From Sabbath to Sunday: A Historical Investigation of the Rise of Sunday Observance in Early Christianity

by Samuele Bacchiocchi

Publishers:

Pontifical Gregorian University Press; Biblical Perspectives

, 1999

Overview

How did the change from Saturday to Sunday worship happen in early Christianity? Samuele Bacchiocchi spent five years researching that question at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, examining ancient documents. He concluded that the transition from Saturday to Sunday began a century after Christ’s death, resulting from an interplay of political, social, pagan and Christian factors. He argues that the change in the day of rest and worship was not merely a change of names or of numbers, but rather a change of meaning, authority and experience. Scores of scholars from different persuasions have praised this book as a definitive treatment of the early history of the Lord’s Day.

Contents

Top Highlights

“The picture then that emerges from the present investigation is that the origin of Sunday was the result of an interplay of Jewish, pagan and Christian factors. Judaism, as we have seen, contributed negatively and positively to the rise of Sunday. The negative aspect is represented by the repressive measures adopted by the Romans against the rebelling Jews as well as by the Jewish hostility toward Christians, both of which created the necessity of a radical Christian separation from Judaism. This need for a differentiation was a determining factor in causing both the repudiation of the Sabbath and the exigency of a new day of worship.” (Pages 312–313)

“It is significant that Christ in His opening address announces His Messianic mission in the language of the sabbatical year.” (Page 17)

“We may ask, how did the woman and the people who witnessed Christ’s saving interventions come to view the Sabbath? Lukereports that while Christ’s ‘adversaries were put to shame’ (13:17) by the Lord’s justification for His Sabbath saving activity, ‘the people rejoiced’ (13:17) and the woman God’ (13:13). Undoubtedly for the woman and for all the people blessed by the Sabbath ministry of Christ, the day became the memorial of the healing of their bodies and souls, of the exodus from the bonds of Satan into the freedom of the Saviour.” (Page 28)

“Christ then does not abrogate the original Sabbath commandment, foreseeing the institution of a new day, but rather He strikes off the shackles imposed by the rabbinical Sabbath theology of post-exilic Judaism which had exalted the Sabbath above human needs. To require the disciples to deny their needs in order to keep the Sabbath is to pervert its intended function, namely, to be a day of blessing, not one of hardship.” (Page 40)

Product Details

• Title: From Sabbath to Sunday: A Historical Investigation of the Rise of Sunday Observance in Early Christianity
• Author: Samuele Bacchiocchi
• Series: Biblical Perspectives
• Volume: 1
• Publishers: Pontifical Gregorian University Press, Biblical Perspectives
• Print Publication Date: 1999
• Logos Release Date: 2014
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Sunday › History
• Resource ID: LLS:SBBTHSNDNVSTGTN
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-02-11T15:55:28Z

About Samuele Bacchiocchi

Samuele R. Bacchiocchi (29 January 1938, Rome, Italy – 20 December 2008) was a Seventh-day Adventist author and theologian, best known for his work on the Sabbath in Christianity, particularly in the historical work From Sabbath to Sunday, based on his doctoral thesis from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He was also known for his opposition to rock music, certain dress standards, alcohol and the ordination of women.