Implications of Shifting Sabbath to Sunday

Bible
Author

Sam Hutchins

Published

May 12, 2025

There is much controversy regarding the Sabbath Day and Sunday worship in the Christian world. In the first few centuries of Christianity, the Sabbath was religiously kept as the day of rest I have seen references to many authors citing that Christians keeping the Sabbath remain in slavery to Jewish traditions. I can only comment that the Holy Bible, though scribed by men, was inspired by God. Those that persist in thinking Moses penned the Torah, instead of by inspiration of God, need to examine why they may be following that path.

[NOTE] All Bible verses referenced or quoted in this document are from the Authorized Version of the King James Bible.

The Lord’s Day vs. The Sabbath Using the Bible as the final reference, which for Christians, should be the first choice, we have the following scripture to refer to.

Biblical Truth The oldest known biblical text is on two silver amulets found in 1979 and date to the 7th century B.C. and read,

May Yahweh bless you and keep you; May Yahweh cause his face to Shine upon you and grant you Peace.

As there are no known extant original manuscripts from the first century, this quote from () is important for the Christian.

Scientifically, we do not know if the Bible is true, and we never will. That, of course, does not derogate from the truth of authority of Scripture, for two reasons:

  • Scripture is self-authenticating;
  • and science cannot prove anything true.

When He [God] inspired the prophets and apostles to write down that portion of His eternal plan which He chose to reveal to us, He directed them to write His unchanging Word describing His unchanging plan.

Many comments recorded within a few centuries of the time of Jesus (Yeshua), to the present, use as the defining factor for Sunday worship as the Resurrection of Jesus on Sunday. Jesus was not resurrected on Sunday! What?

Firstly, the only year where all the events and dates coincide with the calendar is 31 AD, shown in this post. So,

A Passover on Wednesday is the only day of the week that works with all Biblical accounts of the crucifixion. Yahshua was in the grave “three days and three nights” Matthew 12:40. From Wednesday just before sunset [even] to Saturday just before sunset [even] is three days and three nights. The fact that the day following Yahshua’s crucifixion was a Sabbath (Mark 15:42, Luke 23:52-54, & John 19:31) does not prove He was crucified on a Friday. According to the Law of Moses, the day following Passover (which is also the first day of the feast of unleavened bread) is also, always a Sabbath day of rest to be observed like the 7th day weekly Sabbath no matter what day of the week it falls on. (See Leviticus 23:4-8, Numbers 28:16-18, and take special notice of John 19:31 again. The Sabbath immediately following Yahshua’s crucifixion was no ordinary Sabbath.)

To present this in a clearer manner, the following chart was developed, with Bible references.

However, as seen in Matthew 28:1, the women who had prepared spices for Jesus’ body did come on the first day of the week (Sunday). This in no way supports the premise that Sunday was the new Sabbath. This entire movement was created by man and propounded by man. As the Catholic church grew in prominence, political factors began to exert more and more influence over Religious events. As with any large organization, power and money gained influence. There became a desire to include Pagans into the Catholic sphere of influence. Several major factors then came into play.

Constantine the Great and the first Nicaean Council. Constantine the Great [272-337] was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. It was made illegal for Jews to seek converts or to attack other Jews who had converted to Christianity. They were forbidden to own Christian slaves or to circumcise their slaves. In 321, he legislated that the venerable Sunday should be a day of rest for all citizens, stating,

All judges and city people and the craftsmen shall rest upon the venerable day of the sun. Country people, however, may freely attend to the cultivation of the fields, because it frequently happens that no other days are better adapted for planting the grain in the furrows or the vines in trenches. So that the advantage given by heavenly providence may not for the occasion of a short time perish.

He convoked the First Council of Nicaea in 325 which produced the statement of Christian belief known as the Nicene Creed. Although Christians meeting for worship on the first day of the week (Sunday for Gentiles) dates back to Acts and is historically mentioned around 115 AD, Constantine’s edict was the start of many more Christians observing only Sunday and not the Sabbath.
He has historically been referred to as the “First Christian Emperor”, but while he did favor the Christian Church, some modern scholars debate his beliefs and even his comprehension of Christianity.

The Council of Laodicea. The Council of Laodicea was a regional Christian synod of approximately thirty clerics from Asia Minor which assembled about 363–364 in Laodicea, Phrygia Pacatiana. The council took place soon after the conclusion of the war between the Roman Empire and the Persian Empire, waged by Emperor Julian. Among the canons invoked by the council was canon 29, which outlawed Judiazing of resting on the Sabbath, for resting on Sunday, the first day of the week.

God’s Unchanging Word. I have to say, the form and variety of Satan’s corruption of God’s plan is never ceasing, and man’s acquiescence to outside influence is troubling. However, this is addressed in the Bible.

The above scripture, of course, refers to the end times. As God has said several times,

The above scripture also applies to newer Bible translations, historically any Bible translation produced after ~1791. Any Bible translation derived from public domain texts must show minimal creativity to obtain a copyright. Some public domain Bibles are the Douay-Rheims Bible (1582), the King James Version (1611) and the American Standard Version (1901).

The Ten Commandments For reference, the Ten Commandments are listed below. Is it odd that the fourth commandment which starts with Remember is most ignored throughout history?

References

Ussher, James. 1650. Annals of the World. Master Books, Inc. 2003.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Deuteronomy 5:14 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God…↩︎

  2. Matthew 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Luke 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.↩︎

  3. https://biblearchaeologyreport.com/2019/02/06/the-three-oldest-biblical-texts/↩︎

  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 sepulchre.↩︎

  5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabbath_in_Christianity↩︎

  6. The first ecumenical council of the Christian church, meeting in ancient Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey).↩︎