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Probably no topic or issue can stand alone without consideration for information from other topics and issues. Therefore, for better understanding of terms and concepts used herein, other papers should be read in conjunction with this paper and others. One in particular for early reading is What is in a Name |
There are 8 references to the “first day of the week”. They are found in
1) Matthew
28:1,
2) Mark
16:2,
3) Mark
16:9,
4) Luke
24:1,
5) John
20:1,
6) John
20:19,
7) Acts
20:7,
8) 1 Corinthians
16:2
Each of these is defined by Strong’s as meaning the same thing. Strong’s defines the phrase in 2 parts.
“first” 3391 mia {mee'-ah} one 62, first 8, a certain 4, a 3, the other 1, • 1) only one, someoneNow look at the first 6 references to "first day of the week".“day of the week” 4521 sabbaton {sab'-bat-on} • of Hebrew origin 07676; TDNT - sabbath day 37, sabbath 22, week 9; 68 • 1) the seventh day of each week which was a sacred festival on which the Israelites were required to abstain from all work 1a) the institution of the sabbath, the law for keeping holy every seventh day of the week 1b) a single sabbath, sabbath day 2) seven days, a week
Matthew 28:1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.In each and every one of these it seems clear that the reports are referring to the day Yahshua rose and left the tomb. Does the "first day of the week" here mean every Sunday? Does it mean the the women went to the tomb every Sunday? Does it mean Yahshua rose every Sunday? Of course not. In these verses, "the first day of the week" clearly is referring to a SINGLE day, which is the first Sunday after Passover, A SINGLE DAY OF THAT YEAR. The day beginning the counting of weeks to First Fruits of Wheat, or Pentecost, hence it is the "first day of weeks".
2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.Mark 16:1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.
2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?Mark 16:8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.
9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.Luke 23:56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.
Luke 24:1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
2 And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre.
3 And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus.John 19:42 There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.
KJV John 20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.John 20:18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
20 And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
It must be understood that the people who wrote this stuff and the people to whom it was written knew very well what the terms meant. In the colloquial and vernacular of the times of these writings, the term "first day of weeks" was no doubt very well understood as the first day of counting weeks between First Fruits of Barley and First Fruits of Wheat (Pentecost). There are 7 weeks from Barley to Wheat.
An understanding of the timing reveals that Yahshua died on Passover and the next day was an annual Sabbath marking the beginning of the “Feast of Unleavened Bread” and then there followed a weekly (7th day) Sabbath 2 days after his death, and the day after that weekly Sabbath was/is the Firstfruits of Barley which is ripe in early Spring. Firstfruits of Barley is significant because it is an offering to Yah of the first of your crop and Yahshua is the firstfruits of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20 & 23).
If we take only Strong’s word for the matter we find that the phrase “first day of the week” means the “first day of Sabbath”. That does not seem to make a lot of sense to the unlearned, but an understanding of the Holy Days and Sabbaths makes it easy to understand that there is only one period in which there is a counting of Sabbaths. That is the period from the Firstfruits of barley to the Firstfruits of wheat (Pentecost). Pentecost means “count fifty”, and is known by counting 7 Sabbaths from Passover plus one day (7 x 7 + 1 = 50), which is fifty days. The counting of weeks from Passover to Pentecost begins at the first Sabbath following Passover and adding 7 weeks, hence 1 + (7 x 7) = 50. No work shall be done on the first Sabbath (or others), but can be done on the day following to pick and offer the Barley. Then, no work shall be done on the last Sabbath, but can be done on the day following (the 50th day) to pick and offer the Wheat.
Now let us again look at the phrase "first day of the week" as used in these 8 verses. If we go to the other part in the Strong’s definition of the other part of the phrase and apply it, then the meaning is “first of a week” or “first of weeks” But, more importantly, the original writing does not have the word "day". Which causes a corrected translation to read as Strong's suggest - "first of weeks". You rather easily verify this if you get an interlinear bible. What does that mean? This further refers to the first day of the counting of Sabbaths, which happens just after Passover. Let us look at the first six of the verses which use this phrase and see if they tells us what this means.
1 Corinthians 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.Firstfruits of Barley marks the beginning of the time leading to Pentecost (meaning fifty). From Firstfruits of Barley till Pentecost is 7 weeks of Sabbath (7 times 7) and one day (this is what we call Sunday). Pentecost was originally known as the celebration of the Firstfruits of wheat, which is ripe in late Spring (Exodus 34:22)
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
Exodus 34:22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end.Now, the definitions proffered by Strong’s makes more sense, when read as “first of weeks”. It is the first day of the weeks counting to Pentecost, or Firstfruits of wheat. So now we have a clear meaning of the phrase “first day of the week” as used in those 6 references. But, does it hold for the other 2 references? Let us take a look.
Acts 20:3 And there abode three months. And when the Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia.Here we are told that Paul and his company left Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, which starts the day after Passover (see – a reference to and observance of the Appointments of Yah – by the earliest “Christian”). So we know the season of Paul’s travel in this story. Then we are told that on the “first day of the week”, he and the disciples got together and “broke bread”. Well, we already know we are in the same season as the references used to describe the rising of Yahshua, so it follows that the reference here is the same. But we have yet another marker in this verse set to help us. They “broke bread”. During the week of unleavened bread you BREAK bread since there is no yeast in it to make it easy to cut. You would SNAP off a piece. So we can figure they were still celebrating the Feast of Unleavened Bread. No matter what day of the week Passover falls, the Feast of Unleavened Bread is the next 7 days and the Sunday following Passover is the day of Firstfruits of Barley and the beginning of the week of Sabbaths leading to Pentecost.
4 And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.
5 These going before tarried for us at Troas.
6 And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.
7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
8 And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together.
9 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.
Therefore, an understanding of the Feast Days or Holy Days is helpful to understand Paul and the disciples were observing them and “breaking bread” for a good reason and doing so on a certain day of the year, an annual event, not a certain day of each week, not a weekly event.
What of the last of the 8 verses using the phrase “first day of the week”?
1 Corinthians 16:1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.Till this time, there was a dispute between Paul and most of the other long standing Disciples regarding the proper way to spread the message. As Paul was parting company with Peter, they agreed to teach their own ways, but they would not forget the poor of Israel. These poor included people in Judea and Jerusalem who were at the lower levels of society and some who had experienced some drought and famine and the early crops were not available for harvest – Firstfruits of Barley. So Paul having plans to be in Corinth, writes ahead and tells the Assembly (mis-translated "church") to get their care packages ready prior to Paul’s getting there. These collections were for relief of the peoples in distress. Paul did not want this collection to interfere with his teachings. But to be certain, let us take a look at a few words in these verses of 1 Corinthians 16:1-3.
2 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.
3 And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem
4 And if it be meet that I go also, they shall go with me.
5 Now I will come unto you, when I shall pass through Macedonia: for I do pass through Macedonia.
6 And it may be that I will abide, yea, and winter with you, that ye may bring me on my journey whithersoever I go.
7 For I will not see you now by the way; but I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit.
8 But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost.
9 For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.
Collection 3048 logia {log-ee'-ah} • from 3056 (in the commercial sense); collection 1, gatherings 1; 2 • 1) a collection 1a) of money gathered for the relief of the poorSo it seems that Paul exhorted the Corinthians to “gather relief for the poor”, the “saintly” suffering people in Jerusalem. Paul admonishes them to do this according to their ability, as measured by their profit, which is believed as obtained by the providence of Yah. Paul has indicated he wants this collection finished before he arrives. Then Paul says he will take these collections from those who indicated in their writings and return to Jerusalem on his return trip.Saints 40 hagios {hag'-ee-os} holy 161, saints 61, Holy One 4, misc 3; 229 • 1) most holy thing, a saint
first day of the week we have already discussed this one and proving it again here.
gatherings 3048 logia {log-ee'-ah} • from 3056 (in the commercial sense); collection 1, gatherings 1; 2 • 1) a collection 1a) of money gathered for the relief of the poor
liberality 5485 charis {khar'-ece} 1) grace 1a) that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech 2) good will, loving-kindness, favour 3b1) a gift of grace
But Paul seals this for us when he ends his itinerary by saying he will thereafter tarry in Ephesus till Pentecost. So, using only these verses, the time of this gathering is a time prior to Pentecost and could be around Passover and the Firstfruits of Barley – the first day of weeks.
Again, an understanding of the Feast Days or Holy Days is helpful to understand Paul and the disciples were observing them and marking time with them. Nowhere is Paul, Yashua, Peter, or anyone else marking time by using calendar dates or pagan days and saying something like "I will visit with you after I tarry a while in Antioch for Christmas".
So Paul is referrring to a specific single day, not the same day every week, not even an annual event. He is only referering to the time he was planning to be visiting, which coincided with a famine.
The phrase “first day of the week”, as used in these 8 verses (the only verses where this is written) is consistent with meaning the day of Firstfruits of Barley, the first day of counting the weeks of Sabbath till Pentecost. Each and every one of them are referring to the first Sunday after Passover.
This last verse set, 1 Corinthians 16:1-3, is often used by modern church businesses to justify passing the hat during their weekly business meetings. But a reading of it with understanding of the terms and times, shows that this was a special collection and not anything resembling a tithe, weekly or otherwise. Tithes were established as a support for the Levitical priesthood. Unless a man is going to lay claim to being of the lineage of Levi, then he has no claim to a tithe. But if he dares claim to be of the tribe of Levi, then surely a proof would be challenged – duh.
Of course the first Assemblies of Yahshua ("church") (1st and/or 2nd century peoples) contributed to supporting the Assembly. BUT, this was communistic living. The members of the Assembly all lived in Assembly housing and ate Assembly food and gave all their profits to the Assembly and so forth. The point here is that everyone participated and shared in every aspect of the Assembly. Yahshua said his Assembly would be built upon a certain rock. Somebody of the assembly would be vested with the responsibility of being treasurer. If an Assembly creates a community of housing and crop growing and basket weaving and the rest of communal living, then surely, the members of the Assembly should give of their profits to the Assembly.
See how helpful it is to have an understanding of the Feasts of Yah (his appointments) and his Sabbaths?
Tribble
April 2003
revised January 2004 (for new website)
revised January 2005
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