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Someone once commented that Sabbath was not supposed to be on a Sunday but rather on Saturday. According to that person, it is wrong for the church to observe Sabbath on a Sunday as it was a practice belonging to the pagans. In so doing, we are actually violating the 4th commandment of the 10 commandments: "Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy." (Exo 20:8 cf. Deut 5:12). Our church, as with many, have our services on Sundays. Does that mean we have violated the commandment of God, and by so doing, sinned against God? Allow me to give you my point of view in response to that comment.

In order to answer this, we have to first look at the reason for the Sabbath. The word 'Sabbath' is derived from the Hebrew word שבת, read 'shabbat', which means 'to cease'. This is can be seen quite clearly in the elaboration of the keeping of the Sabbath in both Exodus and Deuteronomy, where it was said that men shall labour for six days but not on the seventh, which is the Sabbath. Ceasing here refers to ceasing of doing work.

Does God, being bored, made the Sabbath merely for the sake of making people not work on one day of the week? I doubt that God is such a person. In fact, the reason for the Sabbath is also found in the verses regarding the Sabbath:

Exodus 20:11 states: "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.” According to this verse, the Sabbath day was created for rest. The verse can be read as such, because God rested on the seventh day, THEREFORE (note the word here), the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. Resting is, in fact, a holy act. Today, we work like crazy, and workload is not getting any easier. There are times where we push ourselves to work that we forget to rest. Now, this is actually very bad, even for your body (the other reason is what I would state later on). Therefore, the Sabbath was a time for people to rest, bond with their families without getting so caught up with work and distractions of work. Taking it a step further, it can also be seen as an act of faith. The Israelites, according to background studies, were living in a time wherein they had agriculture as their main source of income. Very likely, this was only sufficient for their family. In order for there to be food on their table everyday, they had to work the ground, raise animals, farm etc. That's why they had to do it everyday: to ensure that they had a supply of food. Now, no work was allowed to be done on a Sabbath day, including farming or even harvesting. This, to me, can also be seen as an act of faith that even though they did not work, God still provided for their needs.

What then, is the other reason? Deuteronomy 5:15 shows another reason that work had to be ceased. "Recall that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there by strength and power. That is why the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day." In other words, Sabbath was created that man would remember God. How true this may be even today. There are times where workload just becomes so overbearing that we forget God. It is as if God is not in that moment of our lives. I believe it was the same with the Israelites. God knew that they would be so caught up with work that they forgot to spend time with the Lord, in fact, probably even forgetting God altogether. Therefore, the Sabbath was instituted that man will also remember and spend time with God.

To wrap it all up, let us look at the words of Jesus in Mark 2:27. Immediate context (which is from verses 23-28) shows us that Jesus was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath day, and as they made their way, the disciples began to pluck some heads of grain. According to the Jewish interpretation, that is considered work and should NOT be done on a Sabbath. That was why the Pharisees accused them of going against the law of the Sabbath. Take a look at what was Jesus' reply. The part which sums it up is in verse 27, "Then [Jesus] said to them, "The Sabbath was made for people, not people for the Sabbath." What this means essentially is that the Sabbath was not created as an iron rule to bring mankind to submission of one supreme being, making the Sabbath on God's side, but rather, the Sabbath was created with people in mind: that they may rest, bond with their family, enjoy creation and one another, and ultimately, to enjoy communion with God.

Bringing it back to the topic of interest, is it wrong that our worship service is on a Sunday and not on a Saturday? Based on the arguments above, I would say no. A worship service is a day wherein one just takes time to rest and bask themselves in the presence of the Lord, worshiping the Lord with one another, as a whole family of God, with our friends and family. To me, this fulfills the core intention of the Sabbath, which to me, is far more important than just fulfilling a law just for the sake of fulfilling it. After all, the heart is more important than the outward actions. Whether it is a Saturday, or Sunday, or even a Wednesday for that matter, we must ensure that the Sabbath fulfills its purpose. Or else, we will end up like a Pharisee, keeping law for keeping sake but not the heart of the law.