A Sabbath Lesson from Luke a Gentile

I write this out of love & am not judging anyone as the Bible clearly tells me that is not for any man to do.

Today is Sunday which is the first day of the week. Most of the Christian world attends services today. Some of the pictures I see from people at one of the so called non denominational churches has pictures of rock bands on stage.

Andrews Study BibleI am a Conservative Bible Christian. Jesus is my example. Jesus is what I follow. I would never walk into a place of so called worship if it resembled a night club. That is my first thought when I see some of the pictures people are posting.

There are many wonderful Christian hymns that can be used to Praise the Lord by using an organ, violins & even acoustic guitars. You will never see the heavy metal type instruments in our church that meets on the Bible Sabbath which is Saturday.

Luke was the only Gospel writer that was a Gentile. He clearly emphasizes the Sabbath to a population of Christians made up of a large proportion of people without a strong Sabbath background. He highlights the fact that Jesus’ followers faithfully observed the first Sabbath of the Christian era. Luke makes it explicitly clear which day he was talking about by making prominent the fact that Jesus was crucified on Friday ( Luke 23:54 ), rested on the Saturday Sabbath ( verse 56 ), & resurrected on Sunday, the first day of the week ( Luke 24:1-6 )

Luke had stressed the fact that Jesus kept the Sabbath ( Luke 4:16 ). In the Book of Acts, Luke consistently presents the apostles as worshipping on the Sabbath rather than Sunday ( Acts 13:14, 42, 44: 17:2; 18:4 ) and even when there are not enough Jews to form a congregation ( Acts 16:13 )

Before you write a comment that the Sabbath is for the Jews, how many Jews were around in Genesis 2 when God created the Sabbath day ? The answer is of course none. There are only 8 first day texts in the Bible & none of them is talking about ‘worship’.

We have a choice in this life that God blesses us with each day. We can follow man’s traditions which include many errors or we can follow & study the Bible to find the truth. In prayer, ask God to show you clear understanding of His Word.

Genesis 1:5
God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

The above verse is the only first day text in the Old Testament.

Sabbath6Matthew 28:1
Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.

Mark 16:1-2
Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. 2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.

Mark 16:9
Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.

Luke 24:1
Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.

John 20:1
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

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, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

Acts 20:7
Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.

Of the seven texts in the New Testament, the above one is the only one that mentions a message was being given but there is no reference to worshipping God. If you remember that the day begins at sunset, this meeting was actually a Saturday after the sun had set. Paul spoke until midnight as he planned on leaving on Sunday morning. Let us look at just one other text in Acts that mentions the Disciples, the Jews & now the Gentiles were breaking bread together.

The custom of the time during the early Christian church was to lay up offerings for stewardship. Paul and the Disciples had expenses as they traveled the world preaching the Gospel message.

1 Corinthians 16:1-3
Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: 2 On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. 3 And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem.

Laying up at home an offering for the next Sabbath was a principle of Stewardship in the early Christian church.

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