Why do Christians honor The Lord’s Day (Sunday) instead of the Sabbath Day (Saturday)? It’s relatively straightforward to see that Sunday memorializes Jesus’ Resurrection, but when and how did the shift begin in our faith? From the third commandment in Exodus 20:8 we know that God told Moses, “Remember the sabbath day — keep it holy.” This meant that we were to set apart the Sabbath from the other days of the week. In Exodus 31:13 God told Moses “You must also tell the Israelites: Keep my sabbaths, for that is to be the sign between you and me throughout the generations, to show that it is I, the LORD, who make you holy.” So, in this passage God tells us that we are set apart from others by observing the Sabbath.
In contrast, St. Paul tells us in Colossians 2:16-17 that Christians are no longer bound by the Sabbath. “Let no one, then, pass judgment on you in matters of food and drink or with regard to a festival or new moon or sabbath. These are shadows of things to come; the reality belongs to Christ.” (Catholic Answers). Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:7-8: “If you knew what this meant, ‘I desire mercy not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.” His response was to the Pharisees who claimed that the disciples were unlawful for picking and eating heads of grain on the sabbath. But Jesus also tells us, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17).
Pope Benedict (2007, p. 111) helps to explain the modification of the day of worship for us. “The Resurrection of Jesus ‘on the first day of the week’ meant that for Christians this ‘first day’ — the beginning of the creation — became the Lord’s day.’ The essential elements of the Old Testament Sabbath then naturally passed over to the Lord’s day in the context of table fellowship with Jesus.” He also writes later that “the day of Resurrection is the Lord’s day, and thus it is also the day of his disciples, the day of the Church.” (2011, p. 143). Last, the catechism tells us that “Sunday worship fulfills the moral command of the Old Covenant, taking up its rhythm and spirit in the weekly celebration of the Creator and Redeemer of his people.” (CCC 2176). “The apostles established this practice with divine authority.” (Catholic Answers).
Catholic Answers. The Lord’s Day Replaced the Sabbath. Retrieved June 9, 2026 from https://www.catholic.com/magazine/print-edition/the-lords-day-replaced-the-sabbath
Catholic Church. (1997). Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica (2nd ed.). Doubleday.
Ratzinger, J. Pope Benedict XVI. (2007). Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration. Doubleday.
Ratzinger, J. Pope Benedict XVI. (2011). Jesus of Nazareth (Part Two) Holy Week: From the entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection. Ignatius Press.
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