Why is there church on Sunday? Part 3

A Reformed pastor is asked why there is church on Sunday, not Saturday? 

His response was that while the command to observe the Sabbath is still valid, the church is not required to keep the Jewish Sabbath. He points out (using 'proof texts' though not in context) that since 'many things changed' about the 'Old Testament legislation', 'we should not be surprised if there were changes not only with respect to the worship, but also to the Sabbath itself.'
 
Next he insists 'In fact we do also see that the day of worship switched from the seventh to the first. This was undoubtedly inspired by Jesus' resurrection from the dead on Sunday. The first day, the day of the resurrection, is also called in Scripture, "The Lord's Day" (cf Luke 24:1; John 20:19; Revelation 1:10). In God's Word it is clear that the first Christians immediately began meeting together on that day (John 20:19, 26; Acts 2:1; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). This should not be confused with the fact that everywhere the apostles went, they naturally conducted their first evangelistic efforts in the Jewish synagogues on Saturdays (Acts 9:20; 13:5, 14; 14:1; 17:1-4, etc). But Christians worshipped together on Sunday.
 
There are a lot of proof texts given here. In summary, I examined each one and could find no evidence at all to support the christian church and this pastor's claim that the day of worship had been changed to Sunday, not that the church is not required to keep the Biblical Sabbath.
 
A brief note before diving into the rest of this: Scripture (which I call the Old Testament) does not actually say the Israelites must gather together at the temple to worship on the Sabbath. They did that, at least from some point, and it is not bad, but it was never commanded. The NT writers also do not say christians must go to church (be that Saturday or Sunday). While it is not a bad thing at all to gather once a week (or even more) for study of the Word and corporate praise, it is NOT commanded!! That is a human tradition. 

The weekly Sabbath is a day set apart by God, on which He ceased from His labour, and on which He calls His people to do the same. His intent is for us to treat His weekly Sabbath as a joy and a delight, a privilege, not a burden to want to be released from! 

Now let's get back to these Biblical claims for a change in Sabbath day. I'll list them below with notes, and in greater context if necessary.
 
1. The claim for the first day being called 'The Lord's Day': Luke 24:1 But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. Note that the phrase 'on the first day of the week' is an interpretation and is debatable. The Greek actually directly translates as 'And day one of the Sabbaths'. This phrase is sometimes also translated as 'the day after the Sabbath'. Since in the time period of Passover, there were weekly Sabbaths as well as special Sabbaths, the 'day after the Sabbath' does not necessarily mean it was also Sunday, the first day of the week. So to read into this passage that the day was Sunday (even though it may have been) is already reading an assumption into the text. 

An equivalent to this verse, Matthew 28:1 (in direct translation from Greek) reads 'And late on Sabbath, in the evening of day one of Sabbath, came Mary the Magdalene and the other Mary, to view the tomb.' If you read this literally, it says they came late on that Sabbath! In those days, some considered a Hebrew day to run from evening to evening, so the day after the Sabbath could be considered to begin around sundown on the Sabbath. If that Sabbath was a weekly one, in our timeframe, that would be on Saturday after sundown. NOT Sunday. And it actually reads 'and late ON Sabbath' perhaps they were there even before the Sabbath was completely over, which would make sense. If the tomb was less than a Sabbath day's walk for them (one of the additional rules) they would be permitted to walk, as long as they were not carrying a heavy load (another rule).

John 20:19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." This phrase, in Greek, directly translates as 'It being then late in that day, in the day one of the Sabbaths...' If you read all of John 20, the timing is the same as when Yeshua appeared to the Marys. 'That day' whichever day of the week it was, was busy! This verse, in its direct translation from the Greek, agrees with what Yeshua said in Matthew 12:8, that 'The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." He appeared to his disciples at the close of that day. This verse, however, does NOT tell us that Sunday is now replacing the Sabbath as 'The Lord's Day.'

Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet. This is the ONLY place in the New Testament where the phrase 'The Lord's Day' actually appears. Reading Revelation, you quickly see that 'The Lord's Day' is not referring to Sunday, but the 'great and terrible Day of the Lord' ... the Judgment Day. There is NOTHING here, either in this verse or in its greater context, to indicate that the day John received his revelation on a Sunday!
 
2.The claim that christians 'immediately began meeting together on that day' (Sunday): From John 20:19 (above) we see that the 'christians' who were actually the Hebrew Jewish disciples, did not immediately organize a church service! They were gathered together for 'fear of the Jews'. If the Jewish leaders had crucified Yeshua, would they be next? The text simply read literally, they were hiding in fear, not meeting to worship.
 
John 20:26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." This again, says nothing about the disciples meeting to worship, though perhaps this time they were. Eight days later would technically be a week and one day, not the following Sunday.

Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. Of course they would have been all together in one place...it was commanded in the Torah that all Israelite men meet for Shavuot (Pentecost) in Jerusalem. It does not say what they were doing.

Acts 20:7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.  The weekly Sabbath day (work ceased on the ‘day’, people generally didn’t work at night) ends at sundown on what is our Saturday. At the close of the Sabbath, a religious (man-made) ceremony called Havdalah is held to mark the separation between the holy (Sabbath) and the common (the six days of work). After this bread may be 'broken' as part of a meal. In the account of Acts 20, it is more likely Paul was planning to leave in the morning (of our Sunday) and stayed late into the night talking.
 
1 Corinthians 16:2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. There is nothing here either about Sunday being a worship day. The Greek direct translation actually says 'one of the Sabbaths' not 'the first day of the week'. Even translated 'first day' the verse goes on to say 'each of you' meaning this is an individual responsibility, not a corporate one that might happen at a meeting.

Next...a look at the teachings of the 'church fathers' used as further support for Sunday replacement of the Biblical Sabbath