Sound Bytes: Examining Acts 20:7
Sun-day Worship Instituted
As I was first coming into the Word of Truth, I was challenged by my friend who asked about my Shabbat night service. (I make that sound so civil and conversational. Really it was more of: Why are you doing that stupid Sabbath thing? That’s just law keeping and we are free from the law… Acts 20:7 says that Paul worshipped on Sunday morning and we are supposed to do what Paul taught.)
This verse is also used in the whole “communion” debate, but that’s another Sound Byte.
Right off the bat, I knew he was wrong, but was still too early in my learning to know how to prove it. So, I took the verse to my friend who (already knew the answer, but) looked carefully at the verse with me. We read it from several different versions, then cracked open the Strong’s Concordance.
I’m going to start with the KJV:
Acts 20:7 — 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.
And the NASB:
… On the first day of the week when we were gathered to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight.
And the TS 2009:
… And on day one of the week, the taught ones having gathered together to break bread, Sha’ul, intending to depart the next day, was reasoning with them and was extending the word till midnight.
Here’s the problem with the verse.
First: Word Used
In the process of translating it, MEN put their own understanding into the words they read. You see, if you do not understand Torah, you cannot understand the apostolic writings either. And this is the case here.
The original Greek says this:
… On the first [of the] Sabbaton… [G4521]
This is of particular interest for two reasons: first, it was the Sabbath, not the first day of the week. The second is that it was the “first” of the "Sabbaton.”
→ Okay, sure, why is this significant?
The first Sabbath — or the first interval of a week from Sabbath to Sabbath. The written language states that on the first Sabbath or in the first week…Of what? Keep reading. The translated “On the…” gives us that they were meeting ON THE SABBATH. Based on the rest of the context, it is the end of the Shabbat because the next day Sha’ul would travel.
Second: Context
One must read all of Scripture in context. This singular verse has been cherry picked by churchianity to support false doctrines (sun-day worship and communion) and it ONLY works if the verse is incorrectly translated.
Therefore, without digging into the actual words of the verse, very few ever see this verse presented in the correct, contextual, and actual manner in which Luke wrote it.
It was Shabbat (or the first week between two Shabbats)
But the first? Keep reading.
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Again, the first point is that it is Shabbat. This means that Shaul (and the group of believers with whom he is meeting) are still keeping the Sabbath.
Christian doctrine claims that Paul “did away with” the Torah in the book of Romans, but based on the timeline of the book of Acts, this event occurred AFTER he wrote the letter to Rome. So, if he abolished Torah in the letter to the Romans, why is he still keeping the Shabbat in Acts 20?
And to the second point, when verse 6 is read first (it comes before 7, so…), we discover that it is just after the season (days) of Passover and Unleavened Bread.
Why is the first important? They were still keeping the Feast of YHVH after Sha’ul wrote the letter to Rome.
Why does this matter?
To His instructions for living according to His standard: the Torah:
Leviticus 23:15–16 — 15) You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought (bring) the sheaf of the wave offering… {First Fruits}
This means, start your count on the day after the weekly Shabbat that falls within the Feast of Unleavened Bread. If the Feast begins on a Shabbat, then First Fruits comes on the second day of the Feast. If the Feast starts on the first day of the week (a sun-day), then the First Fruits is the following week (on sun-day). Why on a sun-day? Because the first fruits were to be presented on the day after the Sabbath that falls within the Feast. Back to the verses:
…there be seven complete Sabbaths. 16) You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to YHVH.
Jumping ahead, just to put a point on this, verse 21:
… 21) On this same day you shall make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation {High Sabbath}. You shall do no laborious work. It is to be a PERPETUAL STATUTE in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.
This means that from the day after the Sabbath when the First Fruits offering is made during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, one is to count seven Sabbaths plus one day, to the fiftieth day. This is called Pentecost in Greek. It means the fiftieth day.
In Hebrew, this is called “counting the omer,” and counts the seven Sabbaths, plus one day, until Shavuot. This is the memorial of the day that YHVH spoke to the entire nation of Israel from the top of Mount Sinai. (You did know that, right? YHVH spoke aloud what are commonly called the Ten Commandments to the gathered nation of Israel. If you didn’t, go read Exodus 19:21 to 20:21, but keep reading, the commands (instructions for living in accordance with His Ways) do not stop at ten (or 13 depending on how you count).
→ Quick note on sacrifices today: there is no physical Temple of stone on the earth. There is no ordained, functioning priesthood. This means that - as we are each the Temple of Elohim - sacrifices become spiritual. First fruits is to bring the first of our spiritual harvest, or even our earthly harvest (income), to Him. We should always bring our first and best to Him. This is the sacrifice of worship and praise.
Back to Acts 20:7. On the first of the Sabbaton. On the first of the seven Sabbaths that the obedient believers were to count leading to Shavuot, they met, ate a meal, and Shaul spent several hours talking. If you are thinking to yourself, “But…” Read on in Acts, not very far, to verse 16 (of course, read from 20:1 to verse 16 for the full picture).
This means that they had reached the first counted Shabbat or finished the first week between two Sabbaths — it means exactly the same thing. Unleavened Bread has just ended within the six days preceding.
Acts 20:16 — For Sha’ul had decided to sail past Ephesos, so that he might lose no time in Asia, for he was hurrying to be at Yerushalayim, if possible, on the Day of the Festival of Shaḇu’ot.
They were counting off the seven Shabbats so that they knew exactly when the Feast of Shavuot would occur in Jerusalem. Here they are again, still following that pesky, abolished Torah. What can one say, huh? They must be idiots, right?
The point is this:
Acts 20:7 is not even talking about sun-day as the newly instituted day of worship. The author of Acts (Luke) goes out of his way to point out that they gathered on Shabbat, then ate dinner, and late into the night while he was still teaching, a young lad fell asleep and fell out to the ground and was killed and Sha’ul revived him. The text indicates that Sha’ul was preparing to travel the following day — the first day of the week — which would give him the most amount of time to travel to his next destination before stopping to rest for the Shabbat.
Sha’ul and his fellow believers did not establish the first day of the week as the day of worship here in Acts 20.
(This article provides a relatively neutral perspective of dogma in the Catholic religion. This was part of my research for another post, particularly focusing on the idea of dogma as religion. Lots of the most ridiculous dogma is not only identified, but when each idea began. The article is not mine. It was found on Wikipedia.)
