But Is Sunday Mentioned in the New Testament?

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What we have just seen should settle the question of which day New Testament converts—Jews and Gentiles—observed. The matter should be settled. But human nature still looks for evidence to prove Sunday is the New Testament day of worship.

Does the New Testament mention Sunday? No, but it does mention the “first day of the week” in eight places. They are not difficult to examine. Before we begin, recognize that at least one of these passages must clearly authorize Sunday observance. In light of all the Old and New Testament evidence we have seen, such a passage, to even be considered, must carry absolute authority supporting Sunday!

“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 said unto them, Peace be unto you.” Was this a Sunday worship service? Was it to celebrate Christ’s Resurrection?

Christ had just been resurrected—late Sabbath afternoon, between 3 and 6 p.m. Some disciples had gone to the tomb early Sunday morning to see if He was there. Other accounts we will review demonstrate that He was already gone—already “risen.” His first opportunity to see the disciples would have been on Sunday—the first day of the week. He had just been horribly tortured and crucified, and gone for three days in the tomb. It was natural for Christ to meet with them right after this had happened.

The account says nothing of this being a “worship service,” or a “resurrection service.” The brethren were meeting privately, probably secretly in a closed room, “for fear of the Jews.” Remember, the Jews had crucified their friend and Master. They would have had much to discuss. Also remember that they had all been living together in this single upper room (Acts 1:13). It was also impossible that the meeting was some kind of “Sunday resurrection celebration,” because the disciples did not believe that Jesus was risen (Mark 16:14; Luke 24:37, 39, 41)!

There is certainly nothing in this account that references either Sunday or that the Sabbath is done away. Therefore, we conclude that it contains no authority for changing God’s Sabbath to Sunday.

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.”

Matthew wrote this verse six years after this event occurred. Take the passage at face value. Matthew used the Sabbath as a point of reference—to show that it was drawing toward or into the first day of the week from what he still understood was the Sabbath. This is the point being made. The Sabbath was still the seventh day of the week from Matthew’s perspective—and he wrote under inspiration of God!

Consider one other point. Matthew is describing events that occurred three days after Christ supposedly abolished the Sabbath, with all other things that were supposedly “done away,” or “nailed to the cross.” This verse refutes the argument that merely “keeping any day in seven holy” is acceptable.

This second passage in no way authorizes Sunday-keeping. No religious or resurrection service is mentioned. It does introduce the third reference.

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” (Mark 16:2).

Mark wrote his gospel account ten years after Christ’s Resurrection. Like Matthew, he still uses the Sabbath as a reference. His purpose for using “the first day of the week” was merely to identify when Mary Magdalene and two other women (Mark 16:1) came to the tomb to anoint Christ’s body with spices. This passage carries no authorization for Sunday-keeping, and speaks nothing of any kind of religious service. The fourth reference is a few verses later.

Mark 16:9

“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” (Mark 16:9).

Some use Mark 16:9 to prove the Sunday resurrection theory. Simply reading the verse shows it does not say Christ “was rising,” but rather He “was risen” from the grave. It uses past tense because, as we have seen, Christ had been gone from the grave for about twelve hours (since late Saturday afternoon) by this time on Sunday morning. Again, there is no reference to any kind of resurrection service.

This verse is nothing more than a factual account of Mary Magdalene appearing at the tomb. It carries no greater meaning than this. There is no statement about Sunday-keeping, worship services, or doing away with the Sabbath.

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” (Luke 24:1).

Comparing this account with the parallel account in Matthew and Mark reveals that these women had waited until the Sabbath was over to do certain work. One verse earlier, in Luke 23:56, it states that these women had “rested the sabbath day ACCORDING TO THE COMMANDMENT.”

This would be strange if the women had been taught, throughout Christ’s 3½-year ministry, that He intended to “nail the Sabbath to the cross.” Of course, they knew that the Sabbath was ordained forever and that Christ did not abolish it. How could these women “rest ... according to the commandment” if the Fourth Commandment had been done away?

Does Luke 24:1 authorize Sunday-keeping? Quite the opposite! It validates Sabbath-keeping, as do the accounts of Matthew and Mark, written years later. Luke actually emphasizes that the first day of the week is a normal work day.

John 20:1

“THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK comes Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher, and sees the stone taken away from the sepulcher” (John 20:1).

This account merely validates Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It contains nothing new. However, John wrote his gospel 63 years after Christ’s Resurrection. At the end of the first century, he held no doubt about whether the Sabbath was still in effect. No authorization for a change here either! (The next chapter discusses in detail the subject of Christ’s Resurrection, and whether it was on Sunday.)

Acts 20:7-8

“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. And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together” (Acts 20:7-8).

This account does, in fact, speak of a religious meeting on the first day of the week. But the last phrase demonstrates that it had grown dark—“there were many lights.” This was because Paul had continued his Sabbath preaching “until midnight.” Since God counts days from sunset to sunset (Lev. 23:32; Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31), this was what we would call Saturday night. It had nothing to do with a Sunday morning worship service. Paul was a visiting apostle. Such an event was special, and people wanted to hear him preach as long as possible. And it was a farewell sermon.

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