Lesson 18

Fully understanding the grace of God is sometimes difficult. Internalizing how it frees us from legalistic thinking can take time and effort. Take the argument surrounding what day of the week should Christians worship God on. Some meet on Saturday, treating it as a holy convocation as the Jews do. Others strictly follow Sunday as the day of worship. Both traditions are legalistic, rather than being guided by love. 

Those who keep Sunday believe it was ordained to be kept in the New Testament. These next verses refer to the first day of the week and, because bread was broken, it’s believed by many, a communion church service was being held on Sunday.

The days described in the book of Acts are counted from a biblical perspective, starting and ending at sunset. The term break bread is a term used to describe eating together. They ate a meal together some time on the first day of the week. Notice the same term, broke bread and ate, appears again later, before Paul departs in verse 11 demonstrating it was not a special religious observance.

Acts 20:7-12 21st Century King James Version

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, having fallen into a deep sleep; and as Paul was long in preaching, he sank down with sleep and fell down from the third floor and was taken up dead. 10 And Paul went down and fell on him and, embracing him, said, “Trouble not yourselves, for his life is in him.” 11 When he therefore had come up again, and had broken bread and eaten and talked for a long while, even until break of day, he departed. 12 And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.

Now that Paul had talked throughout the night portion of the first day, and if this account demonstrates that Sunday was the appropriate day for worship, what do you think Paul did for the daylight portion of that day? If Paul took the hilly Roman road from Troas to Assos it would have been a 30 mile walk. If he went as the crow flew it would have been a steep 21 miles. Either way it would not have been a day of rest for him. What are your thoughts?

Acts 20:13-14 21st Century King James Version

13 And we went ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, there intending to take aboard Paul; for so had he arranged, intending himself to go on foot. 14 And when he met with us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene.