When Is the Sabbath of the New Testament?

FOR MANY professing Christians today, Sunday is treated as the "Lord's Day" or a new Sabbath. But is this shift from the seventh-day Sabbath to Sunday truly based on the teachings of the New Testament? Or has tradition overshadowed the plain instructions of Scripture?

Let’s examine the New Testament carefully. What did Jesus, the apostles, and early believers actually practice regarding the Sabbath? Has the seventh-day Sabbath been changed or abrogated? Or does it still remain binding for followers of Christ?

Jesus Christ and the Sabbath

Jesus Christ, the very Author of the Law (John 1:1–3), observed the Sabbath. Luke 4:16 states plainly, “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.” This wasn’t a one-time event. It was His custom—His regular practice.

Some argue Jesus broke the Sabbath. But Jesus Himself denied this. He said, “I have kept My Father's commandments” (John 15:10). When He healed or allowed His disciples to pluck grain on the Sabbath, He wasn’t abolishing the day but correcting legalistic distortions of the Sabbath (see Mark 2:27–28). He affirmed that the Sabbath was made for man—for human benefit—not just for Jews.

Nowhere did Christ hint that His followers should abandon the seventh-day Sabbath or begin observing the first day of the week. On the contrary, He warned that conditions surrounding His second coming would require ongoing Sabbath observance: "Pray that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day" (Matthew 24:20), a prophecy pointing beyond His resurrection.

The Sabbath in Acts

The book of Acts provides clear historical evidence that the early Church—both Jews and Gentiles—continued to keep the Sabbath. In Acts 13:14–15, Paul and his companions entered the synagogue on the Sabbath to preach. But what's striking is Acts 13:42–44, where Gentiles, not just Jews, requested Paul to speak to them the next Sabbath—not the next day, Sunday. Paul agreed, and "the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God."

In Acts 16:13, Paul and his companions found a place of prayer by the riverside "on the sabbath day"—a gathering for worship. Again in Acts 17:2 and 18:4, Paul is found reasoning with Jews and Greeks in the synagogue every Sabbath.

Some claim these examples are merely “accommodations” to Jewish audiences. But the involvement of Gentiles refutes that. There is no indication that Paul ever gathered the Church for Sunday worship in honor of the resurrection.

The Sabbath in Paul's Epistles

Paul never taught a change of the Sabbath. In fact, he declared: "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law" (Romans 3:31).

Some point to Colossians 2:16, where Paul writes, "Let no man therefore judge you... in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days." Carefully understanding the context of the verse actually proves that they were "judge(d)" because they were keeping the Sabbath and other holy days. Note that the Colossians brethren are former Gentiles (non-Sabbath keepers).

This passage does not abolish the seventh-day Sabbath any more than it abolishes Christ Himself (Colossians 2:17), who is the substance these shadows pointed to.

Hebrews 4: The Sabbath Remains

Hebrews 4 is perhaps the strongest affirmation of Sabbath-keeping in the New Testament epistles. The writer draws a parallel between God’s rest on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2) and the spiritual rest believers can enter through faith and obedience.

Hebrews 4:9 concludes with a striking declaration: "There remains therefore a sabbath rest for the people of God" (NASB). The Greek word used here is sabbatismos, which specifically refers to Sabbath-keeping. Scholarly sources confirm that this is not a vague spiritual rest but an ongoing observance of the Sabbath by God’s people.

This is a direct affirmation that the Sabbath had not been done away with. It remains for God’s faithful people.

Is Sunday the "New" Sabbath?

There is no command in the New Testament to keep Sunday as a replacement for the Sabbath. In fact, the supposed resurrection of Jesus did not occur on a Sunday. Nor were there clear instructions from the apostles of such change, or a newly instituted day of rest or worship for Christians. The so-called "Lord’s Day" mentioned in Revelation 1:10 is never equated with Sunday in the Bible.

History shows the Sunday shift came later, influenced by anti-Jewish sentiment, Roman imperial power, and church councils—not apostolic teaching. The Catholic Church openly acknowledges this. In its own writings, it claims the authority to change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, stating that Protestants who keep Sunday follow Catholic tradition, not the Bible.

The Sabbath Still Stands

The New Testament upholds the seventh-day Sabbath. Jesus kept it. His disciples kept it. Paul taught on it. The book of Hebrews affirms it remains.

Sunday observance is a man-made tradition. The biblical Sabbath—the seventh day, Saturday—remains the true day of rest and worship for God's people.

If we truly follow Christ and the Scriptures, we will honor the day He kept and made holy. As Isaiah 58:13–14 promises, when we call the Sabbath a delight, God will cause us to ride on the high places of the earth.