Sunday sanctity are located just beyond the boundary where the man of
average ability and learning is permitted to go. The Greek, he is told,
has a significance which, if lightly expressed, would establish a custom
beyond all doubt. Well, we have seen above what the value of a custom
is, unless explained. But we ask—and we ask it in the behalf of the
millions who have never so much as seen even the Greek alphabet, and yet
to whom eternal life is as precious as to the man of letters—can it be
possible that God has suspended the terrible realities of Heaven and
hell upon the discharge of a duty vailed from their eyes by the
obscurity of a language whose mysteries they can never hope to
penetrate? For, mark it, this is not one of those points which can be
settled without difficulty, even by those familiar with the tongue in
question. Were our learning equal to that of the gentleman who has
penned the criticism under consideration, we might flatly contradict the
statements which he makes; but this would simply serve to produce a
dead-lock in the mind of the reader, while he remained as far from a
satisfactory solution of the difficulty as ever. The only reply which we
shall make, therefore, is as follows:—
The distinction drawn between the present text and the original is
either obscure, or it is obvious. If it is obscure, it is unimportant;
if obvious, then it could be seen by scholars, and is so important that
it would have attracted universal attention and comment by first-day
writers and translators. What, therefore, are the facts in the case?
Certain it is that, if it exists at all, it escaped the notice of the
translators of our common version. That they would have given a
rendering as favorable to the first day as the facts would warrant, no
man will dispute. The suggestion that the text would bear the
translation, “_we_ having come together to break bread,” &c.,[5] while
it does not materially alter the sense, so far as the practice of the
church at Troas is concerned, if admissible, renders it highly probable
that Luke and his associates were there until the breaking of the bread;
a point which we shall use hereafter. In the meantime, we give the
following translations in order to show the conviction of their authors,
respecting the meaning of the original:—
“And on the first day of the week, when we assembled,” &c.—_Syriac._
“On the first day of the week, when we were met together.”—_Wesley, N.
T., with Notes._
“And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples were got
together.”—_Wakefield._
“And on the first day of the week, the disciples being
assembled.”—_Whiting._
“And on the first day of the week, we, having come together to break
bread.”—_Am. Bible Union._
“And on the first day of the week, we being assembled to break
bread.”—_Sawyer._
“And on the first day of the week, when the disciples met
together.”—_Doddridge in Campbell and Macknight’s Trans._
“And on the first day of the week, we having assembled.”—_Emphatic
Diaglott._
We think the reader is now ready to admit that the traces of a custom
which relies for its existence upon an original text, rendered as given
above by so many different persons, none of whom can be charged with
favoring the seventh-day Sabbath, are, to say the least, too faint to be
of practical argumentative utility. To our mind, the inference is simply
this: Paul, about to depart on his journey to Jerusalem, appointed, for
himself and his companions and the disciples at Troas, a final meeting,
at which it was announced that the Eucharist would be celebrated. At
this meeting, all the parties came together, agreeably to the
announcement previously made, and partook of the Lord’s supper. A
fitting close of a week of apostolic labor in an Asiatic city.
The next item worthy of our attention is found in the hypothesis, that,
during the time Paul was at Troas, the seventh day of the week was
passed by without any religious meeting occurring thereupon; and that
Paul waited until the arrival of the first day, because that was the one
on which the meetings of the church were regularly held. How a writer so
intimately acquainted with the character and labors of St. Paul, the
individual in question undoubtedly is, could draw the inference which he
has, is more than we can fathom. Who, that has read the history of a man
whose nervous activity drove him to dispute daily in the school of
Tyrannus (Acts 19:9), and to seek every opportunity for the presentation
of his gospel to the Jews in their synagogues, and the Greeks in their
places of public gathering, could be induced to believe that he could
remain for seven long days in the city of Troas without a solitary
religious assembly, until the expiration of that time? And yet this is
the very decision which we are called upon to indorse. Before we can do
this, however, we ask for the proof. The answer is, it must be so,
because the record contains no account of the holding of such meetings
until the first day of the week.
But is this satisfactory? Do not all the circumstances of the case, as
well as the temperament and character of Paul, render certain the act
that such meetings were held, even, though it is not stated in so many
words? Paul with a Christian church at Troas for one week, and not
preach to them! Impossible. To show the writer that the mention of
religions meetings in brief history is not necessary in order to prove
that they occurred on a given day, or on stated days, let me call his
attention to the fact, that, between the day of Pentecost and the
meeting at Troas, according, to his own showing, there were at least
twenty-six intervening years; that during those years, agreeably to his
view, there were thirteen hundred and fifty-two first-days, all of which
were holy time, and nearly all of which must have been honored by stated
meetings on the part of the apostles; and yet, out of that whole number,
he only claims to produce the record of one solitary day on which such
meeting occurred. What are the facts, then? Paul probably preached every
day of the seven, while he was at Troas. Do you ask why the account is
not given of such meetings in the book of the Acts? I answer that the
Holy Spirit was giving, through Luke, a succinct history of the more
striking occurrences which transpired in their travels. The story of the
first-day meeting at Troas found its way into the sacred narrative,
because its importance to after generations was enhanced by the
accidental fall, and the miraculous restoration to life of Eutychus, and
perhaps by other facts connected with that event, of equal interest. I
think that one of them was a disposition on the part of God to provide
his commandment-keeping servants in succeeding generations with a
passage in the life of Paul, which should forever silence the cavils of
men who should undertake to belittle his ancient Sabbath, and to foist
into its place a day which He never commanded. This we will further
consider in our next point.
Having endeavored to establish the point that the seventh-day Sabbath
was not observed at Troas, an effort is made to show that a change of
time had occurred, so that Luke, in giving his account of the
transactions mentioned above, treated the day as commencing and ending,
not according to the Jewish method, with the setting of the sun, but
after the Roman fashion, with midnight. The reader will readily discover
the object to be gained by this maneuver, if such I may be allowed to
call it. We had insisted that the first day of the week commenced at
sunset; that Paul met with the disciples in the dark portion of that day
(verse 8), preached to them during that night, and on the next morning
commenced a journey of nineteen and a half miles on foot, on that which
answered to the daylight portion of our Sunday. This, if true, with the
majority of readers, would have forever settled the question that Paul
did not believe in first-day sanctity. A remedy, therefore, must be had.
The gentleman thinks he has found one. That he has made a desperate
effort to obtain it, we are compelled to admit. No man, it seems to us
would ever resort to an experiment so hazardous, who did not find
himself in the stress of a situation which otherwise would be utterly
insupportable. With the most deliberate calculation, and in the face of
authority which he himself highly honors, he has decided that the
journey in question occurred on the second day of the week, instead of
the first, which ended at twelve o’clock the previous night. Well,
suppose we admit, for a moment, that this was true; what then? The
Sunday is thereby rescued from profanation by Paul; but it is also true
that the second day of the week is thereby honored with the meeting of a
Christian church, and that it was it, and not the first, after all,
which was honored by the breaking of bread during its hours.[6] So much
for some of the consequences of the position, if well taken.
But now let us turn to the argument for the change. Is it really true
that Roman, and not Jewish, time, is employed in a portion of the New
Testament? If so, the perplexities of the situation are very great. How
shall we know when to apply the one, and when the other? How can we tell
precisely where the dividing line should be drawn? We hope, in all
conscience, independently of the question at issue, that the writer is
not correct. He seems to find the first intimation of a change in the
gospels. Matt. 28:1, and John 20:19, are referred to in support of his
view. Now suppose we concede for a time the point which he desires, and
admit that these passages prove the use in them of Roman time; also
that, as he claims, the meeting spoken of in John 20:19, occurred in the
evening (Roman time), and after the coming on of darkness. This done, we
inquire, Was it a Jewish day or a Roman day that was sanctified by the
resurrection of Christ, and his appearance to his assembled disciples?
We think that few will dispute that it was a Jewish day.
But when did the Jewish day commence? The undeniable answer is, At
sunset. But when did Christ appear to the disciples, according to Roman
time, as argued? We answer, In the darkness of the evening, and,
therefore, after the ending of the Jewish first day. What is the
necessary conclusion? We reply, One of two things. 1. Either that the
visit of Christ had no reference to the sanctity of the day on which it
occurred; or 2. That it was designed to honor the second day of the
Jewish week. We leave the writer in question to take whichever horn of
this dilemma he pleases. If he should insist that John employed Roman
time, then all which he has said in reference to the effect of the visit
of Christ upon the first day of the Jewish week is emptied of all force.
Never was self-stultification more complete. In his effort to escape
from the paws of the Trojan bear (secular travel on Sunday), the writer
has thrown himself into the jaws of the lion (no Scripture precedent for
Sunday-keeping). For, if he is right in supposing that the meeting in
John 20:19, occurred on the Roman evening of that day—that is, after
sunset, and the coming on of darkness—then, of course, it did not
transpire on the Jewish first day of the week, which had previously
ended, according to his own admission, at the going down of the sun; but
it actually took place after the commencement of the second day of the
Jewish week.
Not only so, but the second meeting, of Christ with his disciples (after
eight days), according to his own reasoning, must have fallen on the
second Jewish day of the next week. And, finally, accepting his logic
that the meeting of Acts 20:7, also fell on the Roman evening of the
first day of the week, that precedent, so long cherished, and so often
cited, is now forever disposed of, since it, too, illustrates the second
Jewish day of the week, and not the first, if, indeed, it adds luster to
any. But, reader, it would be neither Christian nor manly to adopt an
exegesis of Scripture presented by an opponent, simply because such an
exegesis would prove his overthrow. Truth is worth more than mere
victory. The gentleman has made a mistake in deciding that Roman time is
employed in the Bible, and that mistake has brought him to confusion.
But now we propose to show that Roman time is not employed, even though
in so doing we shall assist him out of his trouble for the time being.
Let no one suppose, however, that the relief which we shall afford him
will be permanent, for, unfortunately for him, we shall rescue him from
one death simply to deliver him to another.
The whole question turns upon the commencement and end of the Bible day.
If it can be shown that it began and terminated with the setting of the
sun, then, beyond all dispute, the meeting in Troas occurred at the
commencement of the first day of the week, at the coming on of darkness,
the only period in that day when lights could be employed to advantage
(verse 8). We proceed, therefore, to our task. We have heretofore quoted
from the Tract Society’s Bible Dictionary, under the article, day, to
prove a general agreement that the Hebrews commenced and ended their day
with the setting of the sun. In addition to this, we might refer the
reader to Smith’s Comprehensive Dictionary of the Bible on the same
subject. In fact, we might multiply authorities without end; but this is
not necessary here. By turning to Genesis, chapter 1, the reader will
find that God measured the day by “the evening and the morning”
(darkness and light). He will here observe that with the ancient Hebrews
the whole night preceded the day to which it belonged. Advancing to
Leviticus 23:32, he will there read the command of God, that the people
should keep their Sabbaths “from even to even.” But as the Sabbath was
the last day of the week, and was to commence and end with the evening,
he will discover that it will be necessary that all the other days
should commence and end in the same manner.
Passing now to the New Testament, he will find the same custom
prevailing in the days of our Lord. Nay, more; he will there obtain the
authority of Luke himself, who wrote the book of Acts, for believing
that Christ and the Jews followed that system of beginning and ending
the day which God had inaugurated in the outset. We read in Luke 4:40:
“Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers
diseases, brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of
them, and healed them.” By tracing back the event, as given by Luke, in
its parallel, as found in Mark 1, we find that Christ was healing in the
synagogue on the Sabbath day, and that he subsequently repaired to the
house of Peter, and healed his wife’s mother; and that, “at even, when
the sun did set,” the Jews brought to him all those that were diseased,
and possessed with devils, for the purpose of having him heal them.
This, however, they could not have done on the Sabbath day, according to
their views; therefore they prove that the custom was still prevalent
among them of ending the days with the setting of the sun. But,
furthermore, has it not been argued by the writer himself, that the day
of Pentecost was coincident with the first day of the week? We think
this will hardly be disputed. If it be true, however, and if the logic
be sound, that the Spirit which was poured out on the day of Pentecost
was designed to indicate that it corresponded with the Christian
Sabbath, then we need not argue further, for no man will deny that that
day was emphatically Jewish in its beginning and ending.
This army of Scripture testimony, gleaned from a history of 4000 years,
if met at all, it will be necessary that it should be done by clear and
emphatic statements emanating from the same source from which the
authorities in question are drawn. Has the gentleman furnished any such
evidence? The reader will readily discover that he has not. The only
texts brought forward in support of the change upon which he insists are
John 20:19, and Matt. 28:1. In reference to the first of these, it will
only be required that attention should be called to the fact that, with
the Hebrews, each day had two evenings. (Exodus 12:6, margin; and
Numbers 9:3, and 28:4, margin.) On this point, the Bible Dictionary
says: “The Hebrews reckoned two evenings in each day.... According to
the Karaites, this time between the evenings is the interval from sunset
to complete darkness, that is, the evening twilight. According to the
Pharisees and the Rabbins, the first evening began when the sun inclined
to descend more rapidly; that is, at the ninth hour; while the second or
real evening commenced at sunset.” (Art. Evening.) Now let it be
supposed that Christ met with his disciples somewhere between three
o’clock and sunset, on the day of the resurrection, and the statement
that he met with them the “same day at evening,” is at once verified,
and the necessity for the supposition of a change of time disappears.
In explanation of Matt. 28:1, we cannot do better, perhaps, than to
append the following comment from Albert Barnes: “The word _end_, here
means the same as _after_ the Sabbath; _i. e._, after the Sabbath was
fully completed, or finished, and may be expressed in the following
manner: ‘In the night following the Sabbath; for the Sabbath closed at
sunset, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week.’” That Mr.
Barnes is right in his criticism, will become apparent when we compare
Matt. 28:1, with the parallel passage in Mark 16:1, 2, where the same
historic fact is introduced with these words: “When the Sabbath was
past.” A complete harmony is thus preserved between the two evangelists,
and all requisition for the extreme resort to the hypothesis of a sudden
and unprecedented employment of the Roman system for the computation of
time is dispensed with.
As it regards the objection, which is based upon the use made in Acts
20:7, of the words, “on the morrow,” we reply that it is not well taken.
That it was perfectly compatible with a Jewish custom, when speaking of
the daylight portion of any day from the stand-point of the previous
evening, to allude to it as “the morrow,” we cite the following
passages: “Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and
brought him by night to Antipatris. _On the morrow_ they left the
horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle.” Acts 23:31, 32.
“Saul also sent messengers unto David’s house, to watch him, and to slay
him in the morning; and Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, If thou
save not thy life to-night, _to-morrow_ thou shalt be slain.” 1 Samuel
19:11.
In addition to the above texts, we might quote the authority of Mr.
Howson, who is so justly complimented for his scholarship by the writer.
He cannot be charged with leaning toward our views of the Sabbath, and,
therefore, if he had any bias in the case, it would be against, and not
in favor of, the position which we are trying to maintain. If there was
really any force in the criticism which is offered respecting the use of
the preposition and the term with which it is connected, assuredly the
discriminating eye of this gentleman would not have allowed it to escape
detection. Nevertheless, he, as the writer admits, deliberately decides,
while examining at length the very passages now before us, that the
events there spoken of, journey and all, did transpire on the Sunday. In
doing so, it follows, as a matter of course, that he did not regard the
difficulty which is urged concerning the words, “on the morrow,” as one
at all formidable.
Thus much by way of a brief refutation of the diversity theory for the
commencing of the days of the Bible. We have seen heretofore, that, if
the advocate of this theory were right and we wrong, he has lost to his
cause the three precedental meetings of John 20:19, John 20:26, and Acts
20:7, since they occurred on the second, and not the first, Jewish day
of the week. Let us now view the situation from the stand-point of one
who believes that the sacred, instead of the heathen, method is followed
consistently throughout the Scriptures. In Acts 20:7, the text which is
passing under review, it is said that there was a meeting held upon the
first day of the week, and that Paul preached until midnight. It now
becomes important to know on what portion of the first day of the week
this meeting fell. By examining the record, we find the statement that
there were many lights employed in the chamber where they were gathered.
We know, therefore, that the meeting must have taken place during the
dark portion of the first day of the week. But as we have seen that the
Jewish day commenced with sunset, the only hours of darkness which
belong to it were to be found between that time and the next morning.
Advancing, we learn that, having spent the night in preaching, breaking
of bread, &c., the apostle devoted the daylight portion of the first day
of the week to the accomplishment of a journey of nineteen and a half
miles, while his companions sailed the vessel a greater distance round
the headland to Assos. Here, then, is apostolic example for travel upon
the first day of the week. The writer endeavored to escape this
conclusion, by asserting that the meeting in question and the travel
took place on the second day of the week. This view, we have met, and
successfully answered. The record states that it was upon the first day
of the week when they came together. It then proceeds to give a
connected account of what transpired on that day, and among other
things, is found the story of Paul and his companions starting for
Jerusalem. Now, if the events related did really transpire on two days,
instead of on one merely, as would naturally be inferred from the
context, the burden of the proof is with our opponent. We rest the
matter, therefore, right here. The only attempt which he has made has
been a complete failure. That he thought it was the best he could do
under the circumstances, we doubt not.
There remains now no item of difference between ourselves and the writer
in the _Statesman_ which should occupy us longer. For, between him and
myself there is no room for dispute respecting the morality of traveling
on the Sabbath, since, according to his own confession, the object which
Paul had in remaining at Troas was that of a good “_Sabbath-keeping
Christian_,” who was unwilling to violate the sacredness of holy time by
the performance of secular labor. Here, then, we pause. As we do so, we
appeal to the judgment of the candid men and women who have read the
criticism of our friend and our reply thereto. Did Paul conscientiously
regard the first day of the week, while traveling on foot nineteen and a
half miles upon it, and did Luke and his six companions, in sailing a
much greater distance on the same hours, transgress the law of God, and
ignore the example of Christ; or, did they look upon the first day of
the week as one which God had given to man for the purposes of labor and
travel? If you still decide that it was holy time, you must be able to
reconcile their action with this theory. This, however, you can never
do. If, on the contrary, you shall determine that they treated it as a
secular day, then it remains so still, for its character has not changed
from that day to this.
Footnote 5:
As it is not insisted that this translation is a correct one, I shall
not turn aside for the purpose of showing, as might easily be done,
from the original, that it is not admissible where the rule of strict
construction is followed.
Footnote 6:
The honoring of the second day here alluded to rests upon the
hypothesis that the breaking of bread spoken of in Acts 20:11, answers
to the Lord’s supper. It is, however, by no means certain that this
was the case, since scholars differ widely in opinion respecting the
matter; some holding to the opinion that reference was made to the
Lord’s supper, and others to the view that the breaking of bread
referred merely to a common meal.
STATESMAN’S REPLY.
ARTICLE SIX
TESTIMONY OF PAUL AND JOHN TO THE FIRST-DAY SABBATH.
Two important portions of the inspired records remain to be considered.
The first of these reads as follows: “Now concerning the collection for
the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do
ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in
store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I
come.” (1 Cor. 16:1, 2.)