There is nothing in the events of Saturday—the
seventh day—to inspire a Christian under the gospel.
Christ was in the tomb. A guard of Roman soldiers were
carefully watching the place. A sable gloom hung over the
scene, and the pall of death cast its dark shadow. Yes,
the world's Savior lay under the power of death. His body
rested in the sepulcher and his soul was in Hades. It was
a restless and disheartening day to the disconsolate
disciples. When their Lord was buried their hopes died
with him (Luke 24:17-21). It was a day of mourning and
sadness. The disciples are weeping, Mary the mother is
heart broken, and if ever hell rejoiced and demons shouted
it was on that Saturday. The remembrance of that day would
always be a grievous one to the church. It would recall
the agonies of death, the cross, the bitter cries, the
expiring groan, and the mournful sepulcher. It would ever
after create a feeling of sorrow. Yes, the events of that
day—that Jewish Sabbath Day—have forever spoiled it to
the Christian heart. Think of it, the wicked Jews were
rejoicing and Satan triumphing! If ever the devil had
hope, it was while Jesus was dead, during the Sabbath Day.
But as the first day of the
week—Sunday—begins to dawn a mighty angel like
lightning descends, the earth quakes, the guards fall like
dead men, the stone rolls away, the tomb opens, and Christ
arises a conqueror over death, hell, and the grave (Matt.
28:1-4). Satan's last hope is gone; the wicked Jews are
dismayed; the holy women are glad; the hope of the
disciples is revived; angels rejoice; the salvation of a
world is secured; the sufferings and humiliation of the
Son of God are ended, and he walks forth the Almighty
Savior, the Lord of all. This is The Resurrection Day. No
wonder it became the memorial day of the church. It was
impossible it should be otherwise.
It was the resurrection day on
which everything turned. Jesus might have lived the pure
life he did, might have wrought all the miracles he did,
might have died on the cross as he did, might have been
buried as he was, yet all this would not have saved a soul
if he had not risen from the dead. "If Christ be not
raised, your faith is vain; you; are yet in your sins.
Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are
perished" (1 Cor. 15:17, 18). The resurrection
completed the work which made Jesus both Savior and Lord.
Jesus himself, when asked for the evidence of his
authority, pointed to his resurrection on the third day as
the proof of it (John 2:18.21; Matt. 12:28-40; 16-21).
Paul says that Jesus was "declared to be the Son of
God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by
the resurrection from the dead" (Rom. 1:4). It was
this that proved his divinity. It was this that converted
his own brethren in the flesh. Prior to the resurrection
"his brethren believed not on him." That there
will be a final day of judgment God "hath given
assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from
the dead" ( Acts 17:31 ) .
"I will praise thee: for thou
hast heard me, and art become my salvation. The stone
which the builders refused is become the headstone of the
corner. This is the: Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our
eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made: we will
rejoice and be glad in it" (Ps. 118: 21-24).
Christ only is our hope and
salvation. Him the Jews rejected and put to death. To
the third day he lay in the tomb, and the sorrowful
disciples said, "We trusted that it had been he
which should have redeemed Israel" (Luke 24:21).
With his death, All their hopes seem to have expired. All
was lost. But on the third day after the crucifixion
they heard of his resurrection. Mary saw the Lord and
told the rest. Though their faith was weak, hope began
to revive: In the evening They were drawn together a
assembly. Behold, he appeared in their midst. So it is e
the Lord has risen! ' His resurrection confounds the Jews
who rejected and crucified him. The stone they had rejected
suddenly triumphs and becomes the head of the corner.
He in whom they had hoped and trusted for redemption has
actually now "become their salvation."
"This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our
eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will
rejoice and be glad in it." The great day of triumph,
when Jesus rose from the dead, is "the day which the
Lord hath made"; hence John rightly terms it the
"Lord's Day." A day when all the Christian world
from the resurrection to this time have been led to set
apart for the assembling together in prayer and praise to
God. "In it we will rejoice and be glad," said
the prophet. "We celebrate Sunday as a joyful
day," said Tertullian, one of the primitive church
fathers. And so say the redeemed of the Lord generally.
As before observed, we keep days
because of what occurred on them. Two of the mightiest
events in the history of Christianity and the church
occurred upon the first day of the week—Christ's
resurrection, and Pentecost. The great outpouring of the
Holy Spirit as recorded in Acts 2, the dedication of the
new covenant sanctuary— church—its complete
organization as a distinct body, the marvelous conversion
of three thousand souls, all took place on this day. Jesus
had said that "repentance and remission of sins
should be preached in his name among all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem." This great and everwidening
stream of salvation work destined to become "a great
mountain and fill the whole earth," and finally
"cover the earth as the waters cover the sea,"
had its "be ginning at Jerusalem." Pentecost was
the fountain head; and Pentecost was on the first day of
the week. We humbly ask: How could it be otherwise that
this day should become a memorial day to the Christian
church? The Resurrection, Pentecost, and the first day of
the week are always associated together in the Christian's
mind.
It is not the day but the events
that occurred on the day that we Christians celebrate. One
day is not a whit better than another. One day is no more
holy than another. This we have abundantly proved. It is
not Sunday, because it is Sunday, that we keep—it is the
resurrection day, the Pentecostal day, and this occurred
upon "the first day of the week"—Sunday. Had
these events occurred upon Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or
any other day, then that day would become memorial in the
Christian's mind. So you see it is not the day,
Saturday—named after Saturn or Sunday—named after the
Sun, or Monday—named after the moon, that we celebrate,
it is the great events of the first day.
Our Sabbatarian friends may say
that the arguments presented in the chapter "The
Sabbath on a Round Earth," will apply to the keepers
of the first day of the week as well as to those of the
seventh day. This is true of those who claim that Sunday
keeping is perpetuating the Sabbath keeping of the law.
There are several denominations who base Sunday keeping
upon the texts in the law which enjoin the Sabbath
observance. They hold that the Sabbath observance is the
same under both dispensations, only that the day was
changed from the seventh to the first day of the week.
With them Sunday is a sacred, holy, Sabbath Day. Now we
wish to be clearly understood on this point. We hold no
such position. We believe that such teaching and practice
is without support in the New Testament. It is erroneous,
and those who so teach are defenseless before the
Sabbatarian arguments.
The seventh day Sabbath ended at
the cross. It has no place whatever in the new
dispensation. It met its antitype in Christ our
everlasting rest. The great memorial day of the new
covenant has no connection whatever with the Sabbath of
the former dispensation. It in no sense takes its place.
There never was a change by divine authority from the
seventh to the first day—never. The Lord's Day is a new
day, a day of celebration for a new event, a memorial of
the New Testament dispensation, and belongs to the list of
things included in the gospel message: "Behold, I
make all things new."
In its nature, the new day differs
from no other day. The event makes the day. In other
words, the Lord's resurrection created the Lord's Day. We
do not claim as Sabbatarians do, that we keep the same
period of time together, exactly the same hours, etc. This
is impossible on a round earth. Since time has been
reckoned from so many different places, and changed as
well, there is no absolute certainty that our Sunday is
the same exactly as that of two thousand years ago. We
have to depend upon artificial reckoning after all; and
with us it matters little.
Our salvation does not depend upon
monumental ordinances. But just as each first day of the
week comes around to us in all parts of the world, we
follow the apostolic examples of celebrating the
resurrection of our Lord, and set apart the day for
worship and spiritual devotion. We dispense with our
temporal responsibilities and devote the day to the Lord,
to his worship. Hence to us as well as to the early
Christians it is the "Lord's day."
