Growing up in a strict Scottish Presbyterian home meant that Sunday was a big deal. For some in my tradition, you weren’t even allowed to call it Sunday. It was properly called “the Sabbath” and it had to be kept meticulously: you didn’t watch TV, go out to play with friends, play sports or even read ordinary books.
After church and dinner, Sunday afternoon was spent reading “good” books or learning the catechism. When I was four years old I was so outraged at an ice cream van parked outside our house that I made my way to tell the unsuspecting vendor how wrong he was selling on the Sabbath. I still remember the bemused look on the poor Italian’s face!
Mature reflection has meant a less legalistic view of the Lord’s Day, but it has also meant a greater love and thankfulness for it. Moreover, there are sound arguments for the enduring place of a Sabbath, or Lord’s Day, in a New Testament context.
For one thing there is a natural, common-sense necessity for a day of rest. The late Donald Macleod used to say that the Fourth Commandment was the first-ever employment law, designed for the wellbeing of workers. If humankind needed a day of rest in the Old Testament, it follows that they still do. Moreover, if we understand the Ten Commandments, etched into stone tablets, to be a reflection of God’s own character, to be replicated in His people, we have no reason to dismiss the fourth as irrelevant.
The wording of the fourth commandment is also important. The imperative to “remember” the Sabbath Day meant a recollection of God’s own resting on the seventh day of creation. This, of course, begs the question as to how “resting” applies to an omnipotent God. A key phrase which helps us to understand God’s anthropomorphic reflection on his work is found in Exodus 31: 17. The enigmatic statement, “on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed” literally means that his work “did him good”. Whatever we make of this phrase, it is a clear indicator that the idea of the Sabbath is designed for refreshment and blessing. If Jesus said that the Sabbath is made for man we would do well to enjoy it with thankfulness.
So much for the Old Testament Seventh Day, but is there proof that what we call the Lord’s Day is the “Christian Sabbath”? Yes and No. The term “Christian Sabbath” is most associated with Puritanism in the 17th century. In some ways it is an unfortunate and misunderstood term because it implies an Old Testament observance, majoring on what was prohibited, and a tendency towards unhealthy legalism.
But, seen through the lens of the New Testament, the fourth commandment takes on a new meaning. There is sound exegetical reason to understand the first day of the week as a replacement to the seventh. It was no accident that Jesus’ resurrection fulfilled everything that the fourth commandment foreshadowed. Hebrews 4 makes clear that the command to rest was a weekly reminder to the Israelites of the promise awaiting God’s covenant people, a promise which would ultimately be fulfilled in resurrection: Jesus’ and ours. Moreover, it was no accident that Jesus’ resurrection happened on the first day of the week, nor that the disciples met that same day, and exactly a week later. Which, of course is why, for 2,000 years, Sunday is the day on which the church has gathered in worship, celebrating the risen Lord Jesus and all that He provides in His word.
There is something different about Sunday. It is a gift from God to be enjoyed and treasured, but, like every other privilege, a certain self discipline is required to make sure that the day doesn’t lose its uniqueness. If it does, we will miss out on the important opportunity God has provided for worship, family, food and the rest that we need in a crazy, stressed-out world.
