From: Revcraigh (Revcraigh@aol.com)
Date: Wed Jan 28 1998 - 22:07:30 EST
Dear b-greekers,
Listening to Christian Radio as I often do, I hear many a Bible teacher saying
many an interesting thing. Many times I say, "Amen." Sometimes I say: that's
rediculous, the Bible says no such thing!" Sometimes I just scratch my head
and say, "Huh?"
On more than one occasion I have heard one Bible teacher (who shall forever
remain nameless) make the statement that Mt 28:1 clearly teaches that God here
changed His appointed Sabbath (day of rest and worship) from Saturdays
(really, sundown Friday to sundown Saturday) to Sundays. That OYE DE SABBATWN
= "the end of Sabbaths" means the end of so called Saturday Sabbaths and THi
EPIFWSKOUSHi EIS MIAN SABBATWN = "at the dawning into the first of the
Sabbaths" indicates the beginning of Sunday Sabbaths.
I have always understood these to mean "At the close of the last day of the
week (Saturday), as the first (day of the) week was dawning (Sunday morning)."
But this teacher was quite adamant that this meant that God was here
appointing Sunday (and only Sunday) as the day of rest and worship for
Christians.
It seems as though these ought to be Hebrew idioms; are they? Is there any
chance that this radio teacher has it right? I always heard that Sunday was
chosen as the day of worship by the Church sometime after they were thrown out
of the Synagogues (up to which time they maintained the traditional Jewish
Sabbath); that they chose it because it was the day Jesus rose, but that they
chose it as a rather arbitrary matter (that is, that they could as easily
chose Wednesday or any other day of the week).
What say you?
(Still scratching my head),
Rev. Craig R. Harmon, pastor
Lutheran Church of the Apostles
5100 W. 115th Street
Alsip, IL 60803
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