Friday, June 02, 2006

Sabbaths and Sundays, Common Proof Texts, #3

Claim: Acts 20:7 proves the early church worshipped on Sunday.

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.

If we take a close look at it, we find that meeting happened Saturday night or Sunday night. Their is some controversy whether this was a Saturday evening meeting (liturgically being Sunday since the days begin at sunset), or a Sunday evening meeting (using the Roman reckoning of days). At any rate, it was an evening meeting, possibly including a meal ("when the disciples came together to break bread"). If the meeting was in fact Saturday night, then what was Paul doing leaving on a lengthy journey on the new Sabbath the following morning?

Two, the meeting was a special meeting, before Paul left. It was not a regular meeting. "Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow..." They were meeting because Paul was leaving the next day.

Three, this was not a communion service. It was most likely just a regular meal.
Four, the purpose of Luke telling the story was not to give a reason for Sunday worship, but to tell the story of Paul bringing back someone from the dead.

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