn, or Saturday.

. . . τὴν δὲ τοῦ ἡλίου
ἡμέραν κοινῇ πάντες τὴν συνέλευσιν ποιούμεθα, ἐπειδὴ πρώτη
ἐστὶν ἡμέρα, ἐν ᾗ ὁ θεὸς τὸ σκότος καὶ τὴν ὕλην τρέψας κόσμον
ἐποίησε, καὶ Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ὁ ἡμέτερος σωτὴρ τῇ αὐτῇ ἡμέρᾳ
ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀνέστη· τῇ γὰρ πρὸ τῆς κρονικῆς ἐσταύρω
σαν αὐτόν, καὶ τῇ μετὰ τὴν κρονικήν, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἡλίου ἡμέρα,
φανεὶς τοῖς ἀποστόλοις αὐτοῦ καὶ μαθηταῖς ἐδίδαξε ταῦτα, ἅπερ
εἰς ἐπίσκεψιν καὶ ὑμῖν ἀνεδώκαμεν. (source, page 41)

Thanks, Todd. That is very informative. Nevertheless, I think in matters of spiritual importance, I need to abide by what is in the Bible. I am not saying anything against what Justin Martyr wrote. But since what is in Scriptures seems contrary to what he declared, the Bible will still be my final authority.

 

[Samie]

Samie,
…
However, I do have to ask you, wasn’t doing heavy lifting, lifting that would be needed to remove the tomb stone, prohibited by the sabbath laws? Also, were people allowed to anoint a dead body during the sabbath? I thought just touching a dead body made one ritually unclean thus to be avoided just before and during a sabbath (which by the way, made Joseph of Arimathea’s actions extrordinary).

Yes, according to the Jews. But fact is there was no heavy lifting done by the disciples. It was an angel who removed the stone, too heavy for the women, but a piece of cake for the angel. Required great effort had the women done it, but not a flex of sinew for the angel.

And Yes, there are lots of other prohibitions invented by the Jews. But I just don’t think they impugn on the weekday of resurrection of the Lord. The women are bent on doing what the Pharisees may deem as prohibited, presumably because they believed whatever is done for the Lord transcends all prohibitions (like embalming His body).

 

[Khalid]

Look up σάββατον in the BDAG (or the older BADG), or any analytic Koine Greek lexicon.

Parroting Greek phrases you’ve heard described as defeaters of the Catholic position doesn’t mean they are, or that the pastor who is himself parroting them even understands the Greek. The JWs do a similar thing with θεον and θεος, even though they’re identical words (different cases, accusative and nominative respectively).

 

[Nicea325]

Thanks, Todd. That is very informative. Nevertheless, I think in matters of spiritual importance, I need to abide by what is in the Bible. I am not saying anything against what Justin Martyr wrote. But since what is in Scriptures seems contrary to what he declared, the Bible will still be my final authority.

The Bible is your final authority? Where does Jesus ever teach the Bible is the final authority?

 

[Khalid]

Where does the Bible say the Bible is the ultimate authority? Where does it even tell you which books are in it? The table of contents isn’t inspired, you know.

“Hold fast to the traditions that I have taught you, whether by word of mouth or by epistle” - Earlier-day Saint Paul

 

[SwissGuard25]

Matthew 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Yes Ealry Church fathers who probably knew a lot more about Jesus than you.

And you haven’t responded to Mathew 28:1
So I repeat.
Jewish sabbath is Saturday
correct?

Mathew 28:1-3
“1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.”

 

[Samie]

Look up σάββατον in the BDAG (or the older BADG), or any analytic Koine Greek lexicon.

Parroting Greek phrases you’ve heard described as defeaters of the Catholic position doesn’t mean they are, or that the pastor who is himself parroting them even understands the Greek. The JWs do a similar thing with θεον and θεος, even though they’re identical words (different cases, accusative and nominative respectively).

Me, parroting? So how many lexicons do you have in your position, Khalid?

For the Greek lexicons, I have access to the following (aside from many others more) at any time of day:

1. Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament. Copyright © 1994, 2000 Timothy and Barbara Friberg
2. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third Edition. Copyright © 2000 The University of Chicago Press.
3. Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, 2nd Edition, edited by F. Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick William Danker. Copyright © 1965 by The University of Chicago Press.
4. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Abridged and Revised Thayer Lexicon) Copyright © 1988-1997 by the Online Bible Foundation and Woodside Fellowship of Ontario, Canada
5. A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, Vols. 1 and 2 by J. Lust, E. Eynikel, and K. Hauspie, Copyright © 1992, 1996 by the German Bible Society .
6. Louw-Nida Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains, 2nd Edition, Edited by J. P. Louw and E. A. Nida. Copyright © 1988 by the United Bible Societies, New York
7. A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th Revised Edition, by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Henry Stuart Jones, and Robert McKenzie. Copyright © Oxford University Press 1996.

Sorry for going down this low but the tenor of your post pushed me.

 

[Samie]

Yes Ealry Church fathers who probably knew a lot more about Jesus than you.

Probably yes, or could be probably no as well - talking about probability.

And you haven’t responded to Mathew 28:1
So I repeat.
Jewish sabbath is Saturday
correct?

Mathew 28:1-3…

Yes, it is called Saturday now. Why?