Our Day of Worship

Why do we worship on Sunday when the 3rd Commandment’s reference

to the “Sabbath” in the Old Testament is Saturday?

For Jewish people in the Old Testament, and for Jews today, Saturday is the Sabbath, the day of rest and worship. Another group, the Seventh Day Adventists, also insist that Saturday is the only true Sabbath.  The Sabbath is, of course, the day of rest that corresponds to the rest after Creation: “God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation.” (Gen. 2:3) We find no Biblical evidence for a regular Sabbath observance until the Exodus, when Israel received a double-portion of manna on the sixth day so as to rest on the seventh (Ex. 16:22-30; Deut. 5:12-15).

God gave Israel certain Sabbath laws, including cessation of labor and increased offerings. The Lord wanted this to be a reminder of Creation (Ex. 20: 8, 11) and of their delivery from Egypt (Deut. 5:15). The New Testament has no divinely appointed day of worship or rest. The Sabbath commands are not renewed by Christ in the New Testament and most Christians regard these as laws specific to the Sinai Covenant with Israel. In Mark 2, Jesus defended his disciples over the “work” of picking grain to eat on a Sabbath. He reminded the Pharisees that David even took consecrated bread, ate it, and shared it with his men. He concluded that “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath; so the Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath. (Vv.27-28)”

This follows his comment in verse 22: “No one puts new wine into old wineskins; if he does, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but new wine is for fresh skins.” The “new wine” of the Gospel and Christ's New Testament cannot be contained in the regulations of the Old Covenant. Indeed, “Let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. (Col. 2:16-17)” Christ not only fulfills the Sabbath; he is our Sabbath rest.

Jewish Christians maintained Saturday Sabbath worship for a time, but Sunday soon became the day of choice among Christians because of the Resurrection and Pentecost being “first day” events. This also ties to Creation: God began it on the first day; Jesus remade Creation by rising from the dead on the first day; the Holy Spirit ordained the Apostles and sent them into the world to proclaim the New Creation on the first day.

Since no new commands are given, nor the old renewed, we are free to choose our days of worship and rest. The symbolism of the first day and of the seventh are both powerful reminders of who God is and what he has done for us in Christ Jesus. Likewise, annual observation of the festivals involving Jesus life, ministry, suffering, death and resurrection is beneficial. But we are not ultimately bound to any day or date. This is why Lutherans have resisted church or government imposed restrictions on either Saturday or Sunday activities.

Still, to ignore the rest God provides, whether physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual, is not wise. We grow tired, and since we are creatures of habit, it is good to make a habit of seeking rest for the whole person. Of course, this doesn't mean going to church (Sunday or any other day) and sleeping through the sermon.

The Lord commands attention to his Word and gives rich blessing to those who hear and believe his promises. We don't avoid the public assembly, and are “not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:25)” Yet the day and time of rest are optional.
What is not optional is seeking our rest in Jesus himself: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matt. 11:28-30)”
Sinning against the Sabbath commands no longer involves the day.
Martin Luther wrote in the Small Catechism: “We should fear and love God that we may not despise preaching and His Word,
but hold it sacred, and gladly hear and learn it.” This is in line with what Christ says of the preaching of his apostles and
pastors: “He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me. (Lu.
10:16)” Coming together in Christian freedom at a mutually agreeable time brings us to what Paul describes in Col. 3:16.
Then, in the divine service, “the word of Christ” will “dwell in you richly.” There we may “teach and admonish one another in
all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness” to God.