by Karen I Livingston

Created on: May 23, 2008   Last Updated: May 24, 2008

I haven't found any reference in the Bible where God mandated a change from Saturday to Sunday. Yet, I notice that He didn't specifically say "Saturday" either. Since the debate appears to be based on general knowledge held by the Saturday'ers and Sunday'ers, then this will be my starting point. I include myself in the Sunday'ers group, but I must say in the process of writing this I've learned a lot and it would seem that if a day of the week had to be named it would be Saturday, even if the reason for this might be a matter of tradition.

Why do some insist its Sunday? Why the alteration from Saturday?

The reason is connected to the most significant event in human history; the culmination to God's plan of salvation for mankind; the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But in order to fully understand the reasoning behind the change we need to go back to the beginning.

God established a Sabbath when He rested after the six days of creation (Genesis 2:1-3) and the fourth of the Ten Commandments requires observance of the Sabbath and that it be kept holy. (Exodus 20:8).

Also, the Lord spoke to Moses regarding the imperative action of keeping the Sabbaths. The Sabbath was a covenant and a sign between God and His people, Him being the sanctifier; they were strengthened by Him for obedience. This shows us their relationship to Him and also their sanctification by Him. God said, "It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed." (Exodus 31:17 NKJV). They were to observe the Sabbath throughout all the generations as a perpetual covenant. God intended the Sabbath for the spiritual and physical benefit of His people.

At this point we need to understand an important fact found in the New Testament. In Mark 2:27 (NKJV) Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath." I find it interesting that Jesus said, "Sabbath" and not "Sabbath day". The day isn't important, the covenant is.

We have another factor, in addition to Jesus' resurrection, that is connected to the resurrection; the Old Covenant that God established commanded sacrifices for the atonement of the sins of His people.

So, now let's put this information together so we may understand why some observe the Sabbath on Sunday.

What qualifies Jesus as the Lord of the Sabbath and what is the significance?

Jesus fulfilled the Law and the

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