Chapter 4
Broader Context
The use phrase of the “first
day of the week” in Matt 28:1
The phrase of “Mia ton
Sabbaton” is used Matt 28:1, to describe
Jesus’ resurrection. This literal meaning again derived from the Greek “mia ton
Sabbaton,” which literally means “one of the Sabbaths.” However we all know
that Jesus was raised on the first day of the week, or Sunday, so clearly, this
could not be referring to the Sabbath. This ought to confirm the points that
have already been made in this study regarding the use of “Sabbaton.”
The use phrase of the “first
day of the week” in Acts 20:7
Luke recorded in the book of Acts 20:7 the phrase of
the “first day of the week” (greek, μιᾷ τῶν σαββάτων (Act
20:7 BGT), when
Paul on his third missionary journey, assembled with the Christians in Troas.
This phrase the “μιᾷ τῶν σαββάτων ” appears in the most widely
used English translations of the New Testament as “first day of the week” and
never translated as “the Sabbath day” in these passages. The reason why most
all the translation because the word is used in these contexts (as Greek
scholars overwhelmingly agree) to denote a “week” Again Translators have
assumed the phrase to be idiomatic rather than literal, where ‘εις, ἐν, or μια
(the masculine, neuter, and feminine forms of the Greek word for “one”) means
first. Therefore, “first day of the week” is an interpretation of the
underlying phrase mia tōn sabbatōn, rather than a translation, all the
more so since sabbatōn means “of the Sabbaths,” not “of a week.” SDA
commentary wrote:
“There can be no
doubt that this corresponds, in general, at least, to our Sunday. Commentators
have been divided, however, as to whether the meeting in question took place on
the evening following Sunday, or on that preceding it. Those who favor the view
that it was a Sunday night meeting point out that Luke, who most probably was a
Gentile, presumably used Roman time reckoning, which began the day at midnight.
On such reckoning, an evening meeting on the first day of the week could only
be on Sunday night. They point out also that the time sequence of the verse,
“the first day of the week,” “the morrow,” implies that Paul’s departure took
place on the second day of the week; if so, then the meeting must have been on
Sunday night. It may be noted, also, that John refers to Sunday night as “the
first day of the week” (John 20:19), whereas, according to Jewish reckoning, it
was already the second day of the week (see Vol. II, p. 101). It is possible
that Luke uses the expression in the same sense here.”[1]
The use of word τοῦ σαββάτου in Luk 18:12
In understanding the meaning κατα μιαν σαββατων we
need to consider the use of phrase νηστεύω δὶς τοῦ σαββάτου in Luk 18:12. Again most of the English
translation and scholars, translate this phrase as “fasting twice a week”. The
context of the passage shows its meaning that he fasted on on Mondays and Thursdays. [2]
Extra Biblical Literature
What is the meaning of “the first day of the week” in
extra-biblical account? A direct statement on the “first day of the week” is
found in writing of Justyn Martyr.
"We keep the eighth day [Sunday] with joyfulness, the day also on
which Jesus rose again from the dead." (The Epistle of Barnabas, 100 AD
15:6-8). b. 150AD JUSTIN: "And on the day called Sunday, all who live in
cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the
apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits;
then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts
to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and,
as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are
brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings,
according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a
distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been
given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they
who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is
collected is deposited with the president, who succors the orphans and widows
and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who
are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of
all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common
assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in
the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the
same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn
(Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun,
having appeared to
His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we ave submitted
to you also for your consideration."[3]
[1]Francis D. Nichol, ed., SDA Bible Commentary (SDABC), rev. ed. (Washington, DC: Review and
Herald, 1980), 7:575.
[2]See SDA Bible commentary. Having drawn up a catalogue of the vices of which he
is not guilty, the Pharisee now turns to enumerate the virtues of which he is
particularly proud, ones that evidently he is counting on to purchase his
salvation. Not even all Pharisees fasted “twice in the week,” that is, on
Mondays and Thursdays (see on Matt. 6:16–18). The Pharisees prided themselves
on fasting and tithing more than the letter of the law required, thinking that
God would appreciate their voluntary efforts beyond the call of duty, as they
liked to think (see on Matt. 23:23). They fasted particularly during the
seasons between the Passover and Pentecost, and between the Feast of
Tabernacles and the Feast of Dedication (see Vol. II, p. 108; Vol. I, pp. 709,
710; Lev. 23:2–42; see on John 10:22). According to Pharisaic theology, a
sufficient credit of supposedly meritorious deeds would cancel out a debit of
evil deeds. The Feast of Dedication (see p. 30) came on the 25th day of the 9th
month, approximately two months after the Feast of Tabernacles, which closed on
the 22d day of the 7th month. Seven weeks, inclusive, elapsed between the
Passover and Pentecost. Later on, zealous Christians fasted on Wednesdays and
Fridays at certain seasons of the year, in order to avoid being mistaken for
Jews, who fasted on Mondays and Thursdays. In the Didache (ch. 8:1), a non canonical
Christian document of the 2d century, the admonition is given, “But let not
your fasting be appointed in common with the hypocrites; for they fast on the
second day of the week and on the fifth; but do ye fast during the fourth, and
the preparation [day].”
[3]First apology of Justin, Weekly Worship of the
Christians, Ch 68)
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