Have you ever wondered why we have seven days in a week? The reason is, that’s the way God designed it.
The Bible begins with the account of God’s creation of the heavens and the earth. The work was done in six days, then He rested on the seventh. ‘So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation’ (Genesis 2:3).
There have been other calendar systems through history with different week lengths, but the seven-day week has prevailed. Somehow it seems right—one (or two) days off the daily routine, every seven days, provides a healthy rhythm to life and enables you to ‘recharge and reset’. Can you imagine life without weekends?
The Sabbath Law
The law which God gave to Israel, known as the Law of Moses, is recorded in the books of Exodus through to Deuteronomy. In it, the Sabbath was formalised as a law: ‘The seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates’ (Exodus 20:10).
The Sabbath provided a rhythm for the nation’s life. It was a time of physical and psychological rejuvenation, and it also carried lessons for Israel: they could contemplate the perfection of God’s creation (Exodus 20:8–11), and their deliverance from slavery (Deuteronomy 5:12–15). It provided a time to think and talk about the things of God (Isaiah 58:13); and for those who med-itated on its spiritual significance, it gave them a glimpse of the Kingdom to come (Hebrews 4:1–11).
Observance of the Sabbath was a command for Israel in the Old Testament. The New Testament concerns the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and his followers. Jesus fulfilled the Law of Moses in a wonderful way, showing the true spiritual meaning behind its rules. For example, he broke the Jews’ strict interpretation of the Sabbath law by healing people on Sabbath days, which they counted as work (for example John 5:1–17). But actually he was fulfilling the true meaning of the Sabbath, by bringing joy and glory to God. He showed himself to be ‘lord of the Sabbath’ (Matthew 12:8).
Lord of the Sabbath
Followers of Christ are not obliged to observe the Law of Moses. This was decisively demonstrated by a council which considered the matter, which is recorded in Acts 15. Christians do not need to keep the Sabbath. ‘Let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ’ (Colossians 2:16–17).
However, we know that a special day of the week was observed by the First Century believers. There’s a glimpse of this in the record of one of the Apostle Paul’s journeys: ‘On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day’ (Acts 20:7). Other early writings outside the Bible confirm that the first Christians held the first day of the week as special, and met then to “break bread”.
Sunday and the Sabbath
The first day of the week, of course, is Sunday. Nowadays Sunday is sometimes called the “Sabbath”. This is a mistake—Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath, Sunday is never known as the Sabbath in the Bible. We don’t definitely know why the first Christians held Sunday as special, but it’s probable that it was because the first day of the week was the day Jesus Christ rose from the dead (John 20:1)—what better reason to celebrate it?
We know what form their celebration took. They shared a meal. Eating together is very often a sign of fellowship in the Bible—as it is throughout the world. This particular meal was called ‘the Lord’s supper’
(1 Corinthians 11:20), or the ‘breaking of bread’ (Acts 20:7). On the night before he died, Jesus shared the Jewish Passover meal with his disciples. He gave it a special meaning, and commanded them to observe this meal in memory of him (Matthew 26:26–29).
He gave no ins-truction about how often they were to do it. Indications are that initially it was held very frequently (Acts 2:42), then as life settled down they fell into the weekly rhythm.
There’s an interesting section in one of Paul’s letters (1 Corinthians 11:17–34), where he gives instructions about the breaking of bread. It seems that the meal was being misused, and was becoming a cause of disharmony. He spelled out the meaning behind the ceremony:
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (vs. 23–26).
It was perhaps at this point that the meal was distilled into the simple ritual of sharing a loaf of bread and a cup of wine, which is the way it’s been observed over the centuries since.
Fellowship with Christ
When you commit your life to Christ and are baptised, you enter his family. You commence a new life, dedicated to him. And from then on, this celebration of the breaking of bread is at the centre of your life—he commanded you to do it.
It’s not a rule that you do it on Sunday, although that is the norm. If you can, you’ll share it with fellow believers, because it’s about fellowship. If necessary, this may be via internet conferencing. If there’s no other option, you may participate alone, knowing that as you do so you’re in fellowship with Jesus Christ and his Father, and your family worldwide.
The breaking of bread is laden with meaning. It echoes back into the Old Testament, for example the priests shared a meal in God’s presence in the tabernacle every Sabbath (Leviticus 24:8–9). Also the bread and wine themselves have huge significance. For example, God fed the Israelites with manna in the wilderness as they travelled to the Promised Land (Exodus 16), so the bread is a reminder among other things of God’s blessings; the cup of wine is often associated in the Bible with a life that has been poured out in the service of God, like a drink offering, to give God the glory (Matthew 26:28).
The Rhythm of Life
God has shown us, by the Sabbath law, that if it’s possible it’s a good and healthy discipline to take one day off every week and devote it to Him—but it’s not a commandment. ‘One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind’
(Romans 14:5).
On the other hand, keeping the breaking of bread is a commandment: ‘Do this in rem-embrance of me’ (Luke 22:19).
When you share the breaking of bread, it’s as though you’re there, on that first Passover night, sharing intimate fellowship with Jesus and his disciples. It’s a solemn and joyful occasion. There’s nothing special about the bread and wine, and it doesn’t miraculously change into anything—if your mind is elsewhere at the time, you derive no benefit from it; if your mind is focused on the profound significance of what you’re doing, it’s an exhilarating experience. You’re symbolically taking into yourself the body and the blood of Jesus Christ himself. You’re connecting with God. You meditate on your Lord—his life, his teachings, the death that he was about to endure as a sacrifice for your sins, his resurrection to glorious life, and his longed-for return. You taste afresh the calm of all your sins forgiven. You’re ready to go back out into your life, refreshed and spiritually equipped to tackle whatever might come your way in the week ahead.
Chris Parkin