1 iblical erspectives FROM SABBATH to SUNDAY A Historical Investigation of the Rise of Sunday Observance in Early Christianity Samuele Bacchiocchi THE PONTIFICAL GREGORIAN UNIVERSITY PRESS ROME, ITALY 1977 Vidimus et approbamus ad normam Statutorum Universitatis Romae, ex Pontificia Universitate Gregoriana die 25 iunii 1974 R. P. Vincenzo Monachino, S. I. R. P. Luis Martinez-Fazio, S. I. IMPRIMATUR Romae, die 16 Iunii 1975 R. P. Herve Carrier, S. I Con approvazione del Vicariato di Roma in data 17 giugno 1975 © Copyright 1999 by Samuele Bacchiocchi To purchase a copy of this book call (616) 471-2915 or mail your prepaid order ($20.00, postpaid) to: BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES 4990 Appian Way Berrien Springs Michigan 49103 Phone (616) 471-2915 Fax (616) 471-4013 E-mail: [email protected], or [email protected] Web site: www.biblicalperspectives.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface .............................................................................................. 5 1. Introduction ......................................................................................... 7 2. Christ and the Lord’s Day................................................................ 15 The Sabbath’s Typology and its Messianic Fulfillment ....................... 16 The Attitude of Christ to the Sabbath .................................................. 20 The Sabbath in the Letter to the Hebrews ........................................... 44 Ad Admonition of Christ Regarding the Sabbath ............................... 49 Notes to Chapter 2 ............................................................................. 52 3. The Resurrection-Appearances and the Origin of Sunday.......... 73 The Resurrection ............................................................................... 73 The Appearances of the Risen Christ ................................................. 79 Notes to Chapter 3 ............................................................................. 82 4. Three New Testament Texts and the Origin of Sunday ............... 90 1 Corinthians 16:1-3 .......................................................................... 90 Acts 20:7-12 ...................................................................................... 96 Revelation 1:10.................................................................................. 104 Notes to Chapter 4 ............................................................................ 116 5. Jerusalem and the Origin of Sunday.............................................. 131 The Jerusalem Church in the New Testament ................................... 133 The Jerusalem Church after A. D. 70 ............................................... 144 Notes to Chapter 5 ............................................................................. 151 6. Rome and the Origin of Sunday..................................................... 164 Predominance of Gentile Converts ................................................... 164 Early Differentiation Between Jews and Christians ......................... 165 Anti-Judaic Feelings and Measures .................................................. 166 The Church of Rome and the Sabbath .............................................. 173 Rome and the Easter-Controversy ..................................................... 180 The Primacy of the Church of Rome ................................................... 184 Notes to Chapter 6 ............................................................................ 188 -3- Table of Contents 4 7. Anti-Judaism in the Fathers and the Origin of Sunday.................. 215 Ignatius ................................................................................................. 215 Barnabas ............................................................................................... 217 Justin Martyr ........................................................................................ 221 Notes to Chapter 7 ............................................................................... 228 8. Sun-Worship and the Origin of Sunday ........................................... 239 Sun-Worship and the Planetary Week Prior to A. D. 150 .................... 240 Reflexes of Sun-Worship on Christianity ............................................ 246 The Day of the Sun and the Origin of Sunday .................................... 251 Notes to Chapter 8 ............................................................................... 257 9. The Theology of Sunday ................................................................... 275 Resurrection ......................................................................................... 275 Creation ................................................................................................ 277 The Eighth Day .................................................................................... 280 Notes to Chapter 9 ............................................................................... 296 10. Retrospect and Prospect .................................................................. 308 Notes to chapter 10 .......................................................................... 322 Appendix: Paul and the Sabbath .......................................................... 326 The Traditional Interpretation of Colossians 2:16-17 ......................... 326 The Colossian Heresy ........................................................................... 328 What Was Nailed to the Cross? ............................................................ 330 Paul’s Attitude Toward the Sabbath ...................................................... 333 Notes to the Appendix .......................................................................... 347 PREFACE The attraction that the problem of the origin and of the observance of Sunday has exerted on students of Early Church in the last two or three decades, is by no means exhausted. This, we believe, is due to two principal reasons. On the one hand, the ever-increasing non-observance of the Lord's Day as a result of the radical transformation of the weekly cycle, caused by the complexity of modern life and by the scientific, technological and industrial progress, demands a serious reexamination of the significance of Sunday for the Christian today. To accomplish a sound theological reappraisal of Sunday it is necessary to investigate its Biblical basis and its historical genesis. On the other hand, the many studies on this topic, though excellent, have not given a fully satisfactory answer because of the lack of consider- ation of some of those factors which in the Church of the first centuries contributed to the concrete genesis and development of a day of worship different from the Jewish Sabbath. On account of this, the new work of Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi is to be welcomed. He takes up again the study of this suggestive theme and, by analyzing critically the various factors—theological, social, political, pa- gan-religious—which have somehow influenced the adoption of Sunday as day of Christian worship, he makes an effort to provide a complete picture of the origin and progressive configuration of Sunday until the fourth cen- tury. It is a work that recommends itself because of its rich content, the rig- orous scientific method, and the vast horizon with which it has been con- ceived and executed. This is indicative of the author’s singular ability to encompass various fields in order to capture those aspects and elements re- lated to the theme under investigation. We gladly mention the thesis that Bacchiocchi defends regarding the birth-place of Sunday worship: for him this arose most probably not in the primitive Church of Jerusalem, wellknown for its profound attachment to Jewish religious traditions, but rather in the Church of Rome. The abandonment of the Sabbath and the adoption of Sunday as the Lord’s Day, are the result of an interplay of Christian, Jewish and pagan- -5- Preface 6 religious factors. The event of Christís resurrection which occurred on that day, had naturally significant importance. Following the order of redemp- tive history, the author begins his investigation with the Messianic typology of the Sabbath in the Old Testament and proceeds to examine how this found its fulfilment in the redemptive mission of Christ. The strict scientific orientation of the work does not prevent the author from revealing his profound religious and ecumenic concern. Conscious that the history of salvation knows not fractures but continuity, he finds in the rediscovery of the religious values of the Biblical Sabbath, a help to restore to the Lord’s Day its ancient sacred character. This is in reality the exhorta- tion that already in the fourth century the bishops addressed to the believers, namely to spend Sunday not in outings or watching shows, but rather to sanctify it by assisting at the eucharistic celebration and by doing acts of mercy (St. Ambrose, Exam. III, 1, 1). Rome, June 29, 1977 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION The Present Crisis of the Lord’s Day The cycle of six working days and one for worship and rest, though the legacy of Hebrew history, has in time prevailed throughout almost all the world. In fact, Jewish and Christian worship find their concrete expression in one day, recurring weekly, wherein adoration of God is made possible and more meaningful by the interruption of secular activities. In recent times, however, our society has undergone much radical transformation, because of its technological, industrial,