THE HISTORICAL EVIDENCE FOR THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

THE HISTORICAL EVIDENCE FOR THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

 

 

 

The New Testament Records

• The unique life of Jesus
• The empty tomb
• The transformation of the disciples
• The birth of the Church
• The Day of Worship Changed to Sunday 1 Cor. 16:2; Acts 20:7 The earliest account of a first-day worship experience is found in Acts 20:7-12. Here Paul joined the Christians of Troas on the evening of the first day of the week for the breaking of bread (probably a reference to the Lord's Supper). The actual day is somewhat uncertain. Evening of the first day could refer to Saturday evening (by Jewish reckoning) or to Sunday evening (by Roman reckoning). Since the incident involved Gentiles on Gentile soil, however, the probable reference is to Sunday night.

    The importance of Sunday to first-century Christians is also intimated in 1 Corinthians 16:1-2. Giving instructions about a special relief offering he wanted to take to the Christians in Jerusalem, Paul suggested that the Corinthians should set aside their weekly contributions on the first day of the week. Paul probably mentioned this day because he knew that his readers routinely assembled on that day for worship and that would be the logical time for them to set aside their offering.

    Two other second-century documents also shed light on the significance of Lord's Day for the early church. First, Ignatius in his Epistle to the Magnesians (about A.D. 110-117) stressed the importance of Lord's Day by contrasting the worship done on that day with that formerly observed on the Sabbath (9:1). Second, Justin Martyr (about A.D. 150) wrote the first extant Christian description of a worship service. He noted that the early Sunday morning service began with baptism, included Scripture readings, expository preaching, and prayer, and then concluded with the observance of the Lord's Supper (Apology 65-67).

    First and second century Christian documents indicate that Sunday quickly became the standard day for Christian worship, but they do not explain how or why this change from Sabbath to Lord's Day came about. The most obvious reason, of course, was the Resurrection of Jesus which took place on that first Lord's Day. Since the earliest collective experiences of the disciples with the risen Lord took place on Easter Sunday evening (Luke 24:36-49; John 20:19-23), one might naturally expect the disciples to gather at that same hour on subsequent Sundays to remember Him in the observance of the Supper. This pattern, perhaps, is reflected in the service at Troas in Acts 20.

• Paul's conversion