What is the true day of rest?

Question:

God said that we have to rest on the seventh day. The Bible says that Sunday is the first day of the week, so, Saturday is the seventh day. All of us call Sunday the holy day, not Saturday. Why?

One day of seven

The fourth of the 10 commandments of God says:

 

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:9-11)(NASB)

The principle is that of 7 days, one has to work 6 and to sanctify the seventh day. It is not shown here which of the seven days of the week and it does not focus on this, but rather on the fact that one of seven should be for rest and dedicated to the Lord. Jews, who gave the world the week of seven days, keep the Sabbath as a day of rest. Christians rest and worship on Sunday, celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Sabbath was a shadow

The Apostle Paul wrote to Christians from Colosse:

Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day– things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. (Colossians 2:16-17)(NASB)

So, the Sabbath, or observance the day of rest was a shadow of the future things and not the actual appearance of things. In the Epistle to Hebrews it is said:

 

For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. (Hebrews 4:8-11)(NASB)

Lord Jesus offers the true rest

It seems that Lord Jesus was doing certain things deliberately on the Sabbath day and this has aroused the discontent of those who respected the Sabbath without seeking to understand the true meaning that God put in observance of this day. The Savior said:

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-30)(NASB)

In a confrontation with those who accused Him of making miracles and healing on the Sabbath, Lord Jesus said:

 

The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27-28)(NASB)

The day of rest is not to cause divergence

Because Sabbath was a shadow of the true rest which was brought in Jesus Christ, we do not need to have discussions and disagreement between us, Christians, on this subject. The Apostle Paul wrote:

Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only. The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat, and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. (Romans 14:1-6)(NASB)

Why Christians rest on Sunday?

Because Jesus rose on Sunday, as written in the four Gospels, first Christians used to meet to worship and to break bread on this day. When he reports about the case with the resurrection of Eutyches, Luke writes:

On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. (Acts 20:7)(NASB)

It should not be an opportunity for discussion or controversy between Christians weather the Sabbath day is on Sunday or on Saturday. The Bible teaches us to accept each other in this regard without judging or despising. On the other hand, it helps you nothing, no matter what day you observe, or even if you observe both of them, unless you entered into the true rest of the Lord Jesus, and your soul has found His rest. Come to Him with repentance to receive forgiveness and new birth and find rest for your soul.

Translated by Felicia Rotaru